TV reception question: losing cable service!

Back in the late 1960s, I lived in far western Maryland, and there was ZERO TV reception down in the valley. And no cable service at that time. There was a local re-broadcasting association which re-broadcast signals (on UHF) from Pittsburgh and Washington DC TV stations from a transmitter up on the mountaintop. They wanted a "donation" of $5/month, but I never paid it. The picture quality wasn't very good, but better than nothing. Later we got cable.
 
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A friend of mine has an outdoor antenna made for digital TV stations but she only got two channels and they were poor reception. She lives out in the sticks about 60 or so miles from the TV broadcasting stations.

I have a GE Bar amplified antenna that I bought at WalMart for $30 and I got over 60 channels. I just deleted about 30 channels I don't watch because of language.

So we went to WM and I bought her one like mine. We hooked it up to her TV and ran the channel scan and she got around 15 stations.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/GE-Pro-Bar-HD-Amplified-Antenna-33961/50901691

Make sure whatever antenna you get is an amplified signal antenna or you can forget about getting a couple if any channels.
 
I still cannot figure out what is on TV that people pay high dollars for.



Apparently, you're one of those curmudgeons who don't care about the news and any entertainment programming. Most of us aren't that happy about living under a rock. If you are, fine.


Or, do you actually get free TV, and if so, how, if it's legal?
 
It depends on your local.....

Sounds good. But where did you put this antenna? Is it plugged into the TV or did it need wiring? Is it beside the TV? On its stand? How big is the antenna and what does it weigh?


Sorry, I'm really naive about this. The last time I fooled with an antenna, it was the old rabbit ears sort.

If you are close to the stations, a $30 digital antenna you hook right to the TV will do. We have one and it's hit or miss due to the distance from the stations. Sometimes it pixilates constantly, other time it's very clear. You can put an antenna in your attic or outside like always which will improve reception. Just get what you need and don't go overboard.
 
I don't know about other parts of the country...

...but the stations here all broadcast digital signals and it don't cost nothin'. You just need an antenna that works. You pay for it by watching their stupid commercials. Of course with cable nowadays you pay money to watch their stupid commercials.

We get about 10 stations here and some of them are old movie and western programming and some nothing but classic TV shows. Nothing like an old "Wanted Dead or Alive" or "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" episode and a bag of popcorn.
 
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My problem with these.....

The antenna attaches to the coaxial plug, same as your cable TV, though it might have an amp that plugs into a USB connection on the TV.

Put the antenna where it gets the best reception.The antenna is the size of a piece of paper and can be thumb tacked to the wall.

Mohu Leaf 50 Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna Review - YouTube

This version with amplified antenna is the one we have and comes with 16 feet of cable.

HDTV Antenna - Leaf Ultimate Indoor HDTV Antenna | Mohu

Maybe I need a new one but you have to move ours all over the place to get a certain channel. Sometimes lying down on the shelf is better, sometimes leaning on something works. Sometimes it only works if you stand there and hold it.:mad:

But they don't come with a STAND, much less an adjustable one, daggum it.
 
Go to this website to see if you are in an area that uses VHF and UHF (RF ch14 and up) frequencies. RabbitEars.Info

VHF antennas are much larger than UHF examples. You can get away with a small UHF Yagi antenna indoors unless your wife objects.
 
You can get one of these types of antennas at the Micro Center, Ebay, etc. for $20. They have a built-in preamp and come with about 75 feet of cable. They also have two outputs on the box for two TV's.

Supersonic Outdoor Amplified Motorized HDTV Antenna SC-609 - Micro Center

Then go to this site and plug in your street address to determine the direction and signal strength of the towers in your area.

Address

Lucky, where I live, the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis towers are almost in direct alignment. I have lived here since 1988 and saved a ton of money.

The antenna is in the attic and was left by the previous owner. But it was placed wrong and he was trying to shoot through the foil backed insulation on the side of the house. I moved the antenna so it was shooting through the roof and get over 60 channels.
 
Location, location, location

I made the switch a few years ago.

