View Full Version : How are you receiving your local HDTV broadcasts?
Chris Blount
01-30-03, 02:48 PM
Just curious how everyone is receiving their local OTA digital channels. After doing some research, I decided to go ahead and install a rotator on my antenna because a couple of my local digitals are in different directions. Does anyone else here require a rotator? Just curious. With the antenna pictured below, I get 80 to 90% signal strengths on my locals through the 8VSB module on my Dish 6000 receiver.
Feel free to post a picture of your antenna.
Chris Blount
01-30-03, 02:51 PM
Here's another view with the Dishes in the forground. As you can see, the antenna really isn't very big or very high yet it works quite well. I've had the antenna for about 5 years.
James_F
01-30-03, 02:55 PM
I receive mine using this. Sits behind the TV on the floor. ABC is the worst and sometime require me to hit it with a golf club, but most of the time its fine.
http://www.radioshack.com/images/ProductCatalog/ProductImage/15/15-1838.jpg
AkShark
01-30-03, 03:09 PM
Digitals, what digitals!! I had to get a homeowners assoc. approval to install dish on the igloo!! LOL
Our locals are saying they will go digital in May.
bryan27
01-31-03, 07:51 AM
James, That's about what I use. After putting up a new tower and antenna for our FM station I really am not in the mood for putting up a TV antenna.
The "local" NBC and CBS are fine and are in SDTV. I don't watch the NBC because they have a 24/7 non transparent logo, really nice for screen burn. The Pittsburgh NBC and CBS are fine, Fox and WB come in and out. ABC and PBS are at too low power to receive :(
Mark Lamutt
01-31-03, 09:35 AM
I use a radio shack 15-2160 36" UHF only yagi antenna mounted on my roof using a satellite dish mount located between my 2 dishes. One of the lucky few in Denver that can receive all of our low power stations.
James_F
01-31-03, 11:46 AM
Originally posted by bryan27
James, That's about what I use. After putting up a new tower and antenna for our FM station I really am not in the mood for putting up a TV antenna.
ABC isn't too bad, just sometimes I have to "massage" the antenna to make it work better. Laying a golf club (Driver or 2 iron) on top of it to get a better signal. :shrug: If there was more HD content that I watched on the locals, I'd probably get a better antenna, but I don't want any shows on CBS so other than sporting events, I don't use the antenna.
DarrellP
01-31-03, 03:31 PM
I use a Rat Shack 121" combo UHF/VHF/FM mounted on a 10' mast at the corner edge of my house just like yours, Chris, only I used 2 stand-off mounts that come out even with the edge of the roof eave.
My antenna looks out over an orchard so I have no building obstructions at all and I get all of my OTA digital signals from the same hill in Portland, about 30 miles as the crow flies.
My CBS last night showed from 98%-100% signal strength with the others up at least in the 80's. Even my OTA Analog channels come in pretty decent.
The only channel I am waiting for to come up Digital is WB. PAX is in the works but I could care less about them.
HD Digital TV is broadcast in UHF, so combination antennas are not good.
It is best to use an antenna like the Channel Master 4221 or 4228 UHF antenna pointed bow ties towards your local DTV towers which can be found at http://www.100000watts.com
Use a good quality RG-6 Coax and cable runs under 120' is best.
Mark Lamutt
03-08-03, 04:52 PM
Hey Satman, and welcome to DBSTalk! :hi:
Most DTV is broadcast in the UHF spectrum, but not all. There are a few DTV channels around the country that are broadcast in the VHF spectrum. So channel combiners may be necessary.
Also, the 4221 and 4228 are excellent antennas unless you are in an area that has a lot of multipath problems. Then, you definitely want to go with a highly directional yagi antenna. Get much better results that way over the bowties.
I did not know that, thanks, I will add that to my knowledge.
:)
DarrellP
03-10-03, 02:58 PM
Also, Satman, I am feeding my radio tuner and other TV's in the house with the same antenna so I have a need for UHF/VHF reception as we have Analog stations in both spectrums.
Scott Greczkowski
03-10-03, 03:04 PM
I get all 3 of the Big 3 Networks in HD now. :)
It's NICE.
Even when there is no HD on, I show guests what Analog looks like then flip to the Digital Channel, that alone is a big difference to make them say Oh Ahh!
DarrellP
03-11-03, 01:51 PM
You're right Scott about the difference between Analog & HD Digital. But I have to differ with you on Digital and Analog OTA, at least in the Portland market because my Analog signal looks better than my Digital locals and beats the pants off Dish digitals.
