mustang guy Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Sadly, the only HD radio station I get here is a Public Radio station. I have heard HD radio on a car system, but never on a home system. My next door neighbor sells advertising for one of our stations, and he said our little town has 9 radio stations. That's nuts. I doubt they have the money for the upgrades to go HD. I do subscribe to Sirius/XM, and can tune in with my Integra pre-pro in the shop, or listen in the truck any time. Although is more consistent than regular FM, the audio quality doesn't impress me much. Frankly, Pandora sounds better to me, and AppleTV sounds better than Pandora. (Please remember, these are my subjective opinions.) I don't like the tinny sound of over-compressed music from some digital stream sources, static from regular AM/FM, and I hate it when the FM station boosts the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 ? The discussion is HDTV... Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vondy Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) Amazon's quality is quite good. Hulu plus is not as good but most of what you'll watch on there is TV shows rather than movies. We use the Amazon fire stick for all our online streaming, works very well. The PS3 does a good job too. Our TiVo can also connect but it's more cumbersome. We were worried about access to cartoons for our girls but found there is a ton online. Amazon has some original kids series that they love. Their TV time is limited so it's more than enough for us. The only drawback I've really found is sports. I'm not a big sports watcher but I'd like to see more college football games and most are on ESPN. I can live with it though. I used to love the history channel, food TV, discovery, DIY, etc, but most of their programming has turned to crap now so I don't miss it. Really the only good educational TV is on PBS and that's free. Edited February 3, 2015 by vondy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 5.1 sound on OTA is a yes 5.1 sound I believe is a yes too (have to watch something again streamed to find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 I got rid of cable about 6 years ago. I have a 25 year old rabbit ear antenna from Radio Shack up in the attic and attached a channel master amplifier to run the signal to the rest of the TVs in the house via the RG59 cable that was there for the cable. I just had to make the correct connections at main box. Channel Master is really the only way to go. You just have to connect it directly to the antenna output. Most preamplifiers introduce so much noise they don't do much good. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013CGNGY There is also a high-gain version but the medium gain works for me. One of my runs is easily 100 feet and I get every station crystal clear. Netflix and Amazon Prime take care of the rest. The kids love Netflix! There are a ton of kid shows available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattSER Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 I believe I read somewhere that OTA broadcast has a maximum bandwidth of 19mbps(definitely in blu-ray territory) with an average rate of 10-15mbps for the primary channel, around twice the bitrate of cable or satellite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 OK - this sounds interesting but I'm lost. OTA? Going back to antennae? Without taking too much of someone's time can I have the Cliff Notes of what the H you're talking about. On the other hand I went to my cable providers office about a year ago and I told them it was BS what I pay compared to the give away price to new accounts. Been with them since they came to my area some 15 years ago. They cut my bill $60/month and I dropped the land line. I'm in for about $39/month. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 OK - this sounds interesting but I'm lost. OTA? Going back to antennae? Without taking too much of someone's time can I have the Cliff Notes of what the H you're talking about. On the other hand I went to my cable providers office about a year ago and I told them it was BS what I pay compared to the give away price to new accounts. Been with them since they came to my area some 15 years ago. They cut my bill $60/month and I dropped the land line. I'm in for about $39/month. The big difference is no compression compared to cable or Sat... If they would stop offering 100s of channels that you don't want they could get away without much compression I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattSER Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 OK - this sounds interesting but I'm lost. OTA? Going back to antennae? Without taking too much of someone's time can I have the Cliff Notes of what the H you're talking about. On the other hand I went to my cable providers office about a year ago and I told them it was BS what I pay compared to the give away price to new accounts. Been with them since they came to my area some 15 years ago. They cut my bill $60/month and I dropped the land line. I'm in for about $39/month. I've noticed much less macro-blocking and better motion resolution with OTA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 In my area all the major OTA networks (outdoor antenna) have 5.1 and some of the locals and it is pristeenly rock solid clear compared to some of the FM-HD stations (cheapo indoor antenna) that fade in and out and sometimes have unexplained level changes. Some are fantastic. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhetor Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) Just an FYI . . . Here is the outdoor antenna I bought after doing a lot of research . . . has been an excellent investment since there are many Appalachian foothills between me and the Atlanta stations about 40 miles away. I get many channels and outstanding reception OTA for HDTV. This antenna is motorized by a remote control so the direction can be maximized. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MW0K22/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Here is the antenna mount I got: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00068YUN4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 And here are some other goodies that completed the job: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016AIYU6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008P5OT3G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 My wife is a slow adopter and was skeptical about cutting the cord, but now loves OTA coupled with streaming services of Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Amazon Prime and will not go back to paying for cable ever again. 