Free Tv

One of the big things now is to be able to record what is on tv. Most of your cable providers will rent you a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) so you can record the shows you like (with limitations). Of course your computer can me made to do that also. In fact we made our own DVR with open source software. It is know as Mythtv (http://www.instructables.com/id/Setting-up-a-computer-based-DVR-with-Mythtv-for-l/). I actually have built two of them. One for the one analog (now defunct) tv reception methods and one for the new digital tv reception. Love being able to record a lot of PBS educational media either for later viewing, or just be able to look at again and again.

Cable viewing is getting rather expensive. so we dumped the tv portion of cable. We now use what is know as OTA-TV or Over-the-air tv. It's free!! Your selection is not as great but, since so many people are dropping cable tv, more and more cable stuff is comping to over the air tv.  In fact, cable tv providers are dropping their rates because the of the new competition from OTA-TV. Also we still use analog monitors the media said you did not need anymore. As standalone digital tuners become extinct that will become true that you may not be able to use an analog monitor.  The dtv conversion boxes make this possible. With the price of digital TV's coming down like a rock, we may eventually upgrade.

What are the choices in stations? Well that depends on where you live. We are lucky enough to get over sixty stations. Granted a good portion of those are foreign language stations, but it never hurts to learn a new language with the world as dynamic as it is. You also will probably get a plethora of shows and movies from the past. Considering some of the newer movies, the oldies but goodies are not so bad.  In any case we get enough to provide for our needs.

The over-the-air TV is also called "Antenna TV". Kind of cute. Despite what the advertisements say, there is not really such a thing as a digital tv antenna. That antenna is just a regular antenna.  You do not have to go out and purchase a special antenna. Many people including me have either used the old rabbit ears or made their own antenna. If you research OTA-TV, you will find out that one of the more popular antennas is known as the "Coat hanger antenna" that you can build for almost nothing. To be honest there are quite a few home brew antennas to choose from. Most TV retailers try to downplay the use of the homemade antennas.  You can find some interesting antennas at: 
http://www.instructables.com/id/Dtv-Antennas-I-have-tried/.

To see what tv stations might be available for you, you can go to:

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Welcome.aspx.

or

http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

Here is an example of ota-tv. Not as bad as some people would say...

I took this movie with my camcorder, so there will be a little variation.  Is your cable tv provider still going to be on your payroll?