Home audio & video: How do over-the-air HD broadcasts compare...
OTa is best
by gretzkyv99 - 2/22/08 7:41 AM In reply to: OTA is the best by HTHMANMainly due to the fact that there are bandwith restrictions with Satellites. Cable is pretty good as well, then there are your satellite broadcast.
Very comparable in my house
by netboomer - 2/22/08 8:03 PM In reply to: How do over-the-air HD broadcasts compare... by minimalistI've now been the owner of a 37" Magnavox LCD for about 3 weeks, with both Comcast HD and a Channelmaster UHF roof-mounted antenna. Having switched back and forth between inputs looking for a difference on the same channel, I would say that the image quality for both is just stunning. Maybe two identical sets side by side would reveal a difference, but I don't have that luxury.
Rabid pixellation
by dolbyg - 2/22/08 8:27 PM In reply to: How do over-the-air HD broadcasts compare... by minimalistI have had my HDTV receiver in Los Angeles county for 7 years, now. Consider that this is the entertainment capitol, or was until the WGA's strike. The number of HDTV broadcasts has grown to 23 channels. My receiver has an on-screen signal strength meter that has allowed me to draw a correlation between the strength and the pixellation.
If you use little rabbit ears in the Boonies, don't expect an impressive picture.
Get an outside antenna
by tom.o - 2/23/08 4:14 AM In reply to: How do over-the-air HD broadcasts compare... by minimalistA weak signal equals depixelation (break up into blocks). I have been running OTA HDTV since the early days when you needed a STB for HDTV. The outside antenna does the trick. Mine is on a large outside unit; because we still watch some of the weaker channels on VHF.
HDTV is being broadcasted on the UHF frequencies. In 2009, the VHF TV signals are gone. I would invest in a really good UHF antenna. Go to http://www.antennaweb.org to see the locations of signals being broadcast in your area. Buy a digital rotator and tune to the station. The fact is that UHF HD is very directional.
I recently picked up an HDTV for my 86 year old father. He is about 35 to 40 miles line of sight from the broadcast towers. We tried several top rated indoor antenna and all would eventually depixelate. I got a splitter (there was already a signal booster amplifier in the line), connected the new TV to the old outside antenna and the depixelation problems are gone.
Not all digital is UHF
by Mikebiker - 2/23/08 9:06 AM In reply to: Get an outside antenna by tom.oNot all digital broadcasts are on UHF. Once the analog broadcasts are ended, some digital transmissions will be moved back to VHF. In my area, after the transition, there will be three stations transmitting on VHF channels.
Not all digital is UHF
by rsadda - 2/24/08 4:27 PM In reply to: Not all digital is UHF by MikebikerYour signal must be weak. You probably live a little too far from the OTA broadcast source. I use an old rabbit ear antenna and get a beautiful picture from local CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC, PBS high definition broadcast channels. Absolutely no pixellation!! But then, I live just accross the river from local broadcast stations in downtown New Orleans. Try an outdoor roof antenna or a TERK or Radio Shack HDTV indoor antenna. You may have better luck with that.
Weak signal causes blocking
by smitbret - 4/24/09 6:28 PM In reply to: Not all digital is UHF by rsaddaI have my outdoor antenna connected through my Dish Network 722 receiver. I ended up going OTA because Dish wasn't broadcasting the locals in HD until about a week ago and I wanted to watch the NCAA tourney in HD. According to my Dish Network receiver, my OTA signal strength on the CBS station is 96 (0-100), but the broadcasts still suffered from the blocking during movement. I've since watched NBA basketball on the ABC affiliate that is only running about 76% and not had the same problem. The NBC affiliate doesn't have the problem either, but the transmitter's only six miles from my house and it's always 100%. The message I'm getting is that OTA broadcasts are never compressed?
