Opinion

Digital TV offers alternative to cable


Published: January 9, 2009

To the editor:

Many years ago people started subscribing to cable television because you got a much better picture than with an antenna. With the advent of digital television, that will change.

With DTV, even the slightest signal results in a perfect picture. Unless you have a relatively new TV, you would need a digital converter box to receive TV over-the-air.

I've done side-by-side comparisons, switching between cable and converter box, and the picture is sharper over-the-air than with cable.

If you want high-definition TV, however, you do need a new TV, even with cable.

The change to DTV can be confusing, as you do not need a converter box if you have cable, although the cable companies have been moving some of their content to digital, which requires a digital cable box.

And Comcast tells us that within three years, all TVs in your house will require a cable box.

With another $4 increase in my monthly Comcast cable bill, I am seriously thinking of canceling my cable service.

While it is true that I will lose quite a bit of television content, sacrifices have to be made to get something for nothing.

Paul A. Miller

Methuen