Free Republic

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...

CLEVELAND — Buying an antenna for a high-definition television seems as out of place as using a rotary phone to make a call. But some consumers are spending thousands of dollars on LCD or plasma TVs and hooking them up to $50 antennas that don't look much different from what grandpa had on top of his black-and-white picture tube. They're not doing it for the nostalgia. Local TV channels, broadcast in HD over-the-air, offer superior picture quality over the often-compressed signals sent by cable and satellite TV companies. And the best part? Over-the-air HD is free.