Well, I don’t have an aquarium, but neither do I have (or ever had) cable. Where I’m at I’ve been able to get by with rabbit ears for some 10-15 local TV stations including PBS (now all nicely digital with a converter box), and even that is way more than I ‘need’. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to justify having cable (I’m on DSL for internet), and frankly, while I do enjoy certain cable TV entertainment, I can’t honestly say I miss not having it.
As mentioned above, these days it’s quite easy to get your video fix online, and for drama series that’s the way I prefer it: as much as I can handle consecutively whenever it suits me. I’m much more news and background (like PBS’ News Hour) oriented, but the last time I recall being glued to the TV for any length of time beyond the odd 30-60 minutes of distraction was with 9/11. Not exactly something to look forward to either. Meanwhile, my iPod Touch provides me with internet radio and the tunes I prefer while I fall asleep at the end of the day…
Back to Grelber’s issue: he may not need a digital antenna (the old type rabbit ears and bowtie add-ons work just fine when in range of his preferred stations), but it’s not clear he can use his DVD player as a substitute for a digital-analog converter box. Fortunately that’s easily tested when the time comes; should he need it a decent converter isn’t all that expensive and readily available around transition time. Down the road he’ll exchange his current analog equipment for digital when it breaks down irreparably. It’s also good to know that a converter box works just fine, but doesn’t provide the quality a fully digital set is capable of. That said, if he's happy now, he’ll be more than happy after the digital conversion.
