 brianiscool
join:2000-08-16
Miami, FL | heh Antenna is the best source  | |
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 | cwh
join:2006-05-14
San Antonio, TX | Re: heh Just wait till the local stations start lowering bitrate so they can have multiple subchannels. | |
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| | ke4pym
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC
 ·Verizon BroadbandA..
 ·Packet8
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| Re: heh Actually, this might not happen so much as you would think.
The FCC recently mandated that each sub channel (even if it is just weather radar) must present a certain amount of childrens programming. And, it must be counted seperately of the main channel's childrens programming content.
So, if the requirement is 20 hours a month for your main channel and you're running 3 sub channels you've now got to come up with an additional 60 hours of content.
Many of the stations in my market shut down their weather radar channel because of this requirement. | |
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| | | cwh
join:2006-05-14
San Antonio, TX | Re: heh Childrens programs can have advertisements too. I bet the shutdown is only long to find content and advertisers. It seems like a dumb requirement. | |
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| | | | | cwh
join:2006-05-14
San Antonio, TX | Re: heh Given that broadcasting a subchannel is very low cost, I cant see how it would not be worth while,even if you run the childrens programs at a loss. | |
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| | | | | | JimF
join:2003-06-15
Allentown, PA
1 edit | Re: heh But if it were worth it to run the children's programming before the requirement in order to earn the advertising revenue, they would have done it. The children's programming requirement can only reduce their incentive to run the sub-channel. | |
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morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000
clubs: | Re: heh now why would they do that? seriously. the FCC wouldn't do it willy nilly. does it screw over cableco's somehow and benefit telcos? | |
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| | | | | | | | robertfl
Premium
join:2005-10-10
Mary Esther, FL
·Cox VOIP
1 edit | Re: heh If I were to encounter a programme with E/I on it, it should be commercial free. Why the FCC is allowing commercials to be put in kid's programmes is beyond me.
What a way to get kids today introduced to "ads"
(skip)
(There misleading anyway)
Rob | |
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Fox McCloud
Crazy like a fox.
join:2006-07-23
 ·Embarq
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| Re: heh said by Hall  :said by ke4pym : Many of the stations in my market shut down their weather radar channel because of this requirement. Only one of my local stations operates a weather channel and they started it up not long before the Jan 1, 2007 deadline for this children's programming requirement. It's still running today too.... I'll second that; I'm really glad they did too; while it's definitely not an exciting channel, I find it far more beneficial to watch and listen to that THE Weather Channel, but that's just me.
Either way, I really like my HD offering off of my antenna; all but one of my regular channels broadcasts in HD at some time during the week. | |
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| | | | | ricep5
Premium
join:2000-08-07
Jacksonville, FL
·AT&T CallVantage
·Comcast Formerly ..
| Re: heh said by Fox McCloud :said by Hall :said by ke4pym : Many of the stations in my market shut down their weather radar channel because of this requirement. Only one of my local stations operates a weather channel and they started it up not long before the Jan 1, 2007 deadline for this children's programming requirement. It's still running today too.... I'll second that; I'm really glad they did too; while it's definitely not an exciting channel, I find it far more beneficial to watch and listen to that THE Weather Channel, but that's just me. Either way, I really like my HD offering off of my antenna; all but one of my regular channels broadcasts in HD at some time during the week. The Weather Channel has become a wasteland of enhanced weather "specials", most hosted by mr. superlative Jim Cantore. They were better when they stuck to just weather reporting and analysis instead of trying to make it a soap. | |
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| | | | | | wvcaver
Premium
join:2005-04-17
Millersburg, OH | Re: heh i used to watch them all the time!
now i would rather get my weather off of the internet! | |
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Fox McCloud
Crazy like a fox.
