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Bronze Member Username: MvanmeterKY USA Post Number: 15 Registered: Jan-06 | Our local NBC affiliate, WLEX 18 in Lexington, KY, is broadcasting the Olympics in 1080i on their over-the-air (OTA) digital broadcast. They stoped multicasting on 18.2 to get the best signal possible and it is SPECTACULAR. Over-the-air digital broadcasts really are great if you are within the stations broadcast area. For those of you who have not tried OTA, it is certainly worth a try if you already have an ATSC set top box tuner or built in tuner in your HDTV. |
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Silver Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 720 Registered: Feb-04 | Martin, it is on my list to do just that. If it weren't for the occasional game on ESPNHD, and the very occasional movie/program on HBOHD I could almost chuck cable on my HD set altogether. But since I do not have an ATSC tuner and my TV is below groundlevel, I have complications. BTW, here is a blog from one of the production dudes over there: http://hdolympics.blogspot.com/ |
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Bronze Member Username: MvanmeterKY USA Post Number: 16 Registered: Jan-06 | Hi John, you will have to include in your planning an external TV antenna. Depending on your location, you may need a rotor or additional antennas to point directly at the broadcast tower. It is a return to the 50's and 60's, prior to cable, when everyone had a large TV antenna mounted on their roof or on a tower in the back yard. I purchased a refurbished Samsung SIR-T451 on the internet for about $175 - it has worked very well, receiving everything within my viewing area - BUT with a decent UHF external antenna. |
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Silver Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 724 Registered: Feb-04 | Martin: "you will have to include in your planning an external TV antenna." That's what I meant by "complications." First of all, I am committed to paying off my credit card before perchasing new toys. I only need a couple of months, but I am still worried about those Samsung 451 refurbs drying up before then. Maybe that's not such a big problem as most new TVs have the tuners built-in, so the demand might not be so great. I am fortunate as all the major HDTV broadcasters are 170° to 171° south with the furthest being 11.2 miles away. The exception is PBS---66° NE @ 9.1 miles. But that might not be a problem either. At least I hope so as I don't want to complicate matters with a rotor. The other concern is that the antenna web site states that the ABC affiliate broadcasts VHF. Obviously I'd rather not deal with a combo VHF/UHF antenna. I can find out if that's a problem locally I guess. I am not the handiest guy around, but I think I can mount a suitable antenna on the corner of the house nearest the TV. The only problem is running the signal to the TV in a finished basement. Anyway, I gather you like the Samsung? The only minus I've read about it is that it takes a bit of time to change channels.... |
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Bronze Member Username: MvanmeterKY USA Post Number: 17 Registered: Jan-06 | I have purchased 3 Samsungs: 2 351's and one 451, all refurbs, all still running well, the 351's went to family members 2 years ago. You are correct, they are a little unresponsive on channel changes, unless you key in the channel number directly (you still have to use the channel up/down key for .1, .2, etc) and they choose to use gray sidebars for SD broadcasts, black would have been my choice. But, the price was right and I'm not that interested in SD anyway. I am using cheap radio shack $25 UHF yagi antennas, 2 combined to get two different azimuths, and they even receive our channel 27 CBS which is VHF 13. I have not been able to get our local Fox channel which is channel 7, too far down in the VHF band. It is a shame the FCC buckled under the whinning of the broadcasters and allowed VHF HD over the air. Originally it was all going to be in the UHF range to maximize the amount of frequencies returned to the FCC for other uses. So now we have to consider the even larger VHF/UHF antennas in most markets. |
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fx Unregistered guest | "It is a shame the FCC buckled under the whinning of the broadcasters and allowed VHF HD over the air. Originally it was all going to be in the UHF range to maximize the amount of frequencies returned to the FCC for other uses. So now we have to consider the even larger VHF/UHF antennas in most markets." No such thing ever happened. TV broadcast stations have been using VHF since the very first TV program ever transmitted. Where did you get your information???? xvxvxvx |
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Bronze Member Username: MvanmeterKY USA Post Number: 20 Registered: Jan-06 | excuse me Mr. fx (unregistered guest)... Analog TV has been VHF/UHF for many years. The original allocated frequencies for digital TV (DTV) were all in the UHF spectrum. Read down to paragraph 6 on the site page, where it notes that the original UHF only concept had been changed to allow some VHF DTV allocations. http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/1997/nrmm7006.html |
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fx Unregistered guest | Thanks for the link Martin but did you even read it? The FCC is recovering even more spectrum than originally anticipated by the 1996 Telecommunications Act. From your link: "The Table will facilitate early recovery of 60 Mhz of spectrum at channels 60-69 and recovery of additional 78 MHz of spectrum at the end of the transition period. Previously, the Commission anticipated recovering only 72 Mhz of spectrum, and none until the end of the transition." I suppose my comment was directed at your supposition that the network somehow lobbied for additional spectrum and got it. What actually transpired is that they got less than they were initially granted. xvxvxvx |