(The FCC has mandated that cable carriers must support analog TV sets until at least 2012)

The price for the digital to analog converter box will range in pricing from $50.00 to $70.00 each. This seems a bit pricy to me, but it sure beats $1,000 to $3,000 for a Digital TV.

Where will we be able to purchase the DTV Converter Box? According to http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/12/slew-of-retailers-to-carry-tv-converter-boxes-coupon-requests-o/ we will be able to pick them up at the large retail chains such as Best Buy, Sears, Circuit City, Kmart, Wal-Mart, and Target. These retailers will also honor the $40.00 DTV Converter Box Coupons.

With all this being said, it sounds pretty bleak for those of us that may know someone that either chooses not to purchase cable or satellite service, or for those that simply can’t afford it.

To ease the strain on your pockets, starting January, 1, 2008 you can start applying for the $40.00 coupons (you are allowed two coupons per applicant; each coupon is good for $40.00 off one analog converter box. The coupons will be handed out starting Feb. 17, 2008, exactly one year to date that the DTV takes affect.
  
You can apply for the $40.00 DTV Converter Box Coupons over at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon/index.html

The 40 percent rate increase is quite unbelievable, but this rate hike was inevitable being that Blockbuster lost $37.8 million in the third quarter of 2007. Blockbuster’s CEO James Keyes has blamed the loss on Total Access to what he likes to call “freeloaders” those that swap out as many DVD’S as they possibly could at their local Blockbuster. Blockbuster has already raised the monthly Total Access fees by $7 to recoup some of their loss’s.

Blockbuster’s Total Access will jump from $24.99 to $34.99 a month. Blockbuster’s two DVD unlimited plan will jump from $21.99 to $29.99 a month. Blockbuster has sent out an e-mail to their subscribers that state that these rate hikes will take effect on or after December 27th, depending on their billing cycle.

With this rate hike, I am quite sure that many of us will be canceling our subscriptions.

Sure I can get a 4GB or 8GB at my local retailer or web retailer, yet I can’t seem to find the 80GB at Best Buy, Amazon or Circuit City’s web site. “Sorry little Timmy, no 80GB Zune in your stocking this year for you”.

Rumors have surfaced that Microsoft has prioritized the manufacturing of the 4GB and 8GB players. I have spoken to a couple of local retailers, and they expect them to arrive within the next week. Through my online study however, I can expect them to arrive on virtual and retail shelves within 10 to 14 days. Target has stated that they will now put your name on a waiting list and they will notify you as soon as they are available.

How is it that a manufacturer is able to create a demand for their products when before there was none? And knowing this, they purposely keep the supply lower during the holidays then they would during the rest of the year. You would think that a manufacturer would supply enough for the demand, that they have created in the first place, in order to increase their profits. In the end aren’t they only hurting themselves? A lot of people get their hopes up only to be disappointed, thus creating a disgruntled customer that will most likely shop elsewhere.

Have we really become a society of sheep? We can’t make up our own minds, we are dependant on what others tell us we need in order to function in today’s world?

So lets get on with it; my latest gripe about Best Buy!

I’ve spent tons of money at this place, and almost every time I go in to one of their stores I am left with a sinking feeling in my stomach, a feeling that humanity would be doomed if we had to rely on these sales associates for anything more than ‘its in the next isle.’ I’m not sure what Best Buy pays their employees, but judging by the service, or lack of service to be more accurate, it isn’t a whole lot to write home about.

I was so annoyed by the poor customer service within the stores that I decided to order a new PC on-line, this way I didn’t have to deal with the ignorance that we know as sales associates. As expected, the order process went very smoothly, I found everything I was looking for, and checkout was literally a breeze. I was quite happy. The PC was listed as available to ship from their warehouse within one business day, and a confirmation email reiterated this to me shortly after my credit card was charged for the order.

Now, if I could stop the story right here you’d be left with the impression that ordering from Best Buy on-line is a great experience. Sadly, the story is not over. I placed my order almost two weeks ago; two days post-purchase I received an email telling me that the PC was back-ordered. Back-ordered? But the web site said ships in a day. In fact, even after I got the back-ordered message, the web site was still telling me the product was available and will ship within a day.

The worst part of this whole thing is this - the on-line customer service associates use the same system to give you information when you call in to check on the status of an order. I can understand that the web site may not be updated in real time, and that there are indeed going to be sales spikes, and product that is not available, but why can’t we get this information in a timely manner?

Two weeks?

Why does a phone call from me to Best Buy nearly two weeks after I placed my order produce no better results than looking at the site? In both cases the information was inaccurate.

I like being able to order on-line, its convenient, but my latest experience tells me that even if you can eliminate the need to deal with unqualified associates in the store, you still have to deal with them on the phone. In the end I cancelled my order with Best Buy and went elsewhere for my purchase.

Have a gripe about a retailer? Post a comment, they’re free.

This Friday Wal-Mart will be offering the Toshiba HD DVD A2 for just under $100, this is a “secret in store special.” The Toshiba HD DVD A2 normally retails for $299. This price will Include five free movies by mail. In the past Best Buy had sold the same player for $100 and sold out with in the day of the sale.

Kmart says they are dropping Blu-ray:

Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Amazon.com have been selling the Toshiba A2 player for just under $200, While the original price had been $299. Presently the cheapest Blu-Ray player is around $375. Some people predict that around the holidays the average ticket price will be around $350. The retail chain Kmart will be lowering the price of their Blu-Ray players. They will only be offering HD DVD players this coming holiday season. Although they are still going to sell the PlayStation 3, This has A Blu-Ray player. Some people speculate that the average consumer will not really be to interested until the players are under $200.

The average consumer will probably shell out $79 for a DVD player, but if given the chance to purchase a HD DVD for an extra $20; they would probably jump all over it.With this kind of price and all the movies and popular TV shows that are being rolled out, this is just what needs to happen if HD DVD wants to win this battle.

Blu-Ray is not giving up yet:

Back in august HD had been boosted thanks to Paramount. Paramount agreed to back the HD DVD format exclusively. Later, reports surfaced stating that the studio received a $150 million cash payment and promotional guarantees from the HD format backers and that, the deal was only good for 18 months. Paramount had previously been hedging its bets by backing both formats. Blu-Ray has not given up yet. Recently Home Media Magazine stated that 2.6 million Blu-Ray discs were sold from January to September, and 1.4 million HD DVD discs sold. Blu-Ray has done so well thanks to the PlayStation 3.

Rumor also has it that HD has also taken a large lead in the number of Laptop computers with this format.