For a few years, we have been using a couple of Tivos to record all of our shows that were coming in over cable. But as more shows were available online, we found that we were watching less and less of the cable content from our Tivo. And with the analog to digital switch transition for Over the Air (OTA) content, we would be able to get high quality digital content for free. This was a perfect opportunity for us to ditch our cable tv subscription.

Of course, this change required some equipment changes to accomplish. The first challenge was that our LCD TV did not come with a digital TV tuner since we had bought it before the US finalized its protocol. On top of that, the Tivos that we had could not record HDTV content. So I decided we could solve both problems with a new Tivo HD, which had 2 built-in digital tv tuners AND could record HDTV.

Next was to figure out how to receive the OTA signal. I decided to go with a Terk Indoor Antenna which simplified wiring and setup. And with the Tivo HD which seemed to have a more powerful signal decoder, we have been able to get most of the channels and shows that are available.

One of the benefits of switching over is that the girls have been getting better shows through the different PBS channels. And after the first few days, they don’t even miss the Disney channel anymore. Good-bye, cable tv.