Washington Much of what consumers are acquisition about the predominating shift to digital broadcasting is justed plain wrong and could end up costing them money, according to a study.

Some citizenry think they need to purchase new equipment when they don’t, consorting to a Consumers Union survey, and others say they don’t plan on occupying any stairs to handle with the alteration when they should.

“Disarray about the digital television transition will cost consumers a peck of money for equipment they may non want or need,” Joel Kelsey, insurance analyst for the Consumers Union, expressed Wednesday.

Setting out February 18, 2009, full-power telecasting stations in the U.S. will turn off their old-technology analog signals and broadcast only in a digital format, potentially leaving megs of videos displaying nothing but snow.

Consumers Union, the nonprofit publishing firm of Consumer Reports mag, says 36 percentage of answerers in its survey existed unaware of the passage — a big number, but much toned than what has existed reported in studies from a twelvemonth ago.

The great bulk of consumers — anyone whose telecasting is plucked up to an overseas telegram or satellite service or possesss a digital set — will non be unnatural. Anyone who possesss an aged television that gets its signal via transmitting aerial, however, will need a convertor box, that the regime will help pay for.

As of December 2007, the Nielsen Co. reported that 13.5 000 000 video households, or about 12 pct, rely on over-the-air video broadcasts for programing.

Among those consumers who are cognisant of the passage, 58 percentage believe all telecastings will need a convertor box to work. Forty-eight per centum believe that only digital televisions will work after 2009, and 24 percentage believe they will need to shed away all of their analog video sets.

None of these givens is trued up.

The regime has apportioned USD 1.5 000 000 000 to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to give for vouchers that will subsidise the price of convertor boxes. But only USD 5 000 000 of that is for consumer education. Some other USD 1.5 000 000 has existed allocated to the Federal Communications Commission for public didactics efforts.

Piece more Americans are decorous aware of the passage, 73 per centum of those appraised were incognizant of the authorities coupon program, fitting in to the Consumers Union survey.

Each home is eligibled for two vouchers, regardless of whether they have pay-television service or non. To bespeak a voucher, consumers can use online at WWW.dtv2009.gov or call the 24-hour hotline, 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009).

Too on Wednesday, the National Association of Broadcasters relinquished its own survey on consumer awareness. The programme lobbying organisation reported 79 per centum of answerers said they held “seen, read or heard something” about the passage. The figure was more than double the 38 percentage reported in January 2007.

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