Some Consumers Keep Old TVs Despite Switch to Digital Signals

Sales of inexpensive converter boxes that allow older televisions to receive digital signals have been strong this year -- a bad omen for sales of new televisions heading into the holidays. Retailers and manufacturers were counting on stronger television sales this year, partly because of the digital changeover, and partly due to the ongoing shift to high-definition sets. But so far, surprising numbers of Americans are sticking with their old TVs and buying converters, which retail for $50 to $75, instead of paying hundreds more for a new television. Analysts say there is growing evidence of oversupply in the U.S. television market, mainly because manufacturers produced a glut of flat-panel sets, but also because nearly every big retailer -- from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to Sears Holdings Corp. to Circuit City Stores Inc. -- stocked up on them before the economy soured.