[dariustos]

I been hearing about OTA, but how do I do this. I went to myfreehdtv.com and couldnt figure it out. I just ordered a 17 inch Dell LCD HDTV ready TV. So what will I need to make it hdtv. I know I can ask my cable company or satelitte, but I dont want to pay for it. What would I have to buy to get the HDTV Over the Air.


Also i will get all programming from ABC, NBC, FOX, etc, right?

 

[h_a_h_3]

What is your location? You don't say and your profile doesn't indicate. Receiving free OTA HDTV depends on what your local broadcasters are doing. Assuming you have local broadcasters providing HDTV, in addition to your HDTV-ready TV you will need an ATSC tuner ($199 for USDTV box at Walmart for instance) and some sort of antenna, but antenna type again depends heavily on your location.


Check for threads about your location under "Local HDTV info and reception".

 

[dariustos]

i am from dallas. what is a usdtv? lol i am confused.

 

[Joxer]

For OTA HD reception you would have to buy an OTA HD STB plus antenna - probably cost you $200-300. Hardly free! Even paying the cable company $6/month for HD box rental it would take 3-4 years to equal the upfront cost you would have to pay for OTA HD equipment. At least with cable you could upgrade to newer HD hardware as it comes out at no extra cost - even get HD recording capaiblity with an HD DVR! Also reception with an antenna is difficult in many locations and not all locations have all the networks available in HD either. Go to www.antennaweb.org and enter your address/zipcode to see what digital channels are receivable in your area.

 

[h_a_h_3]

Quote:

Originally posted by dariustos i am from dallas. what is a usdtv? lol i am confused.

This is a USDTV ATSC "tunner": http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=2598451

 

[En Sabur Nur]

Include the cost of programming along with that set-top box, and the cost of cable versus OTA overwhelmingly favors OTA.

 

[NetworkTV]

Quote:

Originally posted by dariustos i am from dallas. what is a usdtv? lol i am confused.

Not HD, so if that's what you want stay very far away.

 

[jckessler]

Quote:

Originally posted by Joxer For OTA HD reception you would have to buy an OTA HD STB plus antenna - probably cost you $200-300. Hardly free! Even paying the cable company $6/month for HD box rental it would take 3-4 years to equal the upfront cost you would have to pay for OTA HD equipment. At least with cable you could upgrade to newer HD hardware as it comes out at no extra cost - even get HD recording capaiblity with an HD DVR! Also reception with an antenna is difficult in many locations and not all locations have all the networks available in HD either. Go to www.antennaweb.org and enter your address/zipcode to see what digital channels are receivable in your area.

You only pay $6/mo for cable?


If you already have cable, I agree with your cost analysis, but for people who don't the incremental cost is quite a bit more than $6/mo.


If you're in an area where certain networks are not available OTA in HD, it's highly unlikely that your cable company carries them, although there are some exceptions. It is more common for the cable company not carry all of the HD channels available OTA (WB and UPN are not cable around here, for example).

 

[snowcat]

If you are attaching this to your computer, you could also get something like the ATI HDTV Wonder, which is bascially an OTA receiver for your PC. It is cheaper then a lot of the set top boxes out there, and it can also record your HDTV signals like a Tivo.


However, some people have had troubles with this card, so you may want to do a search to see if it is worth it.

 

[CycloneGT]

I'd agree with snowcat here. If the TV is already serving as a PC Monitor, get an HDTV Tuner card for the PC. They cost about the same as a separate OTA receiver, but have more capabilities. But it helps to be PC savy. Are you PC savy?

 

[SBryan]

If you are PC savvy and want to be able to record the HD programs I would recommend a PC tuner card. I bought a FusionHDTV card from DVico when they first became available for about $150. The software that comes with it has steadily improved so that it is a fairly good product now but I would suggest strong consideration of MyHD. It has hardware assist for decompression. With the DVico product you can output the HD signal from the DVI port of your video card (assuming your video card has DVI output) and it will send and receive an HD Transport stream from your FireWire port.


The other suggestion I would make is to not fool around with the various mickey mouse antennas that claim to be for HD (like the products from Terk). Get a Channel Master UHF antenna and put it on your roof. While others are paying $50 a month and more you will be getting HD programs from six or seven networks for free. You can record what you want and pay nothing per month. I might have been willing to pay $10 per month to get HBO but they tie it with all that crap to make the total cost absurd.

