Second biggest con job ever: ObamaCare.
Posted on 08/03/2017 5:04:40 PM PDT by RightGeek
Cord-cutters accustomed to watching shows online are often shocked that $20 ‘rabbit ears’ pluck signals from the air; is this legal?
“I was just kind of surprised that this is technology that exists,” says Mr. Sisco, 28 years old. “It’s been awesome. It doesn’t log out and it doesn’t skip.”
Let’s hear a round of applause for TV antennas, often called “rabbit ears,” a technology invented roughly seven decades ago, long before there was even a cord to be cut, which had been consigned to the technology trash can along with cassette tapes and VCRs.
The antenna is mounting a quiet comeback, propelled by a generation that never knew life before cable television, and who primarily watch Netflix , Hulu and HBO via the internet. Antenna sales in the U.S. are projected to rise 7% in 2017 to nearly 8 million units, according to the Consumer Technology Association, a trade group.
Mr. Sisco, an M.B.A. student in Provo, Utah, made his discovery after inviting friends over to watch the Super Bowl in 2014. The online stream he found to watch the game didn’t have regular commercials—disappointing half of his guests who were only interested in the ads.
“An antenna was not even on my radar,” he says. He went online and discovered he could buy one for $20 and watch major networks like ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS free.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
YES!
It’s like showing up to tutor the kids in science, bringing along your slide rule. After they get over the “what’s that” phase, their amazement rises when you can beat them and their calculator at getting the answer. A stick with numbers on it that does multiplication and division?? Get out!!!
Unless you still have a “picture tube” TV from before 2002 or so your TV will have a digital tuner (ATSC). And BTW there is no such thing as a “digital antenna”...your old outside Winegard or Rat Shack or Channel Master will work fine for digital “off-air” TV.
http://www.channelmaster.com
http://antennatv.tv
http://www.tvfool.com
My dad was a Marine radioman in WW II, so he really knew his way around TV innards in the 50s and 60s. Like your Dad, he had a pile of tubes. He even changed out the big momma of them all, the PICTURE TUBE! I remember around age 5 or 6 he showed me how to discharge the capacitors so you don’t kill yourself. I was scared to death one of us was going to get it - poof! Up in a wisp of smoke.
How many today have even heard of the “picture tube”?
I went and bought a HD antenna for 20.00 it does work but I live so far from the stations i can only pick up maybe 4 channels and they are not too clear. Where i live you need an antenna up high off the ground to receive good signals..
Second biggest con job ever: ObamaCare.
We just took one of those down off our roof a week ago. Had it on craigs list for a week, breaking it up for the trash now.
Depends on how old your TV is. If it is more than 7 years old, you may well need a converter. They should run $50 - 70 new; or find someone who got one but now uses a digital flat screen and they’ll probably let you have one for free.
Depending on how far you are from the towers, you may need either an antenna with a built in booster (starting about $25 and going up from there) or a stronger in-line booster.
Actually, newer TVs do have digital tuners, but several years back, many of the newer flat screens didn’t have tuners, so a convertor box was required. We bought a Panasonic 32” about 10-12 years ago and it was cable ready, but didn’t have a tuner. The last two I bought, including a little 24” Samsung that I paid $99 for, have tuners. I think they were making them without tuners right before the digital transition, since you would need a convertor either way.
In my opinion, “free” TV is worth every penny you pay for it, with the exception of the occasional sporting event.
Growing up in the country we had three antenna channels. We still do the free antenna, using a Terk antenna that amplifies signal. Paid around $10 for it on eBay. Near Dallas we got around 20 stations, near Philadelphia we get around 10. No cable, we cut the cord years ago and don’t miss it.
Yep. They did a good job of baiting the hook with promises of constantly clear reception, many more channels, premium stuff like HBO and even 24/7 news. It all seemed like a worthwhile improvement.
Alas, they were just ramping-up the bread and circuses.
What other channels are available? (If you want to pay to read the entire article.)
Yep...exactly.
If you are in the mountains, it may be that there is nothing that you can do, but a cheap 15 dB in line booster might help,(or a more expensive, more powerful one, even more so).
Integration killed the water fountain.
If you are withing 40-50 miles of the stations, I would recommend the MOHU Leaf or one of the cheaper knockoffs. The Leaf is an amplified antenna, which is about a foot square and about as thick as a couple of sheets of paper. Hang it up and put your TV through a station search and you’d be surprised at the number of HD stations you’ll find. I have a small TV in the computer room and I get 9 stations through the leaf hanging in the window.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.