The local SD Digital OTA channels have way too much digital artifacting and the Analog have much more detail and don't break up with action sequences. I prefer watching the Blazers games in Analog if NBC does not simulcast it to their HD sub channel.
Chris Blount
03-11-03, 01:58 PM
In my city, most local digital SD broadcasts look fantastic! Much better than the standard analog. The WB affiliate here however has done a crappy job with their OTA digital. It seems that they just threw it up there to make the FCC happy. They broadcast nothing in true 1080i and the sound is all screwed up and the picture is blurry.
Mike Russell
03-13-03, 09:36 PM
We only have one network broadcasting digital in the Sprg. Mo. market which is NBC. I contacted Fox and CBS and they said soon, but only at low power. That won't help me any since I live 40 miles from the towers and under a hill. NBC looks great now but I don't like the black bars on there news.
Mike123abc
03-13-03, 09:50 PM
HDTV is new here. CBS is upconverting to 1080i but they do not have the 1080i network feed set up yet. So, you get all these shows in the wrong aspect ratio (they are stretching them to 16x9).
The NBC station is using their entire bandwith for a 480i broadcast. It looks great. It is so sharp and crystal clear.
I get good reception on both CBS/NBC analog, but the digital NBC has the edge because it is so crystal clear.
So, I end up watching the analog CBS and the digital NBC. When they finally get the real 1080i network feed up I will switch to the digital CBS.
invaliduser88
03-16-03, 10:38 PM
I receive my HD via a 13' Channel Master with a 24db amp.
PBS Houston's Hamster driven digital broadcast is the only problem child.
Scott. I was wondering where in CT you live. I live in bethlehem and am wondering if its it worth it to but stb and get over locals that way. I think cable is going to take forever to get locals. Not going back to dishnetwork as digital cable picture is 1o times better. Also much more dolby 5.1 on cable than on dishnetwork. i hear channel 3 is really hard to get. Nobody around here seems to really know much aboout this.
Baywoof
04-19-03, 11:26 PM
I just installed an HD system, using a Samsung SIRT-151 OTA tuner. I've had Dish now for about 4-1/2 yrs, using an old JVC-5000 sat receiver. I run locals (Houston area) through a 20 yr old Radio Shack outdoor VHF/UHF combo antenna installed in the attic using 300 ohm cable with OK reception. After installing the HD system, the OTA receiver picked up most of the Houston DT signals but with significant dropout on 2 channels and could not pick up one of the independent stations (52-DT). As I just spent a bunch on the HD system, I was more than disasppointed. I decided to attempt improving my digital OTA signal by changing out the 300 ohm wire with coax ( 50 ft.) using a 75 ohm tranformer at the antenna head and installing a Radio Shack in-line powered in-line amplifier. All together, this was about a $60 dollar investment. After the installation I now have excellent reception on all channels and was able to pick-up the independent station I could not receive before. I split the signal to the 5000 (as a backup signal). I don't have the HD modulator for the 5000, figuring I would wait to upgrade the UHF style receiver in a few months (when I catch up on resources.) My only problem now is the Dish remote doesn't seem to recognize the Samsung receiver when I scan for codes (any help appreciated). I hope this may help anyone with signal issues.
ibglowin
05-22-03, 10:21 PM
We live in what would be called "deep fringe" We are 60 miles away as the crow flys from Albuquerque, NM. I use a 40ft mast (lightening tower!). Lucklily all stations transmit from the same mountain top so alignment is pretty straightforward. I wasted $80 on a Terk trying to get something that wouldn't have such a large footprint but it was a waste of money. Not enough signal to hold the station consistently. I ultimately bought a ChannelMaster 4228 and the associated preamp and have been very satisfied. We are lucky in that all the majors are up and running their DTV stations. I use the local PBS loop/feed to blow away friends who haven't seen true 1080i HDTV. We get the usual 1080i (CBS), 720P (ABC) and of course 480P Fox faux widescreen. WB and UPN also started broadcasting last month as well. The DTV signal is hands down better than any cable or DBS local.
Mark Lamutt
05-22-03, 10:48 PM
Here's how I get mine, with a Radio Shack 15-623 (I believe) UHF yagi. You can see that I mounted it to my roof with a spare dish mount and a couple of pvc fittings.
