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Thread Number: 48199
I Cut The The Cord! |
[Down to Last] |  |
Post# 698682 8/24/2013 at 19:46 (3,891 days old) by Launderess  (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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That's what I did!
Nabbed an Access HD digital converter box and RCA Ant200 Antenna off fleaPay for a decent price (would have been better if some stupid sniper hadn't tried to outbid, when will they learn), and the kit arrived this morning. After spending a good part of the afternoon setting the thing up (ran the converter box connection through the VCR), and fooling with the antenna to get best signal strength am now that well pleased! We have at least 15 digital channels on our 'old" JVC CRT, some of them in HD. This includes all CBS channels currently being blacked out due to a dispute that network is having with Time Warner Cable. At first converter box kept saying "no signal found" but again after awhile of fooling around managed to sort that lot out. Picture is crisp, clear and streets better than the old analog and or cable signals via direct hook-up. Only downside so far cannot pick-up any of the local PBS stations. May look into other antennas to see if we can get those and or perhaps more stations. Thanks to all in the group who posted under other threads about cutting the cord. Just one month of not having to pay TWC more than covers what one paid for this kit. | ||
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| Post# 698683 , Reply# 1 8/24/2013 at 20:02 (3,891 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E) | ||
Oh, Thank GOD. | ||
| Post# 698699 , Reply# 2 8/24/2013 at 21:21 (3,891 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas) | ||
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Now all you need is a Roku XS box to have access to the entire world of free programming. Do you have a network on your computer? | ||
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Post# 700356 , Reply# 3 9/1/2013 at 05:48 (3,883 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Well About One Week On Now
And all the misery of antenna television came flooding back! *LOL*
Having reception fade in and out, stations being *there* one day and not the next or even several hours later. Oh and the joys of finding a spot where *all* channels can be received. Since must use an indoor antenna have resisted thus far any urge to push out the boat for anything more than the RCA "bunny ears" that came with the converter box. These are amplified and after a few days of moving the thing about to different locations finally found a spot on top of a large and tall bookcase that seems to *work*. By that we can reach about 40 stations but lost CBS (channel 2) which we received when initially had the antenna on top of the television. You see the problem was couldn't get PBS, and *THAT* would never do, hence all the moving about. Problem is our local PBS station is a "high VHF" frequency while CBS, channel 2 is a low one. We can get one or the other atm, but not both. Well could but would mean getting up and readjusting the bunny ears each time, and that gets old very fast. Anyone considering thinking about going OTA must realize and not get to worked up over number of channels received by antennas. Yes, you may pick up 20, 30, or more channels, but a bulk of them are rubbish. Just as with cable many are simply affiliated clones of major stations. In these instances what is on one channel is also on another or more. So you really aren't getting that many "new" content channels. Much of the rest are also Latino/Hispanic, religious, public access/local government, religious and shopping (QVC, etc...) stations. Think out of the 40 or so stations we now get only really watch a handful. Am thrilled with the following stations: Movies!, Antenna, This TV, Between them am seeing old television shows (Rin Tin Tin, Outer Limits, All In The Family, Maude, etc.. ) haven't seen in ages. The movie channels show older and even some newish (so far up to the 1980's and early 1990's) that one either hasn't seen in awhile or never. Last night we watched WUSA with Paul Newman, an under rated and unappreciated work that apparently did not do well in it's first BO run. Now the downside: commercials, commercials, and more commercials. Had forgotten how many and long those breaks are. Still it gives one a chance to do what we did "back then"; go for a bevvy and or snack, pick-up a conversation, use the powder-room, etc.. | ||
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Post# 700413 , Reply# 4 9/1/2013 at 12:09 (3,883 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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It is possible to use two antennas and to mix their signals into one input into the TV, using a simple inexpenive coax signal splitter wired to combine two signals rather than split one signal. Also there are newer indoor antennas designed specifically for digital TV reception.
At one time I believe multi-story apartment buildings had antennas on their roofs, and a wiring system to deliver the rooftop signals to all the apartments below. When the wiring was the old 300 ohm "twin lead", the signal degradation must have been horrific. Coax 75 ohm cable resists ghosting and other interference much better. I wonder if your building has that wiring... or if it can be resurrected. New York City being the origination point for so much TV and radio programming I would think the signal strength should be pretty good once the roof is reached. | ||
| Post# 700431 , Reply# 5 9/1/2013 at 13:38 (3,883 days old) by retromania (Anderson, South Carolina) | ||
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Launderess: Is your antenna on the roof? Are you close to a tv station? | ||
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Post# 700442 , Reply# 6 9/1/2013 at 14:25 (3,883 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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NYC Signal Strength Is All Over The Place
Things only got worse after 9/11/01 since the Twin Towers were where most television and IIRC radio signals were broadcast from; this was natural since they were the tallest buildings in the area. Happily the "Freedom Tower" is nearly complete and it's antenna has been installed.