join:2006-07-23 | yep; I completely agree; heck, I can remember when they didn't even have a weather man, or anyone talking on the channel; it was just a 24/7 radar view with elevator music. | |
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Michieru2
zzz zzz zzz
Premium
join:2005-01-28
Miami, FL | Re: heh You are not the only one. | |
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| | | | | | Time4aNAP
Premium
join:2007-04-09
Des Plaines, IL | Ironically, TWC's weather.com website is as good as TWC on cable is bad. | |
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Blasterbator
Sent By Grocery Clerks
join:2001-02-20
Jackson, MS | Oh good, great idea, kids need to watch MORE television  | |
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| | riblet2000
join:2006-03-08
Naples, FL | They already do it here (multiple subchannels) but the picture quality still beats the snot out of what Comcast squirts through their coax around here. And this is not a major market... | |
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bobb cobb
@swbell.net | Re: heh Same here and I hate it. Our ABC station has several subchannels, one a radar and the other "the CW". I wish they would at least turn off the radar (if there is no bad weather) during prime time ABC shows like they do in Dallas. | |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA | Gotta love it...
Free (i.e. no cable/satellite bill) and better quality (no extra compression schemes).
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Canada = Hollywood North | |
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| | AJICQ499087
join:2001-12-01
Louisville, KY
| Re: heh I watch HDTV over the air for free on my 2005 XP Media Center PC and I often record the goodies to an exteral USB hard drive. 
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low cost and fast speed is what customers want in broadband | |
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| | Time4aNAP
Premium
join:2007-04-09
Des Plaines, IL
| Re: Compression IIRC, ATSC uses MPEG2 compression, and DirecTV uses MPEG4. Cable can vary with the provider. IME MPEG2 gives a better picture than MPEG4. On paper, MPEG4 seems capable of providing a better overall picture. However in practice it seems to be used mostly to conserve bandwidth. | |
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Lysis
join:2005-03-30
Brooklyn, NY
| reception not everyone gets reception, there is some website that has info on what antenna you should get depending on A)distance from broadcast 2) what obstacles are between you and the broadcast ie trees, skyscrapers etc.
if you get a hdtv tuner that happens to be bundled with the correct antenna it can be a good deal | |
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LiamJunket
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Ocean City, NJ
·Comcast
| Re: reception said by Lysis :not everyone gets reception, there is some website that has info on what antenna you should get depending on A)distance from broadcast 2) what obstacles are between you and the broadcast ie trees, skyscrapers etc. Here is the web site you refer to:
»www.antennaweb.org/
But because of the Yahoo news story, they are getting so many hits that it overwhelmed their servers. Try back there in a day or two.
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Internet News
My BLOG
My Web Page | |
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RR Conductor
RailRoadDude
Premium
join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
·Comcast
1 edit | Re: reception I got it to work, we can get a grand total of....3 local (all out of SF, 115 miles south) stations via antenna, we currently get 25 locals on Directv.
Edit-I think you can get more in this area, but our location is surrouned by trees and hills, so it limits it. | |
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| | | TACSPEED
Premium
join:2001-04-14
Tacoma, WA | Re: reception I get thirty five channels out of Seattle/Tacoma. | |
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axus
join:2001-06-18
Washington, DC
·Verizon Online DSL
·Cox HSI
| It's difficult to find a cheap non-USB tuner I wanted to get a gift for a friend who watched over-the-air television, I thought an HD tuner+antenna would be nice. Wow, I couldn't find anything under $200. I think it's still an early-adopter market with early-adopter prices.
There was much more competition and lower prices for USB antennas, I'm assuming they rely on the computer and driver to handle some expensive things.
The first company to design a tuner/antenna for $40+$40 will make millions when the USA switches over from analog to digital and hands out all those coupons. | |
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antdude
A Ninja Ant
Premium,VIP
join:2001-03-25
| Had to dump my rabbit ears and get a bowtie antenna. I got one of these bowtie antennae: »www.antennasdirect.com/DB2_Indoo···nna.html (30 miles). It works better for analog feed too, but channels 2, 4, and 5 aren't clear still.  | |
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RayW
Premium
join:2001-09-01
Layton, UT
clubs:
·XMission
| It works We are about 45 miles from the transmitters and my neighbor uses the antenna (a normal VHF/UHF that he has had for years) for HDTV and the small dish for all else. He says broadcast HDTV works better than the satellite feeds.