Chris Blount
05-16-04, 04:13 PM
Thought I would revive this thread since it's just as relevant now as it was back in 2003. My antenna is still working great especially with my HD Tivo. :)
We will be moving to a 2 story house within the next few months and I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with indoor antennas. I was looking at the Radio Shack antenna:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=930-0998
An upstairs window will be facing the same direction as our local transmitter towers and I was thinking about placing the antenna there and running a cable downstairs to the HR10-250 (probably with an amplifier). Think this will work?
Geronimo
05-16-04, 04:34 PM
How do you use a rotator if you have more than one TV?
bonscott87
05-16-04, 06:32 PM
I get mine off a 20 year old rusting antenna on my roof. No idea what model or anything. Antenna came with the house when we bought it 6 years ago. When I got my E-86 for HD from DirecTV I plugged in the antenna for the first time. Viola! Got every station in perfect.
Goes to show you don't need a "special" HDTV antenna. ;)
jdspencer
05-16-04, 07:05 PM
I have a Channel Master 3016 antenna. The analog channels are virtually unwatchable, yet the digital versions come in fine. Well, I need a high gain antenna for at least on of my channels. The digital channels I get are 4, 7, 8 and 42. These are associated with analog channels 34, 12, 40 and 46. So you see, not all channels are in the UHF spectrum.
1995hoo
05-16-04, 09:16 PM
My HR10-250 is due to arrive tomorrow at the office. Homeowners' association rules prohibit exterior antennas (what STUPID SOB came up with that one?????? Easy answer====> community was founded in early 1990s when cable was all the rage and I was still in college. Stupid MFs!!!!!) So I have an order in for a Zenith Silver Sensor based on reviews read here and elsewhere. Since I have to go with an indoor antenna, it seems that there is no better option short of having more to drink so that anything will look good. Anyone got a better solution? The HR10-250 will be on the bottom level of a 3-storey townhouse, where all 3 storeys are above the ground.
DBSPaul
05-16-04, 09:47 PM
Also, the 4221 and 4228 are excellent antennas unless you are in an area that has a lot of multipath problems. Then, you definitely want to go with a highly directional yagi antenna. Get much better results that way over the bowties.
Mark, I hate to disagree with you :( , but we have plenty of multipath issues up here in northern Colorado and directional yagis are far worse than the 4228. I've run the gamut of antennas and can tell you that an 80" long yagi UHF antenna can't even come close to the 4228. It is also very receiver dependent. LG-based tuners handle multipath better than my TV or HDTiVo...
Also, for some of us we have to deal with headend overload on our antenna preamp from channel 25 in Longmont that is right in line-of-sight to Republic Plaza.
My HR10-250 is due to arrive tomorrow at the office. Homeowners' association rules prohibit exterior antennas (what STUPID SOB came up with that one?????? Easy answer====> community was founded in early 1990s when cable was all the rage and I was still in college. Stupid MFs!!!!!) So I have an order in for a Zenith Silver Sensor based on reviews read here and elsewhere. Since I have to go with an indoor antenna, it seems that there is no better option short of having more to drink so that anything will look good. Anyone got a better solution? The HR10-250 will be on the bottom level of a 3-storey townhouse, where all 3 storeys are above the ground.
As posted in many threads, in this and other forums, home owners associations can no longer legally stop you from putting an OTA antenna on your roof. See attached link. The question for you is: How picky is your association? Will they hold this against you and look for other things to hassle you about?http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html !pride
1995hoo
05-17-04, 06:50 AM
Interesting. Thanks for that link, Eagles. I knew about the rule that a dish less than one meter in diameter couldn't be prohibited, but didn't know about the one about antennas. I'll have to keep that in mind if the Silver Sensor doesn't work out (it's supposed to arrive tomorrow).
Anybody have any experience/thoughts on this RCA antenna (http://www.rca.com/product/viewdetail/0,2588,PI45474-CI209,00.html?)?
I ordered a Silver Sensor that's on its way from Amazon.com, but what sounds appealing about this one is its separate variable gains for UHF and VHF. My local FOX (in Austin) is low power and VHF. Is it worth trying this antenna to see if it picks up the UHFs and VHFs using the variable gains?
Target's got this model for $29, which is comparable to what I paid for the Silver Sensor.
1995hoo
05-17-04, 11:12 AM
My HR10-250 and Silver Sensor arrived here at the office this morning!!!! http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/otn/realhappy/yl2jump.gif Now if I could just get the chance to skip out of work and go home.......
