Posted on 12/06/2010 4:30:13 PM PST by brityank
Rabbit Ears Perk Up for Free HDTV
Julie and Anthony Bayerl of St. Paul, Minn., love watching prime-time shows on the sleek 50-inch television in their bedroom. They also love that they pay nothing for the programming.
The only thing they do not love is how a low-flying plane, heavy rain or just a little too much movement in the room can wipe out the picture.
If someone is changing in there, it messes up your reception, said Ms. Bayerl, a legislative assistant. We try to stay very still when we watch television.
The Bayerls are using an old technology that some people are giving a second chance. They pull free TV signals out of the air with the modern equivalent of the classic rabbit-ear antenna.
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My husbands best friend thinks were big dorks for having rabbit ears and not cable, Ms. Bayerl said. But when their introductory price for cable TV and Internet access expired this year and the bill soared to $150, the couple halved it by cutting TV. It wasnt something we were willing to pay for, she said.
Many pay TV customers are making the same decision. From April to September, cable and satellite companies had a net loss of about 330,000 customers. Craig Moffett, a longtime cable analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein, said the consensus of the industry executives he had talked to was that most of these so-called cord-cutters were turning to over-the-air TV. It looks like theyre leaving for the antenna, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Once they all leave home :-D
Digital tv is a mystery. First- the LOCAL channels are usually ‘no or weak signal’, while Telemundo and AlJazeera news are always perfect.
Second-WHY is an ‘improvement’ worse than old time analog tv? And why did analog need to be ‘freed up’- for what?
TV worked fine since it’s birth, now you’re lucky to see an un-pixelated channel. Miserable- usually not worth watching- and its always the program you want most to see that is screwy.
And——question— when free digital tv is obsolete, will we all be FORCED to pay for tv or do without? Another way for the government to control the mass media.
Digital tv is a mystery. First- the LOCAL channels are usually ‘no or weak signal’, while Telemundo and AlJazeera news are always perfect.
Second-WHY is an ‘improvement’ worse than old time analog tv? And why did analog need to be ‘freed up’- for what?
TV worked fine since it’s birth, now you’re lucky to see an un-pixelated channel. Miserable- usually not worth watching- and its always the program you want most to see that is screwy.
And——question— when free digital tv is obsolete, will we all be FORCED to pay for tv or do without? Another way for the government to control the mass media.
A couple of years ago I disconnected my cable and set up the DTV to watch ther world series games and the picture was actually clearer.
TV as we have known it will go away before too many more years. It will be replaced by the internet.
I'm sort of behind times (60+ years young) and just discovered Hulu this morning. Looks pretty neat though. What am I missing. Is it really too good to be only $7.95/ month & can I get movies as well as Fox news? Sorry but I'm a little skeptical. I also couldn't survive without Fox News in such a liberal world.
I looked at the verbiage behind one of the teaser rates I got from Verizon, and found their 2 year $50 Basic rate would increase to about $135 or whatever the prevailing rate was at that time. The ‘free’ add-ons timed out in 90 days, then you paid full fare to continue at whatever rate they didn’t say. Suspect a lot of folks are PO’d but probably unwilling to drop their ‘vast wasteland’.
We live next to some tracks, and it gets a really nice picture until a train goes by.
I don’t know if you’ve tried it already, but if you go to the dtv.gov website, you can get more details regarding reception of digital signals.
It also has a ‘reception maps’ link which will show you the signal strength of nearby channels specific to your location and recommend the best type of antenna to purchase.
There are wireless blue ray dvd players that will send your computer signal to your TV. Check out nexflix and HULU ... between those options and an antenna you might be pleasantly surprised.
I love the broadcast HDTV. Haven’t had CATV in years.
Wabbit Ears here too!
Are you using an indoor or outdoor antenna? If outdoor how high is it? If indoor, have you tried placing it near a Window? Are you on the side of the house most of the antennas in your area are located?
It actually is. I read that going through the cable breaks down the digital (or something like that)
Are you using an indoor or outdoor antenna? If outdoor how high is it? If indoor, have you tried placing it near a Window? Are you on the side of the house most of the antennas in your area are located?
Live in a condominium. So I’d use an indoor antenna and yes it does get better reseption if its closer to the windows.
Your antenna and cable can make a lot of difference.
Links that can help:
http://iwvtvbooster.org/receiving.html
An indoor antenna does not works as well as an outdoor antenna. Closer to a window is better. If you can get some cable and coupler or two, you could try sticking your antenna on the porch, or mount a small outdoor antenna permanently on the porch.
The FCC rules for mounting an outdoor antenna are below. Your Condo association cannot prohibit you from having an antenna on your porch.
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html
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