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HDTV Via Rabbit Ears?

As TV watchers trade up the latest high-definition television sets, some are hooking them up to old-fashioned antennas that can pull in the digital and high-definition signals of local broadcasters for free. While they can get only the signals of local broadcast stations -- ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, etc. -- there are no monthly cable or satellite fees and no need for a set-top box.

The quality of over-the-air HD picture may even be better than what the cable and satellite companies deliver. "We are witnessing the renaissance of the old-fashioned TV antenna," says Arthur Gubeskys, chief technology officer of Convexicon Inc. of Long Island, N.Y. Meanwhile, antenna manufacturers like Antennas Direct of Eureka, Mo., are struggling to keep up with demand, in part, because there are so few companies still making them.

"It's kind of like the day after Prohibition," says Richard Schneider, president of Antennas Direct. "People could drink, but there were no breweries around." Kevin Turren, owner of Grand Illusions in Stoughton, Mass., did about one antenna installation a month when he launched his business five years ago; he now handles five. "It's becoming the solution to Comcast high prices."

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