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Old 23-Mar-2011, 2:42 PM   #21
suzanrush
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How can we spread this good tv news?

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. (Albert Einstein)
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Old 23-Mar-2011, 2:51 PM   #22
suzanrush
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Agreed, 500 channels of compressed fuzzy pic, crapola. Brain-rot.

What worries me is that I enjoy 9 channels of commercial-free, HD/digital which amounts to over half of my free antenna tv. If that ends, I'll be one unhappy gal ... no, I'll just be more fit because I won't be sitting on the couch as much. It's all good. All is well, no matter what happens. Thankfully, my life doesn't depend on free tv. Either way, I'll never pay for it - ever. I've said from the beginning (70s) that it's criminal that they charge for this horrible crap. And it continues to deteriorate in quality.

If only people knew the truth about these greedy criminals ... which includes our government that doesn't work for us, "we the people."
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Old 26-Mar-2011, 8:22 PM   #23
scott784
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Yes, everyone should consider the type of antenna first. Otherwise, it's like putting the cart before the horse.

As for OTA going away, I agree it won't happen, at least in the short term. However, broadcasters are being forced to rethink their business models.

Everyone needs to realize the importance of OTA television. Even if a viewer chooses to watch cable or satellite, it must be recognized that OTA provides at least some checks on the ever rising prices of paid television.

Consider this thought. If OTA television were to be eliminated in the future, paid/subscribed viewers would be that much more vulnerable to price increases from their cable or satellite providers. That scenario is one that I highly doubt the vast majority have considered or thought about.

Simply put, OTA broadcasting benefits everyone whether an individual uses a paid service or not.

Last edited by scott784; 26-Mar-2011 at 8:37 PM.
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Old 26-Mar-2011, 8:41 PM   #24
GroundUrMast
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I'm not a politician, artist, doctor or even one of the cool kids. I'm just an old guy with some experience with some technology. Getting everyone to join the battle against cable and satellite companies seems like a hill I don't want to climb, certainly not die on. I spread the word about OTA TV when the opportunity presents. I show friends, family and neighbors what is available over the air and trust them to choose what's best for them.

I'm sure I'm guilty of engineering an atomic clock when I'm asked, "what time is it?"

I think it would be unhelpful and discouraging to simply tell people to get the biggest, most powerful antenna, so I'll keep trying to answer both the direct questions and offer some information that fills in apparent knowledge gaps. It's common to see questions asked by people who 'don't know what they don't know'. That shows courage on their part, which I hope to always show respect for. Filling in gaps in someones knowledge could be like 'teaching someone to fish rather than simply giving them a fish'. If sharing knowledge seems like showing off, I'll probably continue to be guilty of it. If I go beyond that, and participate in posturing and chest pounding - call me on it.

I appreciate everyone's unique reasons for advocating for free OTA TV.
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If the well is dry and you don't see rain on the horizon, you'll need to dig the hole deeper. (If the antenna can't get the job done, an amp won't fix it.)

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Old 27-Mar-2011, 1:45 PM   #25
suzanrush
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Agreed Scotty & Grounded

PBS is going away in 2013 but the other OTA commercial-filled channels will not. My representative sent me a letter to this fact. Maybe I misunderstood the meaning; I'd be happy to send it to you if you'd like to read it for his meaning.

It's bad news for me because PBS makes up more than 1/2 of the free ota hd/dtv channels that I currently receive.


Quote:
Originally Posted by scott784 View Post
Yes, everyone should consider the type of antenna first. Otherwise, it's like putting the cart before the horse.

As for OTA going away, I agree it won't happen, at least in the short term. However, broadcasters are being forced to rethink their business models.

Everyone needs to realize the importance of OTA television. Even if a viewer chooses to watch cable or satellite, it must be recognized that OTA provides at least some checks on the ever rising prices of paid television.

