CUT-THE-CABLE.COM

I’ve been a big fan of the DTV conversion ever since it happened a little over a year ago, even taking into account that I had already CUT-THE-CABLE from Comcast months before it occurred.  We had to go out and buy converter boxes to make our old analog TV sets work with the new digital signal, and we had to cross our fingers and hope that our analog TV antenna would work just as well as a new antenna designed for DTV and HDTV.  We didn’t mind that too much.  We had the government rebate coupons to work with and we picked up a few low end converters which ended up costing us $10 each after the rebate.  We got lucky with our antenna.  The results for me and many others have been extraordinary.

Before the conversion I was able to receive a total of 11 channels (4 on VHS and 7 on UHF) with varying degrees of reception quality.  Now that we have DTV over the air, I’m getting 44 channels all with CRYSTAL CLEAR pictures…better than cable!  “How can this be” you ask?  It because with DTV, you are getting the signal directly from the source.  With cable TV, your local channels are filtered and compressed before they are re-transmitted which will ALWAYS result in an inferior picture.  Watch this video that was created right before the DTV conversion occurred which still holds true for today and it will explain more.

Pretty interesting stuff, huh?  As I mentioned earlier, I have an old-school directional antenna mounted to the rafters inside my attic which is doing the job just fine for me.  However, I have some friends that weren’t as lucky in the antenna department and others that live in multi-family dwellings that didn’t have that option to start with.

The most cost-effective solution is an indoor smart antenna.  Ever since the DTV conversion, antenna technology has exponentially improved.  Now these SMART antennas have been designed to be OMNI DIRECTIONAL antennas, meaning that no manual adjustment is required and some of them contain algorithms to essentially FOCUS on the signal and filter out interference.

Terk Flat Antenna

This particular design is essentially flat which allows you to sit it on a surface or mount it on a wall, or even hide it behind a wall hanging.  My friends that are using this antenna say they have never seen pictures this clear before.  This DTV multi-directional antenna picks up both High Definition and Standard Definition signals from your local broadcasters.  My friends selected this particular one because of its low cost and because it was a signal amplifying antenna.  The plan was that if it didn’t work they would return it and go the next level up until they found one that did the trick.  Well, there was no need to go any further for them…this one is doing the job.

The other thing you need to know about shopping for an antenna is that you can’t rely on reviews from individuals because no two people have the same operating conditions.  They could be different distances from the broadcast stations, or have things between them and the station that interfere with the signal.  In the case of antennas in general, the only reviews that I would give any merit to are the once conducted by an independent lab in a controlled environment, kind of like what Consumer Report does.  This particular HDTV antenna has exceptional reviews and my personal experiences from seeing it in action at my friends’ places, but the bottom line is that it is your individual conditions that will determine if it will work for your application.

Give it a try.  If it works for you then you got a great product at a great price and you can send me buck for helping you out (*wink*), otherwise send it back and dust off your wallet a bit for the next level up, like the RCA Digital Flat Amplified Antenna with Easel Stand or the RCA ANT806 Indoor/Outdoor Digital TV Antenna.

Here’s another whole page of HDTV antennas at excellent prices.  I’ll keep throwing them up here as I find them.  Just pick one…you can’t go wrong.

No matter which one you choose, it will be yours.  You will OWN it.  There will be no monthly rental fees to pay for obsolete equipment leased from Comcast.  There will be no subscription fees to enjoy FREE DIGITAL TV over the air which is superior to anything that Comcast can provide.  There will be no more bills to decipher with miscellaneous fees and taxes that come and go at will when you eventually decide to CUT-THE-CABLE!

All you need now is a DTV tuner and you’ve turned that flat panel monitor in your car into live HDTV on-the-go!

Enjoy!