Back To Antenna TV

[Hyundai Respecter]

All of the outdoor antennas shown in this thread are directional, correct? My problem is that the half dozen stations within my range are all in completely different directions.

Except for the one I went with. It’s pretty small and compact. I didn’t want a larger antenna if I didn’t need it, and this, except in bad storms, works great. I can reliably pick up Boston and some NH stations with it.

Omni+ 50

The Omni+ from Channel Master is an outdoor omnidirectional HDTV antenna. With range averaging 50+ miles, this is a great outdoor HDTV antenna for rural areas.

www.channelmaster.com

 

[wag123]

The problem with using an indoor antenna with ATSC 1.0 (DTV) signals is multipath interference. Even after you find a good position in the room where you can scan and receive the most channels, when you walk around the room the picture can pixelate, freeze, or be completely lost because of the signal bouncing off of a human body. The new ATSC 3.0 Nextgen TV standard that is coming out now virtually eliminates multipath interference.
For those of you who don't know what multipath interference is, you have the direct signal coming to your antenna that is producing your picture, then you have the same signal that is reflected off of an object/wall/tree/roof/airplane/etc that arrives at your antenna out of phase with the direct signal, canceling the direct signal out. In the old days of analog NTSC TV, multipath interference caused "ghosting" and/or noise in the picture.

 

[Mr_Luke]

Just so everyone understands, with digital TV, there is no such thing as a good picture, the picture is always good. You either have a signal for a picture without pixelation or you dont. If you have the signal then you have the perfect picture. There is no such thing as static or other strange things like back when TV signals were analog.

Yes, that's what causes the picture to break up into small blocks.
When you get that you have a weak or fluctuating signal.

 

[alarmguy]

Yes, that's what causes the picture to break up into small blocks.
When you get that you have a weak or fluctuating signal.

Correct, many TVs have an actual signal strength meter for the individual channels, it can be found "hunting" around the settings menu. So if you get pixelation you can see how much you need to improve the signal.

 

[Lubener]

All of the outdoor antennas shown in this thread are directional, correct? My problem is that the half dozen stations within my range are all in completely different directions.

Get a rotor. A directional antenna usually out performs an omni directional one.

 

[Warstud]

Just so everyone understands, with digital TV, there is no such thing as a good picture, the picture is always good. You either have a signal for a picture without pixelation or you dont. If you have the signal then you have the perfect picture. There is no such thing as static or other strange things like back when TV signals were analog.

That may be true in your case . But I've had channels that I deleted out of memory that looked aweful .

 

[Mr_Luke]

That may be true in your case . But I've had channels that I deleted out of memory that looked aweful .

There are channels with good signal on the signal meter that are poor picture quality for some reason.
My guess is it's because they're analog stations.

 

[Warstud]

My guess is it's because they're analog stations.

Analog was discontinued in 2015

 

[alarmguy]

That may be true in your case . But I've had channels that I deleted out of memory that looked aweful .

There are channels with good signal on the signal meter that are poor picture quality for some reason.
My guess is it's because they're analog stations.

Yes, but the programming you are seeing that look awful is being sent out by the station, it's not being degraded by interference. Meaning you are seeing the programming as the station sends it out. I take back that I said the picture is always good, you are correct, its only as good as what the station broadcasts but its not interference that is degrading it, my error.

Many stations to maximize the amount of channels they have split up their digital spectrum. So their main channel such as ABC 25 will be nice and crisp, but then there will be 25.1,25.2,25.3,25.4,25.5 all with different programming these are "side channels' squeezed into the ABC spectrum by ABC and degraded so it all fits in the spectrum.

It is possible that still permitted by the FCC for some local small community stations to still broadcast in analog after 2015 cut off.
(disclaimer, this is the best I can describe it to the best of my knowledge as I understand it and never looked to find out anymore)

Edit; As of July 13th 2021 Everything is now digital broadcast in the USA but that doesnt mean the material the station is sending out is high quality but it is free of interference, ghosting ect. and it doesnt mean, see below 🙃

Hmmmm ... well I think we all agree analog isnt available anymore, depending where you live in North America

 

[eljefino]

I have that dreaded amazonian antenna and it works quite well. If its preamp goes I'll get another. It's better to have the amp built in near the source so it's pushing signal, not pulling noise, down the line.

