Can you tell me how to get rid of my cable TV?

[bicker]

You need an (digital?) antenna.

A warning about this: There is no such thing as different antennas for analog and digital. The different antennas are UHF and VHF. "Digital antenna" was just marketing sugar used to try to get people to buy UHF antennas to receive digital channels, which, prior to June 12, 2009, were almost exclusively on UHF. And especially since June 12, 2009, many (though not most) digital channels are on VHF, so antennas that are sold as "digital antennas" won't actually do the trick. In many areas, you need combo VHF/UHF antennas. The plot that the OP would get from the LINK I provided above or the link that DrCavin provided earlier will show what antenna is needed.

 

[HamTown]

I bought a simple HDTV antenna from our local Radio Shack. With it I can get ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CW, 3 PBS channels as well as some local Christian broadcasts (about 4 channels worth). Once you run your first channel scan, you may want to play with the antenna then run the scan again to make sure you didn't miss anything.

We gave up cable about 18 months ago. I quickly realized that it wasn't cable I missed, it was my TIVO! I upgraded to an HD Tivo and I'm able to use the DVR just like always. My kids like being able to find YouTube videos and music choice videos off the Tivo.

The cheap antennas we bought for the two non-HD TVs we had have more than paid for themselves compared to even the basic cable price.

 

[jazz0007]

You've come to the right place.

First, could you please post the model number of your television? That'll help provide you with specifics, if necessary.

Second, you will need a proper antenna connected to your television, but in order to know what is "proper" you'll either need to do some trial-and-error (which could be inconvenient and costly), or use the TV Signal Locator located HERE. If you don't understand the results, there is a link that they provide that you can post here, and some of us can help interpret it for you.

Oh yay! Thanks! First....I unplugged the cable this morning (nothing else) and tried a scan...got nothing. Also...if it helps...we live on a very wooded lot (in a very wooded neighborhood)...however we still have the old old old antennae tower standing next to our house. The antennae wires that came into the house have been severed. But the ability to get up high is still there if needed....not sure if that even applies to digital...I'm purely illiterate about the new technology.

My TV model...LGE 50PC1DRA (50" LG Plasma)

Any help is awesome!! Thanks!! Off to check out the sites you all have posted. Thanks!

Lorri

 

[golfgal]

Oh yay! Thanks! First....I unplugged the cable this morning (nothing else) and tried a scan...got nothing. Also...if it helps...we live on a very wooded lot (in a very wooded neighborhood)...however we still have the old old old antennae tower standing next to our house. The antennae wires that came into the house have been severed. But the ability to get up high is still there if needed....not sure if that even applies to digital...I'm purely illiterate about the new technology.

My TV model...LGE 50PC1DRA (50" LG Plasma)

Any help is awesome!! Thanks!! Off to check out the sites you all have posted. Thanks!

Lorri

Check your menu on the tv and make sure it is set for antennae and not cable.

 

[tvguy]

A warning about this: There is no such thing as different antennas for analog and digital. The different antennas are UHF and VHF. "Digital antenna" was just marketing sugar used to try to get people to buy UHF antennas to receive digital channels, which, prior to June 12, 2009, were almost exclusively on UHF. And especially since June 12, 2009, many (though not most) digital channels are on VHF, so antennas that are sold as "digital antennas" won't actually do the trick. In many areas, you need combo VHF/UHF antennas. The plot that the OP would get from the LINK I provided above or the link that DrCavin provided earlier will show what antenna is needed.

1) Buy a set top (Indoor) UHF/VHF antenna (make sure it is UHF/VHF, not UHF only)

2) Read the assembly directions for the antenna
3) Connect the antenna cable to the "TV IN" spigot on the back of your TV
4) Hit MENU on your TV, there should be an option called "ADD CHANNELS" or "FIND CHANNELS" or "SCAN CHANNELS". Push that option.

5) When it's done, see how many stations you have. If you don't know how many over the air TV stations there are in your are, GOOGLE (your city name) TV stations, or the closest major city, write down those channel numbers. Check and see if you have them all.
6) If you do not have them all, or any channels, you may need to move the antenna to get a signal. Hit MENU again on your TV, there should be a "SIGNAL STRENGTH" option. Select than, then move the antenna around until you get the strongest signal. Go back to step 4. You may have to repeat this process. The closer to a window the antenna is, the stronger the signal should be.
7) If this does not work, you may have to install a roof top UHF/VHF antenna.