From what one has been reading (and one has done quite a lot of that) on this matter "HDTV" and "digital" antennas are more a marketing gimmick than anything else. Most antennas from old rabbit ears to Yagis will pick up signals digital or analog. Yes, there are various differences in sensitivity but what really matters is the design and where the thing is located. Since we cannot put an antenna on the roof (have a huge building management would not be happy), for now it is where it is. When things calm down will purchase longer cable and a connector to allow the thing to sit in window. We shall see then if reception is clearer and or more stable. It is very odd but then again the nature of OTA broadcasts that so many things can affect. Wind, rain, planes, automobiles, trucks, persons walking by, etc... all can bring things to a halt. In the old days of analog if one had a poor or weak signal at least you got "ghosts" or a grainy picture. Not no more. If the signal is week with digital you see nothing. Interruptions bring on pixilation but that either resolves or you loose the picture totally. All and all am not unhappy about the quality of OTA broadcasts. Frist it is free which says something. Next one does not watch that much television to really get worked up about things. It is just a comfort and sometimes a necessity (news, weather or when one is ill), but other than that.... One worry is recording programs onto VCR. It can be done as the antenna is routed through the VCR, but am worried about gaps or loss of signal. Could end up with part or most of the program missing. Sudmaster: Think many buildings sealed up and or took down master antennas in Manhattan at least when cable was rolled out. Have heard stories from old timers in tenement or smaller buildings that people used to hang antennas out windows or place them on fire escapes (a big NO-NO). Others simply put them on the roof of the building. Was not told what various landlord responses were to such actions. It was all that or simply put up with bunny ears indoors. | ||
| Post# 700448 , Reply# 8 9/1/2013 at 14:51 (3,883 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas) | ||
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As I mentioned earlier, a Roku box would fix most of these problems. There are some commercials on only a few of the stations, but the majority have no commercials at all. And there are tons and tons of television programs to watch. | ||
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Post# 700573 , Reply# 10 9/2/2013 at 06:07 (3,882 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Quite A Few Households In NYC Are Going OTA
With Time Warner and so forth seemingly having lost their minds about prices, coupled with a weak economy and employment market persons have to make do and mend.
Most when they sit down and do the sums quickly realize they are paying way too much each month for cable and getting little in return. Have read accounts of NYC residents in back apartments facing brick walls and obtaining decent signals. It all depends upon the antenna. Those facing fronts of buildings are best off, and those facing South are better still. Don't see master antenna's making a huge comeback for larger buildings here in NYC. Not with Time Warner, Verizon FIOS and DishTV amount other sources. Landlords/building management just do not want the hassle and liability costs involved. | ||
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Post# 700726 , Reply# 12 9/2/2013 at 22:18 (3,882 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine) |
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I would love to cut the cord
Unfortunately, where I live has a ton of trees that mess up the regular tv now that its digital, especially it is stormy with a roof antenna, now that it is digital like now. I have DirecTV without locals which works most of the time under a grandfathered package that has alot of mostly garbage channels that have mostly commercials, but not one or two networks I would like. BUT if I change anything, my rate goes way up. I got PrimeStar satelite for the commercial free stations many years ago and it went away, I would love to have it back.
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| Post# 703738 , Reply# 14 9/17/2013 at 19:40 (3,867 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas) | ||
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To most Chicagans, it will always be the Sears Tower. | ||
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Post# 703745 , Reply# 15 9/17/2013 at 20:20 (3,867 days old) by ultramatic (New York City) |
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Post# 703782 , Reply# 16 9/17/2013 at 22:47 (3,867 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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PBS Is Fine Now
Once one has found the right *spot* all three channel "Thirteen" PBS spots come in; only problem we have is again related to living in an area with so many tall buildings. The trees still being in leaf isn't helping matters either. Find viewing later in the day and night better as is less interference from passing cars, persons, cell phones, etc...
