Sears set to sell DTVPal converters

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. Sears has announced that in preparation for the transition to digitial television on Feb. 17, 2009, it will sell the DTVPal(TM) digital-to-analog converter box by DISH Network in 511 of its stores and at 194 Sears Dealer stores.

The DTVPal converter boxes are eligible for the TV Converter Box Coupon Program and are priced at $59.99. The DTVPal is one of the few boxes that has analog pass-through. It also has a setup wizard, electronic program guide with up to seven days of program listings, parental controls, program search, auto tune timers for program recording on a connected VCR, closed caption support and signal strength screen pop-ups that can troubleshoot lost signals.

"The DTVPal by DISH Network is one of the highest-rated digital-to-analog converter boxes on the market, and we are thrilled to be able to offer it at Sears--a trusted and quality-driven national retailer," said Tom Stingley, evp of sales and distribution for DISH Network. "Now the DTVPal is even more accessible to consumers across the country, and at $19.99 with a government coupon, the value of our feature-rich box beats other converter boxes, hands down."

Sears has been approved by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to participate in the TV Converter Box Coupon Program and has been selling converter boxes in all of its stores since April 2008.