Jim in Anchorage Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Yes,I know this was beat to death during the switch over to digital,but I never paid much attention. I have decided to cancel my cable but would like to have basic[free] TV. I am tired of paying $55 a month for something I hardly use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 i believe a vcr hookup can act as a digital tuner....just watch the tv through the vcr....i could be completly wrong...i may be getting digital tuners confused with pre-amps..... yeah i am wrong...you need to get a digital tuner...check out hh gregg or ultimate electronics.... Yes,I know this was beat to death during the switch over to digital,but I never paid much attention. I have decided to cancel my cable but would like to have basic[free] TV. I am tired of paying $55 a month for something I hardly use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ieatcrayonz Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Yes,I know this was beat to death during the switch over to digital,but I never paid much attention. I have decided to cancel my cable but would like to have basic[free] TV. I am tired of paying $55 a month for something I hardly use. Get a time machine and set it for 1978. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Yes,I know this was beat to death during the switch over to digital,but I never paid much attention. I have decided to cancel my cable but would like to have basic[free] TV. I am tired of paying $55 a month for something I hardly use. I " survived" w/o cable/sat a couple of times in my life. It really wasn't that bad. Most of the programs I watched I found online. That has become even easier with sites like Hulu and the networks streaming some episodes online. As for the over-the-air signal of local channels, you will need a digital converter like this. You can probably find one in your local Walmart/Target/RadioShack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 As for the over-the-air signal of local channels, you will need a digital converter like this. You can probably find one in your local Walmart/Target/RadioShack. I bought one a while back...my cable dies 2 or 3 times a year. I also purchased one of those 9 buck antennas. They both work well enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I " survived" w/o cable/sat a couple of times in my life. It really wasn't that bad. Most of the programs I watched I found online. That has become even easier with sites like Hulu and the networks streaming some episodes online. As for the over-the-air signal of local channels, you will need a digital converter like this. You can probably find one in your local Walmart/Target/RadioShack. Wow. Dunno what happened to that link, but you can copy and paste it. This is one they sell at Walmart: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Magnavox-Digital...ter-Box/8283870 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eme123 Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Yes,I know this was beat to death during the switch over to digital,but I never paid much attention. I have decided to cancel my cable but would like to have basic[free] TV. I am tired of paying $55 a month for something I hardly use. Get an extra long cable tv wire. On sundays string it outside and tie it around the gutter on your roof. Cut the wire and pull out the copper inside. Turn on your TV and you will have perfect HD Bills games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 You'll need either a newer teevee with a built-in digital converter, or a set-top converter box. You'll also need an adequate antenna to receive broadcast signals. Use TV Fool to enter your street address and determine your channel line-up and the compass directions to the broadcasting tower(s). In the city, suburbs, etc. a set-top antenna can be adequate. Doing a rough entry, it looks like the signals in Anchorage are all over the place. Try smaller first. You can hook up an old-style antenna and get an idea of what you'll get. There's nothing fundamentally different about digital, it just generally uses UHF and needs a consistent, fairly strong signal (our converter box has a "digital cliff" of ~ 68%) and if it doesn't work try a bigger antenna until it does. A double-bow-tie antenna like the Channel Master db-2 or the newer-design 4220 are pretty good models for inside ~30 miles. If you're a DIY-er, you can also make a good-performing one with instructions here. As you get more rural / farther away from the tower(s), bigger antennas and/or pre-amplifiers may need to be used. The three general rules are bigger is better, outside mount is better than inside, and higher is better. You can actually use your current sat wiring to hook an antenna up outside and get one more thing off of the TV. Put up a pole, stabilize it, connect the wires at the F-connecters. Then follow the directions on the converter box or teevee (if it has a built-in digital tuner) manual. We dropped cable about 15 years ago. It was a lot of money for a lot of crap. We mostly watch PBS (and lucky, in our corridor here in the northeast, we have 8 PBS channels (some are redundant, tho). On the whole, digital has been a big improvement. Antenna signals for HDTV broadcasts are actually better than cable or sat picture, as they are wholly uncompressed. As Dean noted, you can supplement antenna viewing with Internet sources (for example, we watched our rooting interest's entire World Cup via ESPN3.com). Frankly, I don't know why more people don't drop cable/sat... doing that might force them into a-la-carte pricing, where you just pay for the channels you want rather than subsidizing crap channels in the "tier" plans. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Wow. Dunno what happened to that link, but you can copy and paste it. This is one they sell at Walmart: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Magnavox-Digital...ter-Box/8283870 I have some experience with that and many on avsforums say that's a piece of crap. The Zenith or Insignia converter boxes (they are the same design with different labels) have given me good results in several installs. I got the Insignia at Best Buy. Don't know if they're available anymore. At full price ($80 at the time of the switch), you're creeping into a cost-benefit decision of just getting a new HD teevee with a built-in tuner. Much better picture, fewer boxes, fewer wires, and to tell the truth, less hassle. I've installed both ways. It's the owner's choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I have some experience with that and many on avsforums say that's a piece of crap. The Zenith or Insignia converter boxes (they are the same design with different labels) have given me good results in several installs. I got the Insignia at Best Buy. Don't know if they're available anymore. At full price ($80 at the time of the switch), you're creeping into a cost-benefit decision of just getting a new HD teevee with a built-in tuner. I have a Zenith DTT900 - I bought it when those coupons came out (as it turns out, what I bought for $40 is now around $30 last time I looked). Re outdoor antennas mounted on structures - be sure to properly ground them: http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/1171010.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I have some experience with that and many on avsforums say that's a piece of crap. The Zenith or Insignia converter boxes (they are the same design with different labels) have given me good results in several installs. I got the Insignia at Best Buy. Don't know if they're available anymore. At full price ($80 at the time of the switch), you're creeping into a cost-benefit decision of just getting a new HD teevee with a built-in tuner. Much better picture, fewer boxes, fewer wires, and to tell the truth, less hassle. I've installed both ways. It's the owner's choice. Outstanding. I never used one so was just pointing to the type of device he needed. Glad you clarified that so he didn't buy a dud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous Guy Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Yes,I know this was beat to death during the switch over to digital,but I never paid much attention. I have decided to cancel my cable but would like to have basic[free] TV. I am tired of paying $55 a month for something I hardly use. I think you need one of these. http://phillips.blogs.com/.a/6a00d834515c6...d6765970b-250wi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I think you need one of these. http://phillips.blogs.com/.a/6a00d834515c6...d6765970b-250wi I think my old apartment might be in the shot. I lived under God's Roach Clip for about five years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted August 5, 2010 Author Share Posted August 5, 2010 Thanks for the tips. I will take eme 123's advice with a grain of salt however[wrap your cable around the gutter and get all the bills games]. I only get to see the Bills when they are on national TV[late Sunday game,MNF] and looking at this years schedule apparently there is no "national" interest outside the 14127 zip code. This was a factor in my decision to drop cable-why pay $55 a month for TV with no Bills games? I just listen to the 97 rock Internet play by play anyway, just like the old days when they never sold out at home and I would listen to Van Miller on 550. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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