I think I will wait another couple of years, then move my antenna out of the attic and get a HDTV (mine will be about 9 years old anyway).
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I am not lost, I find myself every time. | |
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Gilitar
join:2000-11-20
Mobile, AL | Antenna FTW I'm currently running a Radioshack VU-90 with the Radioshack antenna mounted amplifier. This way I get all the HD I want with the exception of Discovery HD. Can't beat the price.  | |
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No to ESPN
@sbcglobal.net
| Antenna for the Masses Bought a 23 inch HDTV this Xmas and have been running it off a set of rabbit ears. I am trying to figure out how to get a feed from the big antenna in the attic to the HDTV in the kitchen but there are quite a few barriers such as walls, a staircase and getting from the second story to the first. Having said that the picture on the HDTV with the rabbit ears is quite a bit better than the cable HDTV in the neighborhood. In fact the antenna feeding the old Sony 36 inch XBR tv in the living room produces a better picture than the cable HDTV most of the time. Satellite quality is almost the same but I ain't paying $ 50 to 100 dollars a month so my antenna is a lot better!
In addition, some of the sub-channel stuff is actually pretty good. My wife is hooked on a sub-channel that plays popular music all day long.
If you live within 50 miles of the broadcast antennas like I do I would recommend the trial of reception antenna. There is no need for a special HDTV antenna as the signal is still UHF/VHF. An amp may be needed in some cases. Trees and building can be a problem. Enjoy. | |
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inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK | great for locals....useless for everything else. sorry, I'll stick to cable. I cant exactly get ESPNHD, MHD, and National Geographic over the air. | |
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Uhdudh
@mb.ca | But... How many people are in markets where there is OTA HD signal? | |
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| RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11 | Re: But... Almost all of them. | |
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koolman2
Premium
join:2002-10-01
Anchorage, AK
1 edit | Many. Hell, in Anchorage Alaska, I can get OTA HD NBC, PBS, and CBS.
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There's no place like ::1. | |
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RR Conductor
RailRoadDude
Premium
join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
·Comcast
1 edit | Hah! Nope. The nearest TV station to us is in Santa Rosa, 70 miles south (most of the channels come out of SF, 100 miles south), all the signals here are broadcast from a repeater on Spanish Mountain. There is a grad, hunkin' total of 3 locals available here, on Directv we get 25 locals No thanks, I'll stick with my Directv
Edit-Our locals come out of the SF Bay Area. | |
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rudnicke
Premium
join:2004-10-23
Rantoul, IL
clubs: | Split Can you split a single HD antenna between three HD TV's? | |
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| russotto
join:2000-10-05
Collegeville, PA | Re: Split Yes, depending on available signal strength you either need an ordinary 3-way splitter, or an amplifier plus a splitter. | |
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| RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
·AT&T Midwest
| There is no such thing as an "HD antenna". Get a simple splitter, hook it to the antenna feed, and connect your TVs. If you are in Rantoul you should have no problem picking up any of the Champaign locals with a small antenna.
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Toolmaster of La Grange. | |
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Andypro
@mindspring.com
| I have the opposite problem I live within a mile of most all the transmission towers. The multipath interference is too much for my DVICO Fusion HDTV tuner to handle. In fact, pointing my indoor antenna *away* from the window frequently improves performance. But I couldn't fully replace cable with my setup because it's simply too unreliable.
Poor signal strength is one thing, but multipath interference is just as bad. | |
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| russotto
join:2000-10-05
Collegeville, PA | Re: I have the opposite problem Maybe it's overload rather than multipath? An attenuator might help. | |
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Alex G Bell
join:2002-07-02
Boston, MA
1 edit |  Antennas
Not so fast, friend; recent antenna technology has benefited from computer modeling. The newer Winegards, etc., are good designs and affordable, especially if you buy them at the wholesale price. Since HD is carried on UHF frequencies, the antennas tend to be small compared to VHF antennas for a given amount of gain. It is not a bad idea to buy the highest gain "outdoor" antenna you can afford. If the signal level is too high for the input of your set, pad it down with a pad at the input to the TV. The idea is to obtain as much signal as possible from the desired direction; the higher gain antennas are also the most directional and thus less prone to multipath interference. Use quad-shield RG-6 cable with the "snap-and-seal" F-connectors, seal all outdoor connections with stuff made for that purpose (found at Radio Shack), use lightning protection, and don't bend the cable too sharp (sharp bends cause standing waves in the cable).