Am really loving the "Movies!" channel. Am seeing tons of older films that have been wanting to see for ages. | ||
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Post# 703793 , Reply# 17 9/17/2013 at 23:45 (3,867 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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In San Francisco, it's primarily the Sutro Tower. It's a huge orange monstrosity erected on top of Mt. Sutro, near the UCSF Medical Center Campus. Used to be just a much smaller KGO TV/Radio transmitter location. Then the stations got together and got a waiver to build the Godzilla like tower. With the promise that it would deliver crystal clear pictures to the entire city. Well, the city being built on at least seven hills, the clear broadcasts never really came true for large parts of the city in the hills' shadows. But out here in the East Bay, have a nearly clear line of sight to the tower and the reception - esp the digital - is generally great.
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| Post# 703893 , Reply# 20 9/18/2013 at 15:25 (3,866 days old) by Davey7 (Chicago) | ||
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Oh yeah, they are. Retired academic and his Mrs.... Funny thing is their TV is in more of a direct line to Sears Tower whereas mine is in the far corner form it yet I get a good picture. | ||
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Post# 704002 , Reply# 22 9/19/2013 at 05:54 (3,865 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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 My grandmother had that problem with the remote ... selecting the wrong control function (VCR, DVD, satellite, whatever), then the TV wouldn't respond. I opened the remote, placed bits of paper between a few of the buttons and their contacts to effectively disable them. No more trouble on that point. Unfortunately the TV input select is part of the channel scroll so no way to disable that. Occasionally I'll come there and find her taking a nap or in bed in the evening, the TV left on set at "component 1" input or some such with a blue screen. Of late she has taken to unplugging it when she can't figure out how to turn it off. | ||
| Post# 704043 , Reply# 23 9/19/2013 at 10:51 (3,865 days old) by Davey7 (Chicago) | ||
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Oh yeah, my neighbor was in, well, languages, so not technical. I think he lets his wife deal with that and sticks to his books - she's not better with reality either. He's wonderful, always smiling and charming. | ||
| Post# 704068 , Reply# 24 9/19/2013 at 14:06 (3,865 days old) by firedome (Binghamton NY & Lake Champlain VT) | ||
Have never had cable or satellite in our houses...
so have had to deal with OTA forever... we only watch PBS, can't abide commercials. But we do miss not having old movies &c, however with 3 PBS channels here and 4 in VT (LOVE those foreign detective shows on PBS' MHz channel - Beck, Van Veerteren, Wallender the Swedish version, Maigret &c &c... and Montalbano is a scream!.) So it's no sacrifice, and one can always watch cooking shows on Create if the selection is sucky on the other ones. However we HATE digital OTA, analog was so much more dependable once dialed in. This thing with massive signal disruption when people walk around is absolutely infuriating!
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| Post# 704104 , Reply# 25 9/19/2013 at 15:41 (3,865 days old) by Davey7 (Chicago) | ||
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Was just watching Sebastian Bergman last night, typical dark fare from land of more crime dramas than actual crime. (see my link for a happier vision of Sweden with pop star Barbro Svensson driving her Karmann Ghia to work) CLICK HERE TO GO TO Davey7's LINK | ||
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Post# 704148 , Reply# 26 9/19/2013 at 19:50 (3,865 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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This thing with massive signal disruption when people walk a
Yes, that is what gets on our nerves as well. Not just within the room but for us anything that passes outside the windows or even in the air (aircraft) can cause disruptions of signals. While frustrating you can turn on the signal meter from the converter box and see the thing go up and down.
Have learned pretty much to leave the antenna alone as the disruptions normally will work themselves out. However as stated upthread would never consider recording OTA programming. It is just too unpredictable. You may have a complete perfect program, then again you may not. | ||
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Post# 704149 , Reply# 27 9/19/2013 at 19:56 (3,865 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Wallender the Swedish version
We have that on local PBS as well, they are showing repeat of last year's series so don't know if Thirteen is getting anything new.
For awhile couldn't figure the thing out. Why do persons have British accents but the countryside looks nothing like anything we remember from the UK. I mean I know parts of Britain are barren, cold and so forth, but not like that! *LOL* We've got a great new series on PBS this fall "Last Tango In Halifax"! Great to see Derek Jacobi still going strong after all these years. Sir Jacobi was one of the first actors we remember from early PBS of our youth in "I Claudius". IIRC he and his partner spend lots of time on our side of the pond in New York. CLICK HERE TO GO TO Launderess's LINK | ||
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Post# 704169 , Reply# 28 9/19/2013 at 22:27 (3,865 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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Yes, Jacobi is one of the greats of stage, film, and video.
