[mythtv-users] US Gov gives $80 credit towards purchase of HD equipment??

[Blammo]

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/2007/DTVfinalrule_031207.htm

According to the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) plan introduced this week, all U.S. consumers
will be eligible for up to an $80 subsidy to pay for analog-to-digital
TV converters. Delivered in the form of coupons redeemable at
electronics stores, the subsidy is designed to help consumers cope
with the change and prevent their old analog TVs from "going dark."

The switchover will primarily affect the minority of U.S. TV viewers
that rely on TV antennas and over-the-air (OTA) signals for their
broadcast programming. According to the Federal Communications
Commission, up to 90 percent of U.S. households currently get their TV
signal via a satellite or cable provider. People who receive
programming in this way are not likely to notice when broadcasters
power down their analog transmitters for good in 2009.

Starting Jan. 1, 2008, all U.S. households will be eligible to request
up to two $40 coupons, to be used toward the purchase of up to two
digital-to-analog converter boxes. The coupons will be issued until
the $990 million initial allocation for the program is exhausted. Once
those funds are gone, the Digital Television Transition and Public
Safety Act of 2005 then authorizes Congress to increase funding by
another $510 million. The second allocation will be available to
OTA-only households, however. In other words, consumers will have to
certify that they do not subscribe to cable, satellite or other pay
television services in order to qualify for the second round of
coupons.

The coupons themselves will resemble retail "gift cards," and will
expire three months after they arrive by U.S. mail. They cannot
legally be used to purchase anything except a digital-to-analog
converter.

One of the government's major goals in establishing the DTV transition
plan is to clear the way for opening up vast amounts of broadcast
spectrum for advanced wireless communications, including use by
military public safety agencies.