Millennials Stunned By New Method To Watch Free TV...

[+ Gar1eth]

It's called using an antenna.

 

https://www.wsj.com/article_email/millennials-unearth-an-amazing-hack-to-get-free-tv-the-antenna-1501686958-lMyQjAxMTA3NTAwMzcwMDM3Wj/

 

Gman

[Epigonos]

And I'm so fucking old I actually remember the damned things!!!!!

[LaffingBear]

Wow, what a discovery.

 

Perhaps they'll discover a few other old-fashioned concepts.

 

Like look both ways (not your screen) when crossing the street.

[Good Grief]

[top_guy_atl]

I would think that congresswoman wouldn't want anyone to know how stupid she is.

[+ deej]

And I'm so fucking old I actually remember the damned things!!!!!

 

And the inevitable crumpled up foil on one piece. Or the one family member always assigned to stand touching the antenna while holding his other arm JUST SO.

 

Yep.

[+ azdr0710]

I do miss some cable channels, but did cut the cord with my cable company a couple or three years ago when the bill got outrageous and I realized I really rarely watch cable TV (which is crappy anyway).....for a few months, in order to avoid unsightly rabbit ears or similar, I even paid about $25/month to the cable company for just the local channels (yeah, I know.......)!

 

finally bought one of these modern HD antennas (flat piece of plastic) and spent a while to find a place in the house to hang it where all the local channels would come in......cable TV bill is now zero and the reception is better (!!) without the signal having to run through a wire......I really only mostly watch netflix DVDs (yup, still sent by mail) on my TV, anyway

[+ oldNbusted]

I remember when broadcast TV switched from analog to digital, some friends were surprised when I told them there was no such thing as a 'digital' antenna, it was the same antenna at quadruple the price. I bought them a normally priced antenna and hooked it up to their new HDTV and they were flabbergasted they didn't have to sign up for cable to get shows in HD.

[LaffingBear]

Sadly, I live in a region where there are no usable over-the-air signals.

 

Because of Bay Area topography, there are major hills between me and the San Francisco broadcasters. Im guessing that, back in the day, there were repeater towers on the hills. No longer... I've tried, but I get nothing when hooked up to an antenna. There are also websites that report broadcast signal strength based on GPS/address; they confirm no signal.

 

It used to be cable companies were required to carry local broadcasters free, unscrambled, i.e., you could hook up extra TVs without converters and see local channels. That disappeared when all broadcasts went digital.... now everything is scrambled.

 

Antennas are not a universal solution. (Antennae? Or is that only plural as in insect antennae?)

[+ azdr0710]

(Antennae? Or is that only plural as in insect antennae?)

 

what?....you trying to change the thread discussion subject??.....that is MOST certainly not allowed here......

[maninsoma]

Sadly, I live in a region where there are no usable over-the-air signals.

 

Because of Bay Area topography, there are major hills between me and the San Francisco broadcasters. Im guessing that, back in the day, there were repeater towers on the hills. No longer... I've tried, but I get nothing when hooked up to an antenna. There are also websites that report broadcast signal strength based on GPS/address; they confirm no signal.

 

It used to be cable companies were required to carry local broadcasters free, unscrambled, i.e., you could hook up extra TVs without converters and see local channels. That disappeared when all broadcasts went digital.... now everything is scrambled.

 

Antennas are not a universal solution. (Antennae? Or is that only plural as in insect antennae?)

 

Maybe it used to be that cablecos carried local channels for free, but the transition away from that did not coincide with stations switching from analog to digital. I know because like azdr0710, at one time I paid my local cableco for "limited basic" which was basically the channels available over-the-air if you could get reception and then a couple of local government/public access channels. Hooking one's TV to the cableco's system without signing up for service did nothing more than hooking up a long wire as an antenna.

[+ Gar1eth]

what?....you trying to change the thread discussion subject??.....that is MOST certainly not allowed here......

 

As author of the thread, I'm good with it. @LaffingBear divert to your heart's content.

 

Gman

[LaffingBear]

what?....you trying to change the thread discussion subject??.....that is MOST certainly not allowed here......

Actually, I was hoping one of the gramnar police would provide guidance.... I would genuinely like to know.

[+ not2rowdy]

I cut the cord and went to an antenna a year ago or so. What really helped me with the transition was buying a Tivo Roamio OTA DVR receiver. One time cost. It shows a two week guide of upcoming programs and allows recording of 4 channels at once. Pretty cool for my needs. You need to make sure they have the program guide for your location.

 

https://www.tivo.com/shop/ota-detail

 

 

I haven’t really gotten into internet streaming yet but might do that at some point. The Sony Playstation Vue “Access” package would likely cover the bases pretty well for me. But I’m going to resist for now and save that expenditure for massage therapy.

 

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/channels/

[caliguy]

Steaming video is the way to go now a days. I've got all the major premium channels like HBO but the only thing I actually pay for is Netflix.

[kewtex]

Antennas are not a universal solution. (Antennae? Or is that only plural as in insect antennae?)

 

Actually, I was hoping one of the gramnar police would provide guidance.... I would genuinely like to know.

 

Although I am off duty, I researched the plural usage for you:

In the U.S. and Canada, the plural of the noun antenna is antennae when the word denotes the flexible sensory appendages on insects and other animals. But when the word refers to a metallic apparatus for sending or receiving electromagnetic signals, American and Canadian writers usually use antennas. British writers tend to use antennae for both purposes. Australian and New Zealand writers are split on the matter, using both plurals for the metallic devices. (grammarist.com/usage/antennae-antennas/)

[+ Gar1eth]

'Steaming video' is the way to go now a days. I've got all the major premium channels like HBO but the only thing I actually pay for is Netflix.

 

Was this a Freudian slip because you're watching a lot of porn?

 

 

Gman

[caliguy]

Was this a Freudian slip because you're watching a lot of porn?

 

 

Gman

Huh? Lol

[Nvr2Thick]

 

http://www.thingsinsquares.com/wp-content/uploads/hit-tv-comic.jpg

 

 

 

 

http://www.thingsinsquares.com/wp-content/uploads/hit-tv-comic-bonus.jpg

[Nvr2Thick]

 

http://www.thingsinsquares.com/wp-content/uploads/hit-tv-comic.jpg

 

 

 

 

http://www.thingsinsquares.com/wp-content/uploads/hit-tv-comic-bonus.jpg

[+ oldNbusted]

The end of free over the air TV?

 

https://www.consumerreports.org/tv-service/free-over-the-air-tv-is-going-to-get-better/

 

"The ATSC 3.0 standard does include an optional ingredient of conditional access—as did ATSC 1.0—to give broadcasters the flexibility to introduce new business models," ATSC's Richer says. "That could include video on demand and other features that viewers commonly use today."

 

In other words, broadcasters could encrypt at least part of their programming, and require users to create an account and pay for access to certain features.

[maninsoma]

The end of free over the air TV?

 

https://www.consumerreports.org/tv-service/free-over-the-air-tv-is-going-to-get-better/

 

The last couple of paragraphs of that article make it clear that the ability for broadcasters to require creating an account and possibly paying for some content was already built into the broadcasting standard that's been in use for the past couple of decades, so who knows whether this new standard will be that disruptive.