OTA better than cable

I just heard on this mornings newscast technical segment that OTA
gives better hdtv than cable...cause cable condenses its transmission.
Of course, the closer you are to a transmitter, the better the
reception. They make no mention of satellite reception, if they are
condensed as well. I have a question. Apparently, one cannot get hdtv
if their set does not have an atsc built in. My projector tv does not,
so i have it hooked up to my cable box in order to get my hdtv...I
guess there is no way I can just hook up my OTA directly in order to
get hd...right? This one thing that segment ignored..they made it
sound that all you need is an OTA and be close to the transmitter.

noel8 ) wrote:
: I just heard on this mornings newscast technical segment that OTA
: gives better hdtv than cable...cause cable condenses its transmission.
: Of course, the closer you are to a transmitter, the better the
: reception. They make no mention of satellite reception, if they are
: condensed as well. I have a question. Apparently, one cannot get hdtv
: if their set does not have an atsc built in. My projector tv does not,
: so i have it hooked up to my cable box in order to get my hdtv...I
: guess there is no way I can just hook up my OTA directly in order to
: get hd...right? This one thing that segment ignored..they made it
: sound that all you need is an OTA and be close to the transmitter.


All recent vintage HDTVs have a built-in tuner for OTA digital reception.
If you don't have it and live within 30 miles of the transmitters it may
be worth to buy an external tuner. Reception OTA with an uncompressed
signal is superb. Check www.antennaweb.org for reception at your
location.

Cass

On May 21, 9:16 am, (Cass Lewart) wrote:
noel8 ) wrote:

: I just heard on this mornings newscast technical segment that OTA
: gives better hdtv than cable...cause cable condenses its transmission.
: Of course, the closer you are to a transmitter, the better the
: reception. They make no mention of satellite reception, if they are
: condensed as well. I have a question. Apparently, one cannot get hdtv
: if their set does not have an atsc built in. My projector tv does not,
: so i have it hooked up to my cable box in order to get my hdtv...I
: guess there is no way I can just hook up my OTA directly in order to
: get hd...right? This one thing that segment ignored..they made it
: sound that all you need is an OTA and be close to the transmitter.

All recent vintage HDTVs have a built-in tuner for OTA digital reception.
If you don't have it and live within 30 miles of the transmitters it may
be worth to buy an external tuner. Reception OTA with an uncompressed
signal is superb. Checkwww.antennaweb.orgfor reception at your
location.

Cass

Well, that was my point...my projector does not have a built in
tuner...I'm forced to use my cable box, although I do have a great OTA
and live near the empire state building where it transmits. How can I
bypass that cable box is the question. I guess I can't. what is the
difference of a built in astc tuner compared to the cable box?

noel8 wrote:


Well, that was my point...my projector does not have a built in
tuner...I'm forced to use my cable box, although I do have a great OTA
and live near the empire state building where it transmits. How can I
bypass that cable box is the question. I guess I can't. what is the
difference of a built in astc tuner compared to the cable box?

You will need to purchase an OTA receiver, which is a box that
connects between your TV and your antenna. You use the OTA box to tune
in the stations that your antenna is receiving.

see:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-PvwHo5N...r&i=305DTBH260

Jim

On Mon, 21 May 2007 06:42:20 -0700, noel8 wrote:

Well, that was my point...my projector does not have a built in
tuner...I'm forced to use my cable box, although I do have a great OTA
and live near the empire state building where it transmits. How can I
bypass that cable box is the question. I guess I can't. what is the
difference of a built in astc tuner compared to the cable box?

The cable box doesn't receive OTA ATSC. If you want ATSC, you must have an
ATSC tuner. If your TV doesn't have one, then you can buy a standalone
ATSC box to hook to your TV (projector in your case). You could also buy a
recording device that has a built in ATSC tuner and outputs HD Like one
of the new DVD recorders. Use caution when buying a DVD recorder. Some
that receive ATSC won't ouput HD. There's also HDD recorders like the S3
Tivo or Sony. And then there's the DIY recorders where you use a PC with
ATSC tuner(s) to record OTA ATSC. This is the best choice of recorders
IMO. It's much cheaper than Tivo like devices and does a lot more. See
info below. Of course all these require a TV antenna of some kind.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
http://mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html Usenet alt.video.ptv.mythtv
My server http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
HD Tivo S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm

You can get the DTB-H260F for $179.99 at Circuit City - Crutchfield's
pricing is way out of line.

