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Hi,
A salesman was telling me that on my RCA HD dish Direct TV that when I purchase my local tv stations, that CBS and NBC stations that broadcast the High Definition signals through the dish that I will not receive the HD signal unless I have a TV antenna on top of my house that picks up the High definition signal locally. Can this possibly be true?
Thanks,
Bill
Follow Ups:
go to this site : http://www.antennaweb.organd punch in your location to see what kind of antenna you need and where to aim it
i used a simple "bowtie" antenna and picked up 4 digital stations with no problem. after refering to the map i was able to "dial in" the exact location of the digital broadcast antennas in my area and now I get 7 digital signals off the air FREE! The PBS stations broadcast in 1080i all the time, while the major networks only do it occasionally in the evenings, or for special events like the Olympics. It's fabulous!
I have the "regular" dish so I can't get High Definition broadcasts. You need the 24" oval dish (with two antennas per dish) so you can get the signal from two (or three) satellites. As far as I know, only HBO and HD tv are sending high definition programing over the satellites, so you'd be crazy not to at least try putting a UHF (bowtie is good, but a YAGI corner reflector is much better) antenna up and aiming it at the towers (careful aiming makes a big difference!)-- IT'S FREE!
Sears has a nice Maganavox array for about $30. I was using a bowtie just laying flat on the roof (it works in the house too), but I got the Magnavox display model for $15 and just put it in the attic suspended from the rafters with string. I spliced the feed into the house coax (disconnect from the cable TV service and feed the antenna output into the cable TV imput at the splitter box). Using a simple compas I aimed the corner reflector directly at the broadcast towers and WOW!
perfect picture, all the time! AND IT'S FREE!
Bill,Yes it's true.
You have to have on Over The Air (OTA) antenna to get the HD channels presently on DirecTV.
Dish network has secured permissions to broadcast the East and West Coast HDTV feeds for CBS, and if your local affiliate doesn't object, you can get that channel on either the 61.5 or 148 satellite from Dish. It's tough to hit the 148 sat here in Chicago, as the elevation is only 14 degrees.
I just put up an OTA antenna (I live in Elgin) and get NBC, ABC, WGN and Fox via digital -- I can't get a strong enough feed out of CBS at the moment to get it OTA - but I will be working on that soon enough. I'm getting the East Coast feed so that isn't a big issue presently, but I'd like to be able to get local CBS on OTA too.
Post back or e-mail if you'd like to discuss this further.
Regards,
I live in Arlington Heights and when I moved in 15 years ago and was up on the roof trying to adjust the antenna to get a good picture, my new next door neighbor told me to " forget about it " as this was a dead area and that I should order cable. I am wondering if I should go out and purchase another antenna for I have ripped my old one down 15 years ago and never looked back. I would hate to purchase and have the same problem as 15 years ago. Is it a special antenna to pick up the HD signal?
This does tick me off. Just when you think you are out they pull ya right back in. LOL
I have to stew about this one.
Later,
Bill
Bill,For what it's worth, your salesman gave you completely accurate information about picking up HDTV.
No special antenna is needed, a standard UHF/VHF antenna does the trick. I'm using a Radio Shack VU-190XR, which is designed for reception of UHF to 80miles, and VHF to 90 miles. This is rougly 2x my distance to the Sears Tower (and the Hancock building).
To be safe, I'd buy the antenna that's designed for 2x your distance from the transmission tower -- in your case one designed roughly 40 miles UHF (and whatever you get with VHF) should cover you pretty well. I say that because the digital signals aren't as powerful, and given your location and it's supposed "wasteland" category the extra gain will probably help you.
Besides the link listed below, Winegard's website is very informative in helping you pick out the right antenna for your needs. Winegard is at http://www.winegard.com
All the big stations except WBBM(CBS channel 2 analog, channel 3 digital) are on the Sears tower. WBBM is on top of the Hancock building.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Thank you so much for that valuable information and link.
God Bless,
Bill
Bill,It's no big deal, but you're welcome :-)
Regards,
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