All you need is an antenna
The perfect companion to a high-definition television set is a good, old-fashioned antenna.
With networks across North America going digital, viewers can get top-quality HDTV through an antenna absolutely free, said Jon LeBlanc, who has been pioneering this option for five years on an online forum at www.digitalhome.com. Antennas can pick up digital signals and channel them right to the TV. The signals are free from the interference that characterized the analog days.
Plus, the picture beats compressed cable and satellite signals, said LeBlanc. Itâ s beautiful programming,â said LeBlanc.
The reception is perfect because with digital itâ s either perfect or itâ s nothing.â All couch-surfers need to take advantage of the free HDTV is an antenna and a television equipped with a digital over-the-air tuner -- a feature built in to most television sets. Americans have been avid antenna-users since the 1990s, but Canadian networks are just starting to make the switch to digital. Viewers in Vancouver can get Global at channel 22.1, CTV at 33.1, CBC at 58.1, and, if they are lucky, a handful of American networks coming in from Seattle.
The consumer has basically been misled for a couple of decades now into believing that the only way to get quality television is by paying for it,â said LeBlanc. LeBlanc said many of the people he advises online are laid-off labourers in southern Ontario, where viewers can get up to 30 channels.
Consumer interest is slow, but growing in the Lower Mainland, where channels are more scarce. Greg Gilmour, owner of Aldergroveâ s Satellite Central Communications, started selling antennas in the 1950s. Sales hit zero when cable and satellite companies promised hundreds of clear, on-demand channels. Recently though, Gilmour has been selling 16-20 antennas throughout the Lower Mainland.
And itâ s not grandpa and grandma who are opting for this old-fashioned technology. Gilmourâ s customers are mostly young and tech-savvy. The most-requested channel is PBS. The service is not for everyone, said LeBlanc. The amount of channels are limited, especially in rural areas, so viewers stuck on CNN or Treehouse might pass.
Still, the choice is good, said LeBlanc. Consumers donâ t like to be told what they have to buy. Thereâ s real undercurrent of freedom here, not freedom in dollars, but freedom of choice,â said LeBlanc. Twitter is coming to a television near you. Â B.C. All rights reserved.
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