I have a radio shack (probably channel master) UHF only unamplified antenna on my attic peak which is ok but not as good as the amazon plastic thing.

 

[Warstud]

Antenna TV isn't for everyone . Sounds good to have 30+ Free channels and all........ but if they are programs that dont interest you then your not any better off .

 

[Mr_Luke]

Antenna TV isn't for everyone . Sounds good to have 30+ Free channels and all........ but if they are programs that dont interest you then your not any better off .

But on my WiFi TV with hundreds of channels it sometimes seems hard to find anything interesting.
I can spend an hour or two just looking for something interesting, and by that time, it's time for bed.

 

[dishdude]

Antenna TV isn't for everyone . Sounds good to have 30+ Free channels and all........ but if they are programs that dont interest you then your not any better off .

There's like absolutely nothing I watch on broadcast TV, sometimes the local news on occasion. But, I'm 11 miles from the mountain with all the broadcast towers and I have a giant Winegard antenna in the attic that pulls everything in with zero hiccups and no need for an amp. Barely use it though!

 

[wlk]

I have had antenna for years w Netflix. I now have Hulu, and Amazon Prime along with Netflix and would never go back to cable

 

[gathermewool]

subscriptions suck. It's the new rip off.
(ie a growing business model)
I need low monthly overhead so reduce
as close to -0- as possible (ie pay off
mortgage ASAP, etc). No TV on monthly bill~

Then don’t sun and never pay full price. I use a lot of the offerings.

1. T-Mobile (cell phone) offered a free year of Paramount+ w/ commercials. I’ll cancel when the year is up. They also offer discounted Netflix. Netflix is expensive still at $6.50/month, but everyone in the house really likes their offerings. The UI is also the best of any I use and the ability to download to our phones/iPads is awesome.

2. HBO and Hulu (w/ commercials) and Disney+ (ad-free) are $2 and $3, respectively. HBO is more niche and the promo is only for another couple of months, so I’ll finish Westworld, Doom Patrol and some others before then.

With small kids, Disney is a staple in our house. I also like the Marvel and some of the Star Wars offerings. Even still, I had planned on canceling it due to price increases last month. Fortunately, a promo for Hulu+ for $2/month also offered adding on D+ for I think an additional $3/month AND it’s a monthly fee, not annual, so I can cancel at any time. So, I‘m now paying less for D+ AND Hulu than I would be paying for just D+ by itself.

3. We are Prime users, so we also have their ”free” service. Amazon also has their free offering (w/ commercial, Freevee).

4. Many streaming services offer a free week or up to a month, sometimes even for previous members. If not, use a new email. Before our current Hulu deal we would sign up for a free trial once a year and binge all that we “missed” throughout the year. We usually do this around the holidays, when we usually have more down time, the days are short and most of the good shows ate out.

5. Lots of other options. Just Google and you’ll find many free offerings.

 

[Mr_Luke]

My new antenna TV is very nice to have, but I think I'll always like watching youtube TV and things like videos of 1962 Mack trucks, old people coking meals, etc. I also have amazon prime, pluto, and others that have good programming.

But I was bored so I thought I'd buy the antenna and see how it worked.

Youtube has great picture quality on many of their videos, and Amazon Prime and many others.
It's not that they have poor picture quality, it's just that HDTV has somewhat better pic quality.

 

[alarmguy]

Then don’t sun and never pay full price. I use a lot of the offerings.

1. T-Mobile (cell phone) offered a free year of Paramount+ w/ commercials. I’ll cancel when the year is up. They also offer discounted Netflix. Netflix is expensive still at $6.50/month, but everyone in the house really likes their offerings. The UI is also the best of any I use and the ability to download to our phones/iPads is awesome.

2. HBO and Hulu (w/ commercials) and Disney+ (ad-free) are $2 and $3, respectively. HBO is more niche and the promo is only for another couple of months, so I’ll finish Westworld, Doom Patrol and some others before then.