I first became acqainted with his work, of course, with I, Claudius. Truly a masterpiece of television programming and his performance as Claudius was such that I cannot imagine anyone else doing it. Later on I enjoyed him in Cadfael, a sort of medieval Sherlock Holmes series. I also remember him protraying Hitler in Inside the Third Reich, in which role he was good enough but probably not the best pairing for his very intellectual approach. With regard to digital broadcasts. Here, the quality is generally excellent. However bad weather can cause occasional dropouts, which may be accentuated by nearby air traffic or even my neighbors wandering around in their second story bedroom. If the latter is the case, I may invest in a taller antenna support. But generally, no complaints. And I get six different PBS stations here... can't quibble about that! | ||
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Post# 705221 , Reply# 29 9/25/2013 at 03:29 (3,859 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Am Really Just Loving This!
In the past two weeks have seen tons of films that one has always been curious about but never got around to renting, and they never made it onto television we've seen elsewhere.
Sabrina - Audrey Hepburn at her most beautiful. That gorgeous Long Island "Gold Coast" mansion. Teacher's Pet - Clark Gable seems a bit long in the tooth to be chasing after Doris Day, but it was a great film. Gig Young was one cool tall glass of water! Come Back Little Sheba - Anyone who only thinks of Shirley Booth as no more than Hazel should see this film. Was nearly in tears by the ending. The Last Picture Show - Small southern town America in the 1950's. Was *forbidden* to see this film when it was released in movie houses, and now can see why. Frontal nudity? Sex? This picture has it all. The cast is made up of so many names that went on to do great things. From Ellen Burstyn, Cloris Leachman, Timothy Bottoms, and Cybill Shepard. Come Back To The Five & Dime Jimmy Dean...- Cher! That is all one has to say. But there is an total ensemble cast that totally rocks this movie including the late Karen Black who plays a transgender. Haven't watched a DVD or VHS tape since we went OTA. | ||
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Post# 706074 , Reply# 32 9/29/2013 at 08:04 (3,855 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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Laundress,
Did you get all those movies off the air, or via an internet streaming solution? If off the air, I'm jealous, cause that means your local PBS station(s) have way more movie content than KQED out here. Still, I've noticed they've started showing movies not only Saturday night prime time, but also in the middle of the afternoon some Sundays. My most recent viewing pleasure has been the America's Cup races. Watched every one, and recorded most of the finals onto DVD. Don't know if I'll ever get around to watching them again, but it was nice to see those boats do such phenomenal speeds in the Bay. It also brought back memories of when I used to crew on racing sailboats in the Bay. Local sailors have long maintained that SF Bay has some of the best wind and water for racing in the world. | ||
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Post# 706076 , Reply# 33 9/29/2013 at 08:18 (3,855 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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All OTA And Not On PBS | ||
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Post# 706095 , Reply# 34 9/29/2013 at 11:38 (3,855 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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Post# 706142 , Reply# 35 9/29/2013 at 16:56 (3,855 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Kind Of Makes Sense
Fox owns this "Movies!" channel. IIRC they do own a large archive of motion pictures.
Just saw "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte" again this morning. It has been on before but seeing it again (and again) has allowed one to delve deeper into the "backstory". Always wondered why Charlotte Hollis left that music box she so loved (a gift from her dead lover), behind as she exits her home for the last time. Now understand that after overhearing Miriam and Dr. Dru tell how John Mayhew was a "womanizer", Charlotte realizes he wasn't really in love with her as she thought. Jewel Mayhew must have either been very angry and or strong willed to chop up her husband. Wonder why she didn't tell in her letter what happened to the head and hands. Under the old Hollywood code evil woman had to "pay" by the end of the film, and in HHSS it happens, just not the one you think. Miriam *was* the evil one and gets what is coming to her; Charlotte is released from >30 years of torment even though she will probably live out her days in an asylum of some sort. Which one assumes even then was better than being sent to prison. Looked up the man who played Luke, the sheriff and he was married to Celeste Holm, who lived just across Central Park and passed away earlier this year, or was it last year? | ||
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Post# 707419 , Reply# 37 10/5/2013 at 17:52 (3,849 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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They show up in the scan list but when you go to tune them i
Sometimes you may have to move the antenna about for some channels. If your tuner scan picked up the station then that usually means (in our experience) that it got a decent enough signal to know what is possible.
