Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You can buy an HDTV for $120 and an antenna for $16.
Don't want to be rude, at the same time, everyone has different issues in their life and hence their decisions. My TV sits in the living room so with 19" TV, I will have to sit next to it. My living room is not size of a dorm room. Plus, DS is 4 years old, toys still fly around in the living room sometimes, so investing in a LED TV could end up a costly mistake.
Secondly, if $16 antenna would have worked for everyone, there wouldn't be any business making expensive antennas. If you check the radar report I posted, I am far from the signal transmitting tower, plus there are loads of trees and buildings around me (that block the signal), hence this antenna won't work.
UPDATE: Ordered Terk FDTV1A from amazon (today is cheapest price). Terk customer support is as pathetic as others though but since mohu antennas won't work, I had to go with them. The difference between 1A,2 and 2A is, A stands for amplified, 2 are smaller in size than 1 and 1 has a wall mount that has been removed from packaging in 2 series. (Terk doesn't tell you directly, which made me mad but you can't hide from google, can ya?)
Will report its performance (got to get a converter box before that).
Don't want to be rude, at the same time, everyone has different issues in their life and hence their decisions. My TV sits in the living room so with 19" TV, I will have to sit next to him. My living room is not size of a dorm room. Plus, DS is 4 years old, toys still fly around in the living room sometimes, so investing in a LED TV could end up a costly mistake.
Secondly, if $16 antenna would have worked for everyone, there wouldn't be any business making expensive antennas. If you check the radar report I posted, I am far from the signal transmitting tower, plus there are loads of trees and buildings around me (that block the signal), hence this antenna won't work.
UPDATE: Ordered Terk FDTV1A from amazon (today is cheapest price). Terk customer support is as pathetic as others though but since mohu antennas won't work, I had to go with them. The difference between 1A,2 and 2A is, A stands for amplified, 2 are smaller in size than 1 and 1 has a wall mount that has been removed from packaging in 2 series. (Terk doesn't tell you directly, which made me mad but you can't hide from google, can ya?)
Will report its performance (got to get a converter box before that).
Whatever. I have the $16 antenna and have so many trees around me I could jog around my house naked. It. Works. Fine.
Update : Mohu Leaf antenna are out of question. Contacted Mohu support and they informed me that their antennas won't work at my location. Also informed me that my TV has analog tuner and need a converter. I quickly searched for these converters on amazon and there are tons to choose from. Any specific good quality under %50 pops up in your mind, just a basic converter, no bells and whistles required?
Did you get a converter yet? I've played with about a half dozen so far, my favorite was the RCA DTA-900. Very sensitive receiver, I was able to pick up all local channels, including some close to a 100 miles away, with a cheap pair of RCA rabbit ears.
Did you get a converter yet? I've played with about a half dozen so far, my favorite was the RCA DTA-900. Very sensitive receiver, I was able to pick up all local channels, including some close to a 100 miles away, with a cheap pair of RCA rabbit ears.
Do you have the list of the ones you tried handy? I had short listed following ones and almost was zeroing on Zinwell.
Zinwell ZAT-970A Digital to Analog TV Converter Box (for Antenna Use)
Magnavox DTV Digital to Analog Converter
Supersonic SC55 Digital Converter Box
Philco TB100HH9 Digital to Analog TV Converter Box
Zenith Digital Tuner Tv Converter Box Dtt900
Artec T3AP-LL Digital TV Converter Box - NTSC 720x480i Output, Supports 18 Modes
Sunkey Digital-Analog Converter Box with Learning Universal Remote Control, ATB150S
HomeWorX ATSC Standard-Definition Digital to Analog Converter Box with Analog Pass-Through (HW100STB)
The one that you mention seems to be obsolete now. So can't give a try to that.
Do you have the list of the ones you tried handy? I had short listed following ones and almost was zeroing on Zinwell.
Zinwell ZAT-970A Digital to Analog TV Converter Box (for Antenna Use)
Magnavox DTV Digital to Analog Converter
Supersonic SC55 Digital Converter Box
Philco TB100HH9 Digital to Analog TV Converter Box
Zenith Digital Tuner Tv Converter Box Dtt900
Artec T3AP-LL Digital TV Converter Box - NTSC 720x480i Output, Supports 18 Modes
Sunkey Digital-Analog Converter Box with Learning Universal Remote Control, ATB150S
HomeWorX ATSC Standard-Definition Digital to Analog Converter Box with Analog Pass-Through (HW100STB)
The one that you mention seems to be obsolete now. So can't give a try to that.
Sorry, had the name wrong. I was thinking of the other name for it. The one I meant was the "Zenith Digital Tuner Tv Converter Box Dtt900", which is really made by RCA. Excellent box. I've also tried the "Magnavox DTV Digital to Analog Converter", which is OK, but has kind of crappy remote and menu system. The other one I still use is a Coby box, can't remember the model, but is one of the only ones that also does true HD. This one actually had one of the worst pictures thought and a flaky tuner. The others were cheap no-names that I sent back. I think one of them was a Philco, can't remember for sure.
Yes, its in my list too but I put it down in the list only because I read that Zenith support is super bad.
I will go ahead with Zinwell and will post response. But you know, the issue is, where do you live and how the surrounding is, that essentially decides the reception. Although I live on a hillock, I am really not sure how this will work out so sticking to Amazon for ordering, in case I have to send it back.
Just got Roku 2 XS for Costco for $80 in case anyone wants to buy.
Last edited by noelm; 09-28-2012 at 05:48 PM..
Reason: Correction
A lot of activity over the last couple of days, so I haven't had a chance to read-up on them until now.
If you have an analog TV, you'll need a convertor box. Even the latest model flat-screen TV's may not have a digital tuner built into them, so just because it's "new", don't assume that it will have everything you need. Not to say that anyone here assumed such, but just making a blanket statement.
All convertor boxes are basically the same. They take the digital, broadcast TV signal and convert it to analog for your TV to view the signal. The output of the box to your TV can either be Coaxial, Composite or S-Video (listed in order of quality, from "okay" to "great"). The difference between the models basically boils down to their menu system / interface, and remote. They won't necessarily give you listings of what's on what channels, but at least you can scroll through the list of channels and know what each channel is (NBC, CBS, NBC +, etc.)
The Terk antenna you chose looks to be a good one. Omni-directional is exactly what you want - set it in one spot and you're done; no jiggling of the rabbit ears, as it were.
The converter box (Zinwell) and antenna (Terk FDTV1a) arrived today. I played with it for about 2 hours to see which direction/position gives me best channels. Finally, I guess I found the location and position where I will get maximum number of channels. I don't get all of them though. The ones I get are listed below. It will be great if anybody could go through and check why I am not getting others, if anybody could figure out the problem i.e. their wavelength or direction or anything else.
Out of these only 2 to 9 are received reliably. 31.x reception is little finicky and 31.xxx reception is zero. It shows good signal and signal strenth but no picture or audio. No idea what is going on. I have no idea why I do not get first 3 channels in TVfool radar report. Any pointers are appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
