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The TV antenna is making a comeback

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Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#71

Post by lfowles »

kbenson wrote: post #44
jerf wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's precedent for things that get delivered to you being yours to use, even if you didn't order or pay for them. While I am aware that it is absolutely not the same thing, there is a law that anything sent unsolicited to you in postal mail is yours to keep, no questions asked. This is to prevent a type of now-dead fraud that involved doing that, then billing people for it. It's really the responsibility of the ca…

I understand your point, but I think there's a difference between the cable company "correctly filtering service" and a person getting additional hardware to bypass the cable modem demarcation. It does get muddied by them allowing customer cable modems, which means there's not a clear a demarcation point anymore.

I remember being told by my cable company that network channels were free of charge with internet service. Of course, they were on crazy channels I have to have the TV autoscan for. And now they're probably encrypted and I'd have to rent a cable box for $8/mo.

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#72

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

pidg wrote: post #7

This kind of TV is the 'default' here in the UK (Freeview) - we get about 50-60 digital channels and 10 HD channels. I suspect cable TV is actually on the rise here, but can't find stats to back that up.

Isn't satellite more common here than cable? Americans get cable, we get Sky.

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#73

Post by jp555 »

greg5green wrote: post #17
edward wrote: post #6

In 2010 when I lived in the San Francisco I ordered my broadband from Comcast, but I didn't pay for the TV package. I added a splitter to the Comcast coax cable, then plugged one wire into the cable modem and the other into the back of my TV. Network TV channels for no extra cost.

This was technically stealing.

Doesn't stealing - technically speaking - mean taking another person's property without an intention of returning it? Duplicating someone's property without their permission is copyright infringement, not stealing. You're making more of it, not less of it.

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#74

Post by [deleted] »

nsxwolf wrote: post #69
lfowles wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a Homeworx dvr. Have to supply my own USB hard drive and deal with a goofy interface (not that you'll see it just for pausing live TV), but otherwise it works well. It can buffer live TV for a decent amount of time too. http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-HW-150PVR-HomeWorx-Converte... I bet you could get quite a ways with a 16 gig flash drive on there too, if you don't want to save recordings.

Is it true that you have to remember to proactively put it into a special mode to pause live TV? I might tolerate that shortcoming at that price, though.

[deleted]

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#75

Post by thaumasiotes »

gk_brown wrote: post #64
nsxwolf wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Subscription is a deal breaker. I just want to be able to pause and rewind free TV signals. I'm willing to pay once for a device to do that but not a subscription.

When I got my TiVo a few years ago, you could buy a lifetime subscription. I think it was about $300, which seemed pretty reasonable. I've had the unit for almost 4 years so I've definitely broken even on it. They still seem to offer a lifetime plan, but now it costs $600. That's a bit harder to justify.

What recurring service are you notionally paying for every month??

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#76

Post by Lx1oG-AWb6h_ZG0 »

ghaff wrote: post #19
ThinkingGuy wrote: post #13

I just recently installed an antenna in our attic after we cancelled our cable TV, and I've been very pleased with the results. Here in the Atlanta area, we're getting almost 60 TV channels, plus about 10 audio-only simulcase of several local radio stations. There's even a channel that displays a program guide, like the ones you find on the cable or satellite services. People's lack of awareness of over-the-air telev…

I suspect that, for many people, getting cable (or satellite) has just become sort of the default. Of course, many do watch sports which often (though not always) run on non-network channels. Also, not everyone is able to get TV OTA or is in a position to install an attic/rooftop antenna. I personally can't get anything OTA. I regularly toy with cutting back to a very basic bundle but haven't seriously pursued yet.

That's a bit misleading. Most NFL games are only available on network channels, not ESPN/Fox Sports/Univision. I'd hardly call that minor.

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#77

Post by lfowles »

nsxwolf wrote: post #69
lfowles wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a Homeworx dvr. Have to supply my own USB hard drive and deal with a goofy interface (not that you'll see it just for pausing live TV), but otherwise it works well. It can buffer live TV for a decent amount of time too. http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-HW-150PVR-HomeWorx-Converte... I bet you could get quite a ways with a 16 gig flash drive on there too, if you don't want to save recordings.

Is it true that you have to remember to proactively put it into a special mode to pause live TV? I might tolerate that shortcoming at that price, though.

No, where did you see that? It isn't constantly buffering live TV though. What I do is pause and go fix a drink for a few minutes and that gives me ample ability to fastforward commercials. I'm actually not completely sure about how rewinding works on live TV, since I almost exclusively let it record my normal shows for later.

Edit: from one of the Amazon reviews:

"It does let you pause live TV (temporarily recording to the hard drive just like the DVR does). However, unlike the DVR, this unit does not automatically record anything so if you missed something and want to see it again, too bad - unless you had previously entered into "Timeshift" mode by pressing Pause. Therefore, assuming you have enough hard drive capacity, it's probably best to press Pause then Play at the start of watching anything to let the thing start saving to the hard drive- then you will be able to Rewind, Pause and Forward through content that was buffered. (all the more reason you should use a big hard drive and not USB stick). While in Timeshift mode, you cannot change channels until pressing Stop."

That's true, but is as simple as hitting pause, I don't really think of it as a special mode.

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#78

Post by ibmthrowaway271 »

chiph wrote: post #60
TeMPOraL wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean unlicensed TV broadcasters ? How could they track a receiver ?

In the CRT days, from the HF section or the flyback transformer leaking signals. Not sure how they'd do it today with LCDs.

Sound could be an option.

A TV license is required to watch broadcast television, so the number of channels they could be watching is finite. Even a muffled signal detected from a vibrating window (via laser microphone) could be compared to what is currently being broadcast by each of the channels (give or take a short processing delay) and any match found.

Nowadays it's mostly database enforcement. You obviously don't have to care about addresses that do have TV licenses so you just go looking for people with various TV subscriptions (Sky, Virgin Media) that don't have a TV license. It used to be done by the retailers submitting addresses of people who bought/rented TV equipment (TV, VCR, etc), any that didn't get (or already have) a TV license would get a visit shortly afterwards. Also people who watch programmes 'live' on-line (IP -> address conversion thanks to the DSL providers).

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#79

Post by shanecleveland »

Get internet service from cable provider with basic cable plus HBO for less than the advertised price of the internet service alone. Have to call back every year to get the promotional price back, which sucks. But we almost never watch the cable channels. Local channels in HD with a couple low-end antennas in the attic. And tend to watch HBO GO on a Roku, where we also have Netflix, Prime, etc.

Doing Sling during football season for ESPN.

As others have said, would like to have a better antenna setup with DVR that does not require subscription. Need a community-driven site where people can put in the type of antenna they have and what channels they get for more precise location-specific antenna recommendations.

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#80

Post by joezydeco »

zaroth wrote: post #70
joezydeco wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In 2012 there was an FCC vote to allow cable operators to encrypt the local channels as well. Your clear QAM signals are pretty much gone now, especially after the analog channels were allowed to go dark.

Is there any chance a grassroots effort could get the rule for clear QAM local channels restored? It seemed like such a reasonable trade-off for giving the cable operator a local monopoly, to provide free and clear HD broadcast channels which my TV could display so nicely without any external boxes. It was so sad watching the channels drop out after they started encrypting them :-( In South San Jose you need a "prett…

Given the current economic climate and the lobbying power of the cable companies, this would be a very uphill battle if not impossible. They also shot down Aereo, which would have been a cheaper solution for you.
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