BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Consumers now can watch the best quality picture on their modernhigh definitionTVs by using a 50 U.S. dollars antenna,which looks as old-fashioned as the their grandparents' "rabbit ears," to receive signals.

 Broadcast in high definition over the air, TV channels in Cleveland, U.S., offer superior picture quality over the often-compressed signals sent by cable and satellite TV companies, media reported Friday.

And the best part is over-the-air HD is free.

Richard Schneider, president of Antennas Direct, said it's ironic that 80-year-old technology has been "rejigged" to provide the best quality picture with modern high definition televisions.

Schneider started building the antennas in his garage a few years ago, but last year his company did 1.4 million U.S. dollars in sales and expects to double that this year.

"People thought I was nuts. They were laughing at me when I told them I was starting an antenna company," Schneider said.

One major difference with a digital over-the-air signal is it doesn't get snowy and fuzzy like the old analog signal. Instead, the picture will turn into tiny blocks and go black.

"You either get it or you don't," said Dale Cripps, founder and co-publisher of HDTV Magazine. "Some people can receive it with rabbit ears, it depends where you are."

HD antenna prices range from 20 dollars to 150 dollars for indoor and outdoor versions. Whether consumers can use an indoor or outdoor antenna depends how far they live from a station's broadcast tower.

But a downside to using just an antenna is that only local channels are available, meaning no ESPN, TNT, CNN or Discovery Channel.

(Agencies)