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Old 08-25-2011, 10:23 AM
 
36 posts, read 155,277 times
Reputation: 45

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Ok I know I'm technically challenged but this seems confusing to me. It's going to have to be done by me and my 15 y.o. daughter. We really want to cut the cable bill but have absolutely no idea how to make this happen. I have managed to figure out that I probably need to buy an antenna and some kind of digital converter box but what and how do you set it up? Is it hard?

I live in NE San Antonio. I have subscriptions already to netflix and I just got a new dvd player that I can get several similar things through that. I'm ready but clueless on how to do this!
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Old 08-25-2011, 12:37 PM
 
Location: NE San Antonio
1,642 posts, read 4,094,021 times
Reputation: 1466
If your tv is less than 5 years old or says digital or dtv on it, you may just need an antenna, try that first. Older tvs will need a box, they are very easy to use, just hook up and scan for channels.

I few years ago the gov was giving out free $40 coupons for boxes, the promotion was set to end, then extended. I still see boxes in stores for the "inflated" price of $40 which leads me to believe the gov promo is still going on. I would google to find the link or telephone number. You might also check with pawn shops, they are prob starting to get them in by now.

There are some older dtv thrads here that have lists of channels you could expect to recieve, and reception hints too. I find a lot to watch on dtv, but there are still some channels I can't get no matter what I try. Good luck!
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Old 08-25-2011, 01:27 PM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
11,495 posts, read 26,875,485 times
Reputation: 28036
You probably need an amplified antenna, one that plugs into the wall. I have a Turk indoor antenna (you can find them on Amazon) and it's ugly but gets all the channels it's possible to get with an antenna.

If you need a converter box, you'll need to connect the antenna to that and then connect the box to the tv. You may have to move your antenna different ways to get all the channels, or if possible put the antenna near a window. We had a couple of converter boxes when the govt was giving out those coupons, and the RCA one barely worked at all. The other brands were better, but seemed to break after we used them for a year, and then we couldn't find a replacement in a store anywhere. Finally, we gave up and bought a new tv...it makes movies so pretty that I used to get headaches because I didn't want to blink and miss anything

We haven't had cable in about four years and don't miss it at all. We recently got a netflix subscription, but sometimes the streaming quits working during busy times of day.
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Old 08-25-2011, 02:10 PM
 
779 posts, read 1,660,770 times
Reputation: 424
I'm wondering about trying this whole OTA thing out as well.
According to antennaweb.org i'm roughly 25 miles from the towers that are broadcasting NBC, ABC, etc.
Is that too far away to get a decent reception?

Like many others, not willing to pay $$$ for tv that i'm never around to watch.
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Old 08-25-2011, 02:16 PM
 
Location: san antonio texas
1,803 posts, read 2,624,035 times
Reputation: 623
Quote:
Originally Posted by grace72 View Post
Ok I know I'm technically challenged but this seems confusing to me. It's going to have to be done by me and my 15 y.o. daughter. We really want to cut the cable bill but have absolutely no idea how to make this happen. I have managed to figure out that I probably need to buy an antenna and some kind of digital converter box but what and how do you set it up? Is it hard?

I live in NE San Antonio. I have subscriptions already to netflix and I just got a new dvd player that I can get several similar things through that. I'm ready but clueless on how to do this!
do you have a standard CRT Tv or do you have a flat panel tv?

if you have a panel, chances are it has a digital tuner already built in. in your tv's menu, look for the channel search feature. you should have a digital, analong and cable search (maybe not all 3, but at least digital and analog). if this is the case, you do not need a converter box.

however, you will need an amplified antenna. amazon has a great one for ~40$.
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Old 08-25-2011, 03:55 PM
 
4,329 posts, read 7,235,823 times
Reputation: 3488
Make sure your antenna is both UHF and VHF capable. KSAT & KLRN are both VHF. So is KCWX (2.1), and its THIS TV subchannel (2.2), but you probably won't pick up that one in San Antonio without a rooftop antenna.
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Old 08-25-2011, 04:24 PM
 
4,329 posts, read 7,235,823 times
Reputation: 3488
Quote:
Originally Posted by nismospec View Post
I'm wondering about trying this whole OTA thing out as well.
According to antennaweb.org i'm roughly 25 miles from the towers that are broadcasting NBC, ABC, etc.
Is that too far away to get a decent reception?

Like many others, not willing to pay $$$ for tv that i'm never around to watch.
Even if you use an indoor antenna, 25 miles shouldn't be too far.

If you have a place you can put one, an outdoor antenna will almost always get better results. If you are getting rid of your Cable or satellite service, you can usually just feed a coaxial cable from the antenna to the splitter outside the house that distributes the signal to your individual TVs. You disconnect the Cable or satellite feed, and connect your antenna cable to the same place. That allows you to feed all your TVs using a single antenna. Then you plug the cable inside the house that went to your Cable/satellite box directly to your TV or digital converter box.
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Old 08-25-2011, 04:38 PM
 
5,642 posts, read 15,711,475 times
Reputation: 2758
I bought one of these 2 years ago and stuck it in my attic. Easy as pie. Now I get high quality TV channels for free...most in HD.

Antennacraft AC9 VHF/UHF/FM HDTV Antenna : TV & Video | RadioShack.com
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Old 08-25-2011, 05:44 PM
 
Location: I live south of San Antonio in a place called Atascosa.
854 posts, read 2,545,491 times
Reputation: 526
This is how you do it. Your TV needs to be digital. I got a converter box at Walmart but I don't know if they still have them. Walmart has an indoor outdoor antenna for 30-40 bucks. Go to Home Depot. Buy a T-post and some metal pipe that will get you high enough to be above your roof. You can use plumbing pipe but it is kind of heavy. Thin wall galvanized like for fences is lighter. Knock the T-post into the ground and attach the Walmart antenna to the pipe with the coax cable attached. Tape the cable to the pipe with electrical tape. connect the pipe to the T-post with automotive hose clamps (Auto Zone, Napa). Slide the pipe up till it is above the roof and tighten the clamps--but not too much. Hook the coax cable up to your TV (maybe drill a hole in the wall). Turn on the TV and have somebody watch while you rotate the antenna with the loosened pipe. When you get the best picture, tighten the hose clamps and brace your new tower by attaching it to the house (somehow). The Antenna does need power so you need a place to plug in a wall wart. I get a bunch of channels and I live south of town near Southwest Highschool. I even get highschool football games on Thursday nights!
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Old 08-25-2011, 10:42 PM
 
Location: Just Inside Loop 410
898 posts, read 2,895,728 times
Reputation: 496
I cut the cord 3 weeks ago, no cable. I have an HDTV, about 5 years old, I did some online research, and found an antenna that had great reviews. believe it or not, it only cost 12 bucks. its the Radio Shack budget antenna. out of all the more expensive antennas on their website, the cheapest one, had the best customer reviews. so I ordered it, and it works like a charm. the antenna has a cable coming out of it, so you screw the end of it to where you used to have the cable wire going into your tv, and thats it. no instructions came with it. I re-scanned my tv, and found 17 channels. and the HD looks better than when I had time warner. now it all depends where you live, you could get less channels, or maybe even more than me. some people said that they went to the store and asked for it, and the employees lie and say that antenna is the worst one in the store, they wanna try and sell you the most expensive one, so dont fall for that if you go into a radio shack to buy it.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...odsInSession=1

Last edited by tony78201; 08-25-2011 at 10:44 PM.. Reason: provided a link
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