The Future Of FREE TV?

What is the future of free TV? Well, if it's left to the FCC, congress, CTIA, CEA, pay TV providers and wireless providers, it's not going to get any better, and it can only get worse. In the middle of the biggest economic crises since the Great Depression, these forces would like nothing more than to do away with free TV.Why? Money. They want you to PAY for TV and wireless broadband, and the FCC is staffed by lawyers looking to be hired by these industries once their appointments at the FCC come to an end.

Tell Congress to protect free, local television's ability to innovate and provide the news, emergency information and entertainment you expect and deserve.

Go to Future Of TV

Save Money at Walmart on Clearance Electronics

Walmart announced last month that they are reducing the size of their electronics departments by an average 2000 square feet per store. Wal-Mart will also resume sales of fabric and crafts products. The retailer said it was also restoring 8,500 products to store shelves and kicking off an ad campaign in a bid to lift sales.

What does this mean for you, the savvy shopper?
Savings, of course. For the next few months, as the stores go through the process of deciding what items to eliminate from their inventory, check out the Walmart near you for sweet deals on clearance items like flat panel TV sets, Blu-Ray and DVD players, digital cameras and more.

A trip to Walmart last week found a stack of LCD and LED TV sets ranging in size from 22" up to 55", with prices from about $150 to a little more than $1000 for the "Big Kahuna" 55" LCD. A trip to Walmart's web site produced nothing. So the only way to get these deals is to go to the stores and check for yourself. Keep in mind that inventory will vary from store to store, and while prices may drop even more (but probably not by much!), selection will start to decrease also.

Guide to Internet Streaming Devices - The Pros and Cons of Internet Streaming Devices

The Pros and Cons of Internet Streaming Devices
by EscapeVelocity (originally published March 6, 2011 on DTVUSAforum)

Internet streaming of video has gone mainstream, and you want to get in on the action, but with so many devices out there to choose from which one is right for you? This guide seeks to bring you information to help make good decisions.

To begin your journey, one should take stock in what one has at his or her disposal that may already have internet connectivity and streaming functionality. Sony Playstation3 and XBox 360 are widely owned game consoles that have quite a bit of internet streaming capability, and laptops are easy starting places to hook up a modem and provide video to your television. The lessons that you learn from using these devices will help you make good decisions on future purchases. That being said, we will discuss individual boxes and general categories of devices below, their pros and cons, and their features and limitations, which will help you make good purchasing decisions with regards to this new technology.

Announcing The Free TV Store.

    After answering hundreds of questions about "what antenna should I buy" and "Where can I buy a..." I have hand selected some of my favorite antennas, tools, supplies, and electronics from Amazon.com at The Free TV Store.


    Many of you are aware that I manufacture and install my own antennas, but they are only available for pickup here in Cache valley, UT, or if I install them in Northern  Utah or Southern Idaho, due to the high shipping costs. These are some of the best antennas available, but for those of you who live further away, I have selected several of the best rated commercial antennas for different locations and I will soon add cabling, grounding, and mounting supplies.  I'll be adding converter boxes, remote controls, and items like DVRs, media computers, and internet connected devices for streaming internet TV soon.

Everything you need to CUT THE CABLE!

Antenna TV: A Review.

I've been getting the new "Antenna TV" network for about a month now, and for the most part, I'm liking what I see. But as with any new channel - if a channel that shows only old retro programming could be called "NEW" - there are a number of rough edges that could use some polishing. I get Antenna TV locally on Fox13Now.com Salt Lake City - KSTU on their upper sub-channel, 13.2, since mid January. 

Does OTA TV have a Program Guide Like Cable? ( YES, it does! )

DTVpal converter box program guide. A number of former pay TV users have lamented the lack of a program guide when they switched to free OTA TV. The problem doesn't lie so much with OTA Digital TV as much as it does with the manufacturers of televisions and converter boxes. You see, the Digital TV standards provide for a rich set of features, including an EPG - an electronic program guide. Most TV stations broadcast their EPG info, which is embedded in the DTV signal. The information they provide includes the time, program name and a description. Some stations are very good at providing EPG info, while others fail miserably. Some stations will provide several days of EPG with detailed descriptions, while others provide only a few hours of program names or nothing at all. The worst offenders are LPT - Low Power Television - and independent TV stations. PBS stations generally do the best job with their EPGs.

Be Prepared: A TV for Use in Power Outages and Emergencies.

Q: Will my old portable DC TV work after the digital transition?

I was recently asked this question, so I set about doing some research about what options are available if you need a TV for use on a power outage.

A: Do you mean, an old analog portable - battery operated - TV? The short answer, in most cases, is NO.

However, do have a number of options that will get you TV in an emergency, even when nobody else has power or TV. You can even get that old analog TV to work if you have time (and money) on your hands. 

Read on...