What is OTA and why is it needed??

[JACKTRIP]

I keep reading about this and alot of people hook it up
what does it mean, what is it and why is it needed?

[NR4P]

Over The Air television programming from your local stations.

Depending where you live you may recieve a number of OTA digital channels. In many cases, more than Directv provides. For example in my area there are 3x the number of OTA channels than Directv provides by SAT including CW network in HD.

And some will agree that OTA received via antenna has a slightly better HD picture since it is not subject to the MPEG4 compression from the SAT feed. But people debate that point.

[JACKTRIP]

Oh boy so how can one find out the OTA channels you can expect to get?

[davring]

I would start with the local newspaper and on line at antennaweb.org

[Kansas Zephyr]

tvfool.com

[JACKTRIP]

Sorry i should of said how can i find out what OTA i can get with just the DISH with out the antenna i guess ill check those sites first

[pratttech]

Oh boy so how can one find out the OTA channels you can expect to get?

In my experience, mostly the same ones you always got... The biggest benefits I've seen to digital OTA is the addition of new sub-channels and improved PQ over analog OTA.

[JACKTRIP]

can the OTA antenna be placed with a pole mount with a dish or it has to be on the roof?

[davring]

DirecTV.com and enter your zip code (under programming)to find what locals are carried by DirecTV in your area(DMA)

[JACKTRIP]

Available Channels
Network Affiliate Local Channel # 3-Digit Channel #
(older receivers) HD Channel
CBS KYW 3 911 3
ABC WPVI 6 903 6
NBC WCAU 10 904 10
PBS WHYY 12 905
MNT WPHL 17 906 17
PBS NJN 23 907
TFT WFPA 28 922
FOX WTXF 29 908 29
AZA WZPA 33 923
ETV WYBE 35 909
PBS WLVT 39 910
IND WTVE 51 925
CW WPSG 57 924 57
ION WPPX 61 912
UNI WUVP 65 927
IND WFMZ 69 928

[JACKTRIP]

Well looks like i get them all just with the dish no need for OTA woo hoo!

[TNGTony]

Do you have an HD TV? If so, you need an OTA antenna to get these channels in HD. Otherwise you are fine.

See ya
Tony

[JACKTRIP]

Of course i have an HDTV who would get an HD box for a SD tv?wait wait wait
to get these local channels in HD i need an OTA?

[TNGTony]

Sorry, there was no mention of an HD receiver from you until this post.

Yes. You need an OTA antenna to get you HD local channel. You hook up an OTA antenna to the DiecTV receiver and use it normally. This will allow reception of your home TV channels and all the DVR functions as well as your satellite channels.

I could be wrong but I do not think DirecTV has HD locals in Norfolk. If they do it would be AT MOST the big 4 ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox without any sub-channels that you get OTA

See ya
Tony

[JACKTRIP]

I went to the site and it showed 6 Local channels in HD when i put in my zipcode so would that mean i get those local HD channels with out the OTA?

[hokie93]

No you don't need OTA since you get nbc abc cbs fox and the cw in hd from directv.

[JACKTRIP]

Thank you hokie some one finally answered the jackpot question :)

[mbakes1959]

I am a noobie just trying to figure out a few things. I have been thinking about making the switch to D-TV. One thing holding me back is not being able to get the local channels. I'd like to get the HD 5LNB dish that would have four RG6 cables running to the central wiring point (basement). People say to run a fifth wire for the OTA. Can someone explain the setup in more detail-- for example,you have the five cables coming into the central wiring in the basement into a multi-switch. What kind or model multi-switch should I have? I have four TV's in the house that need connected to the TV's. When you connect the four lines to each TV, DO all the TV's receive the OTA local channels as well as the D-TV channels?
DO you install an OTA antennae to the dish? If so, what do you recommend?
Please let me know.Thanks in advance

[sore_bluto]

I am a noobie just trying to figure out a few things. I have been thinking about making the switch to D-TV. One thing holding me back is not being able to get the local channels. I'd like to get the HD 5LNB dish that would have four RG6 cables running to the central wiring point (basement). People say to run a fifth wire for the OTA. Can someone explain the setup in more detail-- for example,you have the five cables coming into the central wiring in the basement into a multi-switch. What kind or model multi-switch should I have? I have four TV's in the house that need connected to the TV's. When you connect the four lines to each TV, DO all the TV's receive the OTA local channels as well as the D-TV channels?
DO you install an OTA antennae to the dish? If so, what do you recommend?
Please let me know.Thanks in advance

When you hook up your DIRECTV service or switch from SD to HD, you'll need a HD dish. If you need more than 4 cable runs, you'll need a Zinwell WB68 multiswitch that will give you up to 8 runs. For each receiver, you will need 1 cable run from the dish/switch to the receiver. For each DVR (regardless of SD or HD) you will need 2 cable runs.

If you want to get at the OTA channels, you will need to set up an antenna. This will only work if you have 1 or more TVs with digital (ATSC) tuners. If you have 1 HDTV and you want OTA, then you simply connect some type of antenna to your TV and/or your DIRECTV OTA ready receiver (like H20/HR20). Most people who live in a city can use rabbit ears to pick up OTA, but many people elect to use an outdoor antenna mounted in the attic or outside. If you live in a rural area you may need more than one outdoor antenna pointed in different directions or you may be too far away from the TV stations for OTA. Once you've set up an antenna, you need to run one cable from it to each TV that has a digital tuner/DIRECTV OTA ready receiver.

As for why you would want OTA. The biggest reason is the availability of HD channels and digital subchannels. If DIRECTV doesn't carry HD channels that you would like to see, like your CW or MNT affiliate, PBS, or an independent affiliate, then you might want to add an antenna to get OTA. Digital subchannels are extra channels that stations send out OTA that you may want. Typical subchannels might carry a loop of your local news broadcast or 24/7 weather coverage. If you are interested in getting these programs, you should add an antenna.

OTA channels provide very high picture quality. They also are far less suscepitable to interference from weather and serve as a good backup to your DIRECTV service in a rain fade event.

antennaweb.org will get you started on what is available to you OTA and what need to know about buying and setting up your antenna.

[BattleZone]

And some will agree that OTA received via antenna has a slightly better HD picture since it is not subject to the MPEG4 compression from the SAT feed. But people debate that point.

All digital OTA is encoded in MPEG2, which is the compression requirement for the ATSC standard. MPEG4, which is used for most HD stations via satellite, is better at compressing the higher data rates used by HD, and thus needs less total bandwidth to provide the same quality picture than MPEG2 does.

The reason OTA can *sometimes* look better is because the local TV stations have more bandwidth available to them than is used for a single channel on satellite, and if they elect not to divide that bandwidth into multiple subchannels, they don't need to use as much compression on their signal. So even with an inferior compression standard (MPEG2), they can make up for it, and more, with pure bandwidth, if they choose to use it that way.