2 weeks without cable paid for all of my OTA hardware for all of the free broadcasts! My elderly mother is stating with me. She has that stupid Uverse for about 4 years and rents all of the equipment boxes for phone, router, extra wifi box, and 3 different boxes for wireless connection to 3 tvs and a stupid flip phone for a cell. Her bill is about $350 a month. I almost wigged out. Since Mom got here for her rehab, we upgraded her to an iPhone 6 Plus and connected an AppleTV to the HDTV in the kitchen where we have a TV. She loves it! She is eager to get home and cut the cord. I am ordering her the same antenna as above, even though she lives in a flatland area and only 15 miles from all of the metro stations in Indianapolis. Edit for PS: since this is an HT thread, I use an optical out cavle to the DENON 4311 for OTA broadcasts with an excellent viewing result and also some HD radio which comes via the OTA antenna too. Edited February 3, 2015 by Rhetor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) Well, may not cut the cord right away, but a bit of research for consideration says the Channel Master DVR+ looks like a sure bet for a subscription-free DVR with easy drive expansion, 300.00. I have big USB drives I don't know what to do with, so expansion to terabytes is easy. Mohu 50 attic antenna is recommended for my area, 70.00. Of course 30 or so per month for Netflix and Hulu+. I won't count Prime as it is essentially free given the PAW's (yes, and me too) use of the free shipping and such. I'd miss History and BBC (mainly Dr. Who) but stuff from those eventually shows up on Netflix and it's loaded with good historic and other documentaries anyway. Dave Edited February 3, 2015 by Mallette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prerich Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 We get enough channels to make it worth while for everything we are interested in. Where are you BillyBob? I took a direct hit from Dennis. Are you closer to the water? I can only get a few of the channels OTA with an indoor antenna. I have an outdoor ratshack that did great until a severe thunderstorm took off some of its elements. I've thought about a directional (one with an actuator) antenna - just for emergencies (used my outdoor antenna after Dennis until the cable came back on). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhetor Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) Well, may not cut the cord right away, but a bit of research for consideration says the Channel Master DVR+ looks like a sure bet for a subscription-free DVR with easy drive expansion, 300.00. I have big USB drives I don't know what to do with, so expansion to terabytes is easy. Mohu 50 attic antenna is recommended for my area, 70.00. Of course 30 or so per month for Netflix and Hulu+. I won't count Prime as it is essentially free given the PAW's (yes, and me too) use of the free shipping and such. I'd miss History and BBC (mainly Dr. Who) but stuff from those eventually shows up on Netflix and it's loaded with good historic and other documentaries anyway. Dave I tried the Mohu and sent it back.In my research of the antenna I eventually bought, it is short enough, that many people were putting it in their attic. I first put my antenna in the rafters in our open loft area which is the wife's home office. But we live in a log cabin with no attic! Just open rafters and cathedral ceilings up through the 2nd story. The wife said either me or the antenna (which she argued did not fit the rustic decor) had to live outside . . . so the antenna lost. Edited February 3, 2015 by Rhetor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) Which Mohu? User satisfaction is 4.5 stars with the Mohu 50 amplifed. A couple of folks said they were unhappy until they ensured the cable was at the bottom. Not sure why that would matter, but several report that it does. Dave Edited February 3, 2015 by Mallette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 We get enough channels to make it worth while for everything we are interested in. Where are you BillyBob? I took a direct hit from Dennis. Are you closer to the water? I can only get a few of the channels OTA with an indoor antenna. I have an outdoor ratshack that did great until a severe thunderstorm took off some of its elements. I've thought about a directional (one with an actuator) antenna - just for emergencies (used my outdoor antenna after Dennis until the cable came back on). Over in Quincy near Lake Talquin. It was on the Saturday midday when it happened. Did alot of damage when a large oak came down across Nancy's Honda wagon and part of the house/deck. Yes, depending upon the distance/direction/read signal strength of your location, will help with what antenna you can get a decent above threshold signal.. Some in city's can get away with a simple dipole outdoor antenna,amplified. There is a better link than the one I will post here giving the locations and distance from your location to be able to choose the right antenna for your purpose. Most rural locations like mine have most of the stations broadcasts coming from a general direction related to the distance from the city of interest. In my case it is northeast. Some in cities can also benefit from an amplified omnidirectional antenna, due to it's ability to receive from different directions, when closer to the stations, which are located on different points on the compass. I will look for the link to the site showing the mapped out stations which helps in understanding which situation you are in. There was a company called Voom which combined some early on HD satellite channels different than Direct and Dish's offerings in HD. Some 30 HD channels along with some basic satellite channels. I did some work for them here in cities and rural areas of N Florida. It was also an OTA receiver made by Motorola. I would do the install after researching the customer's area, and carry 3 different antenna types to receive their local, 2 of which could be installed on the satellite Voom dish platform. Was working out when, Rainbow cable in the NYC area had some infighting and got out of the biz. Ergen of Dish Network bought their satellite and programming to use with their own systems.: http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/dtvmaps/ Let me know if I can help you prerich. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 You guys may want to check out http://antennaweb.org/ for ideas on antenna selection and related info. I been OTA for about 10 years now (but still DirecTv connected) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) We get enough channels to make it worth while for everything we are interested in. Where are you BillyBob? I took a direct hit from Dennis. Are you closer to the water? I can only get a few of the channels OTA with an indoor antenna. I have an outdoor ratshack that did great until a severe thunderstorm took off some of its elements. I've thought about a directional (one with an actuator) antenna - just for emergencies (used my outdoor antenna after Dennis until the cable came back on). We recall the damage along coast, which was widespread. Did some work realigning replacing commercial systems for a retailer or so. The work was backlogged so, was busy out of town along coastline. Digging the beaches but, some systems were un-reuseable. As I recall, the storm came in along Pensacola but systems interrupted all the way to St. Marks. No wonder you lost a couple of elements off of your OTA antenna Lol. Sometimes you can find a sweet spot with a directional if not too spaced apart. The batwing amplified does a decent job with spacing but, stations need to be a bit closer, typically. A rotorized is cool too. Work best on fringe with a Winegard, Channel Master preamp at antenna. Some omnidirectional are internally directable, as recall. Been a bit ago now. Edited February 3, 2015 by billybob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Which Mohu? User satisfaction is 4.5 stars with the Mohu 50 amplifed. A couple of folks said they were unhappy until they ensured the cable was at the bottom. Not sure why that would matter, but several report that it does. Dave I'm using the Mohu Leaf 50 which is amplified. I think it's great but it's the only antenna I have used so nothing to compare it to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Well, if it is great no need to compare! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.