Over the Air HD TV – aka: No More Comcast
Lately I’ve been tossing around the idea of getting rid of my cable TV service, Comcast, and simply not paying for a television feed any longer. Seems like such a waste of money, especially since we don’t really watch that much TV. The kids enjoy cartoons and some of the programming on Nickelodeon! and the Disney channels, and I’ve been known to be a big fan of the History channel. Oh there’s also HGTV that can keep Denise and I engaged for hours. UGH. But since we primarily use our TV for video games and for watching our BluRay and DVD movies, there really is no justified need to keep allowing Comcast deep into my wallet each month. Would it be a drag to lose some of that great programming? Sure, but could our family live without it? Absolutely!
I’ve recently learned that it is entirely possible to get free HD (high definition) programming over the air, using nothing more than a low cost, specialized antenna. Amazing! My older brother Louis introduced me to this in early January and I’ve been intrigued by it ever since. Of course the programming you’ll receive over the air is by and large limited to what you can get from broadcast locations in your local area. That’s good, because I would certainly prefer my local network stations HD feed over a standard resolution, since I can add in an OTA DVR device later to record some of my favorite network TV shows like SNL, CSI and major league baseball games.
So far, it appears you can use inside and outside antennas that vary in prices from $30-$100. The two that I’m drawn to so far are the Terk HDTVa and the Philips High Performance Amplified Indoor Uhf/Vhf/Fm/HDTV Antenna. I really like having an indoor antenna (especially with the high winds around here), and both of these have been highly rated by other buyers. You can mount them in the attic of your home without having to re-adjust the antenna. I’ll make the switch to OTA HD programming within the next month or so and happily say goodbye to Comcast!
I built one like the one described on the link below:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/762088/coat_hanger_hdtv_antenna_better_than_store_bought_amazing/
I found this just by typing in “coathanger antenna” in Google.
It works fantastically well. I put it in the attic and ran the flat ribbon antenna wire down an inside wall and put the converter at an outlet in the wall.
I love History channel too! I know you love other channels too and some of them cannot be viewed over the air HD.
I also understand the need to save money especially in this economy. If you are interested, I can reach out to my contact and check for packages that will lower your monthly bill.
I know we have new low rate packages in different areas. I will be happy to check for your area. If you are willing to provide the phone number associated with the account, I will be happy to assist.
Best Regards,
Mark Casem
Comcast Corp.
National Customer Operations
We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com
That’s great but what if you’re getting your web and phone service through your cable provider? What do you do for your phone and web?
We want to recomend you to check into ATT U-Verse for cable TV. They offer a DVR which you can record 4 shows at the same time. You can view the recorded show from any tv in the house the DVR holds about 133 hours of shows. It cost us about $77. per month and includes internet service.
We had DSL with them for $15 per month the year before U-Verse was in our area. We still pay the same price for higher speed than DSL with this. No contract! We wish we could get it in WA. We have in our Fairfield home. It doesn’t compare to Comcast! Check it out! If you decided to try it, please use our referal code L010657992 and it is under my first name Linda Leach. Our son-in-law, Mike works for the phone division and learned about this years before it was out. Kristina, our oldest daughter lives in that house. She takes care of it for us. We were glad to stop Comcast!