Who watches TV the old fashioned way for free and not cable ?

[tercel89]

I am about to disconnect Direct TV . We have had them for 11 yrs and they have gotten higher and higher. My questions is this : How many of you still use the television and a plain old set of rabbit ears or an antenna ? I understand you can do this if you have a newer television and not a analog one . Our TV is 16 yrs old and I was wondering if all I had to do was go buy a new TV and an antenna ? Is that it ? Out tv is so old I dont think the "converter box" thing they were giving out for free would even work . 

 Anyone know if a new tv and an atenna will work to get the good old channel 2,4,5, 8 , 17 and 30 that we native Tennesseans grew up with ? 

[tennessee01tacoma]

New tv and antenna is all you need.

I have an outside antenna and from Morgan co I pick up Knoxville and Chattanooga channels. 3 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 43, 54, 61 Edited September 11, 2013 by tennessee01tacoma

[tennessee01tacoma]

Some of those have multiple channels like 15 is 15.1, 15.2, 15.3 most are just 2 channels

8.2, 9.2 are movie channels

3.2 and 10.2 show classic tv like leave it to beaver

15s are pbs Edited September 11, 2013 by tennessee01tacoma

[dats82]

Yeah, they still work.  My grandmother used a converter box with a tv that was probably older than that.  I nixed cable several months ago and went with the antenna,  I have a newer tv, so I did not need the converter.  Either way, there are obviously no promises on how many channels you'll get, but if you're like me and only turn the tv on once or twice a week, you'll probably be just fine with whatever ones you do get.

[billyscott]

You might get some info from this thread.

 

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/5498-need-high-def-antenna-info-might-dump-the-satellite/

[cj0e]

If you're serious about swapping out cable/dish for antenna broadcast TV, you should check out antennaweb.org

[blizzard]

We did away with cable a couple of months ago. It was getting way too high for the amount of channels we actually watched. We have a newer tv and bought an amplified antenna. We get all local channels in HD plus about 10 more. The more we play around with it the more we get. We also have Netflix for movies and tv shows. We could also download free  movie sites to our tv such as Crackle, Hulu and Redbox. On top of that we also hook up the laptop to the tv and stream all kinds of stuff. Our total monthly bill now is under $10. That is for Netflix. I can honestly say I don't miss the cable at all.

[Guest The Itis]

Used to, until someone broke in and stole the TV. Now I just watch things online free.

Never paid for TV, seems very strange to me to have to pay to watch so many commercials.

[jtluttrell]

No cable for 2 years and I do not miss it. 

[austin7.62]

We ditched cable for Netfilx. We also have a digital antenna on our Sammysung plasma.

[Fourtyfive]

Gotta love free , I just need more channels and lots of football.

[Chazmr]

We've never had cable.  I still have the same outside antenna on the roof I've used for almost 20 years.  We did replace the old analog TV with a digital one when that switch took place, but we pick up the over the air channels just fine.  And we use Netflix for newer movies.  It works great for us and certainly saves a boat load of money over cable.  Certainly where you live and the distance from the stations will determine how many you can pick up.  As has already been posted, http://www.antennaweb.org/ is a great resource.  Good luck.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Chazmr

[Smith]

Got rid of cable a couple months ago and run Clear Wireless and Netflix. Couldn't be happier.

[ncomarc]

Nice move - haven't had cable for 9 years till school started and only got it cause I needed internet for the kids. It was cheaper for cable and internet vs internet alone.

[Wiljo05]

Netflix, Hulu, and a $40 powered digital antennae in my attic and we get more crap for $18/month than we know what to do with. Like Blizzard said, local in HD, some British junk, and a large handful of other channels I've never watched. Netflix and Hulu for the kid's cartoons, and that's about all. I can always catch a show on the web if wanted, but been months since the last time I sat and watched a series

[tercel89]

New tv and antenna is all you need.

I have an outside antenna and from Morgan co I pick up Knoxville and Chattanooga channels. 3 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 43, 54, 61

Cool and this is what I wanted to hear . We will save $80 a month this way . Thanks !

[Trekbike]

I get good antenna pickup so I haven't paid for cable for 24 years but I do use Netflix and Amazon Prime.

[Timestepper]

Haven't had cable anywhere I've lived since 1987, with the exception of spending 4 months living out a motel room in '01-'02. Even with an external antenna, where I live now, every time the wind blows or gnat farts it interupts the signal for the ABC channel. Fortunately, about the only thing we ever watch on ABC is AFV. Otherwise we pick up and have good reception for about 12 or 15 channels - which is about 6 more than I care to watch.

[Guest uofmeet]

One of the main reason i still have direct TV is football season. I like football and I keep getting sunday ticket for free. After this season, I may call and see what I can get. I hear rumors if you actually cancel, they will call you back a few days later and give you some crazy deals.....

[bersaguy]

A buddy of mine turned off his cable and put an antenna in his attic and he gets all kinds of channels. I have been kicking around the idea of turning mine off. He said he will put me up an antenna and I have two newer flat screen LED tv's so should not have an issue on that end. I also use Netflix for movies so except for History channel and Discovery Channel I won't miss much else. I also found out that the programs I enjoy like Swamp people, Mountain Men, Yukon Men and Gold Rush are all being put on video by the seasons so I will still be able to watch them as they release them on DVD.

[babelt]

I did it for a year but had to go back to TV. I watch way to many sports not to have TV. I just switched to direct TV and got all of the cool stuff free.

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[Jesse]

I gotta have ESPN, A&E, History and Discovery. So no..i gotta keep cable.

[tnguy]

Definitely get a DVR. You get to watch anything that's on anytime you want instead of what's on right now. It's also nice for skipping those annoying commercials.

[Jesse]

Dvr cost extra. Basic cable imo. Is the best option for people on a budget that still wants cable.

[TSprint1]

Yep they work.  I have a 19" Sony that I bought in the PX in 1980 and the picture and sound are perfect with the original rabbit ears. (My wife told me to get it out of the house so I have it in my reloading/fishing shed).