Preparing this year’s taxes will provide your best chance yet to see how much money you’re spending on television — something that long ago was “free.”  If your like most you pay a monthly subscription fee to a satellite or local cable company.

I was shocked to discover what I’m paying each year for TV.  Many of friends are paying close to $200 a month … that’s $2,400 a year.  In today’s economy, we’re all looking to save a dollar — if not a quarter, a dime, nickel or a penny.

That’s the moment we realized how we could save $600 to $2,000 or more each year on television.  How? The savings begin the moment you cancel your satellite or cable subscription (note:  Check any term associated with your current subscription to avoid paying a cancellation penalty.).  Next you can begin taking advantage of the new digital TV channels being provided over-the-air by local broadcasters.

Consider that most homes can receive local over-the-air television with an indoor or outdoor antenna.  And with the switch to digital television — DTV in both standard and high-definition (HDTV) — picture quality has improved.  Gone are the “ghosts” and “snow” that filled screens long ago.  In fact, the picture quality you receive over-the-air may well be better than that provided from satellite or cable services because of what are called “compression artifacts” that result from additional signal processing.

Most cable and satellite subscribers aren’t aware that with the switch to digital television, local television stations are actually broadcasting up to four channels — where they’d provided only one channel in the past.   This means that even in small cities with five stations, you may now be able to receive up to twenty over-the-air channels for free.  Satellite services won’t provide you with all of those new channels.  Local cable companies may (or may not), but if they do, chances are you’ll be required to pay an additional monthly fee for a digital cable box for each television in your home.

While cable and satellite TV services are offering discounted subscription rates for those who sign up now (note the ads in the left column), those rates won’t last forever.  Most subscribers are shocked to learn the ultimate cost of their monthly subscription.

Stunned, some of my friends asked, “What about all the programs I’ll miss?”  Think hard about how much and exactly what television you’re watching, then start trimming your monthly bill.

Remember, most people’s favorites are on the four major commercial networks (NBC, ABC, CBS & FOX) and PBS — almost everywhere you can watch those programs for free using an antenna and a DTV set, or a conventional TV set and a DTV Converter Box.

Well, what about those programs my friends love that are only available on cable or satellite?  There are more options than you might think — especially if you’ve just saved the cost of your annual satellite or cable subscription.

First, many television programs can be viewed via the internet on your computer. Just go to network’s websites like PBS.org, NBC.com, CBS.com, ABC.com, FOX.com, and programs from a variety of networks on HULU.com.  You can watch programs on all of these sites for free.

Second, you can pay to watch other programs — without commercial interruption from Apple’s iTunes Store ($1.99  to $2.99 per show) or you can spend a few of those saved dollars and buy Blu-Ray or standard DVD’s of your favorite series or rent them from a service like NetFlix (they mail your selected DVD’s to you and you mail them back).  Some new Blu-Ray DVD players even allow you to download NetFlix films as part of your modest monthly subscription at no additional cost and view them as you would a high-definition DVD.

Confusion about who, when, and how to receive digital television is growing. Adding to the confusion are competing messages from the government, consumer electronics retails, broadcasters, cable and satellite subscription television services.

To quickly understand why being able to receive over-the-air television signals is better, read my July 25, 2008 post, “DTV > Why Over-The-Air Is Better . . .”

Enjoy your free, over-the-air digital channels . . . and remember, the nationwide switch digital television (DTV) provides a chance to save more than just a few dollars!

Thank you.

The transition of America’s television from analog to digital is failing. It doesn’t need to. Viewers can switch and start watching digital channels today. It’s not that expensive. It doesn’t take much time.

Sure, more people are “aware” of that conventional, analog television broadcasts will cease at midnight on February 17, 2009, but asking viewers what actions are required leaves most speechless.

Confusion about who, when, and how to receive digital television is growing. Adding to the confusion are competing messages from the government, consumer electronics retails, broadcasters, cable and satellite subscription television services.

Research indicates that 40% of viewers don’t plan to take any action until after their TV sets go dark. Low-income, minorities, handicapped, and senior citizens are even less likely to be knowledgeable or have taken action to maintain their access to television. The DTV transition risks increasing the split between those who have access to information and those who don’t throughout America.

Let me simplify what I last described as “overwhelming alternatives.” First, most experts and articles you read indicate that if you have cable or satellite, you need do nothing. That’s true. But, I want to make the case that every home in America that can receive an over-the-air signal should be equipped to do so.

Here’s why being able to receive over-the-air television signals is better:

• They Are FREE: Cable and satellite all have monthly subscription fees. These firms will be offering you “great introductory” subscription rates.

• Get All Local DTV Channels: Cable may not carry all the new channels provided by each of your local television stations. Satellite services will carry just the main channel. You can get them all.

• Better Picture Quality: Remember, digital television is not high-definition television (HDTV), but the picture quality is significantly improved. No snow. No ghosts. To squeeze more channels into less space, cable or satellite companies “compress” television signals, sent them you, and uncompress them in their set-top boxes. Over-the-air signals don’t suffer from “compression artifacts.”

