Chester Watches Comcast when an antenna will do

Last week's survey on The Chester City Blog was to get an idea how you watch TV. Not many people responded but it appears twice as many of you have Comcast than DirecTV and very few people are using the analog to digital converter boxes.

I did that survey because I don't have Comcast and it prevents me from viewing Channel 10 and 11 information from the City of Chester and Chester Upland School District.

I encourage both of them to send that same information broadcasting on Comcast to The Chester City Blog for folks like me who always connect to the internet at least once a day, even if I do so on my smart phone.

Obviously, there is no one sure way to communicate to everyone which is why we must take advantage of every broadcast avenue we have, especially when they're free.

The way we watch TV was turned on its head last year. Today, you have to select an option between cable, satellite, fiber optic (I don't know if they've run fiber through Chester yet), and hooking up a digital converter box to your TV.

Unfortunately, watching TV isn't free any more...sort of. There actually are some free options but it requires purchasing and installing equipment.

Almost a year ago, President Obama followed through on President Bush's bill to convert the old free TV (analog) to digital and gave households the opportunity to purchase converter boxes at a discount so you can still use the old TV.

I put one of those boxes in a spare bedroom and I'm not happy with the set up at all. For it to work as planned, you really need a roof antenna to bring the signal in strongly. But the picture quality is incredible for the channels that do come through.

Because all TV viewing is now digital, there is no more snowy or out of focus signals, even from antennas. Either you get a good digital signal or you don't. When you get it, it's HD quality.

Another option is to buy a new roof antenna ($80-$200). If you have a new TV, it already has a digital converter built in and you can get plenty of HDTV quality signals without the converter box. Once installed, TV viewing is free and you get all the network channels and a nice collection of other channels that are just floating in the air for you to grab.

The popular computer option is HULU.com that has thousands of the same TV shows your see on network and cable, including premium channels, for free viewing. Of course, you have to have a high speed internet connection that starts at $30 a month and a computer.

Comcast, DirecTV and Dish Network are priced within a few dollars of each other. Most people have their favorite for one reason or another. I like DirecTV but I do occasionally wish I had Comcast Sports for Sixers and Phillies games.

The most affordable option is to combine the offerings. Install a roof antenna (or reconnect the old one on your roof that you thought was obsolete) to view your network channels in HD and watch all the other shows on your PC through Hulu.com. The money you save on monthly cable bills will pay for the equipment in less than a year.

The biggest secret in TV viewing is the number of HD quality channels you can get with a basic roof antenna. Of course the cable guys aren't going to tell you that.

Because Chester is so close to the broadcast locations (mostly Philadelphia), the low end roof antennas capture those signals. The $200 antennas can pull stations from over 100 miles away.

I bet that once people see that TV viewing without cable is readily available with quality that's just as good or better, they will cut out the cable bill and get back to watching TV for free again.

There's a great entrepreneurial opportunity available here for someone who doesn't mind climbing ladders.