 

[leewcraft]

Also, take a look at the HDTV Programming Synopsis at the top of this forum. It tells you which shows are broadcast in HD and which ones aren't. You won't get "all programming" from the major networks in HD, but most primetime programming is in HD now.

 

[En Sabur Nur]

And from what I'm hearing about the programming (very little OAR; not true hd many times, little variety), you may prefer the dvds anyway.

 

[Thomas Desmond]

> For OTA HD reception you would have to buy an OTA HD STB plus antenna - probably cost you $200-300. Hardly free! Even paying the cable company $6/month for HD box rental it would take 3-4 years to equal the upfront cost you would have to pay for OTA HD equipment.


This makes the probably incorrect assumption that this guy is currently a cable subscriber -- since cable penetration in Dallas-Fort Worth is below 50%, that is a bad assumption. Add in the cost of a cable "lifeline" subscription plus the HD box rental, and the cost of cable is such that he'd be better off with the OTA tuner -- it would pay for itself in under a year!


Now for some useful information:


1. HDTV broadcasts are available over the air in Dallas for ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN, WB, and PBS -- and all these stations broadcast at high power and are easy to receive.


2. You'll need an HDTV tuner to connect to your 17" LCD monitor. Wal Mart sells a box that will do this at many of their stores for $199. If you don't want to go to Wal Mart, you can keep an eye open at Best Buy, Circuit City, etc for an "open box" deal on a HDTV tuner...or you can pay a bit more for something new. You might also check online to see what is available. For more on recommended tuners, check out the HDTV hardware thread here.


3. Finally, you'll need an antenna. Any antenna that provides a reasonably ghost-free picture on both high-band VHF (channels 7 through 13) and UHF (channels 14 and up) should do a good job of bringing in the digital HDTV signals here locally. Since I don't know where you are in the area, I don't know how much of an antenna that would take -- in my location (Plano) an indoor antenna can do it.


In any event, once you do get the tuner, you will be blown away by how good a television picture can look. HD broadcasts of shows like "Smallville", "Lost", "Enterprise" and most other prime time shows look incredible!

 

[dariustos]

i live in highland park.

 

[joetoronto]

since it looks like money's an issue, wouldn't the guy be better off buying a used directv receiver with a built in ota tuner like the sammy ts-160 for instance?

 

[Paul Bigelow]

HDTV over the air:


Buy a tuner: Samsung SIR-T451, LG LST-4200a, LG LST-3510a, USDTV (includes OTA receiver). Check with your local Best Buy, Circuit City, and Walmart.


Buy an antenna: Zenith Silver Sensor. Try Circuit City, Sears, or Fry's.


Connect the antenna cable to the tuner.


Connect the tuner via the component video cables to the the Dell TV.


Point the antenna in the direction of the stations, which can be found here:
http://www.antennaweb.org. Enter your zip code and the station's directions will be presented.


Program the tuner to scan for the channels.


Enjoy the HDTV!


Paul

 

[jcatalfamo]

Quote:

Originally posted by joetoronto since it looks like money's an issue, wouldn't the guy be better off buying a used directv receiver with a built in ota tuner like the sammy ts-160 for instance?

He's still gonna pay around $200 for a ts160 off of ebay.

 

[Thomas Desmond]

> Buy an antenna: Zenith Silver Sensor.


He might need to add a pair of rabbit ears to pull in WFAA-DT, which is on channel 9. In any event, I hope he'll let us know how it comes out once he finds a tuner and makes the plunge.

 

[Inundated]

Quote:

Originally posted by NetworkTV Not HD, so if that's what you want stay very far away.

The USDigital tuner linked above at Wal-Mart is a pretty good inexpensive OTA receiver to get full HD broadcasts.


The USDTV "service" is something which can be used with this tuner, right now, only in two markets. Stay away from that SERVICE, which is extra and only brings you some SD quality cable-type channels. If you buy a USDigital receiver right off the Wal-Mart shelves (just under $200) in a non-USDTV market, which I think DFW is, you're fine...just use it to pick up OTA HD signals for free, like I do.