HDTV via Antenna

[Flyfisha]

At our camp on Rattlesnake we have an old external antenna with a pre-amp.

We get 16 Channels-- most notably 9,11,21, and 31. So we at least get coverage on ABC and CBS with some public television. We also use a rotor. Not the best but free and good enough for local news and something to watch during inclement weather!

[jmen24]

Question:
Can you still receive the over the air HD channels "through" your cable line?

When we had cable, one of our tv's was on the basic (no box) cable. With the cable attached directly to a somewhat newer LED TV in the bedroom (4 years old or so), we had all the basic cable channels, plus about 30 HD locals in all kinds of languages and from different states. No antenna just the cable line screwed directly into the TV.

We have ZERO line of site, I look at the summit of two 3000' mountains from my deck, they are both within 2 miles (as the crow fly's) in relation to my yard, which is in a valley. Kearsarge is in the South-Southwest and Ragged is East-Northeast We are at 780' of elevation. This is also not taking into consideration Sunapee, Bald, Black and Cardigan that overlap the two closer peaks. The only open area is toward the Northwest, but my house is perched into a side hill that has an elevation gain of 85' from yard and completely blocks that direction even before adding the trees to that elevation gain.

The only answer to the "how" was that the cable line was acting as an antenna for the TV's with a built-in digital tuner. The LCD TV in the living room could not do this (early LCD from the LCD vs Plasma days), but the other LED downstairs could, which was the newest of all the sets (new as of 3 years ago).

[Old Hubbard Rd]

Originally Posted by jmen24

Question:
Can you still receive the over the air HD channels "through" your cable line?

When we had cable, one of our tv's was on the basic (no box) cable. With the cable attached directly to a somewhat newer LED TV in the bedroom (4 years old or so), we had all the basic cable channels, plus about 30 HD locals in all kinds of languages and from different states. No antenna just the cable line screwed directly into the TV.

We have ZERO line of site, I look at the summit of two 3000' mountains from my deck, they are both within 2 miles (as the crow fly's) in relation to my yard, which is in a valley. Kearsarge is in the South-Southwest and Ragged is East-Northeast We are at 780' of elevation. This is also not taking into consideration Sunapee, Bald, Black and Cardigan that overlap the two closer peaks. The only open area is toward the Northwest, but my house is perched into a side hill that has an elevation gain of 85' from yard and completely blocks that direction even before adding the trees to that elevation gain.

The only answer to the "how" was that the cable line was acting as an antenna for the TV's with a built-in digital tuner. The LCD TV in the living room could not do this (early LCD from the LCD vs Plasma days), but the other LED downstairs could, which was the newest of all the sets (new as of 3 years ago).

Interesting?? I will look forward to peoples thoughts on this. Is it possible the cable company may have forgotten to turn off the service?

[jmen24]

Originally Posted by Old Hubbard Rd

Interesting?? I will look forward to peoples thoughts on this. Is it possible the cable company may have forgotten to turn off the service?

No, we only had this when we had cable. When we switched to Dish, the cable line at the house was and still is rendered dead. We paid for one Digital HD package on one TV, this was the result on the other TV's.

The standard basic cable was not in HD, just the locals. We had Cable 9 (SD WMUR), then 9.1 (HD WMUR), 9.3 (HD something out of Vermont) and one other, just for channel 9. This repeated for many channels.

The reason I asked is we are thinking of dumping Dish and going with basic cable, higher internet speed and adding to our online streaming. Which adds another question: Is there any way to get NESN in HD without a HD or Digital package, like via streaming? That is the only thing yet to determine. We use NBC LIVE for many out of market NHL games, but we NEED our Bruins!

[Crusty]

The "Clear TV" antenna (2 for 19.99) actually is 2 for $35.93 when you add "processing and handling". You can get a similar (RCA) antenna at Wal-Mart for for under $17. The are two problems with either antenna. The first is that it is an un-amplified indoor antenna and will work about as well as a set of rabbit ears. It will pick-up signals at 15 to 30 miles from the transmitter, assuming that you don't have a lot of buildings/trees between you and the tower.

There are also similar indoor antennas with amplifiers. These extend the reception radius, but not significantly. Your best bet is a big old Yagi antenna mounted on a tall mast with an amplifier and rotor. [We had one of these back in the 1960's so we could watch the Browns games out of Columbus; they were blacked-out in Cleveland.] No matter how "digital" TVs get, they still live off good-old radio waves.

If you have a decent, open location and spend a few hundred bucks, you can get a fair amount of broadcast TV, including the HD signals.

HOWEVER, after consulting the Metrocast Basic channel line-up, I can tell you that you will not receive any channel that is not included in what you already get. You will definitely lose NECN, 3 home shopping channels, 2 CSPAN channels and 3 "education and government" channels.

To get any "good" channels, you will need to bump up to Metrocast's "Expanded Basic" service. None of these can be watched via an antenna, although some may be available over the Internet.

Instead of an buying an antenna, you might consider "renting" one from Aereo (https://aereo.com). Depending on how their Supreme Court case comes out, you can rent a small antenna + DVR (physically located in Boston) and then watch all the "local" stations over the Internet (about $9 /month). This won't be an improvement over Metrocast's Basic service, but it is cheaper.

[Slickcraft]

A high gain VHF/UHF antenna looks like this:
http://www.winegarddirect.com/viewit...7698P%29&post=

Good for all channels.

Now that channels 2-6 have moved to the UHF band, the VHF elements (behind the reflector) are not as long as in the past.

A high gain UHF only looks like this:
http://www.winegarddirect.com/viewit...P%29&p=SHD9095

Good for channels 2-6 (now in UHF band) and 14 - 83

These antennas are highly directional and normally require a rotor. Also a pre-amp on the antenna mast.

[HellRaZoR004]

Originally Posted by jmen24

Question:
Can you still receive the over the air HD channels "through" your cable line?

When we had cable, one of our tv's was on the basic (no box) cable. With the cable attached directly to a somewhat newer LED TV in the bedroom (4 years old or so), we had all the basic cable channels, plus about 30 HD locals in all kinds of languages and from different states. No antenna just the cable line screwed directly into the TV.

We have ZERO line of site, I look at the summit of two 3000' mountains from my deck, they are both within 2 miles (as the crow fly's) in relation to my yard, which is in a valley. Kearsarge is in the South-Southwest and Ragged is East-Northeast We are at 780' of elevation. This is also not taking into consideration Sunapee, Bald, Black and Cardigan that overlap the two closer peaks. The only open area is toward the Northwest, but my house is perched into a side hill that has an elevation gain of 85' from yard and completely blocks that direction even before adding the trees to that elevation gain.

The only answer to the "how" was that the cable line was acting as an antenna for the TV's with a built-in digital tuner. The LCD TV in the living room could not do this (early LCD from the LCD vs Plasma days), but the other LED downstairs could, which was the newest of all the sets (new as of 3 years ago).

We did this for about 2 years at the house. About 6 months ago this stopped working. The cable itself is not acting as an antenna, more so the cable company is broadcasting the signal and you can pick it up on the coax line to the house.