Some of the stories here are really wild.

I canceled my satellite service when I bought a used Sony WEGA TV in February. It is a big 34" CRT High Definition set with an ATSC (digital) tuner and more jacks on the back than I will ever use. I got it for $400 from the original owner who paid almost $2000 for it 3 years prior. It is still a reference standard for picture quality - Google the fact. They are a good deal if you want a really good but heavy television. The weight is only an issue when moving it but how often do we move our TVs around? Especially the big ones. Sound quality is really good - it has a speaker and a tweeter on either side up front with a built in sub woofer somewhere in the back. It has a built in surround sound decoder but needs to be connected to a system for full 5.1. It has every bell and whistle and has proved to me that the quality of the set makes the difference. You can find them all over Craig's list.

The hi def signal I get over the air (OTA) blows away cable, satellite and fiber from what I have seen. I don't think I would go back to "for fee" TV again as the digital signals are killer. I also have a digital receiver that I bought for another TV in the house and while experimenting around found I could actually pull in some of the more obscure stations with the external receiver. It doesn't give me hi def but I bypass it when I feel a need for that.

As far as an antenna is concerned - toss the rabbit ears. You need an antenna designed to pick up UHF signals and rabbit ears won't accomplish that unless you live within a mile or less from a broadcast tower. You can use an existing roof antenna or purchase one of several models found on the internet as either will work fine. I found some antenna designs on the internet, modified them and built my own. I live in the DC area and can pick up stations as far away as Baltimore or Richmond.

The digital receiver I bought is an RCA model I obtained using one of the $40 government credit cards meant for that purpose. I chose that model as it is designed to be used with a smart antenna if I choose to in the future. My field is electrical engineering which eventually led to working with RF and antennas - I won't go into a long diatribe of what that antenna design is. I understand the science and it was attractive to me. It might to some others as well.

There are no nightmares involved with DTV. I receive 24 hour a day weather stations from the each of the large stations that represent the big 3 networks and other sub channels within their frequencies that include some of the stuff I used to get on satellite. The plethora of PBS stations are better as well. It was mentioned above that electrical storms knock out satellite. It will interfere with DTV as well but recovers much faster. DTV is also ahead of satellite in terms of broadcast timing. I have learned this through telephone conversations with friends watching the same programs as me on their satellite systems. I think the same holds true for cable.

All in all it was well worth it as I now pocket the money I used to pay out to the overpriced television providers. Compare your monthly TV bill to your food and gasoline expenditures. Ask yourself this question and be totally honest. "How much TV do I actually need at my disposal?"
I don't get CNN, FOX news, MSNBC or other big news networks but I do watch network and local news. CBS, NBC and ABC are still the best bang for my buck. If I need movies I get DVDs.

Free DTV rules.

Learn more about this author, Kevin L'dux.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about The conversion to digital TV from analog TV?
We want to hear your view. Write now!