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I was curious if anyone was receiving over-the-air (OTA) television signals in the Baxter Village area and what their experience was? This might be through rabbit ears, attic antenna, or external mount (would that be a battle with Baxter HOA?)
We are moving in the end of February and I really just need the locals - it's what I have here - but I was curious to hear other people's experiences with OTA reception. Of course, BAX is a large community and my mileage will definitely vary.
I could be wrong, but I thought all OTA reception will cease to exist in February... If you don't cable, you'll need converter boxes to get reception on "rabbit ears" or an other antenae transmissions.
Consumers who rely on antennas (including outside antennas and "rabbit ears") to receive over-the-air broadcast signals on TV sets having only analog tuners will need to obtain separate digital-to-analog set-top converter boxes to watch over-the-air TV. These boxes receive digital signals and convert them into analog format for display on analog TVs. Analog sets connected to such converter boxes will display digital broadcasts, but not necessarily in the full, original digital.
I could be wrong, but I thought all OTA reception will cease to exist in February... If you don't cable, you'll need converter boxes to get reception on "rabbit ears" or an other antenae transmissions.
FYI... OTA will not cease. It will be a digital signal not analog. You will need a digital converter box, cable or a TV with a built in digital tuner. My HD TV up-stairs picks up the digital HD signal with 'rabbit ears' and we get all the local channels.
marndt has it right but there is so misinformation on the topic, it bears repeating. The key line in the FCC statement is TV sets having only analog tuners.
If you have a digital-tuner or digital tuner set-top box, you can freely get OTA signals after February 19th. Also, you DO NOT NEED TO UPGRADE TO "DIGITAL" CABLE. There is nothing special about the conversion on February 19th that will impact cable or satellite television reception; some cable companies are getting into trouble for making their customers believe they need to 'upgrade' to digital cable.
marndt has it right but there is so misinformation on the topic, it bears repeating. The key line in the FCC statement is TV sets having only analog tuners.
If you have a digital-tuner or digital tuner set-top box, you can freely get OTA signals after February 19th. Also, you DO NOT NEED TO UPGRADE TO "DIGITAL" CABLE. There is nothing special about the conversion on February 19th that will impact cable or satellite television reception; some cable companies are getting into trouble for making their customers believe they need to 'upgrade' to digital cable.
Consumers who rely on antennas (including outside antennas and "rabbit ears") to receive over-the-air broadcast signals on TV sets having only analog tuners will need to obtain separate digital-to-analog set-top converter boxes to watch over-the-air TV. These boxes receive digital signals and convert them into analog format for display on analog TVs. Analog sets connected to such converter boxes will display digital broadcasts, but not necessarily in the full, original digital.
?? No one mentioned upgrading to digital cable. I suggest that anyone unsure about the DTV transition read the FCC's site. It has a lot of good information.
Quote:
Will I need a special antenna to receive DTV over-the-air?
In general, dependable reception of over-the-air digital TV programming will require the same type of signal reception equipment that currently works to provide good quality reception of analog TV programming. If you need a roof-top antenna to receive analog TV broadcasts, the same antenna generally will work to receive digital TV broadcasts. You should not have to purchase new antennas that are marketed as “digital ready” or “HD ready.”
Quote:
What do I need to do to be ready for the end of analog TV broadcasting?
Because Congress mandated that the last day for full-power television stations to broadcast in analog would be February 17, 2009, over-the-air TV broadcasts will be in digital only after that date. If you have one or more televisions that receive free over-the-air television programming (with a roof-top antenna or “rabbit ears” on the TV), the type of TV you own is very important. A digital television (a TV with an internal digital tuner) will allow you to continue to watch free over-the-air programming after February 17, 2009. However, if you have an analog television, you will need a digital-to-analog converter box to continue to watch broadcast television on that set. This converter box will also enable you to see any additional multicast programming that your local stations are offer
Analog transmissions will cease, but OTA will still be there. The signals will just be digital.
That means you can use the same antenna you currently have. No need for the $900 fancy "HD" antennas they are pushing. I bought the 10' big antenna from Radio Shack and mounted it in the attic. I get something like 30 - 40 channels in Tega Cay just down the road from Baxter, although that number will probably go down by 5 - 6 once they drop the analog ones.
Check out this web site for more info on the stations we get in the area:
Address (http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx - broken link)
(you only need to enter the zip code)
(you can select digital stations, analog, or both, on the results screen)
One more point on my post above: you will need the digital converter box if your TV does not currently handle tune digital signals. My Dish box does, so I just plugged the antenna cable into that. The Dish channel guide added all of those channels so they look on the guide just like all the Dish channels - pretty impressive.
Yes, OTA TV will most certainly continue to be available after Feb. 17---just be sure you have a digital-ready (not necessarily HD) TV or digital converter box available. I have and use a Zenith digital box in Indian Land with quite excellent results. Reception is much improved over analog, with no ghosts or snow. Positioning the inside antenna is very critical on a few channels, mostly 58 and 64, but when tuned the picture/sound is comparible to digital cable, and preferable to either satelite service. You will probably lose one channel. WTVI/42, since they have a very weak digital transmitter. With ANALOG
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