With small kids, Disney is a staple in our house. I also like the Marvel and some of the Star Wars offerings. Even still, I had planned on canceling it due to price increases last month. Fortunately, a promo for Hulu+ for $2/month also offered adding on D+ for I think an additional $3/month AND it’s a monthly fee, not annual, so I can cancel at any time. So, I‘m now paying less for D+ AND Hulu than I would be paying for just D+ by itself.

3. We are Prime users, so we also have their ”free” service. Amazon also has their free offering (w/ commercial, Freevee).

4. Many streaming services offer a free week or up to a month, sometimes even for previous members. If not, use a new email. Before our current Hulu deal we would sign up for a free trial once a year and binge all that we “missed” throughout the year. We usually do this around the holidays, when we usually have more down time, the days are short and most of the good shows ate out.

5. Lots of other options. Just Google and you’ll find many free offerings.

Well said.
1. = yes we have that as well, Paramount+ and they pay the basic Netflix, we pay for the upgraded difference (good deal)

2. Our daughter shares her HBO with us and we share our Netflix with her

3. We dont do Prime, except for the 30 days free trial during the holidays of free shipping and Amazon prime.

4 & 5. yes, so many streaming options its overwhelming, having cut the cable 10 years ago has made our life more simple but still overwhelmed at all the content that is available including all the major network stations through an antenna.
I saw a comment that someone rarely uses their antenna and I get it, we all have preferences as too programing, for us, having the antenna is fantastic for any major sports events as the clarity is amazing. Our favorite by far is for the Olympics and other special events other than that we arent big sports fans buts its nice to have and cost nothing.

So we subscribe to Netflix, Hulu (basic) 1 yr free Paramount and share with our daughter Netflix and she shares the HBO and related channels, we have so much content its really rare that we watch anything on HBO and those subscriptions, not even hours in a day!

 

[gathermewool]

Oh, and shop around for internet or threaten to cancel to get a new promo rate.

I got careless and when our Breezeline internet-only promo ended our bill jumped up to around $90! I called after noticing and they refused to lower it. I asked to cancel my service and they still wouldn’t budge. Luckily, Comcast had just moved into the area last year and we’re offering comparably good speeds for $40/month for two years. When the Comcast service started and I called to actually cancel Breezeline, they still wouldn’t offer a discount. They did try to talk me into staying for no gain whatsoever. I finally had to cut the poor girl off and tell her that I had the Comcast installer literally cut their line, so…

Note: Comcast online and phone support is garbage! They lied, failed to actually complete the install and were not from this country. It was almost impossible to communicate with them. I found a brick and mortar shop 10 min away and was setup in minutes. It was a real smack-my-head moment.

 

[loneryder]

For quite a while I've been using WiFi TV with Roku and a 32" LED TV. It comes in great and gets so many stations that I don't think I'd ever get to see them all in my lifetime for the amount of time I spend watching TV. Before that I used an antenna mounted on a 6' pole outside my living room window. Then after a while with WiFi TV I decided to remove the pole and antenna. But lately I've gotten interested in antenna TV again, so I can get the 3 local channels and more with an antenna. So today I hooked up an 18' piece of TV antenna cable to the TV, with an adapter screwed in to the end of it, and a 32" piece of speaker wire at the end of that, and hung it up over a curtain rod, and I now get about 10 stations with that. The image quality is HD and seems better than most things I get on WiFi TV.

I may get an amplified antenna. The amazon reviews say they work great, and I'm supposed to be able to get about 45 stations from right here.
Now I'm going to cancel FRNDLY TV, which costs me about $9 a month.

I don't know why but antenna TV seems better quality than WiFi / Roku TV.
Maybe I'll watch them both, but at least I'll have the evening news on NBC, CBS, and ABC.

The dirty little secret is that OTA HD tv is a lot better picture than cable or satellite, or streaming. There is no compression that is done with these TV services. I watched a Super Bowl OTA with a $25 antenna and the pic was gorgeous. You will see a difference.