Sales of OTA antennas continue to surge, no one surprised

[gio12]

Early last month, we heard (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/02/09/digital-terrestrial-television-receiver-market-to-skyrocket-no/) that the DTT receiver market was apt to blossom in the run-up to the US analog shutoff (http://www.engadgethd.com/tag/cutover/), and now we're seeing that OTA antenna sales are still booming after quite an increase late last year. According to Richard Schneider, President of Antennas Direct, its antenna sales "for the first two months of 2008 are up 125-percent over this time last year, a year that in itself that was up 60-percent over 2006." Granted, one company isn't a gauge for the entire industry, but this particular firm is certainly a mainstay in the sector. Still, it remains to be seen what will happen in the long haul -- particularly when you consider how many satellite subscribers will soon be receiving their locals via DISH / DirecTV when the duo's latest birds (http://www.engadgethd.com/tag/d11/) finally get launched (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/02/26/dish-networks-amc-14-satellite-set-for-march-15-launch/) -- but so long as cable providers keep jacking up (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/01/27/shocker-content-providers-raising-rates-in-2008/) those rates, we've all ideas the OTA market will remain quite healthy.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/03/04/sales-of-ota-antennas-continue-to-surge-no-one-surprised/

[richlife]

Don't forget that this antenna boom isn't just from new OTA customers. There are lots of sales people out there profiting from the "fact" that your "old" antenna won't receive HD signals. True for some, but no so for many others.

I'm not saying that a new update may not help, but my old VHF/UHF antenna got those UHF band HD signals just fine. And even my really old, and cheap, and broken indoor rabbit ears managed to pull in some of the more powerful stations and the nearby ones.

[Stuart Sweet]

Moved to the broadcast forum for more discussion.

[Earl Bonovich]

I would like to see raw numbers, not just a percentage amount.

If 1,000 antennas were sold in 2006

2250 sold in 2007... that is a good increase, but not a "boom"

It is very much expected that people would replace their OTA antennas...
As there is little "Grey/snow" area for digital. no more partial signals.

And some people that had primarily VHF antennas, need to replace them with bigger ones to cover more of the UHF range.

The market will always remain healthy...

But with more and more content moving from broadcast TV, to "pay tv"... including sporting events...

[jimmyv2000]

Don't laugh i have a RADIO SHACK VU-120 antenna in my attic i paid $54 for it 12 years ago and it pulls in most Boston digitals fine!

[Duffycoug]

Could I save money by getting an OTA? Also, would I get other channels? Would the guide data be different? I never really considered it, but I guess maybe I should add one? I have an HR20-100. I live in Monmouth County, NJ, so I'm about about 45 miles from both NYC and Philly.

Thanks!

[jimmyv2000]

Could I save money by getting an OTA? Also, would I get other channels? Would the guide data be different? I never really considered it, but I guess maybe I should add one? I have an HR20-100. I live in Monmouth County, NJ, so I'm about about 45 miles from both NYC and Philly.

Thanks!

put one up with a rotator:D

[Duffycoug]

put one up with a rotator:D

Good one, but I meant could I add the Philly locals, etc by adding an OTA antenna and still keep my NY locals through DTV? Or maybe get two OTA to serve both markets?

[jimmyv2000]

Good one, but I meant could I add the Philly locals, etc by adding an OTA antenna and still keep my NY locals through DTV? Or maybe get two OTA to serve both markets?

in your hr20 you can program your OTA for secondary local market.
In my case i have most Boston Ma OTA and i get 2 Providence RI channels in my secondary market.:D
No second antenna needed

[Duffycoug]

in your hr20 you can program your OTA for secondary local market.
In my case i have most Boston Ma OTA and i get 2 Providence RI channels in my secondary market.:D
No second antenna needed

Please forgive my cluelessness....but are the antenna directional? In other words, would I need to position the antenna one way for better reception of Philly channels, and another way for better reception of NY channels? Also, would I then be able to cancel my "local channels" from DTV and save the $3.00 per month or whatever they charge? Lastly, would the quality be the same as them coming from DTV?

[MadMatt2024]

Yes, almost all outdoor TV antennas are directional and need to be pointed in the direction of the signal. For this you can either have 2 antennas or 1 with a rotor. Yes, if you receive what you want you can cancel your local service from D* and save money. Check out http://www.tvfool.com/ Its not 100% accurate but should give you an idea of what you can receive and the directions you will need to point the antenna. From what I have read the picture quality will be better than what D* provides because the signals will be coming uncompressed directly from the source.

[lwilli201]

What really baffles me about OTA antennas is they essentially have not changed in design since the TV was invented. Maybe a tweak here and there, but essentially the same. The farther from the transmitter the bigger it has to be. No change there. With all the technology today I still would have to have a 150 inch long antennal and put it 30 feet in the air to get OTA signals from 60 miles away. That is something I am not inclined to do after all I have invested in Directv equipment.

[Kansas Zephyr]

What really baffles me about OTA antennas is they essentially have not changed in design since the TV was invented. Maybe a tweak here and there, but essentially the same. The farther from the transmitter the bigger it has to be. No change there. With all the technology today I still would have to have a 150 inch long antennal and put it 30 feet in the air to get OTA signals from 60 miles away. That is something I am not inclined to do after all I have invested in Directv equipment.
I'm 40 miles away, with an attic installation, and have solid digital performance.

You are thinking in terms of what you would need for good analog PQ, not necessarily digital.

[Grentz]

I'm 40 miles away, with an attic installation, and have solid digital performance.

You are thinking in terms of what you would need for good analog PQ, not necessarily digital.

20 miles is a big difference though in the OTA world.

I am at ~38 miles and I use my older (fairly large) attic antenna for OTA HD. Works well with some tweaking and I get better signal on some HD channels than the SD equivalents (for example I could never get a perfect picture on PBS (CH2), but in HD it comes in crystal clear...most of the time ;)

[Kansas Zephyr]

Yes, but has the poster any expirence with OTA digital, or just posting based on perception?

When I first got an HDTV, I was playing with a set of V/U rabbit ears, in the basement, underground.

Although analog signals were not watchable, their digital counterparts were captured about 60% of the time. Impressive.

That's when I knew that the attic mount antenna would provide 100% "signal lock", not "signal strength".

It has not disappointed. Even before I had HD LiL via D*, I had protection from rain/snow fade, that I still use today.