You heard that right! Buy a TV antenna, ditch cable, and start saving money.
Aren’t you tired of paying upwards of $50 (plus taxes and fees!) per month for basic cable? What does it give you? A limited selection of channels and endless infomercials selling jewelry, coins, cookware, and anti-aging creams. Paying for something that doesn’t offer much is a waste especially if you’re trying to breath life into your budget.
The TV Antenna Is Disruptive Technology
I wager that the venerable 20th century television antenna is a 21st century disruptive technology because it frees us from paying ridiculously high cable bills. It’s time to reconsider a device we may have discounted long ago.
The television antenna conjures up old memories of rabbit ears, coat hangers and tin foil used to tune-in our family’s RCA TV. When cable came along it was a godsend to no longer have to make endless trips to the TV set, fiddling to get the antenna just-so, so the picture would come in right.
There’s a lot of talk about cord-cutting and I’m all for it. The concept is to cancel cable TV in favor of streaming television content over the internet. Streaming services like Hulu, Sling, Netflix, Prende, Paramount+ (and there are more!) give you the on-demand experience. With control in your hands, you get to watch what you want, when and as often as you like. If you’ve got the budget to custom curate your program list, subscription television is the way to go.
But what if your budget is tight? Then the question becomes, how to save money by cutting costs while not sacrificing the enjoyment that television viewing brings. The answer is simple. Get a good old fashioned television antenna. Why? Because the networks and UHF providers still broadcast over the airwaves (most in high-definition).
Today’s antenna’s aren’t the unsightly one’s of yester-year. In the new century, they’ve evolved with sleek, aesthetically pleasing modern designed that pack a signal-pulling punch. Bear in mind, that although you’ll be saving money by no longer paying for cable television, you will have an initial dollar outlay to buy an antenna.
It Pays to Shop Around
The first antenna you get may not be the best so be ready to experiment and return it if doesn’t perform well. Factors affecting your viewing experience include physical barriers like walls, buildings and distance from broadcast towers. I live in Riverside, California. It’s roughly sixty miles outside the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Most broadcast antennas are high atop Mount Wilson overlooking the Los Angeles basin. Given that distance, I decided to buy a long-range antenna. I purchased the U MUST HAVE Amplified HD Digital TV Antenna Long 180 Miles Range – on Amazon. The antenna is designed to stick to a window. I used it for about five months, but it couldn’t deliver all it promised. Although I got some channels, the ability to get them consistently and clearly was frustrating. I tried the antenna in different locations to no avail. I concluded that because my window doesn’t face a television broadcast or repeater tower, my signal reception was compromised.
An audio/visual guru I know recommended the ANTOP “Big Boy” AT-400BV Outdoor/Indoor HDTV Antenna. Although it was roughly five times the price of the first one, it’s been worth it. It has the oomph to pull in broadcast signals and make them reliably stable on my screen. The quality of the picture on most channels is so good you’d think you were watching one of the promotional demos they run on new TVs at Best Buy. I don’t have a high-end flat screen but now it looks like I do.
It’s a Win – Win – Win!
Yes, I’ve had an initial expense in purchasing the antennas, but I’m still ahead in two respects. I know longer have to pay for basic cable TV, I’ve got more channels, and great picture quality.
As more people ditch basic cable for antenna or subscription television, perhaps the cable industry will get the signal and reduce the price of basic cable television (and not force you to bundle other services like a land line to get the cost savings). But if past is prelude to the present, they will squeeze the consumer by upping the price of internet. All the more reason to take control into your own hands with a television antenna!
