Lifespan of OTA Television

[IM42A]

Can you use an amplifier with your DATBOSS to try to get that station, or not?

I get it just fine without an extra amplifier. The DATBOSS already comes with a powerful amplifier, and perched on my chimney, and pointing directly at the transmitter, I get WZRB perfectly (I have a rotor). My point here is that an indoor antenna (or possibly even a rooftop antenna mounted in the attic, haven't tried that, no need) doesn't get WZRB. And even with the DATBOSS, I have to focus it just so, unlike with the other area stations, I can't have the antenna turned in just any direction and get it off the sides or back. There's just too much hash from WJZY unless it is staring straight at WZRB. (Oddly enough, though, WRLK is also handicapped to some extent, I live within sight of the transmitter. I can't get a stable signal on it with the antenna facing 90 degrees in either direction from WRLK.)

 

[Larry]

All I really watch is news, news magazines. true crime, and sports.
As such maybe I'm overpaying to get Spectrum basic cable plus 600 MBit internet, but 1) the service is reliable, 2) my HOA forbids new installations of cable, satellite dishes or external TV antennas 3) my wife is tech challenged and can't figure out smart TVs.

You should play around with your cable voice remote. I can bring up various streaming apps (both paid and free) using my Comcast voice remote.

 

[vchimpanzee]

You could install an attic antenna and your HOA would never be the wiser.

My attic was disgusting when my father stored stuff up there. That was 30 years ago. There's just a hole I'm not even sure the average person could fit through. That's before the squirrels.

The good news is I don't have an HOA. My yard is a mess,

 

[davideduardo]

Your HOA can't prohibit the installation of an antenna or satellite dish, it's a protected right.

They can, however, tell you where and how to install them.

 

[IM42A]

They can, however, tell you where and how to install them.

Our HOA has no such restriction. My two main antennas are on the chimneys of my respective houses, which is a customary place to put antennas. I also have other antennas either hidden or placed discreetly enough that they are not readily visible from the street.

 

[tall_guy1]

I make every attempt to avoid these long form drama shows. I watched a couple episodes of Yellowstone because I heard so much about it. These shows just move too slow for me.

Years ago when AT&T first bought Warner Media, I read a quote from one of their people who couldn't understand why they invested so much in TBS and TNT programming, when all the money was in streaming. He could see the writing on the wall back then.

In my world, there's been a revival in local sports p-b-p on local tv. That may be their last gasp. I was meeting with a jingle house rep, and he tells me local TV news budgets have been cut drastically, and TV stations don't have money for new theme music. At one time, they'd go back every year or two for fresh music. Not anymore.

I think they were pouring money in them to get them to survive and get some shows people would like to put on streaming services on TBS/TNT under Kevin Reilly.

 

[KeithE4]

My objection to cable, and the reason we are planning to end our subscription, is the huge percentage of the monthly fee that goes for non-optional sports packages like ESPN channels. In my case, it is well over $200 a year for channels I never watch (I only follow Latin American soccer, not part of ESPN).

Those are the only channels I watch on YouTube TV, so I have no problem paying for them. Once the NCAA Basketball Tournament is done, I can cancel YTTV for a few months until football starts again. My OTA reception is good enough most of the time to not need cable/satellite/streaming services for broadcasters. It also allows me to watch the Phoenix Suns on KTVK, which was dropped from YTTV a year or so ago, as was KASW, which airs Vegas and ex-Coyotes Utah hockey.

I couldn't give two hoots about soccer, regardless of where it's being played, except for the World Cup. I'd rather watch the neighborhood kids play it than these so-called professionals. At least they're having fun and it shows.

 

[KeithE4]

Your HOA can't prohibit the installation of an antenna or satellite dish, it's a protected right.

Satellite, yes. An outside TV antenna, probably no. Both may be written into Federal law, but try to install an outside VHF/UHF antenna on your balcony in some states, including Arizona. Not gonna happen.

The lease you sign (and in my case, all antennas other than satellite dishes were specifically prohibited in every lease I signed in Arizona) takes precedence over some arcane law that is pretty much unenforceable. You say "OTARD," they'll say "Evicted," other than dishes. A contract is a contract. I once got written up for sticking the telescoping FM antenna of the boombox I owned at the time (2004) out my bedroom window. Apartment complexes have better lawyers than I could ever afford to hire.

 

[IM42A]

Satellite, yes. An outside TV antenna, probably no. Both may be written into Federal law, but try to install an outside VHF/UHF antenna on your balcony in some states, including Arizona. Not gonna happen.