SoCalCommie

"I'm tired off those comparisons between Hitler and George W. Bush!
Hitler was a highly decorated combat veteran who won office by
majority vote!" - Jon Stewart

"Jimbo" wrote in message
...
noel8 wrote:

You will need to purchase an OTA receiver, which is a box that
connects between your TV and your antenna. You use the OTA box to
tune
in the stations that your antenna is receiving.

see:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-PvwHo5N...r&i=305DTBH260

Jim

On May 21, 10:30 am, Wes Newell wrote:
On Mon, 21 May2007 06:42:20 -0700, noel8 wrote:
Well, that was my point...my projector does not have a built in
tuner...I'm forced to use my cable box, although I do have a great OTA
and live near the empire state building where it transmits. How can I
bypass that cable box is the question. I guess I can't. what is the
difference of a built in astc tuner compared to the cable box?

The cable box doesn't receive OTA ATSC. If you want ATSC, you must have an
ATSC tuner. If your TV doesn't have one, then you can buy a standalone
ATSC box to hook to your TV (projector in your case). You could also buy a
recording device that has a built in ATSC tuner and outputs HD Like one
of the new DVD recorders. Use caution when buying a DVD recorder. Some
that receive ATSC won't ouput HD. There's also HDD recorders like the S3
Tivo or Sony. And then there's the DIY recorders where you use a PC with
ATSC tuner(s) to record OTA ATSC. This is the best choice of recorders
IMO. It's much cheaper than Tivo like devices and does a lot more. See
info below. Of course all these require a TV antenna of some kind.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder?http://mythtv.orghttp://mysettopbox....yth.htmlUsenet alt.video.ptv.mythtv
My serverhttp://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
HD Tivo S3 comparedhttp://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm

Thanks to all and especially Wes Newell. I did go to those
recommended links you supplied, but for this person. rather
intimidating info. Don't know what it is all about. You mentioned a
box called DIY...where can one see this unit and price it? I'll try
google, but in the event that google doesn't help, please enter here
and I'll check later. Thanks

On Mon, 21 May 2007 11:07:28 -0700, noel8 wrote:

Thanks to all and especially Wes Newell. I did go to those
recommended links you supplied, but for this person. rather
intimidating info. Don't know what it is all about. You mentioned a
box called DIY...where can one see this unit and price it? I'll try
google, but in the event that google doesn't help, please enter here
and I'll check later. Thanks

DIY = Do It Yourself. IOW's the PC route. It's not that hard. If you don't
feel comfortable doing it, have a friend build you a PC, or buy one
already built and add your own tuner cards. You can put together a nice
dual tuner system for under $300 if you shop around and aren't real picky
about the case. The nice thing about these is you aren't limited like
consumer products. I'm sure there's larger systems than mone, but I've got
3 box's and 6 HDTV tuners and can record up to 6 shows at once. When you
can record that much, you don't need cable or sat which is even a greater
savings. And the only cost you are out is the hardware. All the software
is free (and unrestricted). There are a few places you can buy prebuilt
MythTV boxes, but they are way overpriced compared to what you can build
one for yourself. Of course, you could just throw one in your current PC
for about $20 and use it.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
http://mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html Usenet alt.video.ptv.mythtv
My server http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
HD Tivo S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm

"noel8" wrote in message
oups.com...
You mentioned a box called DIY...where can one see this unit and price it?

DIY= Do It Yourself

On May 21, 7:11 am, noel8 wrote:
I just heard on this mornings newscast technical segment that OTA
gives better hdtv than cable...cause cable condenses its transmission.

I went to a Tweeter store to compare TVs and they had a Time-Warner
cable feed. During action scenes the fast moving areas (like a moving
hand) showed as groups of blocks. It completely ruined the viewing
experience. That rarely if ever happens with OTA HD broadcasts

Of course, the closer you are to a transmitter, the better the
reception. They make no mention of satellite reception, if they are
condensed as well. I have a question. Apparently, one cannot get hdtv

Digital OTA is mostly an all or nothing proposition. Either you are
getting the signal or not. The signal does not improve by being
closer or degrade by being farther away. There is no static.

I've never had dish, so I can't personally comment, but I recall that
most people find it better quality than cable.

if their set does not have an atsc built in. My projector tv does not,
so i have it hooked up to my cable box in order to get my hdtv...I
guess there is no way I can just hook up my OTA directly in order to
get hd...right? This one thing that segment ignored..they made it
sound that all you need is an OTA and be close to the transmitter.

As others have said, you can buy a tuner to hook up to your
projector. Or buy a recorder that has a tuner built-in, or connect a
computer that has a tuner installed.