BobMurdoch
05-17-04, 11:22 AM
Haven't hooked up an antenna yet..... Only using the HD channels E* sends me so far (although I do get CBS-HD which eases the pain somewhat)
New York is 42 miles away to the North Northeast. Philly is 62 miles away to the west southwest. A rotor is definitely in my future..... Anyone know what New York and Philly stations are bradcasting at full power? Antennaweb.org doesn't seem to think that any of them can reach me right now........
Haven't hooked up an antenna yet..... Only using the HD channels E* sends me so far (although I do get CBS-HD which eases the pain somewhat)
New York is 42 miles away to the North Northeast. Philly is 62 miles away to the west southwest. A rotor is definitely in my future..... Anyone know what New York and Philly stations are bradcasting at full power? Antennaweb.org doesn't seem to think that any of them can reach me right now........
Bob,
Antennaweb is very conservative with it's reception info. I live in Southern Maryland (About 50 miles from DC, 65 miles from Baltimore, and 45 miles from Salisbury. According to Antennaweb, I should only be able to receive one digital station (Salisbury) using the largest antenna with a pre-amp. For me the most accurate reception info came from (titantv.com). You will have to register to access the reception info. Its free and worth it. It gives great show grid guides. Your OTA situation is very similar to mine. I posted some info a while back on another thread which you may find usefull. Go to the "BROADCAST FORUM" on this website and look for the thread "CHANNELMASTER 4221 RIGHT FOR ME", and look for my post in that thread. I would highly recommend the link for antenna purchase. As a side note, the other night I was able to lock onto some Philly channels. This was an anomoly, probably due to some unusual atmopspheric conditions, but the point bieng, I'm 160 miles south of Philly, and anomoly or not these stations had to be at full power for me to get the lock. As I am at work, I don't know what Philly stations were scanned but when I get home I can post later which ones I locked onto. Good Luck! !pride
BobMurdoch
05-18-04, 08:56 AM
Wow, thanks for the great info. I was worrying that I would go to all the expense to get a mega antenna up on the roof and then have my 921 do a shrug when it tried to lock onto channels that were only transmitting at partial power. I remember reading somewhere that Philly was actually one of the best markets for HD as they were mostly at full power. Add in the fact that NYC was in disarray when the WTC attack wiped out the transmission towers for many of the networks, and I thought Philly was my best hope for OTA HD.
I'll try that titantv.com link and I'll let you know how I make out. I'm gunning for June or July to finally complete the roof antenna upgrade. I am 42 miles from NYC (with some terrain issues.... a slight hill between me and the line of sight to NY - I wouldn't call it a mountain, but it does slope up around 30 ft. over the next 1000 yds towards NYC. Philly actually is just the opposite, I've got a stellar line of sight to Philly with only distance being an issue as it is 63 miles away from me (the ground slopes down about 15 feet giving me a good line of sight over the riverfront homes across the street from me).
Does anyone have any recommendations for an antenna setup that will give me the strongest possible signal? I know I will need a rotor as I need to bounce between New York and Philly....
ibglowin
05-18-04, 09:16 AM
Does anyone have any recommendations for an antenna setup that will give me the strongest possible signal? I know I will need a rotor as I need to bounce between New York and Philly....
I had the same worries last year as we are 60 miles away from Albuquerque. I went with the Channel Master 4228 (see photo in this thread) as it had the highest gain of all of them and although it looks like a BBQ grill, at least its flat and not 7 feet long like some of the others. My signals strengths are outstanding. 80-95% on my 6000 and 95-105% on the 921.
You will absolutely need a high quality Pre-amp. Don't get one of the cheapies (Rat-shack), expect to pay around $45+ for the amp alone and another $50-60 for the antenna.
BobMurdoch
05-18-04, 09:44 AM
Are there any national chains that see these preamps or do I have to find an independent retailer? Trying to figure out the best way to proceed here....
ibglowin
05-18-04, 09:51 AM
I have used these guys twice:
http://www.warrenelectronics.com/
Shipped the same day I called. Good prices as well.
Are there any national chains that see these preamps or do I have to find an independent retailer? Trying to figure out the best way to proceed here....
ibglowin
05-18-04, 09:58 AM
Bob,
Make sure before you purchase an antenna and amp you look at all the stations you want to pull in. Some (not many though) are transmitting their digital signal on a VHF channel. If this is the case and you want that channel, your going to have to get an antenna and pre-amp that gets (and amplifies) both UHF and VHF.
