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Radio Shack Fined (October 25, 2007)Fcc.gov: Just as the retailers thought they could safely display the VCRs and TV sets in the stores without the Consumer Alert notices that they're not ATSC capable with a built-in ATSC tuner, the FCC enforcement agents are coming back to stores such as Fry's, Radio Shack, and others to cite such stores for this rule violation. The Consumer Alert notices alert the consumers that the TV and VCR unit being displayed lacks an ATSC tuner, which will be necessary to receive over-the-air broadcasts of the major TV stations after February 16, 2007, the last day the major TV stations can broadcast the old fashioned NTSC analog signals. Several retailers such as Radio Shack were fined in the range of $8,000 to $24,000 this time. Radio Shack failed to display the Consumer Alert notice adjacent to the TV or VCR that contains only an analog (NTSC) and not a digital (ATSC) tuner that is displayed for sale.The Consumer Alert label is required for retailers to display to all TV and VCRs sold after May 25, 2007 that do not include an ATSC tuner (QAM digital cable tuners are nowadays part of the ATSC tuner to receive unscrambled digital cable signals). The Consumer Alert labels are to ensure that consumers do not inadvertently purchase analog-only (NTSC) television equipment without understanding that such devices will not be capable of receiving over-the-air television reception of digital signals after analog broadcasting ends unless connected to a digital-to-analog converter or a digital subscription service. CONSUMER ALERT This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after February 17, 2009, to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nation's transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products. For more information, call the Federal Communications Commission at 1-888-225-5322 (TTY: 1-888-835-5322) or visit the Commission's digital television website at: www.dtv.gov. On May 31, 2007, the Enforcement Bureau issued a Citation to Radio Shack for offering for sale television sets and VCRs that have only an analog (NTSC) tuner without displaying the required Consumer Alert label in close proximity. Afterwards, the Bureau also conducted repeated inspections to Radio Shack's stores and it's website and issued additional Citations for violations in regards to failing to display a Consumer Alert label as required.
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