any flat screen TVs respond to antennae use?

We bought an hdtv for x-mas and because it did not respond to external
or set-top antennae, the channels came in horribly. we experimented
with fancy antennaes, cables, multiple DVD/VCRs...but no luck. It was
a winbook. we explained to the return dept that the 15 yr old crap tv
blew away their tv when it came to trying to actually watch tv w/o
cable. Is there a flat screen mfr / model that would respond to UHF
and/or VHF antennae?

wrote in message
ps.com...
We bought an hdtv for x-mas and because it did not respond to external
or set-top antennae, the channels came in horribly. we experimented
with fancy antennaes, cables, multiple DVD/VCRs...but no luck. It was
a winbook. we explained to the return dept that the 15 yr old crap tv
blew away their tv when it came to trying to actually watch tv w/o
cable. Is there a flat screen mfr / model that would respond to UHF
and/or VHF antennae?

============================
The correct answer is "all of them".
The winbook is a computer, is it not?

Try an actual flat panel HDTV.

Richard C. wrote:
wrote in message
ps.com...
We bought an hdtv for x-mas and because it did not respond to external
or set-top antennae, the channels came in horribly. we experimented
with fancy antennaes, cables, multiple DVD/VCRs...but no luck. It was
a winbook. we explained to the return dept that the 15 yr old crap tv
blew away their tv when it came to trying to actually watch tv w/o
cable. Is there a flat screen mfr / model that would respond to UHF
and/or VHF antennae?

============================
The correct answer is "all of them".
The winbook is a computer, is it not?

Try an actual flat panel HDTV.

Winbook is a house brand for Microcenter. They sell a number of products under
that brand, including some HDTVs. All three of the Winbook HDTVs that are
currently on the Microcenter website include ATSC tuners. My best guess is that
the original poster is unfamiliar with the technology, and simply gave up after
viewing the usual SD broadcasts on his new set. He probably just plugged it in,
hooked up his antenna, and tuned to a local SD channel. It's hardly fair to
blame the TV for his ignorance, but that's the way things go.

actually, a competing store showed me how their tv would look without
the benefit of cable tv. far from perfect it still surpassed winbook.
yes we looked at digital channels. it received 2, blurred one, and
froze the fourth channel. i guess you can't assume the original poster
did or did not do anything...but what is it you were saying? oh yeah...
"ignorance".

wrote:
actually, a competing store showed me how their tv would look without
the benefit of cable tv. far from perfect it still surpassed winbook.
yes we looked at digital channels. it received 2, blurred one, and
froze the fourth channel. i guess you can't assume the original poster
did or did not do anything...but what is it you were saying? oh yeah...
"ignorance".

Ignorance is the state of being uninformed. In this case, it applies to both of
us. I didn't know what you had done because you provided no useful information
in your original post. So I was most certainly ignorant of your specifics. In
addition, you seem ignorant of what to expect from an HDTV. Both can be
corrected fairly easily.

The Winbook is a budget TV. You shouldn't expect it to perform as well as some
of the more expensive models. If it doesn't meet your needs, buy something
better.

In general, over-the-air digital signals will produce better results than cable
because cable reduces the amount of bandwidth allocated to each individual
channel. But either one can be quite good.

I still have no idea what your concerns were with the Winbook. You say that it
received two channels, one of them was blurred, and that the other froze. But
you also mention a "fourth". Very confusing. And I'm not at all sure what you
mean by "blurred". If the set's display is not properly focused, that will
appear on every channel, not just one. And I can't think of any mechanism that
would allow a transmitted HD signal to become "blurred" - that's an analog
concept. Again, very confusing.

I'm still not convinced that you actually viewed an HD signal on this set.
"Digital" channels can mean lots of things, and most digital channels are not HD.

In article , post-
says...
wrote in message
ps.com...
We bought an hdtv for x-mas and because it did not respond to external
or set-top antennae, the channels came in horribly. we experimented
with fancy antennaes, cables, multiple DVD/VCRs...but no luck. It was
a winbook. we explained to the return dept that the 15 yr old crap tv
blew away their tv when it came to trying to actually watch tv w/o
cable. Is there a flat screen mfr / model that would respond to UHF
and/or VHF antennae?