BobMurdoch
05-18-04, 09:59 AM
All of the Philly stations are UHF based..... I'm not sure about the New York stations, but I think they are as well......
sampatterson
05-18-04, 11:17 AM
Most DTV is broadcast in the UHF spectrum, but not all.
Correct, Atlanta Digital Channel 10 (NBC Analog 11) is in the VHF range so need a combo antenna to get it (where I am at least, in Marietta)
[/QUOTE]
Does anyone have any recommendations for an antenna setup that will give me the strongest possible signal? I know I will need a rotor as I need to bounce between New York and Philly....[/QUOTE]
Bob,
As I said in the post I referred you to in the "BROADCAST FORUM" check out this site http://www.tvantenna.com/products/tvreception/tvantennas/winegard/hdplatinumfeatures.html
Ask for Ben. He even went as far as to send me an excel spreadsheet of the stations I should be able to receive based on my location and his calculations.
It was pretty accurate. This guy is "INTO" ota reception. I purchased my pre-amp, antenna and eaves mount from him. I bought the rotor, masting and guy wires from Lowes. Based on his recommendations, I went with the "YAGI"
style over the "BOWTIE". I went with the Winegard HD-9095P with an AP-4800 pre-amp and a Channel Master 9521A remote control rotor. The yagi I purchased is 8' long, but it's light and doesn't really look that bad. I'll try to attach some pictures. Also, if your going to mount to your eaves, get a heavy duty mount, and remember for the distance your looking to receive from, "the higher the better".
speedcouch
06-24-04, 02:21 PM
Just curious how everyone is receiving their local OTA digital channels. After doing some research, I decided to go ahead and install a rotator on my antenna because a couple of my local digitals are in different directions. Does anyone else here require a rotator? Just curious. With the antenna pictured below, I get 80 to 90% signal strengths on my locals through the 8VSB module on my Dish 6000 receiver.
Feel free to post a picture of your antenna.
We have a roof antenna we had installed in Jan 02 just for the local digitals. We live directly east of Washington DC and southeast of Baltimore, MD, so we had to have the rotor to get both cities (Imagine a triangle). CBS from DC is awesome and seldom breaks up. Fox is reliable 75% of the time, but NBC is simply horrible, breaking up about 60% of the time. I've posted on other boards and no one else seems to have trouble with them, so I guess it's not that their broadcasting at low signal or anything.
We're using the Sony HD100 and I've read that it has a problem tuning in OTA channels. I'd love to unload it somewhere and get the HDTivo, but [believe it or not] my spouse would have a fit if I spent the money on another A/V toy right now. Haha! And you think it's only men who have that problem!
Baltimore channels all come in pretty well, but FOX and NBC "stretch" their pictures to make them widescreen and the picture looks too washed out to me. Also, doing that makes it appear like it's not even HD (when something is actually in HD).
Cheryl
rcbridge
06-24-04, 02:29 PM
{All of the Philly stations are UHF based..... I'm not sure about the New York stations, but I think they are as well......}As of this time all the Philadelphia stations are UHF.
I receive my OTA HD using a RS double bow-tie with a Motorola signal booster, I am about 25 miles west of the antenna farm in Roxborough, I also pick up the DT stations from Allentown if I reorient my antenna. :)
Lije Baley
06-24-04, 09:35 PM
I'm 30 to 35 miles from the local towers. I put a CM 4221 in the attic (composition shingles on the roof and wood walls) and receive all the locals (and one from 60 miles away) in the low to mid-nineties on my HD-Tivo.
memory1
07-08-04, 12:38 PM
In the orange county area south of Los Angeles, even though the main area of transmitters is 45 miles away, I use a silver sensor mounted in my attic. The reception is great I get all the channels with no problems.
Mike D-CO5
07-08-04, 11:24 PM
I am using a plain old terk 44 clip on atenna on my sat dish. I get all 3 of my digital locals in the Beaumont area. I also get the analog versions as well. I recently repeaked the atenna and now get solid strength on all of my channels with a 90 or above. NO MORE FADE OUTS. My 921 is running great now. I can set recordings and watch with no crazy jitteryness or freezes . I love this antenna.
Digitals, what digitals!! I had to get a homeowners assoc. approval to install dish on the igloo!! LOL
Our locals are saying they will go digital in May.
Got the same problem here, but installed a small antenna and amp in the attic. I am about 50 miles from Orlando Florida and get all of their digitals great. They are on the air when I loose my DirecTV signals, due toi rain fade.
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