Yes, a lot of the "free" stations are Spanish and or Asian religious programming. That is why I tell persons now not to get so fired up about receiving large numbers of channels OTA. It can and usually turns out that only a small number contain programming you would watch on a regular basis anyway. We get lots of "normal" Spanish stations, mostly second, third and other spinoffs from Univision and Telemundo. Get to keep up with my novellas and what not, and it is good to see news programming from a different point of view. | ||
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Post# 707424 , Reply# 38 10/5/2013 at 18:29 (3,849 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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Post# 707430 , Reply# 40 10/5/2013 at 19:38 (3,849 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Movies! Rocks!
Am seeing so many great and wonderful films that not even cable gave.
Just this past week: Drive A Crooked Road - with Mickey Rooney Sniper - A great and largely unknown film noir set in SF. Phone Call from a Stranger - Another largely unknown but great Bette Davis film. Tonight it is a double feature: Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn and Separate Tables starring Rita Hayworth. | ||
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Post# 707438 , Reply# 41 10/5/2013 at 19:47 (3,849 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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| Post# 707474 , Reply# 42 10/5/2013 at 22:30 (3,849 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas) | ||
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We're watching that movie Funny Face right now. Well, Karen is anyway. It seems we will have two antenna positions to cover everything. Maybe this fall I'll install the rooftop antenna and then I won't need to play musical antenna positioning. | ||
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Post# 707478 , Reply# 43 10/5/2013 at 23:14 (3,849 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Have Found The Sweet Spot For Ours
May have to move things about every now and then, but otherwise things are fine.
It could also be the type of antenna you are using. IIRC those flat things pick up signals in an a random sort of way, that is you cannot "point" them to where the signal is strongest. Have you tried using your television's or converter box's built in signal meter? | ||
| Post# 707483 , Reply# 46 10/6/2013 at 00:23 (3,848 days old) by ptcruiser51 (Boynton Beach, FL) | ||
@ Ultramatic | ||
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Post# 707484 , Reply# 47 10/6/2013 at 00:37 (3,848 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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@Whirlcool | ||
| Post# 707553 , Reply# 48 10/6/2013 at 13:28 (3,848 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas) | ||
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Laundress: I was actually thinking about having a antenna installation company come out and do it for me. I feel like I am getting too old for this type of thing. When I was younger I installed quite a few, but nowadays..... | ||
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Post# 707627 , Reply# 49 10/6/2013 at 19:37 (3,848 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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@Whirlcool
Well if things can go that way it does seem a more safer option. After *thinking* about getting up on one's roof versus actually going are two different matters. Have actually read accounts in OTA group boards where many a husband was strictly forbidden by SWMBO from even getting the ladder out, much less going up onto the roof.
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Post# 707651 , Reply# 51 10/6/2013 at 20:42 (3,848 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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SWMBO | ||
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Post# 707652 , Reply# 52 10/6/2013 at 20:48 (3,848 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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OTA Signals
Much will depend upon factors such as objects in the line of sight from the antenna to your home.
There are a few good websites that will tell you what *should* be available OTA in your area. You simply plug in your address and up comes the data. In the world of OTA roof/outdoor mounted antennas give the best service for effort according to experts. If that cannot or will not be possible the next best thing are indoor antennas. Am sure you know already that there isn't any such thing as "HDTV" or "Digital" antennas. Those are marketing terms created by those seeing to sell things. Persons have gotten excellent reception of all stations, digital and analog using nothing more than old fashioned "rabbit ears" antennas. CLICK HERE TO GO TO Launderess's LINK | ||
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Post# 709952 , Reply# 56 10/18/2013 at 08:03 (3,836 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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Most rooftop full VHF/UHF antennas are designed with elements that swing out and lock in place easily, so yes you can do the minimal assembly on the ground (like sorting out where the U-bolts will go) and then swing the elements into position once it's on the roof. Important to be careful around power lines as well as take the usual care when up on a roof.
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Post# 710147 , Reply# 58 10/19/2013 at 05:09 (3,835 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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Apparently some things never change.
Although we can watch BBC overhere in the Netherlands and a few times somebody from the Netherlands was on the phone in "Saturday Kitchen", I can't view BBC programmes on BBC iPlayer. When I try I get this message: "Currently BBC iPlayer TV programmes are available to play in the UK only, but all BBC iPlayer Radio programmes are available to you. Why? If you are in the UK and see this message please read this advice. Go to the BBC iPlayer Radio homepage" I guess I'm left in the dark to why this is... | ||
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