Digital TV Transition...Argh!

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  • PhantomOG
    PhantomOG Posts: 2,409
    edited June 2009
    appadv wrote: »
    That's only good for local broadcasts...

    is your rooftop antenna getting cable channels???
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited June 2009
    PhantomOG wrote: »
    is your rooftop antenna getting cable channels???

    If you look back half a dozen posts, "local" channels are in the 10-20 mile range, but I am receiving channels up to 90 miles away with a high-gain rooftop antenna.
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  • PhantomOG
    PhantomOG Posts: 2,409
    edited June 2009
    ah, I see. what is the advantage of receiving the far away stations? do you not have all the major broadcasts in your local area?
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited June 2009
    I get all of the NYC channels plus a bunch of New Jersey stations.
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  • PhantomOG
    PhantomOG Posts: 2,409
    edited June 2009
    so local news broadcasts and stuff? or are there weird blacked out sports stuff between NYC and NJ?
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited June 2009
    PhantomOG wrote: »
    so local news broadcasts and stuff? or are there weird blacked out sports stuff between NYC and NJ?

    Mostly specialty TV like concerts, etc. that I don't get locally.
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited June 2009
    June 12, 2009

    Hope this goes smoothly for everyone. Lost even more local channels last night, not sure if it's antenna related or what. Seems like even without adjusting the antenna more and more channels have been harder to pick up. Glitches and freezes are common on 2.1, 5.1, 7.1, and 9.1. I can't even get the local PBS channel.
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  • dudeinaroom
    dudeinaroom Posts: 3,609
    edited June 2009
    Some of the channels have gone back to their old broadcast frequencies. So you would have to rescan for channels as well as possibly turn your antenna back toward their old towers.
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited June 2009
    dudeinaroom wrote: »
    Some of the channels have gone back to their old broadcast frequencies. So you would have to rescan for channels as well as possibly turn your antenna back toward their old towers.

    Gotta get the ladder out...again
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  • mshan242700
    mshan242700 Posts: 823
    edited June 2009
    You can go to antennaweb.org, enter your address, and find out direction and distance from transmitters. Cheap plastic compass from Walmart can help you aim antenna precisely.

    Some of your problem might also be that converter boxes have poor tv tuner chips, and also that you are splitting signal.

    Monoprice has a reasonably priced amplified antenna that can be used indoors and outdoors: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10901&cs_id=1090102&p_id=4730&seq=1&format=2

    Maybe feed converter boxes from two separate antennas, so hopefully they get a stronger signal?
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited June 2009
    mshan242700 wrote: »
    You can go to antennaweb.org, enter your address, and find out direction and distance from transmitters. Cheap plastic compass from Walmart can help you aim antenna precisely.

    Some of your problem might also be that converter boxes have poor tv tuner chips, and also that you are splitting signal.

    Monoprice has a reasonably priced amplified antenna that can be used indoors and outdoors: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10901&cs_id=1090102&p_id=4730&seq=1&format=2

    Maybe feed converter boxes from two separate antennas, so hopefully they get a stronger signal?

    Already aimed the antenna, looks like I need to re-aim it back to the original direction now that the channels have changed their broadcast towers.

    Keep in mind this is a $100 rooftop antenna and its mounted very high so it sucks to get up on the roof again...
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited June 2009
    appadv wrote: »
    Already aimed the antenna, looks like I need to re-aim it back to the original direction now that the channels have changed their broadcast towers.

    Keep in mind this is a $100 rooftop antenna and its mounted very high so it sucks to get up on the roof again...

    just be careful while on the roof.

    but tonight at midnight all stations will end their analog broadcast signals for good. digital all the way baby. ;)
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,987
    edited June 2009
    I thought that it was at 8:00 this morning?
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited June 2009
    danger boy wrote: »
    just be careful while on the roof.

    I've been up there a few times before, no worries.

