Cell phone woes from drivers, homeowners

At some point in time will I have to trash all my old television sets and buy all new ones that get HDTV?  If so, when will this happen? Or will my old ones still work, just not have an HD clear picture (which is totally okay with me)? I want to buy a new little TV-VCR-DVD combo for my kitchen but don’t want to get one that I won’t be able to use in a couple of years.
Sunny Seibert, Pinckneyville, Ill.

The government’s regulatory agency for broadcast television, the Federal Communications Commission, has set a deadline of Dec. 31, 2006 for the transition to all HDTV broadcasting.  That’s right — the end of this year.

The switch will only happen when 85 percent of consumers are able to receive HDTV in their homes. That means when broadcasters can reach 85 percent of the viewing public with an HDTV signal and if there are enough HDTV receivers available, not if 85 percent of the population actually owns HDTVs.

When that threshold is reached, all TV will use the HDTV broadcast frequencies and all older sets will not receive a signal. The current frequencies will be auctioned off to the highest bidders by the government. 

What can you do? You can either buy an HDTV-ready receiver now or purchase one of the new HDTV converter boxes which will flood the market when the time comes. The box will not transform your old set into a high-definition television, but will allow you to watch standard definition TV broadcasts on the new HDTV broadcast frequencies.

If you’re hooked up to a cable/satellite service, don’t worry. You probably won’t even notice when the switch to high-def is made. 

And lastly, a request more than a question:

Why do people save boxes when they purchase audio and computer equipment?  Is there a way to toss the boxes and still be able to return the items if necessary?  Is there a value to the original boxes?
Amy Krakow, New York

If you hadn’t guessed already, Amy is my wife and I think she’s hinting that she wants all the boxes, the ones that come with all the items I test and write about, out of our house. My answer is they’ll leave when I’m done with them!

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