I have been doing some research on the new free digital TV that will be broadcast starting February 17, 2009 throughout the United States. That means free TV without paying a cable bill. To learn all about this, go to the Radio Shack website: http://www.radioshack.com/home/index.jsp then select Research Library and then Learn About DTV. (You may have to copy these web addresses and paste them into you browser. I keep getting Active X Error message when I try clicking directly from email).
To get free digital TV, you need an antenna and digital TV set. If you don’t have a new digital TV you can use your old analog TV with a converter box. The converter box will change the digital signal to an analog signal for the old TV set. All of this is now available. There are stations now broadcasting free digital TV and you can buy digital TV sets for as low as $150 (Best Buy) http://www.bestbuy.com/ (Select Television then Tube TV) and an omnidirectional antenna for $60 (Radio Shack) http://www.radioshack.com/home/index.jsp and a converter box for $60 (Radio Shack). In addition, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce is giving out 2 free $40 coupons per household for the purchase of a converter box. You just have to apply online at: https://www.dtv2009.gov/ . There is a high demand for the coupons and the present wait time is about 30 days.
I have a new digital TV and a directional antenna in my RV Travel Trailer and presently I can receive 23 digital stations and 21 analog stations without being attached to the cable company. After February 2009 I won’t receive any more analog stations but will receive more digital stations as they come online.
To find out more about how to select an antenna, go to the web site http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx
Here you will see that the antenna types are color coded to designate whether they are omni directional or single directional as well as the distance of the sending station. If you type in your address at this site, you get a map of your street area and the optimal directions to orient your directional antenna to receive the best signal. You need to select the stations you would like to receive the most to determine what type antenna to choose and which direction you need to turn it. For stations that are nearby, you can instead select an omnidirectional antenna that does not have to be turned and will receive signals from nearby stations in any direction.
Before you cancel you cable subscription, make sure that the free digital TV stations are the ones you want to watch. There are no premium stations (HBO, Cinemax, etc.) on free digital TV. Also, do your homework to make sure that the free digital stations are available in your area. Decide if you are going to put the antenna inside your apartment or outside on your roof? You also need an additional converter box for each TV set, VCR or DVD device that receives a direct TV signal.
To get free digital TV, you need an antenna and digital TV set. If you don’t have a new digital TV you can use your old analog TV with a converter box. The converter box will change the digital signal to an analog signal for the old TV set. All of this is now available. There are stations now broadcasting free digital TV and you can buy digital TV sets for as low as $150 (Best Buy) http://www.bestbuy.com/ (Select Television then Tube TV) and an omnidirectional antenna for $60 (Radio Shack) http://www.radioshack.com/home/index.jsp and a converter box for $60 (Radio Shack). In addition, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce is giving out 2 free $40 coupons per household for the purchase of a converter box. You just have to apply online at: https://www.dtv2009.gov/ . There is a high demand for the coupons and the present wait time is about 30 days.
I have a new digital TV and a directional antenna in my RV Travel Trailer and presently I can receive 23 digital stations and 21 analog stations without being attached to the cable company. After February 2009 I won’t receive any more analog stations but will receive more digital stations as they come online.
To find out more about how to select an antenna, go to the web site http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx
Here you will see that the antenna types are color coded to designate whether they are omni directional or single directional as well as the distance of the sending station. If you type in your address at this site, you get a map of your street area and the optimal directions to orient your directional antenna to receive the best signal. You need to select the stations you would like to receive the most to determine what type antenna to choose and which direction you need to turn it. For stations that are nearby, you can instead select an omnidirectional antenna that does not have to be turned and will receive signals from nearby stations in any direction.
Before you cancel you cable subscription, make sure that the free digital TV stations are the ones you want to watch. There are no premium stations (HBO, Cinemax, etc.) on free digital TV. Also, do your homework to make sure that the free digital stations are available in your area. Decide if you are going to put the antenna inside your apartment or outside on your roof? You also need an additional converter box for each TV set, VCR or DVD device that receives a direct TV signal.
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