This blog entry, titled "How to build a HDTV Antenna....CHEAP!" -- if it isn't a hoax -- may be the most important URL on the net for US residents making the switch from OTA analog to digital. I've complained a bit about how bad DTV was with my old rabbit ears that did just fine with analog, and how buying a $40 antenna make me stop complaining (well, largely stop complaining).

Let's just say that this...


... looks a lot like this (which is my antenna with twice the receivers)...


... but it's a lot cheaper.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still annoyed at how the move to DTV obsoletes so much hardware -- your remote (can't change the converter box's channels), your VCR (have to watch what you're taping, and can no longer preset timed recordings), your portable televisions (hard to add a converter box to your hand-held TV), rabbit ears (discussed already), even to some degree your television (whose tuner is worthless and whose aspect ratio is largely antiquated). Still, if this blog's antenna works, that's a big bonus for those who'd rather than waste $40 on an antenna.

Labels: