Living without cable / Politics / Election Night

[DemKR]

Call me an obsessed freak, but I need to ask some questions about going cable-free.

1) Do TV antennas really work? Anyone have tips on how to get the best picture quality, or what antenna to buy?

2) Countdown with Keith, anyway I can watch it online?

3) Election night....does NBC/ABC/CBS provide good enough coverage...ie all the races/all night?

Thanks!

[Captain Angry]

1. More info needed...

Where do you live, in proximity to a large enough town to broadcast over the air with a good chance of reception?

I live 60 miles away from the closest towers, and get crap for reception.

Keith's not online as far as I'm aware.

I don't think any public air channel will do election returns all night, they leave that to the cable networks.


You want isolated? Try being in another country teaching a class over Election2004. I had a lot of explaining to do about my fellow citizens that day. :-)

[Skink]

2. Everything tastes better.

[stellanoir]

3. I refuse to get cable.

I'd probably enjoy the History, Discovery, Cspan, and Comedy Central. You can access a lot of stuff online though often not in its entirety.

What happens in the Viacom vs. Google case will predicate whether that access will continue as freely as it has.

Olbermann's special comments are usually posted.

The network coverage of election night is pretty much okay and they tend to get and report the info relatively synchronously.

As long as you're online you won't miss a trick.

I have rabbit ears and think they are fine.

[Breeze54]

4. I don't buy cable or satellite (Screw Murdoch!)

and I didn't miss a thing on any of the elections! ;)

As far as reception? It will depend on where you live.
Try it! I use rabbit ears and yes! They still sell them!

I don't know if KO is available with live feed but I've
watched many of his video clips on You Tube and on his site.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Yes, antennas work

If you want to have the best reception, put it where you can turn it or buy a motor that will turn the antenna. A windstorm can knock it out of place, and being able to adjust it will be a big help. (Boy, I feel old. For the vast majority of my life, all I've HAD were antennas. For the few years I had cable or a dish--bluh. I don't miss it.)

[scarletwoman]

6. I've NEVER had cable. I have a rooftop antenna which works just fine for broadcast TV.

I live about 100 miles from the major metropolitan area where the broadcast channels originate.

All you need for a rooftop antenna to work is one person on the roof adjusting it, one person in the house with the TV yelling out an open window, and one person standing outside the open window who can yell up to the person on the roof: "Turn it some more!" "Wait! Move it back a little!" "Hold it!" "Never mind, turn it some more!" "No! -- Yes! -- THERE!" "Oops! Sorry! Move it back!" "No no no! Back the OTHER way!"

Yeah, it takes a bit of family togetherness to get it pointed in the right direction, but once you hit it, you're set.

Anyway, there's no way I'm ever going to shell out my hard-earned money for 200+ channels of crap I wouldn't even bother watching for free. What few programs that might pique my interest seem to be exhaustively commented on right here on DU -- as well as numerous blogs -- so I really don't feel like I'm missing anything. And if something seems really worth following up on, there are usually transcripts eventually available.

I don't watch online video, either -- my dialup modem and antique computer can't handle it. Even so, between DU and all the many other online resources available, I don't feel like I'm missing anything. I think I'm plenty well-informed.

As for election coverage -- yes, the broadcast networks provide all night coverage for major elections. But why be tied to talking heads for election returns? For the 2006 election coverage, I mostly relied on online resources to keep up with vote totals -- often getting results faster than what the TV was showing.

Life without cable works just fine for me.

sw

[ngant17]

7. a good antenna has made some difference

in my TV reception. You can also add boosters to increase signal strength, but I haven't done this yet. I bought an antenna for about $70 or $90 dollars, I first put it on the roof and elevated on a pole, but later I found out my signal reception was just as good if I put it up in the attic. And it was protected from winds and storm damage.

I wouldn't pay a dime for cable, and I would tend to go for hi-speed cable if the price was competitive with a dial-up connection. I can get a local dial-up line from ATT/Bell for about $25/month. Cheap internet for dial-up is $15/month or less. So for $40/month, I got internet and another phone line (I have a separate line just for voice and nothing else). Also phone line supplies its own voltage so I still get internet even if the power is out (as long as you can turn the computer on with a BBU or AC-generator or a power inverter).

Haven't seen the point of a cell phone yet, although it's hard to find a pay phone when you need one these days.

[TheWraith]

8. Answers.

1. Yes, but it depends on where you live, size of the antenna, terrain, and all that. I live out in the boondocks, surrounded by hills, and even with a very large antenna (eight feet long, three wide, mounted in the attic) you can get pretty much nothing but snow from a station 30 miles away.

2. No, to my knowledge there's no KO online.

3. More or less, but obviously it's going to be more limited in scope and duration than the news channels.

My advice about going cable-free: don't. Unless you really have to cut it off for financial reasons, cable/satellite TV is so much better than broadcast that it's not even funny.

[KatyaR]

9. I haven't had cable in years, but my TV watching has decreased significantly in that time.

I use rabbit ears, and as long as you get a good set and are not somewhere with a lot of interference, you should be fine.

Many cable shows can be found in their entirety on the internets if you look hard enough (oops). As for election night, I've become hooked to following returns online instead of on TV. I get too frustrated with the newspeople to watch any kind of TV news any more.

It may take you a little while to adjust, but I've found that I really don't miss much. I read enough news on the internets to stay informed without wading through all the "infotainment" crap that fills up the news hour these days.

Go for it!

[Jim Warren]

10. Look out now

It can be serious, first I dumped the cable and then I dumped the TV.
Well, I didn't dump the cable, I was getting it free and then I moved.
Sheesh, I'd never pay for that crap!

[DemKR]

11. Wow, thanks for the good advice!

Jim, I'm in the same situation, getting it free and now I'm moving. I just bought an LCD too, imagine that!