Free TV!

Over-the-air digital TV has changed the way that many people get their television signal, and I am one of those people. Many of my friends poke fun at me because I receive my TV signal the old fashioned way – an antenna outside on a pole. But this is not your grandfather’s television. Digital TV signals have changed the way over-the-air TV works. Beautiful, clear, high definition television is being broadcast across the same airwaves that TV has always broadcast over, but now it's digital. Also, individual stations can now broadcast multiple “channels” over the wavelengths assigned to them. This means that in most metropolitan area, you will receive many more channels than you would expect. For instance, in the Atlanta metro area, I receive over 60 channels, along with 10 audio only channels that feature digital radio signals. Stations can also include in their signal program information, which can be viewed using the on-screen menu with most televisions. And the greatest thing is that this is all completely free.  When I compare that to 60 or 70 dollars a month for pay TV, I am just fine with what I get to watch on free TV.

Of course, I can’t get HBO or the Discovery Channel on my free TV, but again, for the price I can live without them. I get all the major networks and many of the smaller networks. There are also several independent stations that that feature old movies, etc. I have a 24 hour news channel, a channel that features weather info and the current weather radar, and several shopping channels. And the great thing about all these channels is that they are digital, so that as long as you have a strong enough signal to display the picture, then what you see is crystal clear. With a digital signal, if your signal isn’t strong enough at your location, then there won’t be a picture, or the picture will have pixels that don’t display correctly, but unlike old analog TV, there is never any “snow” or fuzziness to the picture.

It’s very easy to obtain a free digital signal if you live near any metro area that has a television station.Other than a few low power stations, all TV stations are broadcasting in digital. Antennas are relatively inexpensive when you consider that most of the digital stations have moved to UHF stations (channels 14-69). Even though many of these stations still refer to their old channel number, they will actually be broadcasting on another channel. Most people don’t have to worry about this because your digital tuner will ordinarily will take care of this for you. UHF antennas are usually much smaller that the old VHF antennas that we have all seen. Also, many people that live in a metro area will probably be able to use a set top antenna, or install an attic antenna and be able to get excellent reception.

When you live near a major metropolitan area, free over-the-air digital television is a viable alternative to all forms of pay TV. Unless you are absolutely hooked on certain cable channels that simply aren’t available to local markets, you will find that the selection available is quite adequate for the casual TV enthusiast. Long live free TV!