Any free broadcast tv with digital?

"Alan F" wrote in message
news:[email protected]

snip

Another web resource for detailed information for predicted signal
strength and coverage maps is tvfool.com. There are 2 basic tools. One
provides a summary listing of the stations for your location with
direction, range, predicted signal strength, channel #s, notes on
potential adjacent or co-channel interference, station power. The second
level is to download the coverage map kmz file for the stations in your
market or overlapping markets. You load the kmz file into google earth
and can turn on and off the coverage maps for each digital and analog
station. Zoom in on your location or anywhere that is of interest. Can
be fun to play with.

Alan F

Boy, it's a good thing my 'honey-do' list was fairly short this
morning...another great way to put Google Earth thru it's paces!

Thanks, Alan.

--
Tom in Bristol

and thus Bill R inscribed ...
Doc wrote:
So will you be required to have some sort of cable service once it
goes all digital? Or will there be over-the-air free broadcast tv?
ALL digital OTA programming is free and it is available right now if you
are within range of a digital station. If you need a converter box for
your analog TVs the government will help you buy two of them with the
$40 coupons they are giving away. Visit their website at
http://dtv2009.gov

Besides my TV being able to decode HD, I also have the Hauppauge USB HD Tuner, cost about $75 or so last year. Works great. I can save the programs onto my laptop and move and transfer them around.
--
"... respect, all good works are not done by only good folk. For here, at the end of all things, we shall do what needs to be done."
--till next time, Jameson Stalanthas Yu -x- poetry.dolphins-cove.com

and thus Doc inscribed ...
On Jan 2, 7:46 pm, Patty Winter wrote:
In fact, the advent of digital TV is prompting many people who've
been relying on cable or satellite for many years to run out and
buy antennas.
Will the amplified antenna I currently have - basically suped up
rabbit ears - work or do I need to get a more substantial antenna?
Will the signal amplifier I use for analog signals work on digital
signals?

I think it depends on what/how is amplified if it will make any difference. I have generic rabbit ears, and get better HD reception than I do SD in my apartment in Los Angeles.
--
"... respect, all good works are not done by only good folk. For here, at the end of all things, we shall do what needs to be done."
--till next time, Jameson Stalanthas Yu -x- poetry.dolphins-cove.com

In addition to OTA there is free digital tv with satellite too.Commonly
called free-to-air or
DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) satellite,it requires a small digital
receiver
hooked up to a small Ku-Band only 1 meter dish.If you want additional
channels,you can use a big satellite dish (commonly called a 'BUD') to
bring in channels in the C-Band range of frequencies.Some are long time
channels that have been there for years,and some only seem to last a
week and disappear.
It is considered a hobbyist interest to some,so it may not be the right
thing for you,but I think it should be mentioned in the 'free digital tv
category' anyway.

Tom Duwe wrote:
"Alan F" wrote in message
news:[email protected]

snip

Another web resource for detailed information for predicted signal
strength and coverage maps is tvfool.com. There are 2 basic tools. One
provides a summary listing of the stations for your location with
direction, range, predicted signal strength, channel #s, notes on
potential adjacent or co-channel interference, station power. The second
level is to download the coverage map kmz file for the stations in your
market or overlapping markets. You load the kmz file into google earth
and can turn on and off the coverage maps for each digital and analog
station. Zoom in on your location or anywhere that is of interest. Can
be fun to play with.

Alan F

Boy, it's a good thing my 'honey-do' list was fairly short this
morning...another great way to put Google Earth thru it's paces!

Thanks, Alan.

You are welcome. Yes, a lot of work was put in by Andy.S.Lee and
others to collect the data, write the software, and generate the files
for those coverage maps on tvfool. They are very educational tool to
graphically display the effects of shading of hills and ridge lines. For
someone who wants OTA reception and is planning to move to a new house,
they can use the maps to evaluate what the reception is like in a
neighborhood!

Alan F

On Jan 3, 9:52*pm, ~consul wrote:

I think it depends on what/how is amplified if it will make any difference.. I have generic rabbit ears, and get better HD reception than I do SD in my apartment in Los Angeles.

Of course the HD's gonna look better-- but try piping the SD to a
regular TV to see if it's a matter of your HDTV magnifying the flaws
in the image.

"Alan F" wrote in message
news:[email protected]
Doc wrote:
On Jan 2, 7:46 pm, Patty Winter wrote:

snip


Will the amplified antenna I currently have - basically suped up
rabbit ears - work or do I need to get a more substantial antenna?
Will the signal amplifier I use for analog signals work on digital
signals?

The signal amplifier will work. Digital ATSC TV broadcasting is on the
same set of VHF 2 to 13, UHF 14 to 69 channels as analog; the digital
signals are just on different channels from the analog.

snip

Since you have the antenna, try it for digital reception. It may be
fine. If not, then you can step up to a more substantial antenna which
may bring in stations you were not aware of.

Yes. Think of it this way: on regular ol' TV with rabbit ears, you (or
somebody) can move around the room and change the TV picture just by where
you stand. The same thing can happen with DTV on rabbit ears. The effect is
usually something called multipath reception or just "multipath." Any TV
signal will have some multipath on it; the question is: How much is too
much? If you're on the wrong side of the building and you get crummy analog
pictures -- lots of ghosts -- chances are your DTV reception will be
unsatisfactory, too.

The TV's processing circuits are getting better and better, but no circuit
can work miracles. A roof antenna is a wonderful thing if you can put one
up.

My goofiest ever multipath experience was on the Navy base in Vallejo, CA.
There was one UHF TV station that absolutely would not come in unless my
roommate had his locker door half-open. Go figure.

In article ,
Sal M. Onella wrote:

"Alan F" wrote in message
news:[email protected]
Doc wrote:
On Jan 2, 7:46 pm, Patty Winter wrote:

snip

Dunno what happened in this thread, but none of the quoted text
in this message was from me.


Patty

"Patty Winter" wrote in message
...

In article ,
Sal M. Onella wrote:

"Alan F" wrote in message
news:[email protected]
Doc wrote:
On Jan 2, 7:46 pm, Patty Winter wrote:

snip

Dunno what happened in this thread, but none of the quoted text
in this message was from me.


Patty

Snipping for brevity has its pitfalls. You were in the original and I
failed to snip one line out, the line with your name on it. Sorry for the
confusion. No evil intent here.

"Sal"

In article ,
Sal M. Onella wrote:

"Patty Winter" wrote in message
.. .

Dunno what happened in this thread, but none of the quoted text
in this message was from me.

Snipping for brevity has its pitfalls. You were in the original and I
failed to snip one line out, the line with your name on it. Sorry for the
confusion. No evil intent here.

:-) I didn't think so! Just clarifying. And I don't want to discourage
anyone from snipping for brevity!

I appreciate the information that folks have been posting. I have
cable and satellite and thus have no need to run out and get a digital
TV or a converter by Feb 2009, but I'm trying to keep on top of the
subject for whenever I do decide to take the plunge.


Patty