Save Local Tv Programming - and Free Hdtv

For users of free over-the-air television, you may or may not know about the perils that some local television stations are facing. For instance, Canwest Global is in danger of going bankrupt and other stations may not be far behind. If Global goes down, how are you going to continue to watch Simpsons and Family Guy?? The issue at hand is whether cable and satellite companies should be forced to compensate local TV stations, whose signal is distributed through the cable/satellite systems and customers are charged for. Currently cable and satellite companies are not paying a single cent to the stations whose content they are using. If local TV stations fail, that means less selection for OTA users such as ourselves, and ultimately the end of free HD television programming as we know it.

Therefore I am sharing a letter that I wrote to my federal MP using the website savelocal.ctv.ca. If you feel this is a worthy cause, please send a letter yourself, and feel free to copy and paste the contents of my letter into yours.

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Dear Hon. <insert mp="" name="" here="">,

I am writing to you today to express the importance of local broadcast television in our community of <insert city="" name="" here="">.

OTA (Over-The-Air) television broadcasts (using antenna) is an excellent way to receive quality local programming, with absolutely no cost to the consumer. The only equipment required is a television set connected to an antenna. OTA television is currently undergoing a rapid revival due to the introduction of HD broadcasting, over-the-air. That means anyone with an HDTV set and antenna can receive high-quality, 720p/1080i signals from local television stations, for free.

HDTV broadcasts are not susceptible to imaging 'ghosting', and 'snow' artifacts that plagued the old analog standard. In fact, an HD signal received over-the-air is of much higher quality than the same channel received through cable and satellite. That is because cable and satellite companies must compress (and consequently degrade) the signal in order to squeeze the data so that it fits within their assigned spectrum and equipment limitations.

However, marketing techniques by both cable and satellite companies has led many consumers to believe that the only way they can receive an HD programming for their new HDTV set is to purchase or rent an HD decoder box, and subscribe to an HD package provided by cable or satellite.

This is far from the truth and I have taken the initiative to spread the word to family and friends that OTA is a viable alternative to expensive cable and satellite TV programming.

In our