Reducing static on TV conversion

Group says stores giving bad advice on move to digital

By Jeff Smith, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Retail chains are providing inaccurate or misleading information to consumers preparing for next year's conversion to a digital TV world, a watchdog group says.

"The main thing about the inaccurate information is that the consumer (was led to believe) they would have to purchase a digital TV set," said Grady Nesbitt, citizen outreach director for the Colorado Public Interest Research Group.

The group based its findings on visits by 22 "secret shoppers" to about 60 metro area stores last fall, Nesbitt said.

One retailer said Tuesday that the survey was done before the government disclosed details of how the conversion program would be handled.

About 14 million Americans have analog TVs that pull broadcast signals into their homes with antennas. Those consumers can choose by the Feb. 17, 2009, deadline to buy just a converter box.

A converter box typically costs $50 to $70, but the government is offering $40 coupons at the Web site dtv2009.gov to help defray the cost.

The watchdog group has scheduled a news conference today in front of a Best Buy electronics store in Broomfield to announce its findings. Nesbitt provided an outline but said he couldn't disclose the full report until today.

Nesbitt said that the Colorado survey was conducted in September and October. He indicated that results were delayed to coordinate with a national release of a survey done by the group's counterparts in 10 states.

The group isn't singling out a retail chain but is urging better sales training, so consumers can be accurately informed, Nesbitt said.

Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas called the timing of the survey "strange."

"If it was done in September and October, that was well before the (government) coupon details were known, the converter box details were known," he said.

Since then, the government, carriers and retail chains have devoted more effort to educating consumers.

The government plans to start sending out $40 coupons next week, chains such as Best Buy are beginning to stock converter boxes, and Circuit City launched an education campaign Tuesday.

Even by last fall, Lucas said that Best Buy salespeople had been instructed to tell consumers that getting a converter box was their first option.

He said that Best Buy also explains to consumers the difference between a standard- and high-definition TV. He said that many consumers don't realize that a standard-definition digital TV costs and looks about the same as an analog TV.

Despite the educational efforts, many experts still predict mass confusion between now and next year.

The wrong scoop

The Colorado Public Interest Research Group says it sent 22 "secret shoppers" to about 60 Best Buy, Circuit City, Radio Shack, Target and Wal-Mart stores in the Denver area last fall. Its conclusion: Consumers were being given inaccurate information from big retail chains about next year's conversion from analog to digital TV. The major findings:

* 94 percent of the stores' sales staff allegedly gave inaccurate information about converter boxes, suggesting in many cases that consumers need to buy a digital TV. (Consumers can buy a converter box to outfit their TV.)

* 81 percent of the sales staff allegedly gave inaccurate information about the government's coupon program. Consumers can get $40 coupons from the government (dtv2009.gov) to help buy a converter box, which typically costs $50 to $70.

* 44 percent of the stores surveyed still had obsolete analog TVs on their shelves. Many of the tags were mislabeled or printed only in English.