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The TV antenna is making a comeback

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Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#101

Post by narrowrail »

shanecleveland wrote: post #79

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 foo…

>would like to have a better antenna setup with DVR that does not require subscription

I have been looking at a Channel Master[0] for this exact purpose; the cost is $250+HDD. It has an ethernet port which allows one to get an EPG [1] from Rovi, but it isn't required. If I pull the trigger maybe I'll do a write up and submit it.

[0]http://www.channelmaster.com/Antenna_DVR_s/336.htm

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_program_guide

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#102

Post by ddingus »

The tech is great. I bought a "COLOR TV ANTENNA" from Radio Shack, when they were still open a few years back. Amazingly, it came in the same looking box I recall from the late 70's. (upgrading mom 'n pops old antenna as a kid to get UHF channels)

Took an hour to get a good orientation. Mostly problem free, and there are some 30 channels here in PDX, maybe 10 of them offer something I might watch.

And that's the only real problem area. Commercial AD loads are HIGH. Higher than I remember in the past. Quite frankly brutal, and there are very few things I'll watch, given that high load.

Mostly, I use a Chromcast to stream things to the nice smart tv and call it good.

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#103

Post by car »

nsxwolf wrote: post #25

What I'd like is an easy, cheap DVR solution for OTA. Mostly I'd just like to be able to pause and rewind live TV. After cutting the cord, it's like living in the 80s again shouting at family members to be quiet when you need to hear something.

Not exactly easy or cheap, but a data point for you:

My OTA DVR for the last 8 years setup has been a PC with Windows Media Center. Apart from the setup, there is no monthly cost for the guide data, as with Tivo etc. Right now this runs on a NUC, with a SiliconDust HD Homerun (HDTC-2US) living in my attic, which transcodes the OTA MPEG-2 to H.264, saving tons of disk space. A nice side effect is that I can archive shows (e.g. NOVA episodes).

P.S. One interesting tidbit I remember from a Tivo ad (but can't dredge up right now), based on their users TV consumption stats, apparently ~ 87% of what people watch is available OTA.

Edit: Windows Media Center was dropped from Windows 10. The replacement will be Xbox One DVR functionality, coming 2016.

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#104

Post by dexterdog »

ilamont wrote: post #89

I took a look at a relative’s cable bill last year. He lives in a town with three competing cable/ISP services. Here is how the monthly costs broke down: Expanded basic service: $60 High definition converter box: $10 Digital converter rental: $3 HBO Cinemax package: $18 Premiere Total Pack: $16 Showtime/TMC: $5 Starz: $5 Franchise fee: $7 Broadcast TV surcharge: $4 Sports programming surcharge: $2 Total monthly cost:…

I don't know about that last point. I live about 45 miles from Philly and 55 miles from NYC. I get pretty much all of the stations from both with minimal drop and I have a $35 antenna inside in my attic.

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#105

Post by falsestprophet »

ddingus wrote: post #102

The tech is great. I bought a "COLOR TV ANTENNA" from Radio Shack, when they were still open a few years back. Amazingly, it came in the same looking box I recall from the late 70's. (upgrading mom 'n pops old antenna as a kid to get UHF channels) Took an hour to get a good orientation. Mostly problem free, and there are some 30 channels here in PDX, maybe 10 of them offer something I might watch. And that's the only…

PDX is the airport code for the Portland airport just in case you don't keep up with the airport code for the 19th largest US metro area.

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#106

Post by shanecleveland »

PaulHoule wrote: post #83
shanecleveland wrote: post #79

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 foo…

With my OTA system I get a pretty good package of sports on the weekend and really enjoy the beautiful high definition imagery of golf, NFL and College Football, as well as the other sort of Futbol. You definitely get more with ESPN but you do not get better.

Agreed. I will always use our OTA signal rather than the cable package for overlapping channels. A handful of college games I want to be able to watch are on ESPN and Monday Night Football, as well. Plus nice to be able to turn on SportsCenter every now and then. A good lineup of other channels on Sling, too, which I just wanted to try out. Will likely quit Sling at the end of the year.

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#107

Post by narrowrail »

joezydeco wrote: post #82
nsxwolf wrote: post #25

What I'd like is an easy, cheap DVR solution for OTA. Mostly I'd just like to be able to pause and rewind live TV. After cutting the cord, it's like living in the 80s again shouting at family members to be quiet when you need to hear something.

ChannelMaster is another option: http://www.channelmaster.com/Antenna_DVR_s/336.htm You should follow /r/cordcutters, they track this stuff obsessively.

I just mentioned them in another comment, but I'm not a redditor and so it took me a long time to figure out this is possibly the best solution. Are the manufacturers of all these solutions present in that subreddit as well?

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#108

Post by dexterdog »

shanecleveland wrote: post #79

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 foo…

http://antennaweb.org/

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#109

Post by HelloMcFly »

nsxwolf wrote: post #25

What I'd like is an easy, cheap DVR solution for OTA. Mostly I'd just like to be able to pause and rewind live TV. After cutting the cord, it's like living in the 80s again shouting at family members to be quiet when you need to hear something.

The Xbox One allows pausing and rewinding of live TV, but not recording.

Re: The TV antenna is making a comeback

#110

Post by function_seven »

falsestprophet wrote: post #105
ddingus wrote: post #102

The tech is great. I bought a "COLOR TV ANTENNA" from Radio Shack, when they were still open a few years back. Amazingly, it came in the same looking box I recall from the late 70's. (upgrading mom 'n pops old antenna as a kid to get UHF channels) Took an hour to get a good orientation. Mostly problem free, and there are some 30 channels here in PDX, maybe 10 of them offer something I might watch. And that's the only…

PDX is the airport code for the Portland airport just in case you don't keep up with the airport code for the 19th largest US metro area.

Ha, thanks! Like my multiplication tables, I have only memorized the codes for the top 12 metro areas.
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