Seems unlikely. If anything, the quality would have been worse in
"the good ol' days."

True it probably wasn't as good as I remember it, after all the picture
was black and white, and I settled for less back then.

Even now when I watch video tapes I recorded twenty years ago, before
cable. I could not believe I settled for that kind of reception.

But I do remember getting a strong signal from stations far away, the
only time I get that now is when there is a thunderstorm in the area.

I have had cable since 1990, Iove the technology of tv, not
necessarily the programming that is on it, that is why am messing
around with antennas and so on.

I primarily use it for fm and back up if cable goes off.