t might sound absurd, but if you’re paying to watch local TV channels, you’re not getting the clearest picture possible out of your brand-new, high-definition TV set. In fact, when it comes to local stations, the best TV is free TV, and the only way to get it free and clear is through an antenna.
“After the digital TV transition, I really expected to see an antenna on every roof,” said Steve Knutson, owner of Antenna Logic in Hawley, Minn. Knutson has a vested interest in selling antennas, but he’s right: The clearest digital picture is from an antenna.
“Have you seen antenna TV lately?” Knutson asks potential customers. “A lot of people don’t realize that digital, over-the-air television is superior because it’s not compressed,” he said. “It’s the picture quality that you get from an antenna that makes satellite and cable guys nervous because new TVs expect a high-resolution signal, and local channels through satellite or cable can actually look worse on a high-definition TV than they did on an old analog one.”
Knutson said most cable and satellite operators capture the free signal out of the air, process it, encrypt it, and then sell it back in a compressed format. According to the Federal Communications Commission, cable operators are allowed to carry less than the full digital signal transmitted by a broadcaster. Therefore, when viewers have properly-sized modern antennas, they are getting the best picture they can possibly get.
“The rooftop antenna is certainly not the poor, redneck, old thing that it used to be,” Knutson said. “If you want the most out of your digital television, that’s the way to go. One of the main reasons my customers buy antennas is because they witnessed the picture quality on a neighbor’s TV.’”
It’s not a piece of cake to capture over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna, however. That’s because every person’s needs are different.
“One size doesn’t fit all,” Knutson said. “I like to make a recommendation to a customer so that they don’t have to experiment, because if they try once and it fails, they will go back to their cable or satellite subscription. It’s not that complicated, and you just need to be told how it’s done.” Knutson said he has installers who can help, “but most people like to save money and do it themselves,” he said. “That’s most of our business.”
Most of Knutson’s customers come in wanting to install antennas inside attics or garages, “but the best antenna is on the rooftop,” Knutson said, “because you can use a smaller antenna.”
But aren’t rooftop antennas eyesores?
“The biggest complaint we get is that the antenna itself looks like something grandma would have on her roof,” Knutson said. “But if grandma does have it on her roof, she’s getting a better picture than you are. The new status symbol is the antenna.”
Knutson said it’s his mission to help everybody get free TV, but he’s up against complacency. “I think people get a little bit stagnant about holding on to cable and satellite subscriptions,” he said, “and it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy to have a satellite or cable guy come in and install it for you, and they make you think they’re installing it for free.”
Besides, a lot of people are hooked on having a digital video recorder, too, he said, but Knutson sells those for over-the-air television with no subscription required.
“People simply don’t know that the best TV is free,” Knutson said, “and it’s almost like talking religion: They have to see it to believe it, and television salesmen don’t like to talk about antennas, either, because it’s not an easy, over-the-counter sale like satellite or cable.”
Depending on where you live in the greater Red River Valley, you can receive as many as 12 channels of free, over-the-air crystal clear television with just an antenna, including the major broadcasters ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, four separate channels of PBS (the primary channel, plus The Minnesota Channel, the World channel, and the Lifelong Learning Channel), as well as three networks that carry movies and syndicated shows (The CW, This TV, and MyNetworkTV), and a local weather channel courtesy WDAY/WDAZ. Several of these free digital, over-the-air channels aren’t even picked up by some cable or satellite systems.
Depending on your location, all of these channels can be captured using an antenna, but is it legal? Anyone who grew up having to adjust rabbit ears to pull in television knows that you can still get TV over the air for free, but the “digital television transition” that became final on June 12, 2009, forced over-the-air viewers with older TV sets to obtain digital-to-analog converter boxes or to subscribe to cable or satellite packages. For many with older TVs, cable or satellite became the way to get local channels reliably. That’s because after the transition, the FCC required cable and satellite operators to retransmit analog versions of all local TV stations in addition to the digital ones. Just last week, however, the FCC agreed to let this rule expire, which will allow cable operators to stop sending analog signals for local stations sometime in December, at which time everyone with an older TV will have to purchase a digital-to-analog converter to be able to view local channels.
But what about choice? Can you be happy with only 11 channels to choose from?
“People are getting tired of all off the channels and all of the bills and they just want to simplify,” Knutson said. “There are a lot of programs they aren’t even watching.” But don’t take Knutson’s word for it. According to research by the American Psychological Association, the abundance of options we face as consumers each day stalls our decision-making and can make us prone to depression and perfectionism, and make us more likely to compare ourselves negatively with others.
Besides, you don’t always get the local channels that your cable or satellite operator promised you when you signed up for that long-term subscription. For example, earlier this month, you couldn’t watch local NBC or CBS broadcasts if you were a Dish Network subscriber. That’s because Dish and Hoak Media Corp. couldn’t agree over the terms for a retransmission contract.
And that’s not the first time this type of blackout has occurred. In fact, according to Philip M. Napoli, a researcher at Fordham University in New York, “the issue has grown increasingly contentious in recent years. Broadcasters are more frequently seeking cash payments from [cable and satellite operators] and are being more aggressive in terms of the size of the payments that they pursue.”
According to an article by Meg Burton in the Federal Communications Law Journal, the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act requires cable operators to carry the signals of local commercial broadcast television stations, but broadcasters can choose to waive this requirement to negotiate for payment. Only 37 percent of broadcasters nationwide rely upon the must-carry rule and instead negotiate to be paid.
For broadcasters, this increased reliance on revenue from retransmission contracts means they might be less aggressive in promoting the clarity that cutting the cable or ditching the dish for an antenna might afford you. Instead, local broadcasters refer inquiries to antenna salesmen like Knutson.
“My reason for going into this business was primarily because I saw there was going to be a need to help people find the correct over-the-air products and components,” Knutson said. “Plus, there was some prodding from a few of the local broadcasters. They needed a go-to guy for antennas.”
He isn’t exaggerating. When contacted for more information about how to pick up their signal over-the-air, the chief engineer at a local broadcaster referred to Knutson.
“I’d like to see broadcasters toot their own horn some more,” Knutson said. “Have you seen antenna TV lately?”
By Ryan C. Christiansen