Okay, Got the HD TV now and looking to get some nice HD local programming with an off air antenna. Not sure what exactly to buy really, looking for any reccomendations from anyone or experiences…
I bought a cheap (~$30) indoor amplified antenna, and it was horrible. I was around 8 miles, or less, from a few signals and nothing came in very well. I ended up returning it the next day.
If you have the means to get a large outdoor antenna that is your best bet.
Right now I have a set of rabbit ears I got free with a TV I bought when I was in college. The kind you can buy for < $5 at walmart. One side broke when I was telescoping it out, so I wrapped it with some black tape. This is laying on it side, in my attic, above my garage, with about a 15’ run of RG6 to the antenna in on the back of my Vip622 Dish Network receiver. So basically the most ghetto antenna you can imagine.
I’m getting high 70’s to low 90’s on 2, 4, 7, 29, 43(WNED) and 49(WNYO)
No amp, no fancy antenna, just about 10 minutes figuring out which way to point the antenna in my attic. I was on my cell having my wife check the signal level on the TV in the living room. I had a nice little amplified terk, the one that looks like the silver sensor everyone raves about, but the amp blew out and it didn’t work for shit without amplification. I decided to give the rabbit ears a shot in the attic since I was able to get all the above listed stations with them sitting on my living room floor.
I still may order a Silver Sensor because most of the people on the various HD forums I’ve visited love them. I guess it’s a great antenna if you’re close to the signal like I am in Williamsville. As of right now though the ears are working fine.
outdoor antennas are the only ones that work, screen windows and portable phones and wifi (any radio noise) will affect the performance of them drastically, the only way to reliable get HD over the air is to go outdoors, pretty much any outdoor antenna works, just some workbetter then otehrs, if you have lots of trees around your area you better get the mast above the trees, with HD over the air its a digital signal and as such is ALL or nothing signal quality so you either get it perfect or not at all
Several of the guys here at work have the same ghetto antenna setup I do and are amazed that they get all their local HD channels. For all of us it was just a matter of finding that magic position for the antenna that let it get all the channels without needing adjustment.
What you posted might be needed if you live 50+ miles from the tower, but in Amherst/Tonwanda/Hamburg etc I don’t think you have to go outdoor at all.
Jeller, do You currently have digital cable (still)? If so, HD Programming is free / included. Go to the TW office (the Maple Rd one is never busy) and exchange Your current settop for a HD capable one.
As far as OTA HD: Uhh, JayS is right. Rabbit ears will work, in a pinch. I’ve seen it with Me own two eyes. I’ve also seen Amplified Indoor as well as pole mounted Outdoor antennae. Obviously the latter is more expensive.
Pick up a $5 Rabbit ear setup at the Rat Shack or Walmart. Try it out. If it fail’s miserably, then You’ve only wasted $5. If it works (as well as I’ve seen), then You’ve saved $25 - $70.
IIRC, from another thread, Viper has a studio / loft in the renewed Downtown area. Me think’s that could be his problem.
Except I didn’t buy mine, I found it in the bottom of my “box-o-electronic-crap”. I’m 90% sure it came with my magnovox 19" tv I bought about 9 years ago (being a pack rat > *). Had I not had one I think I would have tried a coat hanger and still probably would have got at least some of the HD channels with it.
That could be. If he’s downtown he might be dealing with a lot more multipath issues than I am where all my neighbors houses are about the same height.
Yes I have digital through Time warner, I just got it on saturday. Guessing I need an HD box for this?
From the website:
Digital Cable -
Basic, Standard, plus 25 Digital Channels.Access up to 250 total channels, Movies on Demand, Free on Demand, Music Choice, and access to 8 High Definition Channels*.
FREE HD channels with HD Equipment: ABC,NBC,CBS,PBS,ESPNHD,ESPN2HD,TNTHD,Discovery HD
Soooo I get free HD channels, but only if they give me the right box ?
You should be able to get away with a normal cheap indoor turk antenna. My buddy lives in a ranch house in Hamburg and rarely has a problem getting all of the channels.
I have a terk outdoor hgtv antenna. I think the model is tv34 or tv35.
I mounted it on the roof of my apartment and i got all the channels in hdtv, nothing from the canadian market unfortunately.
Since then I got cable and don’t need the antenna.
The antenna can mount to the side of a house with a mini dish mast. I have an extra mini dish mast i can include.
LMK if your interested.
I have an indoor terk antenna, and they work great for non hdtv sources, but for hdtv its digital so its all or nothing, I couldn’t get anything in except PBS.
The only thing that scares me is the possiblity of it going out during weather conditions…? I have some friends that constantly complain about it and others that dont.
Also the placement of the dish. ( I dont want to have to be like my old neighbor that has a 10ft. mast on top of the front peak of his house in order to get signal.) I have about 25 trees all around my house at this time.
These are the things that concern me about dish at this time^
Honestly the whole weather issue is a giant joke the cable company created. You will occasionally get weather related issues but not that bad. If Satellite signals were really that affected by weather then your cable company would be going out just as bad. Where do you think their channels come from? They are beamed down form the sky to their hubs and cabled over to your house. A properly tuned Dish should survive almost every storm.
If your worried about the placement shoot me a PM. I know a guy that could come out to your place and check your line of sight for you and then you can go through with it.
I agree. My dad had directv back when i was a kid and it first came out. We got rain fade about once a year, and once a year we would have to sweep the dish with a broom. He bought this dish cover for it, now he never has a problem at all.
If you get a good aim, and the dish stays in the same place its not going to fuck up for no reason.
I don’t know Your location, but there should be some satelite :mamoru: office near to You. I go to the Maple Rd office in Amherst, there is rarely a line.
You go in, say: “Hi, I need to turn in my digital box for a HD digital box”. Drop box & remote on counter. Take new box & remote home.
Get home, all the cust svc #, have them “activate the box”, enjoy. It’s a 1 minute phone call (once You get through).
yes in north buffalo i couldnt get any local HD channels without going to an outdoor antenna, i also worked @ cc as a sales MGR for the tv dept for 3 years and had countless indoor antennas returned because they sucked and couldnt get ALL the channels reliably, they would get 70% of them, but not all…