So it's nuts to cable TV for my family. [View All]

[leeroysphitz]

2 years ago we switched from Comcast cable to a company called Wide Open West (we have a choice in Detroit) we did so because of price. However, we just received notice from W.O.W. of a price increase taking our bill for Internet and BASIC no frills analog cable to 99 MF'ing dollars a month. When I say no frills I mean it. No extras. We didn't even take the cable box so as to avoid the $3.50 box lease.

I called EVERYONE, Comcast, Dish, Direct and these price fixing bastards were all within ten dollars a month of each other. I began to be frustrated. In fact my left eye began to twitch.

Well at that point enough was ENOUGH. I dug out an old pair of 5 dollar rabbit ears and plugged them into our TV. It looked like shit, nearly unwatchable on every station but PBS. I began to fall into an inky black well of despair.

It was at that exact moment that I remembered that this TV of ours (bought last year) had a built in digital (HD) tuner. I also, at this particular moment, remembered reading about how most over the air TV stations were already simulcasting an HD signal. My head hurt from all the remembering but still it gave me an idea.

I plugged the cheap, 5 dollar rabbit ears into the digital coax port on the TV, changed the source setting of my TV to digital and then set that for "antenna" instead of "cable" and promptly wet myself.

It was beautiful, this digital signal we were receiving. wondrous. Like a caterpillar to a butterfly my TV was metamorphosized from an ugly lump of video coal into a glittering rectangular diamond! 37 inches of JOY. The digital signal was PERFECT. No static. No distortion. Nothing but one thousand and eighty interlaced lines of fabulousness. My family gathered around to witness. We stared in wonder and incredulity.

My wife and I looked at each other. We said not a word but she brought me the phone and i gleefully canceled my criminally overpriced cable TV subscription. I did it with a smile. My nipples were hard as I severed those ugly, misbegotten ties and burnt that rickety bridge.

We've since spent 50 dollars (an ironic number in that this is what we are now saving PER MONTH) on a nice Terk amplified antenna. It's more stylish than the rabbit ears and increases the number of stations available to us.

We have access to fewer channels no but so what? we now get 3 PBS streams and most other stations have 2 separate streams. The only draw back I can see is that without the Sci-Fi chanel I'll have to download BSG but I've been doing that anyhow. Also no CSPAN. but I'll live.

So to sum it all up I'm now getting full HD for free and I got a chance to stick it, at least a little , to the man.

I LOVE it too much.