You get many vague suggestions because, as a couple of the posts stated or hinted, your requirements for over-the-air digital broadcasts are very location-specific.


You can use the same TV unit to bring in two primary program sources:
1. Over-the-air digital broadcasts
Requires antenna to receive the broadcasts and send the signals through coaxial cable into the TV tuner. I just took the satellite dish off, replaced it with TV antenna and plugged the antenna into the same coaxial cable that eventually leads into the TV.
Image quality actually of high resolution 1080 broadcasts improved over the satellite provider. Explanation was that signals that the satellite provider compressed to conserve expensive bandwidth (supposedly the same with cable) are no longer compressed with over-the-air broadcasts.
After testing that a directional antenna works at my location, I took the satellite dish off, cancelled service, clamped the antenna onto the same post that the dish was on.
2. Internet streaming through various web sites
This still requires you to pay for internet service, and additional fees for streaming services/sources such as Netflix, Amazon, etc. The signal goes through a CAT5 or CAT6 cable, same as your computer internet source, and the cable plugs into a separate (from coaxial) port in the back of the TV. Many TVs capable of Wifi so no ethernet cable needed, but I think the signal and bandwidth are better with direct physical connection.


Start with the Federal Communications Commision's Digital TV Recption Maps site that bigwheelzip stated above. Enter your address and it will show the various channels, signal strengths that you are expected to receive, based on your location. Read the "Please note" section as it describes the variables that can affect your reception. There's another site antennaweb but it's not as accurate; states I should get 0 stations when I actually get almost 40.

By clicking on each stations callsign, you'll get more detailed information such as "Compass Direction to [broadcast] Tower" which will be relevant if you use a directional antenna to have more signal gain if you're at the fringe of the "Gain/Loss Map" which shows the approximate range of the station's broadcast signal. Theoretically, range is line of sight, but clutter, terrain, interference limits the near ground level signals.

At this point, you can decide which stations are more important to you, and whether you're close enough to use an omnidirectional antenna to receive most or all stations, or if you have to use a directional one. Directional means you may have to omit some stations, or go with an antenna rotator which adds complexity.

Using indoor antenna degrades signal significantly, unless you're near the broadcast towers. Again, highly location-specific.

Your best bet is to look the the FCC site information that pertains to your location, buy an appropriate (highly directional, omnidirectional, indoor) antenna, and test the reception quality. Make sure your antenna purchase is returnable or exchangeable.
 
With the Amazon Fire Stick, you can download a app called Kodi. You type in what you want to watch and whalaa it's there. You will even get movies that just came out in the theaters. Look up Kodi on YouTube it's easy and amazing. The fire stick runs about 35 bucks, and you can buy one with Kodi already on it for about 80 bucks total, if you can't figure out how to get Kodi on the stick.....
 
Apparently, you're one of those curmudgeons who don't care about the news and any entertainment programming. Most of us aren't that happy about living under a rock. If you are, fine.


Or, do you actually get free TV, and if so, how, if it's legal?

TV stations are required to broadcast a signal. Cable is not required to do so. I live where there is no cable. I get 3 TV stations over the air and with the digital chanels they offer I have ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and CW. I watch the local news, not national. My internet is by radio chanel so not the fastest but I can still stream Netflix. I get comercials but cable has them too.
 
I still cannot figure out what is on TV that people pay high dollars for.

Well... it may not be as you intended to ask but I think that's actually a good question.

So... here we have someone who says they are living in an apartment on a fixed income, TV service rates have gone up and simply can't make ends meet. Probably a lot of other folks living in the apartment complex in the same boat. So why pay so much?

