Tiny TV antenna
Several years ago I built my own TV antenna from a coat hangar. Now the technology involves tiny antennas. Barry Diller is backing a service that utilizes tiny antennas in an array of thousands and tuners that stream live signals over the internet.
Aereo has survived the first court challenges and is being developed in 22 USA cities. New York rates are $12/mo.
Each city and market will have its own servers and antennas. Only people who reside in the market can receive the signal. Like having your own personal TV antenna and tuner connected to your computer with the ability to record programs.
Program selection is limited to the local broadcast stations in your area. In my own neighborhood that includes more than fifty channels of programming.
Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia explained that the device is a simple copper antenna but that, rather than picking up the entire TV spectrum like a typical cable antenna, it picks up only the 6 megahertz block of spectrum that a viewer wants to see at a given time. He describes it as a “switched antenna” that’s beautiful in its simplicity. The ingenuity, Kanojia said, is that Aereo’s 1.5 inch antenna changes its electrical and magnetic characteristics in order to replicate the tasks of a standard 35 inch UFH or three foot VHF antenna.
All I want is the antenna.
Is it legal? Aereo