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Location: God's Gift to Mankind for flying anything
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First of all, you do NOT need a special *digital* antenna.
The regular ones, you have known for years past will work as well.
If you still have one, connect that one to the cable.
If you do not have one at all, then find just one antenna and hook that one up.
This WILL work, IF your TV is one of the more modern ones which do have a digital encoder, built into the set. Otherwise you do need a converter box.
As always, the bigger the antenna and the higher it is mounted, the better your reception will be.
TV signals are *line of sight*.
Trees, buildings and mountains, between your antenna and the station, will hinder the reception quality.
So glad someone resurrected this thread. Since two years ago, I have finally decided to move toward cutting the cord and just having OTA for TV, plus Hulu+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime video. Irman is right, you don't need a "special" digital antenna. Actually, there is no such thing as a High Definition TV Antenna verses a Standard definition antenna. Most all stations are in digital format now, so naturally anything that is pulled in from an OTA will be digital (and or HD depending upon the channel.)
Since I don't have an existing antenna, I'll have to purchase a new one. I'm looking at long range antennas since I'm wanting to pick up channels that are 60+ miles away from me - which I've found is very possible in my area.
The original question (which I know is two years old now) is can the person use existing cable wires in the house with their OTA antenna. The answer is yes, but each time you split the signal, it's going to reduce the signal to those TVs. I would personally just run cables to TVs that you know you'll be using and that's it. For instance, if you have four rooms that are all cable ready, but you're only using two TVs, don't hook up four rooms to the antenna.
I wanted to do something like this. I haven't had the time as of yet. I ask other people in my area if they can pick up all of the Nashville locals, and they say they can with small indoor antenna's. I'm probably 60 miles from the furthest transmitter.
However, in my home, I can barely pick up CBS and Fox, but ABC and NBC you can forget it. Its like the VHF is ok, but the UHF isn't. Not sure why. So I've been skiddish to pay for and install an outdoor OTA from fears the damn thing just won't work for me.
I'd really just like to mount it on the south wall of the attic, indoors, but again, reception. I am not sure why people who are further away then I am, at lower elevations can pick up these stations with lesser equipment then I already have. I bought an amp, etc, still the same channels, they are just better received.
As always, the bigger the antenna and the higher it is mounted, the better your reception will be.
TV signals are *line of sight*.
Trees, buildings and mountains, between your antenna and the station, will hinder the reception quality.
I just cut the cord myself. I'm about 35 miles from various antennas.
Interestingly, I get better reception for some channels closer to ground level than higher up. UHF signals diffract in strange ways, and some of my signals are what are called 1 edge or 2 edge signals.
Regarding trees, lower can sometimes be better, too. Trunks are a known, fixed quantity. Leaves get wet and wave around in the wind.
I get a few channels by line of sight. I get a lot more by one edge and two edge diffraction.
If I out my address into TVfool, and play with the antenna height (which you can do most easily on the online maps view), it predicts that lowering the height changes a couple of channels from line of site to one edge. Overall power doesn't change much.
In order to pull in the only UHF ABC station, which is two edge, I do better at a few feet above ground level than higher. That makes some of the line of site channels weaker, but I still can pick them up, and as long as they're strong enough to get a lock on they look perfect. So, my comprise is low.
So glad someone resurrected this thread. Since two years ago, I have finally decided to move toward cutting the cord and just having OTA for TV, plus Hulu+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime video. Irman is right, you don't need a "special" digital antenna. Actually, there is no such thing as a High Definition TV Antenna verses a Standard definition antenna. Most all stations are in digital format now, so naturally anything that is pulled in from an OTA will be digital (and or HD depending upon the channel.)
Since I don't have an existing antenna, I'll have to purchase a new one. I'm looking at long range antennas since I'm wanting to pick up channels that are 60+ miles away from me - which I've found is very possible in my area.
