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Pensioners to get free set-top box

Treasurer Wayne Swan's Budget will announce a scheme to give pensioners free set-top boxes to convert analog television to digital.

It was US president Herbert Hoover who promised Americans a chicken in every pot during the Great Depression.

On Tuesday Treasurer Wayne Swan’s Budget will announce a scheme to give pensioners free set-top boxes to convert analog television to digital.

The $308.8 million scheme will provide a set-top-box for people who qualify for the maximum rate of the age pension, war service pension, carer’s pension or the disability support pension.

The digital switchover began in the Mildura region last year and is being rolled out to metropolitan cities by the end of 2013.

But concerns have been raised following recent natural disasters that the digital switchover could mean pensioners miss out on emergency-services alerts.

Assistance offered in regional areas of NSW, Victoria and South Australia will be extended to cities.

At no cost to eligible households, the Government will supply a set-top box and install it on the person’s analog TV.

“Senior Australians deserved the historic increase in the pension we provided, and they deserve this help to make the switch to digital TV,” Swan said.

“The switch to digital is not always easy, particularly for the elderly, veterans and carers under cost-of-living pressures, so this measure will make sure Australians on maximum-rate pensions aren’t left behind.”

It isn’t initially clear if the scheme provides a digital set-top box in standard or high definition, with some channels such as ONE, 7mate and GEM available to viewers with an HD set top box.

Source: News Limited

51 Responses

  1. ETA – At the start of the year I got a Strong HD STB for $50 works great and has the added benefit of becoming a PVR when you plug in any HDD or thumb drive.

  2. How much of this is, Pensioners can’t afford vs Can’t be bothered vs so out of touch they have no idea what’s going on with this newfangled digital tv the youngsters are always rattling on about.

    A few years back my father went out and had to convince his parents to let him buy them a new tv, a plasma with a built in receiver. They were against it and would have just stuck with their crappy old tv if he didn’t basically end up just buying it for them against their will.
    They of course were then happy with it.
    He offered to get them full foxtel for free. They told him under no circumstances to do that. So he let that go.

    Interesting he was saying how the whole concept of have menus, using arrows to navigate up and down and settings were just completely foreign, like it was another language to them.

    It’d be odd to get so out of touch and stuck in your ways like that. Where the idea of a newer tv is something you’re against.

  3. @Steve – sorry but some pensioners can barely afford to feed them selves let alone the money for a STB.

    IMO the government should give those covered a voucher with $X value to go to the local retailer of their choice and buy the STB of their choice or use the money to put against getting a new HD TV if their old TV is about to crap out. No point spending money on a STB if their old TV dies the following week.

    And I agree the retails should only be selling HD and not SD TVs or STB, especially to those who may not have an understanding of the difference. I did notice the other day at BigW they were finally not selling analogue CRT TVs.

  4. In fringe areas, Pensioners will need more than a STB. Digital TV needs a decent signal and is more prone to impulse interference (pixilation). They’ll need a new aerial for the digital channels and a new Quad core downlead. Can”t watch Parliament otherwise. IMO give the Pensioners the money and let them decide how to spend it. Those in Hostels or Nursing Homes could have a banquet instead.

  5. I realise this story has come directly from New Ltd however this has been in place for well over a year now and the rollout is well underway. I don’t know why it has become news now. And yes, Centrelink is involved in the rollout.

  6. surely they would have to give them HD boxes there are roughly the same price as SD boxes come to think of it SD boxes and pvrs should not be allowed on the maket because people who dont know to much about digital tv might think that they are the same

  7. What a wasted option, why not just provide a new LCD tv for the pensioners. You can easily get a 32 inch tv for under $400, that would cover around 772000 households.

  8. Yes, this is what pensioner’s need. Now they can watch the extra channels even if they can’t afford to eat or pay the bills. Well done to this government – they never fail to astound me with how stupid and out of touch they really are!

  9. typical labor party hand out to those on welfare and make everyone else who works pay for it
    why cant people just buy their own box they are about $50

  10. Of course the Government should give out HD set top boxes. They are quite affordable now – around $70 for a small, basic model, with several brands to choose from (e.g. Grundig, DGTEC, Wintal). The price is expected to drop even further with new models gradually becoming available. The Government has to manage the giveaway better than its botched home insulation scheme though. Perhaps Centrelink (which pays out the pensions) can get involved.

  11. Set top boxes are a waste of time and money. It’s probably cheaper to give pensioners etc that don’t have pay tv a new hd 32″ tv and those who have pay tv get nothing.

  12. Isn’t this just a confirmation of what was promised 1 or 2 years ago? ie. that if you didn’t have an STB (HD by default) already, that people in those categories would get
    one for free – or was that just initially for Mildura residents? Can’t quite recall after all
    of this time… 🙂

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