TV ANTENNA - Almost time to take down

The FCC is getting ready to auction off the rights to the 700 mHz frequency many of us grew up on watching tv before cable and satellite was available. I could be wrong but I believe sometime in 2009 all broadcasts are required to be digital and not analog by that time. So this could also mean that the face of wireless communications could possibly take a drastic turn depending on who wins the bid and the amount of money the want to spend putting up towers and creating an infrastructure.

I guess they didn't bother to take a survey of households that can't afford cable or satellite and rely on rabbit ears or an external antenna to get local programming. Typical government!

Google and Verizon at this point seem to show the most interest in the auction so far. Time will tell.

 

 

 

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Feb. 17, 2009 is the proposed date. Here's a url with some FAQ's about the whole thing: http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html#whatisdate
— tndaisy1960
You can get HD over the air without cable. A friend of mine does it and it works real well.TV is not a God-given right. Government has no business making it easier for people to afford TV. That being said, they are giving away converter boxes to the tune of a billion dollars to make it easier for the folks who can't afford a new TV set.Quite frankly, if you can't afford a new TV set and it means that much to you, figure out how to make more money or save some of what you're making. Just like if you were buying something else you couldn't exactly afford. It's not the government's responsibility to do that.
— PhoneBoy
Glad to hear that. I still have an old antenna attached to the house. We are far enough away...separated by hills and trees...from decent reception. So we pay for quasi-local programming from DirecTV.
As far as HD in general goes, I could really care less. I really can't see the difference. I forgot about the convertor box deal though. Hopefully the auction will offset that cost to the taxpayers.
Without the convertor box, I personally would resist the idea of beng forced to purchace a tv to replace a working tv to continue doing something I have done almost my entire life.
— TechZilla
The problem is that most "HD" programs aren't really HD--they are just upscaled from standard def. Watch shows on something like HDnet, which contains nothing but true HD programs. Proper HD programming looks fantastic.That being said, I'm not intending on buying a new HDTV until I am forced to, either by the death of a TV, or because the TVs I have suddenly becomes useless. By then I suspect HDTVs will be a bit more reasonably priced.
— PhoneBoy