• Gives You Options: Cable and satellite subscription services all must include a connector on their set top boxes so you can hook-up an indoor or out door antenna to receive over-the-air signals. Doing so means you’ll always have the option to cancel your monthly subscription and keep watching all the local digital channels (yes, you’ll need a digital TV set or to buy a DTV Converter as described below). Depending on the channels you watch, this could save some families up to $1,000 or more each year.

• Vital In Emergencies: While it’s possible that a local, regional, or national incident might result in you being unable to receive cable or satellite signals, you’ll probably still be able to receive one or more local television broadcast stations if you are prepared to receive over-the-air signals.

Whether you now have cable, satellite, or receive over-the-air television signals, you and follow these steps to make sure you can receive over-the-air digital television signals after all analog broadcasting ceases at midnight on February 17, 2009.

1) Determine if you have a TV set with a digital or analog tuner. New or recently purchased digital TV sets (manual or the back of the set will mention “ATSC” or that the tuner is digital. Older, conventional, analog TV sets will say nothing or that the tuner is NTSC (analog).

2) If your TV set receives digital, you’re either watching DTV today, or would benefit from hooking up an indoor or outdoor antenna.

3) If your TV set receives analog, you’ll need to buy a DTV Converter and connect it between your antenna and your TV set. It will convert the new digital channels to Channel 3 or 4 or your existing set. Follow these simple steps:

• Get Discount Converter Coupons: While DTV converters cost $50 to $90 — more if you want extra features — the U.S. government will provide each household with two DTV Converter Box Discount Coupons. Sign up for coupons.

• Pick A DTV Converter Box: Features vary and most stores only carry one or two models. If you live in a rural area and / or receive any television channel from a translator, relay, or low-power stations, you’ll want to select a box with the “analog pass through” feature. Discount coupons can only be redeemed on government approved DTV Converter boxes. See the list.

• Buy Your New DTV Converter Box: Note, the government’s $40 discount coupons expire just 90-days after they are issued. Millions of coupons have expired because viewers didn’t make purchasing their DTV Converter Box a high priority.

• Hook Up Your DTV Converter Box: If you already have an indoor or outdoor antenna, simply follow the instructions and connect the box between your antenna wire and your TV set. If you don’t have an indoor or outdoor antenna, talk with your neighbors who do to learn what types, heights and orientations seem to work best. Get local station info.

• Antenna Upgrades Maybe Needed: If you hook up your DTV Converter, follow the directions to “scan” for channels, and get nothing — or just a few of the stations you previously could receive over-the-air, talk with your neighbors to see if upgrading your indoor or outdoor antenna will help.

Because digital television — like digital cellphones — work or don’t work, this part can be a bit tricky and you may want to seek help from a “tech savvy” friend. Remember, you don’t want to be installing or adjusting your antenna this winter just before the shut off. Get antenna info.

Enjoy your free, over-the-air digital channels . . . and remember you have an alternative to subscription-based, pay television from cable and satellite services.

Thank you.

Looking back, it’s hard to imagine how today’s technology has simplified what and how I watch television.

I can still remember the day my Dad brought home the Zenith TV set. I must have been six years old. It was a black & white site, naturally, but I can remember watching test patterns on Saturday mornings waiting for stations to sign-on at 6 am. The test pattern would go to black and the “Star Spangled Banner” would play as fighter jets soared though the sky and my morning of cartoons had officially begun. It seems like only a few years later, I started watching programs on National Educational Television — the forerunner of PBS.

Since that time in 1957, technology has changed everything. Now with an HDTV set (I elected to stay with a modest SONY’s XBR standard set and give LCD and plasma screens another seven years to improve their quality and drop in price), A/V Receiver w/ Dolby DTS, DVD, VCR, DirecTV, and a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) I could watch just about anything at anytime.

But, to my surprise, I didn’t. All that increase in technology had not increased the time I spent viewing television. In fact, it may have made me a lot more selective.

While my wife and I enjoy buying or renting DVD movies as much as anyone, we found our lives only had time for about a movie a week. With the DVR set to record our favorite series, I realized we were watching just a few hours of television a week. With busy lives, I calculated that the cost we paid for DirecTV was $5 to $10 per program.

I realize my viewing experience is probably anything but typical, but the reality of what I was actually watching (vs. recording) was nothing less than what business author, Tom Peters, used to call a “blinding flash of the obvious.”

Now, if I were in a location where it was possible to receive FREE digital broadcast signals — and the mountain between me and the transmitter guarantees I am not — I’d be more than satisfied with free, over-the-air public television stations’ digital signals, captured by my digital video recorder (DVR), and viewed when I chose in HDTV with Dolby DTS 7.1 sound.

Digital television broadcasting and other improvements in technology may do little for commercial network reality series or game shows, but when used with PBS programming that brings the world into my living room the results are stunning.

NATURE, NOVA, FRONTLINE, MASTERPIECE THEATRE, THE NEWSHOUR WITH JIM LEHRER, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and other PBS favorites have never looked or sounded better.

As promised, a future post will describe why the very highest quality television signals may well require you purchase a new antenna. But for now, I’ll settle for defining “television happiness” as my digital PBS TV stations, my DVR, and me . . .