HDTV alternative to Cable and Satellite?

You may have legal rights to install a dish on the roof to allow reception from the southern sky. Here is one site that discusses this issue.

The roof is a common area so the restriction of NO is enforceable.

Hate to say this, but it's time to move.

I live in the ridiculously expensive Bay area where my wife and I live in a 900 someting sq. ft. apartment.

We are house hunting, but don't want to spend too much. The thing is though, I'm picky. The place has to be okay for comcast cable AND to put my Starchoice canadian satellite. Ideally it would have a room for a true HT as well, but if not and it's a house with a large enough lot, we'll add a room.

We've ruled out numerous places because for one reason or another, they lack the requirements above. It sucks (more for my wife than me, who sometimes says "Can't you give up your Canadian satellite for a place?")

I respond that we got this tiny apt and I had to give up my projector and HT ideas and have been that way for 2 years, so yes I want my cake and eat it too.

Seriously though, if I was looking to rent an apt, the key feature would be cable/satellite. Sad but true.

Nope. There is no way to get live HDTV over the Internet, and satellites have to be positioned over the equator in order for them to remain in one spot relative to the ground. So a satellite TV service that doesn't require a clear view of the southern sky would be impossible.

By my read of the OTARD, if you want to be obnoxious and you have a balcony, you can put a mast up on the balcony to raise an antenna or dish to above roof level. You'll end up evicted on some pretect anyway, though.

I think the FCC recently banned what your apartment complex is doing:

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_publi...C-07-111A1.pdf

You might want to tell your Cable TV company about this. However, unless many of your neighbors want to subscribe, they might not be interested.