Save a Buck: Flat-Screen Savings

If you think the upcoming Feb. 17 transition to digital television broadcasts means a price hike on new digital-ready TV sets, think again. Prices are predicted to reach new lows this holiday shopping season—with bargains continuing through 2009.

The reason: Production capacity for new TVs reached a peak just as the economy took a dive, resulting in weak consumer spending. With excess inventory, most manufacturers are expected to slash prices as much as 50 percent over previous levels, according to a recent report by the NPD Group’s DisplaySearch, which tracks sales of electronics.

The deals should begin on or before Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving that kicks off the official Christmas shopping season) and continue for months afterward, say analysts.

That’s especially good news for people who currently have analog television sets that receive broadcasts via an outside antenna. Those TVs need a special converter box before the DTV switch, or they won’t work after Feb. 17.

Information is available online about the DTV switch and about government coupons worth $40 toward a converter box. Those who currently subscribe to cable or satellite television, or who already have a digital-ready TV set, will not be affected by the federally mandated transition.

Sid Kirchheimer is the author of Scam-Proof Your Life (AARP/Sterling Books).