Choosing a Cheap Television

By Kristina Chung

In the beginning of the television industry, television programming was free. The only expense to watching television was the purchase price. Everyone had rabbit ears or an outside antenna. In the 1960s, cable television came along. While cable seemed inexpensive at first, the prices have risen. Basic cable cost almost 400 dollars annually in many places and full connections can cost over 100 dollars monthly. Quick calculations will tell you that you could easily spend 1200 dollars or more yearly on cable television. In all of this, there is some good news. Television programming can still be free and free television is better than ever.

When all televisions were analog sets, cable grew in popularity because reception was often bad. Pictures often had shadows or snow and in some cases were not viewable. Recently all television was changed to digital broadcasting. Television stations still send out their feed through the airwaves, they are at different frequencies than before. The good news about digital television is that pictures are always clear if there is any reception at all.

Free broadcasts from your local TV station will allow you to see most of your favorite programs at absolutely no cost. In addition, you will be able to watch news from the local and national affiliates. On weekends, there are still some professional and college sports available to watch.

If you fear losing your favorite movie channels, remember that for the 100 dollars you have spent per month on cable, you can buy five movies on DVD. For as little as 5 dollars monthly, you can join online movie rental sites that will send you DVDs of your favorite and new release movies. An advantage of these rental sites is that you can watch movies on your time schedule, and not according to the movie channel's schedule.

If you have missed some of your favorite television shows, these too can be downloaded to your computer for immediate viewing. The cost, once again is free. Just visit the websites of the major networks, and start downloading.

Many families find that they are watching less television than ever. If you are among the many families that watch two to four hours of television per month, then why spend even thirty dollars per month on television cable. That works out to 7. 50 dollars per hour. The price seems very expensive for something that you may not use that often.

Once you begin using free local television, the cheapest TV of all, think of what you can do with all the money you save. If you are a real television fan, you may save enough money to buy the big screen television that you have always wanted. Many of the new flat screen televisions can be wall mounted and take up very little space.

If you find that pulling the cable gives you an occasional evening with no shows to watch, then do not forget there is always the option to turn the set off. They you can spend time getting to know the other people who live in your home. Visit with family. Take a trip to the park or simply play a game together. - 29967

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