(Mobile, Ala) - June 30 - Y
ou don't have to wait until February 17th, and it won't cost you a thing.If you have an HD compatible TV, high definition is free for your local channels right now.
All you need is the proper antenna.
Megan Pollock of the Consumer Electronics Association explains.
"We've got a great resource - it's called antennaweb.org and what you can do is actually type in your location, so your specific address, none of the information is collected, but put your address in there and it will ask you questions - what floor is the tv on, it makes a big difference if you're in the basement or on the 20th floor of a building.....if you're on the first floor, are you next to a high-rise, a lot of trees, in a valley - it asks you all these questions, and then it tells you exactly what stations you can get with what type of antenna. "It's important to think of these things - there's amplified and unamplified antennas. If you have an amplified antenna, what it means is it amplifies all the signals coming in. If you don't need it though, it's amplifying all the junk around it - all the other noise gets louder and that's actually a really bad thing, so you really want to think about this. My first piece of advice for consumers is you the antenna you already have before you take it to the next step. If you already have an antenna and you get a great signal, you should be fine, but if not, look to moving up, and we always recommend - an outdoor antenna is going to be the best way to receive a signal....high and outside is always your best bet."
