Over the air HDTV

BlueMDPicker
BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
edited October 2004 in Electronics
A local (Baltimore, MD) station ran a spot on this last night. Kind of interesting - anyone doing this?

My Free HDTV
Post edited by BlueMDPicker on
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited October 2004
    Yes Sir and I love it. I have the Zenuth HDSAT 520 which is an outstanding little box imo. Monday night football is awsome in 720p. I manage to pick up all digital broadcast stations in my area with rabbit ears. Funny thing is that many of the digital broadcast stations still don't have much HD content but at least the digital broadcast is more resolute than anoalog.

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited October 2004
    HBomb,

    It caught my interest because every time we have severe weather (when you're MOST interested in local weather reports and warnings) the #!$&# satellite signal drops (DirecTV). I may do this just to have a back-up for those times.

    Mike
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  • nebborjk
    nebborjk Posts: 425
    edited October 2004
    I've been doing the DirecTV HD package with OTA Local HD for a about a year now. I have the Sony SATHD200 STB and have had no problems with this unit other than the remote was DOA. I agree it is handy to have the OTA stations as a back-up in case of bad weather. There's a good chance one the local stations in your area is running a dedicated weather radar sub-channel.
    Proud SOPA Member since 2005!
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited October 2004
    Originally posted by nebborjk
    There's a good chance one the local stations in your area is running a dedicated weather radar sub-channel.

    Thanks for the info, neb.

    I was fascinated with the part of the news spot when they talked about specialty sub-channels (I believe they said up to six subs per main) - I didn't realize that!
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited October 2004
    Originally posted by BlueMDPicker
    HBomb,

    It caught my interest because every time we have severe weather (when you're MOST interested in local weather reports and warnings) the #!$&# satellite signal drops (DirecTV). I may do this just to have a back-up for those times.

    Mike

    I experience the same drop outs on direct tv in really severe weather. Since you already have DTV then it will be easy to pick up a HD receiver which includes OTA capabilities and use your existing receiver in another room for an additional 5 bucks. Make sure you request from DTV the HD channels which are well worth it.

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,536
    edited October 2004
    Originally posted by BlueMDPicker
    Thanks for the info, neb.

    I was fascinated with the part of the news spot when they talked about specialty sub-channels (I believe they said up to six subs per main) - I didn't realize that!

    The local ABC and CBS affiliates have started making use of a couple of their over the air sub channels now. ABC carries round the clock news on one of theirs. CBS has continuous live doppler radar on one of theirs. It's great for seeing how close lines of thunderstorms are during the summer months. The DC PBS station has been making use of three sub channels for some time now.
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  • nebborjk
    nebborjk Posts: 425
    edited October 2004
    Multicasting has one big problem though; it steals some of the bandwidth required for an uncompressed HD picture. The more sub-channels there are the softer the HD picture gets.
    Proud SOPA Member since 2005!
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  • bknauss
    bknauss Posts: 1,441
    edited October 2004
    HD radio will have the same thing with sub channels... you are supposed to get scrolling text about traffic, weather, etc. Pretty cool!
    Brian Knauss
    ex-Electrical Engineer for Polk
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