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Satellite, cable...tell 'em to take a hike.

S

sebenste

Hey gang,

OK. Fox News this, ESPN that. A year and a half ago, I wondered if I could live without cable by getting myself an antenna with an over-the-air set top digital TV tuner box. Granted, I live between Chicago and Rockford, and can get all their stations. But...lo and behold...with my local ABC affiliate showing
news on a subchannel...3 channels of weather (and being a weather nut, I was utterly delighted), AND it beats the socks off the quality of Dish and DirecTV,
and rivals and usually beats anything from cable, even on my lousy 26" TV.

So even though politically I am right of Darth Vader, or so I am told,
I don't miss Fox News, and I can't believe they're charging almost a buck per subscriber (which is why they got bumped up to a higher tier on Dish, I am sure). The endless rate hike, the pure trash of ions that radiate from so-called
premium channels and superstations...may I make a suggestion for some of you?

Go on Ebay(tm), grab yourself a digital TV tuner and go get a Winegard
TV antenna (Warren Electronics and Stark Electronics are great), and if nothing else, you have an excellent backup when your cable/satellite goes out. Or...
just go all the way! Anyone else do this?
 
I'd like to do that. Comcast will be charging me $85 to $90 this month for my Digital Silver package (including the HBOs, Encore, Music Choice and On Demand). I feel like I'm being ripped off and only kept the digital portion of the cable so my mother can see HBO. The only channels I'd actually watch on digital are the NFL Network and VH1 Classic.

I've got a roof antenna sitting unassembled on my third floor, waiting to be put together. I didn't realize how many pieces that thing had! At least it's got a long coaxial cable run instead of a twin lead. Maybe with all this snow falling here (I'm in Connecticut, in the middle of Storm Carson), I'll have the time to put it together!<P ID="signature">______________
The 2006 New York Yankees...on to title #27!</P>
 
> I'd like to do that. Comcast will be charging me $85 to $90
> this month for my Digital Silver package (including the
> HBOs, Encore, Music Choice and On Demand). I feel like I'm
> being ripped off and only kept the digital portion of the
> cable so my mother can see HBO. The only channels I'd
> actually watch on digital are the NFL Network and VH1
> Classic.
>
> I've got a roof antenna sitting unassembled on my third
> floor, waiting to be put together. I didn't realize how many
> pieces that thing had! At least it's got a long coaxial
> cable run instead of a twin lead. Maybe with all this snow
> falling here (I'm in Connecticut, in the middle of Storm
> Carson), I'll have the time to put it together!
>
When Comcast put my cable up to $70.00 (basic digital) and the REASON they gave was due to "vast" improvements in VoP and Internet, I pulled the plug on cable. It's BAD enough to put up with Comcasts awful service, the picture dropping out whenever there was a thunder clap, but really to raise my CABLE rates do to 2 services I do not even have, was it for me.

Fortunately I get WWME-CA which is a TVLand-like OTA station which makes it easier.

<P ID="signature">______________
Once I figured out the meaning of life....Then I forgot to write it down.</P>
 
> Fortunately I get WWME-CA which is a TVLand-like OTA station
> which makes it easier.
>

Isn't that the Class A low-power station in Chicago?
<P ID="signature">______________
The 2006 New York Yankees...on to title #27!</P>
 
> Go on Ebay(tm), grab yourself a digital TV tuner and go get
> a Winegard
> TV antenna (Warren Electronics and Stark Electronics are
> great), and if nothing else, you have an excellent backup
> when your cable/satellite goes out. Or...
> just go all the way! Anyone else do this?

I'm doing it. I live in the middle of four markets -- Atlanta, Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville, Augusta, and Macon, so I have the potential to receive a bunch of channels, but not all of the stations are at maximum power for DTV yet. I have a Channel Master 4228 with 7777 preamp, which is pretty much the best combo out there, but my location has a lot of tall pine trees to attenuate the signal. So, my reception is not the most reliable. With some stations, I get the analog fine, but no digital. With others, I get the digital but no analog. I get WTBS though (yay).

I was going to get basic cable, but Charter didn't want to install a drop for me. They said I exceeded the 300 ft. limit. It was disappointing because a house just 100 ft. from me has cable, yet Charter said I would have to pay the $1000+ cost for a hard-line run.

Satellite is way overpriced for their customer expenditure. They have a few satellites to maintain, but no cable plants.
 
This might be a dumb question, but I have a Motorola digital cable box. If I hook that up to my antenna (a set top antenna at the moment), can I use the box to see my digital over-the-air options?

I agree with you btw, I think about doing that all the time. Eventually I will.
 
> This might be a dumb question, but I have a Motorola digital
> cable box. If I hook that up to my antenna (a set top
> antenna at the moment), can I use the box to see my digital
> over-the-air options?

No. As far as I know, there are no existing digital cable boxes that will do OTA stuff.

- Trip<P ID="signature">______________
Visit my website, www.rabbitears.info! It's eventually going to be your one resource for television info! Digital television, histories, and technical information for the entire USA from one source!</P>
 
> > Fortunately I get WWME-CA which is a TVLand-like OTA
> station
> > which makes it easier.
> >
>
> Isn't that the Class A low-power station in Chicago?

Yes, but it's available on WCIU-DT 26-2.

- Trip<P ID="signature">______________
Visit my website, www.rabbitears.info! It's eventually going to be your one resource for television info! Digital television, histories, and technical information for the entire USA from one source!</P>
 
In Great Britain, several million people receive a digital-TV service called Freeview.

Freeview uses "digital terrestrial" transmitters (read: over-the-air digital TV signals) to carry it's service.

You do pay L50 (aproximately $75) once for a Freview digital receiver, but there are no monthly charges after that. Some new TV sets being sold in the U.K. have a Freeview receiver built-in, and the Freeview receiver is included in the price of the set.

Freeview offers 30 channels, including the five over-the-air networks (BBC-1, BBC-2, ITV, C4 and Five), plus most of the popular British cable/satellite channels (the major exception: Sky Sports).

Had over-the-air digital TV come along in the United States around or prior to 1980 (before the explosive growth in the number of homes subscribing to cable during the 1980's), it's even possible a "Freeview" type service may have begun in this country, which could have become the dominant method of delivering multichannel television.
 
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