The 3 Different Ways To Be DTV-Ready Before Friday

LA QUINTA – If you haven’t prepared for the switch to digitaltelevision already,now is the time.

“What’s going to happen is it’s going to go static, snowy just coming through there,” says Jake Fimbres with Best Buy in La Quinta about what happens without the switch.

Nationally, about 3 million households are not prepared for the transition, according to a Nielsen survey.

So, are you ready?

If not, here’s what you need to know. There are three ways to make sure you’re not left in the dark. One, buy a digital television set. Those can run you several hundred to thousands of dollars.

Two, get cable service. They do the work for you, but there is a monthly charge.

The third and cheapest option by far is to get a converter box for a one-time charge of about $40and up. It can be offset by a government coupon that subsidizes much of the cost. The install is relatively easy to do and plenty of information is on the internet. But if you don’t consider yourself tech-savvy, there are other options.

“If you purchase the converter box with us, Geek Squad is offering the install for free. Some people feel like it’s a hard process to do…but Geek Squad is going to be able to set it up for free for you,” says Fimbres.

The Geek Squad will also hook up your accessories and answer any questions. The deal lasts until the end of June.

For more details on the DTV switch, visit www.dtvanswers.com.