Hopefully we’ve improved

All the way back in 2007 when this blog started, the standard for content was, well… not great. Here’s an example:

It seems like we’ve been hearing the debate about Satellite vs. Cable for years. What a lot of people don’t realize is that you can also use an antenna to get your HD programming. And antennas provide the best HD picture quality available – without the monthly bills. Here are five reasons to use an HDTV antenna.

  • Picture Quality: The best HD picture quality comes from an antenna because antennas don’t compress the digital signal like cable and satellite providers. HDTV antennas pull the signal directly from the broadcast, giving the viewer “true” HDTV picture quality.
  • Affordability: The over-the-air HD signal you get with an antenna is free. The cost of the HDTV antenna (ranging from under $10 to $400) and a digital tuner (if your TV doesn’t already have one) will be your only expenses.
  • Improved Channel Availability: Digital over-the-air TV has opened up opportunities for the regional networks to provide more channels. In some markets, there are as many as 30 channels available free and over the air to HDTV antenna users, including weather, music and movie channels.
  • Streamline Design: Many of today’s antennas provide high performance AND style.
  • Personalized Options: With a large number of HDTV antenna choices available, there is most likely one that will fit your specific, individual needs. Solid Signal can provide advice for the best product for you. Visit our “Antenna Help” page.

And even if you do have satellite or cable, an HDTV antenna can be used as a supplement for a low, one-time cost. Antennas can integrate right into satellite venues and provide HD in a situation where the program might not be available in HD from your satellite or cable provider.

For more information, check out our antennas.

(The original article’s links have been replaced with current ones pointing to the correct page at Solid Signal. The effect on the original content is minimal, I hope.)

Yeah that’s what you got back then

I didn’t write that. I would probably be embarrassed to say I did, but I didn’t. It’s not that it’s uninformative, but it doesn’t really move the art and science of blogging forward, does it? The sad thing is that was the only blog entry that week, and if you read it you probably wouldn’t have been itching to come back for more.

What the article could have said

I’ll give the article credit for listing off some of the features and benefits. But there’s so much more that went unsaid. What about the value of an antenna over time? Sure the article says that the antenna is free, but what about the cost savings over time?

The article barely touches on the different kinds of antennas, why you would want one or another, and those topics went unaddressed for years until I took stewardship of this blog.

While this short article talks about the many different programs that are available on antenna and not cable or satellite, it never tells you what those are, so you either lose interest or you don’t believe the writer.

Of course it was also a different time, so certainly I’ll cut the article some slack for not mentioning streaming. After all, that technology barely existed in 2007.

Moving forward from 2007

Since then, there have been over 12,000 individual pieces of content and I have to admit that not every one is a gem — this article probably won’t win any awards — but hey, I hope that most of them are better than this. I hope that over time I’ve given you something to think about, something to laugh about, and given you ample opportunity to shop the great selection of antennas and more at Solid Signal.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.