============================
The correct answer is "all of them".
The winbook is a computer, is it not?

Try an actual flat panel HDTV.



Winbook has sold TV's for some time now.

BDK

wrote:
We bought an hdtv for x-mas and because it did not respond to external
or set-top antennae, the channels came in horribly. we experimented
with fancy antennaes, cables, multiple DVD/VCRs...but no luck. It was
a winbook. we explained to the return dept that the 15 yr old crap tv
blew away their tv when it came to trying to actually watch tv w/o
cable. Is there a flat screen mfr / model that would respond to UHF
and/or VHF antennae?

The short answer is virtually any "flat screen" HDTV will produce a
wonderful picture with an antenna, assuming:

1. The TV has an ATSC tuner (almost all 26"+ TVs do)
2. There are TV stations in your area broadcasting digital signals
(virtually all do)
3. You have an appropriate antenna (and possibly a preamp) attached
4. You have pointed the antenna in the correct direction

I have a 2+ year old Panasonic Plasma and a new Viewsonic LCD. Both
get marvelous antenna reception. And most digital stations, whether HD
or not, will blow away analogue cable. Antenna HD will often be a
little superior to cable HD because the OTA broadcast is often not as
compressed.

I suggest you first go to www.antennaweb.org and enter your information
to determine where your TV broadcaster are located. This will tell you
which way to point your antenna and what kind of antenna you need. You
might just need a set-top antenna (rabbit ears or a Zenith Silver
Sensor or the like), or you might need a large antenna mounted in your
attic or on your roof. You might need just UHF, or you might need VHF
and UHF. You'll want to get an antenna that meets or exceeds the color
code designation for the weakest station you want to receive. You'll
need to check the actual frequencies used. If a station is in the
channel 2 - 13 range, you'll need a VHF capable antenna.
www.solidsignal.com is one place to order an antenna. If you are using
new cable, most people will recommend RG6. Personally, my house had
the older (thinner) RG59, but it doesn't seem to bother anything at
all. If you are more than 30 miles from your transmitters, or have
some handicaps (like a small antenna, or an antenna in the attic)
you'll probably need a pre-amp as well. Channel Master and Weinguard
make good ones; my favorite is the Channel Master 7777.

While there is some variance in tuner capability between TV makes and
models, if you have an appropriate antenna, virtually any of them will
provide a stunningly good picture from any local HD stations. Based on
your experience, I'd guess you didn't test the TV in question with a
proper antenna set-up. Either insufficient antenna, or pointed in the
wrong direction, or both.

Good luck.

Dan (Woj...)

On Wed, 03 Jan 2007 23:22:59 -0500, Jim Gilliland
wrote:

Richard C. wrote:
wrote in message
ps.com...
We bought an hdtv for x-mas and because it did not respond to external
or set-top antennae, the channels came in horribly. we experimented
with fancy antennaes, cables, multiple DVD/VCRs...but no luck. It was
a winbook. we explained to the return dept that the 15 yr old crap tv
blew away their tv when it came to trying to actually watch tv w/o
cable. Is there a flat screen mfr / model that would respond to UHF
and/or VHF antennae?

============================
The correct answer is "all of them".
The winbook is a computer, is it not?

Try an actual flat panel HDTV.

Winbook is a house brand for Microcenter. They sell a number of products under
that brand, including some HDTVs. All three of the Winbook HDTVs that are
currently on the Microcenter website include ATSC tuners. My best guess is that
the original poster is unfamiliar with the technology, and simply gave up after
viewing the usual SD broadcasts on his new set. He probably just plugged it in,
hooked up his antenna, and tuned to a local SD channel. It's hardly fair to
blame the TV for his ignorance, but that's the way things go.

People keep thinking this stuff is "plug and play" and most of it
doesn't even come close to MS's "plug and pray". I was going to say
the only thing that worked right off the bat was the [email protected] in my
shop computer, but they forgot to include the key for the program
which took a bit of calling to get one. However after installing the
program it did work right off the bat. IF you knew to let the tuner
search for digital channels and how to do it. :-))
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com