    How else did I install and aim the antenna?
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  • ChrisD
    ChrisD Posts: 101
    edited June 2009
    Yay Digital! Boo Analog. The only thing I'll miss is being able to at least watch the channel if reception wasn't great, even if it was kind've blury. Digital is all or nothing.
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  • Danny Tse
    Danny Tse Posts: 5,206
    edited June 2009
    ChrisD wrote: »
    Yay Digital! Boo Analog. The only thing I'll miss is being able to at least watch the channel if reception wasn't great, even if it was kind've blury. Digital is all or nothing.

    Kids will never learn the fine art of seeing naked bodies thru the scrambled wavy lines. :p;)
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  • megasat16
    megasat16 Posts: 3,521
    edited June 2009
    Hell! What is Degitar TV?
    Trying out Different Audio Cables is a Religious Affair. You don't discuss it with anyone. :redface::biggrin:
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,987
    edited June 2009
    ChrisD wrote: »
    Yay Digital! Boo Analog. The only thing I'll miss is being able to at least watch the channel if reception wasn't great, even if it was kind've blury. Digital is all or nothing.
    Not quite. I guess you haven't seen digital snow yet? Plus, analog does have it's advantages. For instance, have you noticed the difference between an analog underwater scene and a digital? One looks like you are underwater and the other looks kinda like a watercolor painting.

    Personally, I can't stand digital for broadcast TV. Analog is the way to go for me but since it's no longer available it looks like I'm screwed. Oh well, it wouldn't be the first time the government screwed me. :rolleyes:
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited June 2009
    treitz3 wrote: »
    Not quite. I guess you haven't seen digital snow yet? Plus, analog does have it's advantages. For instance, have you noticed the difference between an analog underwater scene and a digital? One looks like you are underwater and the other looks kinda like a watercolor painting.

    Personally, I can't stand digital for broadcast TV. Analog is the way to go for me but since it's no longer available it looks like I'm screwed. Oh well, it wouldn't be the first time the government screwed me. :rolleyes:

    My digital sets just pixellate/freeze up, I guess that's "digital snow".
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,987
    edited June 2009
    You nailed it, because that's it.
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • George Grand
    George Grand Posts: 12,258
    edited June 2009
    I thought I would not be affected, but I was wrong. It never dawned on me that I wouldn't be able to receive the audio portion of ABC-TV any longer in my car or garage. ABC-TV (at least in my area) broadcast their audio at 87.7 on the FM band. I could listen to the local news and the world news in both those places. Not any more.
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,806
    edited June 2009
    George Grand wrote: »
    I thought I would not be affected, but I was wrong. It never dawned on me that I wouldn't be able to receive the audio portion of ABC-TV any longer in my car or garage. ABC-TV (at least in my area) broadcast their audio at 87.7 on the FM band. I could listen to the local news and the world news in both those places. Not any more.

    Sucks, don't it? Although, I wonder if an HD Radio tuner could still pick it up on that frequency? 'Cause ABC didn't broadcast on that frequency purposely. That was just a band overlap from VHF to FM and the programming you heard was the audio signal on the VHF TV broadcast.

    Another disappointment that I gotta test is that WHYY which used to play WFLN before it went **** up, pipes the Temple station 90.1 through a secondary audio channel on the TV broadcast. I heard that's not gonna happen anymore. I'll have to try it at home 'cause I'm not sure my source on that is accurate.

    It was nice watching a show on WHYY during the telethon season (they always put the best shows on then). Once the talking suits came on to beg for money, just click the SAP button on the remote and it'd be jazz, blues or classical while I read the paper or a magazine or something until the show came back on.
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited June 2009
    George Grand wrote: »
    I thought I would not be affected, but I was wrong. It never dawned on me that I wouldn't be able to receive the audio portion of ABC-TV any longer in my car or garage. ABC-TV (at least in my area) broadcast their audio at 87.7 on the FM band. I could listen to the local news and the world news in both those places. Not any more.

    I guess you can't do the "FM Simulcast" trick anymore.

    What I used to do was hook up an FM tuner to my JVC HR-S7000U and it would record the FM track over the standard audio.

    Now, besides my HTPC I don't have any other devices that can record digital (VCR's are now obsolete)!
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