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Discover New Music

  • Spilt Milk

    • 10 out of 10
    • Jellyfish
    • The second and final album from this power-pop group makes me wish Jellyfish had been able to make just one more record together. The album is best enjoyed as a whole piece, flowing from one track to
  • Mezzanine

    • 6 out of 10
    • Massive Attack
    • "Black Milk" knocks me off my feet in this collection of moody and eclectic songs. Massive Attack uses samples and keyboards in a very unique way, but not all the songs pack the same punch.

  • Priest = Aura

    • 10 out of 10
    • The Church
    • Another of my all-time favorites, Priest = Aura is one of those rare albums where every song is simply fantastic, and a testament to how good pop-rock can be.

      Each song immediatel

  • Bowie at Beeb: Best of BBC Radio 68-72

    • 10 out of 10
    • David Bowie
    • The companion CD to a BBC television concert, BBC Radio Theatre has some of the best renditions of many of Bowie's best songs throughout his career. "I'm Afraid of Americans" is substantial

  • So Jealous

    • 8 out of 10
    • Tegan and Sara
    • So Jealous is the third album from these sisters, and easily the one to single out for an introduction to their music. Some people may not get on board with their vocal styles, which are slightly

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News

Getting HDTV The Old-fashioned Way: Free

The TV antenna is an 80 year old device. Cable and Satellite TV just about extinguished it. However, new technologies and new market conditions are giving new life to the Rabbit Ears, according to the Washington Post.

"Buying an antenna for a high-definition television seems as out of place as using a rotary phone to make a call," wrote Joe Milicia. "But some consumers are spending thousands of dollars on LCD or plasma TVs and hooking them up to $50 antennas that don’t look much different from what grandpa had on top of his black-and-white picture tube."

The reasons are twofold. First, over the air (OTA) HDTV is free. The second is that OTA transmissions have been re-engineered. Since the signal is digital, there is no interference or ghosting. In addition, OTA HDTV is not compressed. "When you’re using an antenna to get an HD signal you will be able to receive true broadcast-quality HD," said Megan Pollock, spokeswoman for the Consumer Electronics Association. "Some of the cable and satellite companies may choose to compress the HD signal."

The compression occurs because the cable companies have limited bandwidth on the physical cable over which to send the signal. Often, they must make compromises on which channels, if any, get the full bandwidth required for uncompressed video. OTA transmissions don’t have that problem.

However, the location of the broadcast antenna and local geography will determine whether a customer can effectively use a Rabbit Ears antenna indoors or whether an outdoor antenna will be required. "An outdoor antenna will work as far as 70 miles away, so long as no mountains are in the way," said Dale Cripps, founder and co-publisher of HDTV Magazine.

Many customers aren’t aware that they can receive HDTV signals in their city if they use an antenna. However, in most cases, only local channels are available. Typically, customers who have HDTV antennas also have cable for channels like TNT, ESPN, CNN, and so on.

HD antennas are available from Terk, Philips, Audiovox, Jensen and Magnavox and range from US$20 to $150. Also, TMO notes that some companies, like Elgato, sell HDTV tuners that connect to a Mac if attached to one of these antennas.

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