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QAM vs OTA ?!?!?!?!

1718 Views 12 Replies 9 Participants Last post by biker19, Jan 16, 2008

boi111

Discussion Starter · Jan 15, 2008

I read many posts about QAM vs OTA but many of them seem to be outdated. I just wanted to state that I have a SAMSUNG 5265f that has both a QAM and ATSC tuner. I want to know which is better? I do not have cable, but Charter is my local cable company and I have not been able to find any posts verifying if they have any unencrypted channels at all to view through QAM. I am contemplating OTA over QAM but have ready conflicting arguments over which has the most/best HD channels. THOUGHts? thanks!

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Luke M

· #2 · Jan 15, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by boi111 /forum/post/12815857

I read many posts about QAM vs OTA but many of them seem to be outdated. I just wanted to state that I have a SAMSUNG 5265f that has both a QAM and ATSC tuner. I want to know which is better? I do not have cable, but Charter is my local cable company and I have not been able to find any posts verifying if they have any unencrypted channels at all to view through QAM. I am contemplating OTA over QAM but have ready conflicting arguments over which has the most/best HD channels. THOUGHts? thanks!

You have to ask the cable company what channels they offer. All cable companies are required to offer a cheap "basic" tier which includes broadcast channels, and this usually includes unencrypted broadcast digital channels (QAM). Not necessarily the same set you can obtain with an antenna (ATSC), however. Could be better, worse, or just different. Of course there's nothing stopping you from using OTA and cable both.

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boi111

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 15, 2008

Unfortunately my city does not have Comcast (which is the service most people I read about used for QAM). When I mentioned the QAM, NO ONE had any idea what I was talking about. Has anyone ever had tried both QAM and ATSC? What are your thoughts? HD program lineup?

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Rory Boyce

· #4 · Jan 15, 2008

I have OTA, QAM, and DirecTV HD service. I have a separate tuner connected to cable for QAM so all I need to do is switch inputs on the TV to switch between them. As previously stated they are different and what you get will depend on where you are located. You need to go to your local area thread to find out what is carried in your area.

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biker19

· #5 · Jan 15, 2008

As far as ch availability it will probably be a toss up - the clear QAM chs carried by most cable cos are about the same you'd get via OTA.

As far as PQ, most of the time they're about the same also.

The only question is: can you reliably pick up the OTA chs from your location or would you rather pay the roughly $15/mo to avoid the antenna hassle?

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nybbler

· #6 · Jan 15, 2008

If you've got a reliable antenna setup, OTA is less of a hassle than clear-QAM because the cable companies like to move the channels around, and the channel numbers are strange.

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John Mason

· #7 · Jan 15, 2008

If a cable company provides HDNet, capturing (or viewing live) the Saturday 6:30 am ET test patterns, with the converging-line section (last 4 of 10 mins), lets you see if QAM delivery of HDNet is limited resolution-wise. Many AVSers have reported measuring ~1300 lines, similar to what I recorded a while back and still do with a SA8300HD STB. But a few, on smaller systems it seems, have measured nearly 1920X1080 test pattern resolution. If you assume HDNet's diminished resolution (~1300 lines maximum effective horizontal) applies to other channels, that suggests you couldn't resolve details program sources might be supplying from ~1300--1700 lines (1080i's limiting resolution ).

Comparison of HDNet's test pattern resolution with OTA would require an equivalent OTA test pattern; reportedly--a while back--some stations do/did broadcast HDNet OTA. Some years back here I outlined comparing the detailed fiber patterns in actor's clothing, using CBS's 1080i/60i-taped Young and Restless weekday soap, between OTA and cable-delivered signals. OTA only had a very slight edge.

That's potential PQ, not factoring in local OTA reception (multipath disruptions, distance to stations, or PQ-degrading multicasting). A visit to antennaweb.org or similar sites will determine local HD sources, and contacting cable companies reveals what HD sources they provide.

There are lots of complaints on AVS from OTA viewers seeing their HD images break up into artifacts whenever motion occurs, usually a result of an inadequate bit rate from multicasting subchannels for the extra revenue.

But it's possible that a 'favorable' spinoff of having reduced effective resolution on cable systems (~1300 lines max here) is little or no blocking artifacts with HD motion. That might be the result of numerous direct fiber-optic feeds from stations to head ends, plus rate-shaping with requantization within cable systems to provide more bandwidth--filtering, in effect--and eliminating the higher MPEG-stressing frequencies/resolutions creating blocking artifacts. Cable STB resolution limitations within some systems likely play a role, too. -- John

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boi111

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jan 15, 2008

wow thanks for the feedbacks. i have decided to go OTA vs QAM as I heard my Charter cable sucks for QAM content. Anyways, I went down to my local radioshack to purchase an antenna and the salesman said that when everything goes digital in 2009, OTA services will shut down in definitely as there is a supposed "mandate" that the FCC is imposing.

Is that true? I've never heard that OTA content wll become dead in 09. Or is the salesman completely wrong?

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R. Boyce

· #9 · Jan 15, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by boi111 /forum/post/12823472

wow thanks for the feedbacks. i have decided to go OTA vs QAM as I heard my Charter cable sucks for QAM content. Anyways, I went down to my local radioshack to purchase an antenna and the salesman said that when everything goes digital in 2009, OTA services will shut down in definitely as there is a supposed "mandate" that the FCC is imposing.

Is that true? I've never heard that OTA content wll become dead in 09. Or is the salesman completely wrong?

The sales guy has no idea what he is taking about! Analog OTA will shut down in Feb of 09 but not digital which is intended to replace it.

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boi111

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jan 15, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by R. Boyce /forum/post/12824043

The sales guy has no idea what he is taking about! Analog OTA will shut down in Feb of 09 but not digital which is intended to replace it.

Thanks. That really clarifies everything. I guess the salesman is completely wrong.

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notext

· #11 · Jan 15, 2008

Don't count out charter without checking it out. I have crappy charter too but I get quite a few qam stations, like espn, fox sports, science channel plus a few other, along with all the locals with better then ota reception. Since I had a cable modem already I just split it off.

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raouliii

· #12 · Jan 16, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by notext /forum/post/12826744

Don't count out charter without checking it out. I have crappy charter too but I get quite a few qam stations, like espn, fox sports, science channel plus a few other, along with all the locals with better then ota reception. Since I had a cable modem already I just split it off.

Don't assume that this will last indefinitely. Charter generally only provides local network digitals as unencrypted channels. Charter will likely get around to encrypting your extras eventually.

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biker19

· #13 · Jan 16, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by boi111 /forum/post/12823472

Is that true? I've never heard that OTA content wll become dead in 09. Or is the salesman completely wrong?

The amount of misinformation out there is unbelieveable.

Ask around the hood about the QAM chs - you're not inventing the wheel here - someone else is already doing it. While you're at it, look around to see who and how many folks have antennae on their roof. You may want to also talk to them about OTA issues.

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