Another TV question:

[Dick]

How many of you out there still use an antenna for your TV reception? Of all the people I know, I'm the only one who does. Everyone else is paying for cable or satilite. I know there are some good programs on cable but I just can't see paying the price to watch TV. I get 23 channels with my antenna and of the 23 only about 5 are worth watching. But it's free. I would rather spend the money on a good internet connection than TV anyway.
 

[mozark1]

Same here, I get 14 channels, I could get a couple more if I put in an amp. I would like the Discovery channel, History channel, and maybe an old movie channel, but its not worth what you have to pay to get those.
 

[paul]

Sounds right to me.

My 15 year old antennea or the coax coming down musta went bad, I am missing ABC, which also had ME, THIS, ANTENNEA, and some other. Those were about the best - reruns from 30-40 uears ago....

Gotta go check the roof, but a little warmer day....

--->Paul
 

[hanovertom]

I have never had cable, only over the air. We get CBS, NBC,ABC, Fox and PBS plus several others. Occasionally there is something on cable(like VCU Basketball tonight) that I can not get, but will listen on radio and read about tomorrow. Maybe I am cheap, but why should I pay to watch something AND pay to see the commercials!
 

[Dick2]

I put up a fairly large antenna when we lived 60 miles from the transmitters and pulled in 30 some channels from Phoenix and Tucson stations. We moved to about 12 miles from the transmitters and pull in 70 channels with just a small antenna on the back wall of the house.

Whenever we are where there is cable, we go around 150 - 200 channels and can't find anything that we want to watch, so we certainly wouldn't pay money to have that kind of TV. We don't like the over abundance of re-runs and old black and white movies that are on cable.

We receive the pure digital signals broadcast by the stations, not signals that have been compressed and then expanded like cable or satelite.
 

[big fred]

We have antenna only at our vacation home. We get one channel, Riverside County PBS. About the only thing worth watching is Huell Howser, so we use our teevee mostly for DVDs. No internet.
 

[ss55]

I put up a TV antenna and dropped cable TV about five years ago. It paid for itself in four months.

If you have a good internet connection you can still stream most popular cable and over-the-air TV shows from the original broadcasters' websites. You just have to watch the original commercials that were broadcast with the show.

Other good sites for movies & TV are:
tv.com (free)
hulu.com (free)
netflix.com ($10/month for streaming)
A Roku box has access to many more free TV and movie sites. Some Blu-Ray players do too.

Most colleges and many high school sports teams stream free live radio broadcast of their major ball games.
 

[Indiana Ken]

I use an antenna. With the big switch to digital I had to upgrade to an amplified antenna - it is no big deal and sits on top of a cabinet in the kitchen. I get 4 - 5 stations and several versions of each. I use the TV to watch the news if there is something that interests me. Last time the TV was on was several months back.

The radio works for me - you can listen and get something done at the same time.
 

[DiyDave]

Down at the shop, I put up one of Radio shak's outdoor digital antennas, for $ 50 bucks, I get about 50 channels. Most of the time, it's just like cable. nothin worth watchin! My favorite is ME tv channel, with all the old reruns!
 

[Fawteen]

I'm so far out in the puckerbrush that antennas are just not an option.

Even back in Analog days, I was in a fringe area and counted myself lucky to get The Big Three and PBS.

Now that it's all digital, it's a no-go.

If it wasn't for SWMBO, I wouldn't even have satellite. I can get all the news I need on the 'net, and with movie rentals at least you have SOME choice.
 

[Gambles]

We used to have satellite TV, but the bill slowly crept up to about $80 a month and we didn't subscribe to any premium channels, such as HBO, Showtime, or Cinemax and we didn't buy any movies either. Our kids used to watch some stupid, mindless shows that were geared down to the mentality of a 6 year old. We stopped paying for satellite, put up an antenna and just watch broadcast TV or occasionally a DVD. The kids whined for about a week, but then started reading books and doing more homework. My daughter got high enough grades that she is getting a free ride to a state university school. My oldest son, a junior in high school, scored high enough on the ACT that he gets about 5 offers every week from colleges.
I will admit that I miss my Monday Night Football, but it's a small price to pay.
 

[Bob in Oakboro]

I have used an antenna for about 7 years. Since tv went digital the picture has been much better. Only get 6 channels. But they are HD channels. Very little sports, but I do get the evening news.
 

[Samuels68]

We still have antenna tv, or as my friends call it "amish TV." With an amplified antenna in the upstairs bedroom we can get about 16 channels, but only get about 10 down in the living room with no amplifier. Neighbor with a rooftop claims to get 50, but I can't quite believe that one.
 

[Ultradog MN]

Great post Gambles.
Thanks.
 

[PJH]

We have an old ratty outside antenna. No cable or satellite. We turn the weather on in the morning, then right back off, sometimes weather again at noon to see if anything has changed, and then about 10 PM to see it once more, just like it might make some kind of difference. I have to admit that we like to watch the Columbo re-runs, and some show about a guy named Monk, but as far as I'm concerned, the rest is mindless drivel. We had satellite for a few years until we finally realized it was nothing but trash. One of my main gripes about cable/satellite TV was there's always some smart a$$ telling you how to think. I like to think for myself, without anyone else’s influence.