Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Best Value TV

By Louis Rosenthal

In the beginning of the television industry, television programming was free. The only expense to watching television was the purchase price. Everyone had rabbit ears or an outside antenna. In the 1960s, cable television came along. While cable seemed inexpensive at first, the prices have risen. Basic cable cost almost 400 dollars annually in many places and full connections can cost over 100 dollars monthly. Quick calculations will tell you that you could easily spend 1200 dollars or more yearly on cable television. In all of this, there is some good news. Television programming can still be free and free television is better than ever.

In the days of analog television, people subscribed to cable television, because distant signals often mean that the television picture was grainy, had shadows and snow. The good news about digital television, which is still broadcast over the airwaves, is that either you will get a great picture or no picture. If you live anywhere near television broadcast areas, you will get a nearly perfect picture with simple rabbit ears. There is no snow, there are no ghosts, and there are no shadows.

Free, local television broadcasts will allow you to see many of your favorite daytime or nighttime shows at no cost. Most local stations also offer local as well as national news.

If you fear losing your favorite movie channels, remember that for the 100 dollars you have spent per month on cable, you can buy five movies on DVD. For as little as 5 dollars monthly, you can join online movie rental sites that will send you DVDs of your favorite and new release movies. An advantage of these rental sites is that you can watch movies on your time schedule, and not according to the movie channel's schedule.

If you have missed some of your favorite television shows, these too can be downloaded to your computer for immediate viewing. The cost, once again is free. Just visit the websites of the major networks, and start downloading.

Many families find that they are watching less television than ever. If you are among the many families that watch two to four hours of television per month, then why spend even thirty dollars per month on television cable. That works out to 7. 50 dollars per hour. The price seems very expensive for something that you may not use that often.

Think about the savings of not having a cable bill. You may be able to afford the big screen television you have always wanted. The picture will still be great. Perhaps now you will choose a wall mount system that has the large screen but does not require a lot of floor space.

What happens if there is one evening when nothing is on the local channels and you just sent the last DVD back to the rental site? You get the privilege of turning off the set and getting to know your family once again. Play a game, got to the park or simply sit and talk. Your children will love hearing stories of when you grew up.

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