Why Can't We Be Friends?

As mentioned earlier, cable TV is not an option at this juncture for Casa de Luddite. Through a generous familial donation, the wife and I have been donated a DTV converter. DTV, in theory, sounds awesome. Who wouldn't want crystal-clear, over-the-air transmissions of all the channels that really matter? I've determined, however, that the digital cable transition was just a thinly-veiled ploy to sell new antennas and amplifiers, since my undoubtedly antique rabbit ears are ill-equipped to suckle on this "new" digital signal. What I get in the meantime is, well, digital - either I receive a channel, or I don't - which is in stark contrast to pre-DTV, when I could at least look forward to listening to a station without necessarily having the clearest picture. We fired up the converter sometime back around Wimbledon - ever try to watch a tennis match where 8 of every 10 seconds is frozen? Good luck. One of my guilty pleasures, "America's Got Talent," is on channel 2 in the UHF band, and that's a recipe for broken reception, if it is received at all. DTV, why don't you love me like I love you? Perusing Newegg for a replacement antenna was an exercise in frustration - may as well pick an affordable one at random and hope for the best. UHF has been around in the States since the 50s...you'd think there would have been quantum advances in antenna technology since then, right? Ah well, you get what you pay for.