The inexpensive antennas work well outside in climates like Southern California. In places like New England, if you can get by putting one in your attic, do so. You will sacrifice at least 3 dB of gain, but your antenna won't corrode (and thus act like a diode) or blow apart. Where I live I would not dare put a large inexpensive antenna on my roof; it would easily blow down within a few months.
If you really want a good outdoor antenna that is built to last in severe weather, buy a Scala. They are expensive (over $350.00) but they are the best made period. See:
»www.kathrein-scala.com/uhf-tv.htm
--
"Remember, Comrade, people who are willing to destroy an efficient telephone system may not be playing with a full deck." | |
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brycarp75
join:2000-11-18
Loveland, CO |  Remember when cable was "a better antenna"?
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houselog442
join:2005-10-05 | Silver Sensor is all you need I use the Silver Sensor to pick up channels over the air. It is the best UHF indoor antenna that I ever had. With a small amp I can get up to 50 miles, and when in lived in Citrus County, I was able to get WTSP in Holiday, and it is 60 miles away! | |
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| russotto
join:2000-10-05
Collegeville, PA | Re: Silver Sensor is all you need Alas, what works in flat Florida won't always work for the rest of us. | |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
| OTA works great Great pic and most new DBS HD boxes integrate OTA into the onscreen program guide. My old HD-DirecTiVo and MPEG4 D* boxes did and my MPEG4 ViP boxes from E* do. And I definately see a difference in quality flipping between E* delivered network HD and OTA HD. | |
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FutureMon
OW My Eyes
Premium,ExMod 2002-05
join:2000-10-05
Colorado Springs, CO
clubs:
| Antenna I've got one of these mounted to a pole on the side of my house. It's about 15 feet above my roof and has coax coming down from it.
I tried connecting the coax to the input to my house wiring, but it didn't seem to do much in regards to reception...
- FM
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Undisputed BBR Karaoke Champion! Care to challenge me? | |
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| russotto
join:2000-10-05
Collegeville, PA
| Re: Antenna Is it pointed the right way? (small end towards the towers)? Are there elements broken off of it? If you connect the coax directly to a TV (rather than involving the house wiring) does it work well?
Is it possible there's a pre-amp on it? That would be a small box mounted on the mast beneath the antenna. If so, you need a power injector to make it work. But you'll need to see what kind it is.
Probably you'll have to take it down or get up to it to see if there's any broken or bad connections. | |
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FutureMon
OW My Eyes
Premium,ExMod 2002-05
join:2000-10-05
Colorado Springs, CO
clubs:
| Re: Antenna heh yeah a couple of the "arms" have come loose and they are just hanging by their wires. There is a box attached to it as well. I just tried connecting the coax to the input to the house wiring. Never tried connecting directly to a TV. It's pointing due south.
- FM
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Undisputed BBR Karaoke Champion! Care to challenge me? | |
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CatSnak
RIP Splashy - We miss you
Premium
join:2001-05-06
Lakeside, CA
| Re: Antenna said by FutureMon :heh yeah a couple of the "arms" have come loose and they are just hanging by their wires. There is a box attached to it as well. I just tried connecting the coax to the input to the house wiring. Never tried connecting directly to a TV. It's pointing due south. - FM Broken antenna's don't work very well. You can get a new one at Wal-Mart fairly cheap.
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Founding member, 2002-2003, 2005-2006 Director of Communications, 2004-2005 Secretary for the Crunchenstein Project | |
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| russotto
join:2000-10-05
Collegeville, PA
| Looks like most of your stations are actually E-NE, and those broken elements don't help.
Since Antennaweb is down you can try this site to find your local stations:
»www.2150.com/broadcast/ | |
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HDTV & The Return Of The Antenna