The original question (which I know is two years old now) is can the person use existing cable wires in the house with their OTA antenna. The answer is yes, but each time you split the signal, it's going to reduce the signal to those TVs. I would personally just run cables to TVs that you know you'll be using and that's it. For instance, if you have four rooms that are all cable ready, but you're only using two TVs, don't hook up four rooms to the antenna.
Here I am, almost another year later and I too, appreciate this thread. Thank you for giving a direct "yes" answer, it was what I was looking for. I am amazed how difficult it is to find the answer in this day and age. I am a visual person and would have loved to find a YouTube "how to", but hopefully I have this. I will mount OTA on roof edge, and run the coax cable to the box and plug into where the old cable line from the company plugged into. I'll return later and post results if anyone interested.
If your house was previously wired for 'cable', changing to antenna is easy. If you're in a single family house with a garage, all wires from the rooms run to the attic over the garage into splitters with a single wire running to the outside wall somewhere near the electric meter and phone line.
Go to antennaweb.org or tvfool.com to see where to point antenna. Look at list of channels available. If you have any channels 2 to 13 in your area, look at the list to see if those channels have and 'RF' # 13 or below, if so, you will need a vhf/uhf antenna, if all the channels are 14 and above, a uhf will do. Run the co-ax cable from the antenna to where the 'cable' wire was connected. At the TV wall outlet, run the wire to the TV 'ant in'. With TV remote 'input' button, set TV to antenna. Go to TV menu for channel scan. All prime channels will be 16:9 HD, All sub channels will be 4:3 SD. You can fill the screen using the TV picture 'zoom' function, which changes the picture to 16[or more]:12
If your TV doesn't automatically add new sub channels, do a rescan every few weeks to see if any new channels have been added.
If you have a quality 1080 TV, you'll see a big difference in picture quality compared to cable.
Here I am, almost another year later and I too, appreciate this thread. Thank you for giving a direct "yes" answer, it was what I was looking for. I am amazed how difficult it is to find the answer in this day and age. I am a visual person and would have loved to find a YouTube "how to", but hopefully I have this. I will mount OTA on roof edge, and run the coax cable to the box and plug into where the old cable line from the company plugged into. I'll return later and post results if anyone interested.
Here is my update:
First, connecting the cable to my antenna was a breeze. I unhooked(unscrewed) the cable company's, and hooked ours in to that line. Done!
I can not believe how much longer I paid for stupid cable than was necessary. I do NOT miss it at all. We receive 47 stations in HD (they all are) and they look wonderful. We did have to play a bit with the CBS station.
Summary: Clearstream Antenna 4v on roof edge.
Channel Master DVR+ to record. (Black Friday special 199.) You can also pause, rewind live feed shows. (We purchased a Seagate 1Tb hard drive for extra record time from Staples, a Black Friday deal for $40.) We also paid the 40. for wifi toggle for the two week guide and internet updates. Worth it!
Magic Jack for "landline". We still like one number for family outside of cell phones. One time cost 51. and an extra 10. to port over our number.
Signed two year contract with Fios for internet 50/50 for 45.00 a month. We have our own router that exceeds what was needed (since we are not using their television). Interestingly, with internet only we pay no extra taxes, fees, etc.
In three months we are completely even with the cost. For two years barring any issues, our monthly bill for television, phone, DVR, internet, will be 45.00 a month. No more fighting with the cable company for every six-month jack up of price.
Note: We left when it had reached 153.00 a month and they would not come down. Since leaving, we are bombarded with offers to come back for less. Unreal. Oh, they sent a "quality control" guy out to make sure the cable line had been disconnected. Said it was to check their guy had done his job coming out to disconnect. (No one ever came out, I am the one that disconnected it. They just wanted to make sure we weren't using them) The guy was a bit of an #$@, but I just nodded and said good-bye knowing I would not have to deal with them anymore.
It is almost silly how happy I am without them!!!!!
Last edited by hopeful_cynic; 12-29-2015 at 06:46 AM..
Reason: Left out a charge
I have mine attached to the side of my house, and the antenna connected to the cable box outside. Works like a charm.
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OTA connected to outside cable box
Success!!!