I don't think I care about TV enough to bother with
by minimalist - 2/23/08 10:13 AM In reply to: Get an outside antenna by tom.oan outdoor antenna. I might be willing to buy a better quality indoor antenna for the few times I just have to see something being broadcast on network TV or PBS.
I checked antennaweb.org and I am in a city center between 8 and 14 miles away from all the digital broadcast towers in my area. All the houses are 1 and 2 story but there are a lot of big 50-60 foot mature trees in the neighborhood.
The rabbit ears I am using are from the late 90's and have a fine tuning knob at the base and a about a 8" loop at the base for UHF channels. Is there any type of indoor antenna that would make a difference over what I already have or is this as good as it will get on an indoor antenna?
Avoid amplification if you can.
by j_a_s_p_e_r - 2/23/08 10:47 AM In reply to: How do over-the-air HD broadcasts compare... by minimalistGet a highly directional non-amplified antenna
I was one of the (very) early adopters of DTV with a samsung SIR-T151 HD ATSC tuners. What I found from my own experience and reading some other forums is that the gain of amplified antennas often cause a distortion in a digital signal. Once I got an Zenith HD-TV1 (not sure of the model #) highly direction non-amplified antenna, the problem was solved. Another friend of mine found that he could use an amplified antenna but use the barest minimum of amplification for it to work. A little amp can go a long way, the dynamics of the digital signal is a lot different from analog.
HD broadcasts over the air Vs Cable
by Ron Geiken - 2/23/08 4:32 PM In reply to: How do over-the-air HD broadcasts compare... by minimalistI have Cox cable, and usually will watch my local HD channels on the Cable, but in case it would be off the air, I have an indoor antenna that has an amplifier that I can use in emergency. The HD signals with the antenna is great, and I could watch my local channels with it if the Cable happens to be out. If I look at the analog channel with this antenna, it is extremely noisy and almost impossible to watch. The same channel in HD looks fine. Any given antenna will give a much better picture when it is used with a digital input vs and analog input. If you have a good out door antenna, you should get excellent HD signals. Digital is the wave of the future, so everyone might as well get used to that. And irregardless to what some "Purist" may say digital will give you the best quality TV picture with any given antenna. If the input signal is to weak, neither digital or analog will give you an adequate TV Picture.
I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT BEING SANDWICHED BETWEEN BOSTON........
by Riverledge - 2/23/08 5:06 PM In reply to: HD broadcasts over the air Vs Cable by Ron GeikenAND PROVIDENCE HAS ADVANTAGES. EACH CITY HAS AN ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC, AND PBS STATION AFFILIATE. (zip: 02703)
I HAVE COMCAST CABLE (RIP-OFF) for both sets, and an antenna for EMERGENCIES. There POTENTIALLY over 40 receivable OTA signals in my area.
Your pixelation problem is weak signal...
by mostinc - 4/17/09 5:18 PM In reply to: How do over-the-air HD broadcasts compare... by minimalistI am not sure how far you are from broadcast but my DTV converter (Zenith) is great and it has a signal meter. Put on the signal meter and you will find that pixelation occurs whenever the signal gets real low. I have amplified antenna in attic. It works great except one station seems to go pixelated once in a while. That might be testing since we have not officially started DTV full time service yet.
Transmitting antenna locations
by mjd420nova - 6/15/09 11:00 AM In reply to: How do over-the-air HD broadcasts compare... by minimalistHere in the San Fran bay area, a number of the local stations have moved their transmitter sites when the shifted to digital formats. This resulted in the complete loss of their signals by those with outside antennas for OTA. Reoriented the antennas and the signls are back and sharp as ever. When the broadcasters finish upgrading their transmitters and shift back to the original sites, the antennas will have to be moved again. Massive pixelation is an indication of weak signals. If it's pointed in the right direction an amplifier maybe needed to boost its strength. Many broadcasters have reduced their transmitter power thinking that the new digital signals are easier to pickup and have thereby lost some fringe areas that were getting borderline signals to start with.
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