HDTV Question...

Grimster74

Greetings all and Happy New Year. Just returned back to work today, been on vacation since the 23rd of December. As most of you know I have now been converted to the whole HDTV thing. Only two problems I have with the whole damn thing. First one being, I think everything should be broadcasted in HDTV. I mean, DAMUM, what a picture. Even my better half was floored when we watched our first broadcast in HDTV and thats a task all in its own.

Anyway, the second problem. As far as connecting a antenna to the ant. in on the HD receiver to receive over the air broadcast in high definition. Is it really just a matter of connecting it this way to the receiver or is there more to it. Just trying to get a heads up before one, I get behind the entertainment center and two, before I go out and purchase a new antenna. Thinking about getting the dish mounted antenna. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Grimster74

Okay, here's the deal. I hooked up a plain old set of Radio Shack rabbit ears into the ANT. IN on the back of my satellite receiver. I then went into the satellite menu and chaged what needed to be changed. I then made it run through the auto channel. When I go into the satellite guide I have channels like 5, (WTTG), 5, (DC5, locals through Directv) and 5-1 (WTTGDT). The call letters end with DT are the channels that show on the guide as being High Definition. The problem I'm having is, I can only see a picture on the local channels that directv provides. Do I not have something setup right or is there a setting I'm missing. I sure would appreciate all the help I can get on this one. One other thing, is it possible I could be to far away from the satellite.

dan t

Frank Z

No you don't need anything more than a cheap assed set of rabbit ears!! I've got a $10 antenna from Target that is hidden behind my center channel and I'm able to get 80-100% signal strength on my local OTA digital stations! I was using a "HDTV" antenna (Terk TV55) that set me back $100 bucks and the reception was terrible compared to what I'm getting with my cheap antenna. In the past I tried a dish mounted antenna for analog reception, the results were mixed.

Get a cheap antenna and try it, if it works...GREAT!! If not, your only out a few bucks.

HBombToo

Originally posted by Frank Z
No you don't need anything more than a cheap assed set of rabbit ears!!

AGREED!

I have a cheapo set also and after some fiddlen around the OTA HD broadcasts are simply amazing. My Zen HD SAT520 has a signal level meter(Bad, Normal, Good) and my picture comes in fine if I'm at the high end of the Bad but may pixalate a bit.

What kind of boxes do we have out there?

HBomb

Frank Z

I've got a DVR921 HD-recorder in the HT and a Dish 6000 in my bedroom.

dan t

warviper

So do you need a dvi out on the cable box to get high def. I have digital cable and I dont have a dvi out on it. Does that mean no hdtv for me.:(

fireshoes

You either need component or dvi, with dvi being preferred because the signal stays digital. You would need a cable box with an hd tuner in it though, which your cable company would probably supply (for a monthly rental fee). Some cable co's make you buy a HD cable box at the store though.

warviper

So any cable box is compatible with any cable companys programing? If I were to buy one that is.

stevew14

I have a 38 inch RCA HDTV with a Direct TV tuner built in. It also has a tuner that will receive OTA digital signals. Direct TV works great for me (after much fiddling with dish placement). For OTA I tried a cheap antenna and had bad results. After calling the local public TV station and talking with a very friendly and knowledgable technician, I learned that because of my location relative to our city's local station broadcasting area, I would have to step up and get a better antenna. Most of our local channels broadcast their digital signal on UHF, so at first I just got a radio shack uhf rooftop for about twenty bucks, I think. I tried mounting it in the attic first, but the signal was not strong enough. I mounted it on the roof and that did it. Then I learned that our PBS was actually set to channel 9 and my friendly tech at the station confirmed that I would need an antenna that would pick up vhf as well. So, back to RS to exchange the UHF for a clearance priced big **** rooftop and VOILA!, I get it all now.

Others I know have great results with various types of antennas, but nothing worked well for me until I got the bigboy. I live in far northwest Houston and the signals are coming from far southwest Houston, so distance from signal makes a big difference. If you do try radio shack, start small and see what works for you. You can always take it back and upgrade if you have to.