The lease you sign (and in my case, all antennas other than satellite dishes were specifically prohibited in every lease I signed in Arizona) takes precedence over some arcane law that is pretty much unenforceable. You say "OTARD," they'll say "Evicted," other than dishes. A contract is a contract. I once got written up for sticking the telescoping FM antenna of the boombox I owned at the time (2004) out my bedroom window. Apartment complexes have better lawyers than I could ever afford to hire.

There is nothing addressing antennas in our HOA covenants. They were written at a time when this was an overwhelmingly senior-oriented neighborhood (naturally occurring, not by design) and everyone had long since ditched OTA reception for cable. There are several small satellite dishes and at least one other OTA antenna (not nearly as obvious as the DATBOSS or even the Ellipse, I have one of each on my two homes). This neighborhood has morphed into a more diverse place --- I have neighbors from Russia, India, and Burma, and my own son's Polish nationality just adds to the mix --- with singles of all ages as well as some families with children, and more working people, who probably neither have the time to notice nor would care about a neighbor's antenna. Our biggest problem here is obtuse neighbors and visitors who park so as to block traffic, there's a rule against that but it is not consistently enforced.

 

[Cold Coffee]

We watch mostly over the air. We have an antenna that's 70 feet up on our tower. Our state allows hams to have 75 feet. So, my wife passed the ham test to get her tower. The TV stations 60 miles away come in well. We can get thousands of free channels on the internet. But fishing through so many channels is overwhelming. So, we mostly watch OTA.

 

[mnradiofan]

I have cable as part of my association fee (and it's cheap, cheaper for TV and Internet than it would be for JUST internet if we didn't have the bulk rate). Because of this, I still do watch a lot of network programming, but it's usually shifted just long enough so I can skip commercials (so if the show starts at 7, I'll start watching it at 7:20 to ensure I can skip commercials). Our current bulk deal goes through 2030, if they ever remove the TV part of cable, I'll either go OTA, or more likely I'll just go to streaming full time. I doubt I'll continue watching any network show that isn't available on streaming as I cannot imagine buying a new Tivo/Homerun/etc at this point, because the quality of network TV shows has gone down so much (and will likely continue as more of the must carry fees evaporate with the decline in Cable subscribers). Streaming is just a better experience.

I am, however, an outlier in my friends group, as I am the only one that still has cable TV. Even my sports-fan friends no longer see the value in paying for cable, they either sail the seven seas or subscribe to streaming services if available and cheap enough. They are mostly willing to pay $30-40 a month to catch their favorite teams, but not $150+. Even my boomer parents no longer have cable TV, they either watch via an antenna, or they stream (so the idea that old people can't stream really doesn't hold anymore).

 

[Neel]

We have YouTube TV (also DirecTV but it's for our rental in San Diego, the rental agency requires we provide "cable TV" so we got stream. I can log into it but the local channels are from San Diego and we are in LA); I still watch a few shows on network TV like the Evening News (CBS or NBC), Ghosts, Family Guy, Simpsons, sometimes NOVA or documentaries on PBS. Mostly DVR'd. We have Peacock so we watch Dateline on that. Wife watches Hallmark Channel a lot. Once in a while, I'll catch live TV. I haven't gotten deep into Netflix, Apple TV + or any of those streaming services yet. Guess i'm still a little old fashioned with my TV habits.

 

[IM42A]

I have cable as part of my association fee (and it's cheap, cheaper for TV and Internet than it would be for JUST internet if we didn't have the bulk rate). Because of this, I still do watch a lot of network programming, but it's usually shifted just long enough so I can skip commercials (so if the show starts at 7, I'll start watching it at 7:20 to ensure I can skip commercials). Our current bulk deal goes through 2030, if they ever remove the TV part of cable, I'll either go OTA, or more likely I'll just go to streaming full time. I doubt I'll continue watching any network show that isn't available on streaming as I cannot imagine buying a new Tivo/Homerun/etc at this point, because the quality of network TV shows has gone down so much (and will likely continue as more of the must carry fees evaporate with the decline in Cable subscribers). Streaming is just a better experience.

I am, however, an outlier in my friends group, as I am the only one that still has cable TV. Even my sports-fan friends no longer see the value in paying for cable, they either sail the seven seas or subscribe to streaming services if available and cheap enough. They are mostly willing to pay $30-40 a month to catch their favorite teams, but not $150+. Even my boomer parents no longer have cable TV, they either watch via an antenna, or they stream (so the idea that old people can't stream really doesn't hold anymore).

I got my mother to drop cable about a year before she passed. I persuaded her that Scripps News was "almost like" NewsNation, which she loved. She was virtually blind and I had to tune the TV for her, so I would get her streaming content that she had no idea even existed until I got it for her.