I feel like starting a movement!! Cut your cables!! Take down your dish!! HD IS FREE!!!!
We are finally free from the cable companies and satellite providers- FOREVER! Are you trying to trim your expenses too? How much do you pay for television each month? Couldn't you use that money somewhere else?
It all started for our family a few months ago when we purchased a travel trailer for camping. Right away, my husband wanted to get a little flat screen for our roughin' it adventures. We talked with our neighbor who works with custom sound and television installation on boats. He told us to make sure our new TV had a special kind of tuner- an ATSC tuner to be exact (you many want to right that down). Not all new TVs come with one and we would need that to get the most channels on our new TV.
Next we would brain storm on how to get an additional dish for the camper and how to mount it, did we need to get another receiver, etc. RIGHT AWAY we were figuring on adding another bill for TV service for the camper! Well, we took the camper out for it's maiden voyage, went to Walmart and got a nifty little flat screen with the ATSC tuner. My husband played most of the afternoon at camp with the TV. We put up the antenna to see all the channels available out there....ok, set the channel scan....WHOA! 55 channels!?! Over the air?! We couldn't believe it! How much fun would camping be with 55 channels to peruse! haha We watched a little Divorce Court and turned the TV off in exchange for some wholesome camp-type stuff.
Once we got home from our first trip, my husband was in the camper right away to see how many channels we got at home with the camper's antenna and new TV. While we only get about 35 channels at home, because of our east-coast location, but we were still amazed. Now, you are probably remembering those found fuzzy channel memories of the past, right? Those days are gone! All local channels are required by law to broadcast- OVER AIR- in digital format by Feb 2009. ALL of our local channels already are! Not only are we receiving digital broadcast (the kind you pay EXTRA for from your cable or dish company), but prime time shows and some others come in in HD!! High Definition! Of course, we had to buy the HD TV to get the HD picture.
So now, we have purchased a new TV for the living room and cancelled our contract w/ the dish company at it's year end (check to see when your contact is up) in February. In one year's time, no cable bills pays for our new TV! Don't want to get a new TV? No problem! The government is required to issue vouchers for a box that will enable your old tube tv or whatever to receive the new digital broadcast!! We have ordered our vouchers but have not yet received them (to use on our old tv that is getting dusty in the corner).
Apply for your vouchers here and find our more information about the DTV revolution!
Every week we are getting new channels added! FOR FREE!!! Every local station has it's own 24 hour weather station too!
For example...channel 5 is the old fuzzy channel, channel 5.1 is the new digital channel, channel 5.2 is their 24 hr weather station. Some channels even have a .4 with a sister station on it. I am telling you, this is WONDERFUL! We are back to watching network television at it's finest. Sure, we miss a few channels and shows on cable (Discover, Bravo, Speed, Noggin, etc), but not that bad. There is even a really awesome kids channel we get now called QUBO.
The picture above is our antenna on our roof. Our neighbor had it laying around and tossed it over the fence for us. We used our old satellite dish pole to mount it even- how easy is that? Wait until we get the supped up antenna...can't wait to see how many channels we get then.
Are you using the free airwaves yet??? No one we know is!
;)
;)
