Making the Big Switch

Growing up, we didn't have cable. In fact, we weren't even allowed to watch tv at all on week nights (I'm thankful for this, and probably will do the same if I ever have kids)... except for the occasional instances when we were able to sneak into the room for a few minutes while Dad was watching the news or The Simpsons.

During the summers, we were each allowed 20 minutes of tv during the day. My mother's intention was for the three of us to work together and pool our time to be able to watch a single hour a day or to save up to watch a movie, but instead it usually resulted in us simply turning off the tv during the commercials (which was probably better for us anyway) so that we could each watch a 30-minute program of our own choosing. I know this wasn't really what my mother intended for us to do, but I think it was a genius idea, plus there was less fighting this way. (After all, the whole point of watching tv is to see the program, not the filler in between, right?)

Matt and I got rid of our home cable, which included several movie channels, during the last year of his stint at UAH. It was hard for either of us to get stuff done when we had a constant distraction, especially for him since he could watch the Speed Channel during the day instead of studying. It was also how I spent a lot of my time while he was studying every evening. I thought it would be really hard going without cable.

I was wrong.

I'm so glad we got rid of it! In fact, the only reason I'd consider getting it again is so we could watch more of the Auburn games at home, but that's still not a big enough motivation for me. Even though we've since signed up for Netflix, we still spend only a fraction of the time in front of the tv than we did before. When there are less programs to choose from, there's a greater willingness to find an alternative to watching the tube.

We do have broadcast channels, though. My dad gave us his old antenna (they got cable as soon as I moved out) and Matt hung it up in the attic. This gives us enough options so that we can watch the evening news and a few prime time shows.

Lately, all of the local channels have been pushing for people to make "The Big Switch" to digital. A few months back, I signed up for the coupon program and got two $40 cards to be used toward the purchase of two digital converter boxes. We went to the store this weekend and bought two boxes.

The channels really are much clearer (no more static), and we've picked up a few extra stations. My favorite part is that we've now got a couple of channels that are just for the weather, so I don't have to flip between stations to find the forecast while I'm getting ready in the morning. The downside is that we now have another remote that we have to use (which is really annoying).

Being an electrical engineer, I really ought to be able to make my own converter box. We had to make several analog to digital converters of different sorts in school, and I'm sure I could figure it out if I really wanted to (which I don't). But, with $40 off of a pre-made (and working) $60 box, I probably couldn't even make my own that cheaply! Plus, this is definitely much less work!!