Digital TV conversion isn't creating a lot of waves

Earlier this year, just before President Obama approved a four-month postponement of the conversion from Feb. 17 to June 12, the center was deluged with questions, Clark said. There's a chance that people will call back when their screens go blank over the weekend. But Clark said it was more likely that patrons had their act together, thanks to constant reminders in the center's newsletters and brochures.

"I'm surprised that we didn't get more questions," she said.

Jana O'Leary, a spokeswoman for Target Corp., said that though sales of converters exceeded the company's expectations, stores still had many on hand Friday afternoon.

At a Best Buy store in Glendale, customers showed up early. Edna Chan swung by to pick up a converter box for her mother, 81-year-old Chiyeko Naito.

"My mom called me and asked me to pick up a box for her and set it up," said Chan, 51. "She knew the deadline was today. I think the majority of people who aren't prepared today are the elderly. And not everyone has someone to help them."

By midday, however, demand tapered off, and the store relocated a pallet of converter boxes from its morning spot by the front door to a walkway display inside.

"I didn't expect this many customers to show up this early," said Art Taylor, a store manager, who said the majority of the buyers were elderly. "We haven't had anybody come in with their arms up saying, 'My TV doesn't work, my TV doesn't work,' " he said.

But Geek Squad, Best Buy's home set-up service, has been busier than usual, Taylor said.

Geek Squad is offering to hook up the converter boxes free, even if the customer didn't buy the box at Best Buy, he said.

"In the last week or two it might have taken us two days to get out to someone once they call us," Taylor said. "We're still busy, but it's slowing down a little bit, and we're getting to people within a day."

The conversion may prove a boon for TV sales, as consumers like Richard Rivera opt to skip the converter box and upgrade their home entertainment systems. The 79-year-old retired trucker was at a RadioShack store in Santa Ana on Friday shopping for a digital television, a combination VCR and DVD player and a universal remote control.

"It'd be easier to just buy a new TV and rig it up rather than trying to get the old one to work," he said. "I don't want to deal with the converter box."