Today marks 10 years...

...that analog TV has been off the air. Can you believe it? Does it feel like that long? Are you people used to it? Were there really any advantages of analog TV over digital? I actually think there were. I feel like DX/tropo is much less common with digital TV and especially e-skip. Even if a signal wasn’t coming in clearly it would often still be watchable. Now it’s all or nothing. And some TVs could pick up a few channels even if no antenna connected. How do you feel about it?

I'm paying nearly $50 a month just to watch channels I could easily get with an antenna before. It wasn't so bad when it was less than $10. The signal was great on the channel that switched to explaining how to watch TV, with the new antenna I had to get. On the real channel that still had its old programming, not so much.

And if the channels aren't on my cable system, sometimes I have to put up with holding the antenna in place and hoping a car won't pass by or another problem won't keep me from watching. And if I'm not at home and trying to record, forget it. I have considered getting an outdoor antenna or a better antenna but am I just wasting money? The problem with outdoor is all the trees between me and the channels I have on cable which are quite far away even though I am said to be in their market.

I wonder if one can say this decision hastened the development of OTT and the various other internet-delivered services. Because it seems as though those new platforms have been coming along very quickly. It seems like yesterday we were talking about ala carte cable, and how cable companies would never give up their set top boxes. Now that discussion seems so 20th century.

For me, I can say I bought an Amazon Fire a few years ago. No complaints other than I have to switch the inputs to my TV. i'm constantly checking the various digital TV plans, and I'll probably switch from traditional cable to one of them at some point.

How an analog channel of the VHF low band (channel 2 to 6) was a big plus turned into a huge negative now!

Here in Hartford/New Haven, the major negative was WTNH-TV (ABC) channel 8 of New Haven. They were the one major station in this market using VHF for their digital (VHF channel 10). I lost them most of the time here in southern Hartford County. In the analog era, I nearly always got a better signal from them over WFSB-TV (CBS) channel 3 of Hartford (issues with ghosting or multi-path from Avon Mountain to my WNW).

I worked for Walmart at the time. I got fed up with the bombardment of people with the $40 government coupons for the converter boxes. Naturally, I mailed in for one myself, even though I didn't technically need it. I bought an Insignia branded box at Best Buy instead.

Sadly digital TV in this market is so lacking. But I live in a smaller-than-100 market, thus it should be expected. We get only these subchannel networks: Comet, Charge!, Stadium, MeTV, Create, PBS Kids and PBS World. Also SWX which is operated from Cowles/KHQ Spokane and fed to their owned-and-operated stations, in which ours is KNDO. We don't get mainstays like Antenna TV, Laff, Grit (prior to Stadium, KIMA 29.3 had Grit), or Heroes & Icons. I would gladly have Antenna TV available on one of the stations' subchannels, but it seems like it will never happen.