This is why I brought up the subject of sharing services with friends and family. We've already talked about cable TV. How about the Net? All it takes is one guy with a 100Mbps broadband account (pretty much standard today) to feed wi-fi to others across the hall, above and below in an apartment complex. Use a guest network with passwords if ya want. Netflix has been mentioned. My mom uses my Netflix account 2,000 miles away in California. Netflix by default allows two movie streams at the same time, and for a couple extra dollars a month allows six streams at the same time. Heck, if the OP is pals with someone here they could toss the OP their Netflix account to use. Really no big deal... it's not like a Russian spy is going to somehow use Netflix to steal your top secret movie list.... or selling guns online to each other. Just sayin' :D

Anyway... there's a ton of ways to avoid paying full freight on all this stuff. And for those who might be living on modest means in an apartment complex I think your question is worthy of consideration.
 
"This is why I brought up the subject of sharing services with friends and family"
___________________________________________________

I'm far from the most religious guy in the world, but the eighth commandment always seemed liked a good idea in general for all sorts of situations.

People always can justify their actions - "they're stealing from me" - "it's a ripoff" - etc.

To each their own.
 
"This is why I brought up the subject of sharing services with friends and family"
___________________________________________________

I'm far from the most religious guy in the world, but the eighth commandment always seemed liked a good idea in general for all sorts of situations.

People always can justify their actions - "they're stealing from me" - "it's a ripoff" - etc.

To each their own.


Well... since I specifically mentioned Netflix let's see how Netflix views a#8 dilemma.


Jul. 15, 2016, 1:45 PM

In a statement to Business Insider, Netflix said the following: “As long as they aren’t selling them, members can use their passwords however they please.”

So as long as you aren't selling access to your Netflix account on Craigslist, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

Netflix doesn't care.

-------

For anyone suffering a guilty conscience dreaming up ethical issues...

The Netflix CEO says this...

CNET

Suffering a guilty conscience for borrowing someone's Netflix account? The streaming-video giant says don't worry about it.

"We love people sharing Netflix," CEO Reed Hastings said Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show here in Las Vegas. "That's a positive thing, not a negative thing."

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Those of you that are blessed with high speed internet service throw all those TV service and gadget names around like it's free. :rolleyes: I'm lucky if I see YouTube videos all the way through without the spinning orb and a frozen viewer. Or it'll be so jerky you might as well turn the sound off. I can't imagine trying to watch that mess on my TV. :cool:

On a different note; I seem to recall an FCC regulation that states something about apartment complexes being required to provide Over-The-Air (OTA) antenna service. If they don't, you have the right to install your own outdoor antenna using your access to the outside. (Window, balcony, patio, etc.) I'd be putting up the biggest antenna I could find that would fit. And there are substantial fines for the residential complexes that try to get you to take an antenna down. Lease restrictions are trumped by the federal law. Check out your apartment for OTA service.
 
If you have a WiFi device......

If you have a WiFi device, like a Roku, hooked to your TV you can get anything you can get on Wifi.

Your computer can do the the same job as a Roku but uses an HDMI cable (if you have an HDMI port on your computer and TV. Anything you can watch on the computer goes on the TV. Sometimes you have to configure the port to recognize it's role and sync video and sound from your computer to the HDMI device.
 
Personally I could get along just fine without tv except for sports and news and here lately the news has been the same thing over and over and over...ok a couple of noteworthy juicy scandals but not much else. However, the wife has to have her cable so cable it is. If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
 
If you have a WiFi device, like a Roku, hooked to your TV you can get anything you can get on Wifi.

Your computer can do the the same job as a Roku but uses an HDMI cable (if you have an HDMI port on your computer and TV. Anything you can watch on the computer goes on the TV. Sometimes you have to configure the port to recognize it's role and sync video and sound from your computer to the HDMI device.

Or you can use an Apple TV (similar to a Roku) and stream anything using an iPad or iPhone wirelessly to the TV.
 
Apparently, you're one of those curmudgeons who don't care about the news and any entertainment programming. Most of us aren't that happy about living under a rock. If you are, fine.

Or, do you actually get free TV, and if so, how, if it's legal?

Apparently you have some kind of Net access?

Here, watch NBC Nightly News or Meet The Press or enjoy an episode of the Days of Our Lives if that's your thing :D. Or a dozen other full episode shows. Free and legal. Also see other broadcaster's websites.

Watch NBC TV Shows Online - NBC.com
 
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