Consider this thought. If OTA television were to be eliminated in the future, paid/subscribed viewers would be that much more vulnerable to price increases from their cable or satellite providers. That scenario is one that I highly doubt the vast majority have considered or thought about.

Simply put, OTA broadcasting benefits everyone whether an individual uses a paid service or not.
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Old 17-Jun-2011, 6:16 PM   #26
GroundUrMast
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http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/tags...-spectrum-for/

The positions of each FCC Commissioner is interesting... Some are quite aware and even sympathetic to those who rely on over the air broadcasts... Some Commissioners are inclined in the opposite direction.

Polite letters, and continued efforts to let people know what is available... Broadcasters need to be able to profit or they won't/can't use the spectrum 'efficiently'. (Don't know that I have a pat answer for that issue.)

My neighbors thought that OTA went away in 2009... till I showed them differently.
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Old 18-Jun-2011, 5:01 PM   #27
suzanrush
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GroundUrMast View Post
http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/tags...-spectrum-for/

The positions of each FCC Commissioner is interesting... Some are quite aware and even sympathetic to those who rely on over the air broadcasts... Some Commissioners are inclined in the opposite direction.

Polite letters, and continued efforts to let people know what is available... Broadcasters need to be able to profit or they won't/can't use the spectrum 'efficiently'. (Don't know that I have a pat answer for that issue.)

My neighbors thought that OTA went away in 2009... till I showed them differently.
What the government is inclined towards is money, money, money, and more of it. That's the only thing they are hearing. We, us that use the free antenna HDTV are simply at their mercy because their decision of how to best use the extra spectrum or airwaves space is based purely on ECONOMICS or money.

I, for one am enjoying all the free ota antenna HDTV that I can while I can while at the same time try to spread the news to let everyone know because it's still a huge secret, especially to those poor folks who are still enslaved by cable ... they have no idea that there is a free option available. The misinformation campaign that Comcast manipulated the public with back in February 2008 was a great success.

Someone eluded (I think it was Scotty) some time ago, that if the free goes away, the cable and other pay-tv companies will be able to continue being mean to their customers and continue to gouge them with high bills. This is one thing I beg to differ on ... most who still pay for it have no idea that they have this free option, not to mention how easy it is to switch to it and get hooked up, optimally. They are raising costs now and are taken full advantage of the nations ignorance. They've been deceived and manipulated from the get-go and aren't ready to hear the truth about free ota HDTV.

The little beach town I live in is now debating Mediacom's contract renewal so I saw the opportunity to give them this timely information. I'd tried before (soon after the 2/2008 transition/switch), but no one could hear me because they were all busy switching to another form of pay-tv in their panic with not hearing the whole truth, what with being manipulated and being informed only about the converter boxes and the coupons. No further information was revealed.

I'm hoping that maybe now, it's time has come for people to see and hear and understand the truth about digital HDTV. People who've been paying for it for so long cannot comprehend what I try to convey. I make it as simple as I can, too. After all the lies have been told, the task at hand now is to undue the damage of all the misinformation by breaking it down as simple as possible.

Like all the chaos surrounding finding the channels first and the equal confusion around choosing an antenna. It's real simple. It's just that those in the pay-tv industry want it to remain secret. I'll bet you can guess why. It means essentially that pay-tv is out and free tv is in - - it's just that they are fighting tooth and nail not to be a thing of the past. If people knew how much of a bargaining chip they had, they'd at least negotiate a lower rate but they aren't in the know. If I felt I couldn't do w/o my precious 500 channels of crap, which most of it I don't even like to watch, I'd be calling them up and telling them that I'm cutting the cord and switching to the free stuff ota. See how fast they want to barter and negotiate and listen to you then. You might experience true customer service for the very first time since you've been paying all these years.


The one town manager says to me, "so where do you get your service?" After I'd already explained to her that it's free just like in the old days. I should probably qualify things here though, in her defense, that tv has never been free here at the beach and if you've only ever paid for it how can she be expected to wrap her head around it?
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