On August 23, 2005 at 14:50, serpantor said...
First off, Hey, I'm new here. I've been reading
over this site for months debating what I should
do to get OTA HD content. I've recently moved
to the toronto area in a high rise. I picked up
the sony KD34XS955 wega that has a built in ATSC
tuner. Then I grabbed a terk tv55 antenna cuz
my girl wasn't big on some bulky obscene looking
piece of metal hanging off the balcony. I mounted
it near the window sill and ran a scan on the
television. After a little tweaking of the position
of the antenna I could pull in 6 HD channels:
CITYHD, TORONTO1, CBC, CTVHD, CBS(WIVB), FOX(WUTV).
I can't seem to find UPN, NBC, ABC, or PBS. I
only really wanted PBS cuz the HD content on that
channel is amazing from what I've seen on my buddy's
HD cable terminal. I'm thinking of mounting the
antenna onto a mast and clamping it onto the balcony
railing, does anyone think that may work out better
for the signal? Also I'm noticing that on the
main page of the hdtv section the channel guide
shows cbc as 20-1 and below it is (5-1) what does
that mean exactly? On my television cbc comes
in on 5-1 not 20-1. Also CBS is listed as 39-1
and below that is (4-1) but the station maps to
4-1 on my set. is the station below in brackets
the canadian equivalent or what? If so are they
all that way or why do some only show one channel
number?
Thanks to everyone on this site who has helped
me through reading these forums and getting a
better understanding into the world of HD. I never
want to look at analog again, or digital for that
matter. Theres nothing like watching the NFL in
high def!
Thanks
S
Hi,
People can tell you a lot of things, but I just went through what you did. The best indoor antenna is not as good as the worst outdoor antennas. You pull in 6 channels. You did better than me with 3 indoor antennas.
I got 3-4, CBC, CBC French, Toronto 1, and sometimes CityTV.
Then I got this indoor/outdoor antenna and hung it off my balcony facing between the lake and the CN tower.
With that same antenna indoors I got that same amount of channels. Out side on my balcony I get 20 channels now.
Go to The Source, get and RCA 1711, it doesn't look like one of those antennas, it looks more like a planes wings, without the plain.
Your Terk will perform better outside, but how much better...well a quick test is worth it. Of course if you have a directional antenna keep in mind you need to point to the CN Tower and Buffalo to get the most channels. That is why I point mine between the two, and it works for me. Sure if I point it right at Buffalo the signal stength increases, but no difference in picture or sound, but I lose the Toronto stations and visa ersa.
So not only is outside important, but placement can make or break the number of channels you get to pull in.
Hope this helps a bit. Just seems I was exactly where you were, all excited about getting HDTV over the air, and having very limited selection. I think if people knew how much better quality the product is over the air than over cable ( can't speak to satelite) they would be going for over air more than not.
Right now all the cable company can offer me that I can't get now are the specialy channels that do not broadcast on the air. I have access to the 5 American networks ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and UPN, all the Toronto channels that are broadcasting (more to come later over the next 2 years).
And you won't get that until you accept 2 things.
1) Get an outdoor antenna you can get one that the girlfriend won't freak out about)
2) Ditch the indoor antenna.
Do that and yo will be enjoying most, if not all the channels that are currently over the air in Toronto and area.