It really depends on how far you are from the TV station transmitters. In most cities TV stations build all their transmitters in the same general area.


When you get the antenna set up working call the cable company and cancel their service.

Now a couple of things to know. Everything is digital now. Wonderful picture IF you can get a signal, but digital signals don't travel as easily through walls and over hills and into valleys as analog did. You either will have a signal, or you won't. There is no fuzzy reception any more.

Can you tell I've walked a couple thousand people through this process in the past year? I do have to admit you make me feel old. I live in the last major U.S. city to be wired for cable TV...I was the first on my block to get cable back in 1987.

 

[pixiewings71]

We dropped to the most basic cable, we have the standard channels plus Discovery and that's it, we also have the high speed internet so together it will be about $50 a month. We are saving $100 a month. We plugged the cable into our computer and our computer into our TV and we watch live TV thru our Window Media Center, works great so far. Everything else we can watch thru the computer to the TV, shows like Fringe, Bones, CSI, etc etc we will watch that way.

 

[bicker]

Once you run your first channel scan, you may want to play with the antenna then run the scan again to make sure you didn't miss anything.

Also note that you may need to re-run the channel scan occasionally. Though it is becoming increasingly rare, television channels have been changing frequency, even after June 12, 2009, and due to digital television technology (PSIP) the channel "number" doesn't change anymore. The frequency that a channel is broadcast on can change but its (virtual) channel number stays the same - the technology relies on the channel scan to go look for all the channels by checking every frequency now, instead of us viewers telling the television which frequency to tune in.

We gave up cable about 18 months ago. I quickly realized that it wasn't cable I missed, it was my TIVO! I upgraded to an HD Tivo and I'm able to use the DVR just like always. My kids like being able to find YouTube videos and music choice videos off the Tivo.

The TiVo Premiere (which has now replaced the TiVo HD) is a super over-the-air digital tuner/DVR combo. It has a better tuner in it than many televisions.

The cheap antennas we bought for the two non-HD TVs we had have more than paid for themselves compared to even the basic cable price.

Folks should keep in mind, though, that antenna quality might not matter to some folks while it matters greatly to others, depending on location.

 

[bicker]

My TV model...LGE 50PC1DRA (50" LG Plasma)

I almost don't even need to look this one up. LG is one of the better plasma televisions out there - in the top three (along with Panasonic and Samsung).

Some details that will be useful for later questions you may have: You've got two HDMI inputs, two component video inputs, a TOSLINK output for digital audio, and even a place to plug in an old computer. You also have an S-video input, which is useful in very specific circumstances that you probably won't encounter (unless, like us, you're family has a member who is hearing impaired). Like I said - this is one of the better HDTVs out there.

Perhaps most remarkably, this television apparently has a CableCARD slot. While that isn't the direction you're heading, it means that you were able to get practically all the linear services that your cable provider provided, without using their box.

You have three tuners in that television, an old NTSC tuner (generally, no longer useful), a QAM tuner (useful for digital cable, especially with the CableCARD slot), and an ATSC tuner for over-the-air digital television. That's the one you want, for what you're trying to do.

Okay, so post the plot if you need more assistance determining what kind of antenna you're going to need.

 

[bicker]

Buy a set top (Indoor) UHF/VHF antenna (make sure it is UHF/VHF, not UHF only) ... When it's done, see how many stations you have. ... If you do not have them all, or any channels, you may need to move the antenna to get a signal. ... If this does not work, you may have to install a roof top UHF/VHF antenna.

This is the trial-and-error approach I mentioned earlier. As I indicated, by reading the data provided by the LINK I provided earlier in the thread, you can bypass most of this. The data will indicate what antenna you'll need, and how to directionally orient it for best reception overall.

But tvguy's approach will get you to the same place.

If you don't know how many over the air TV stations there are in your are, GOOGLE (your city name) TV stations, or the closest major city, write down those channel numbers.

Again, the data from TV Fool and Antenna Web will provide you all of that info, in a neat, colorful table, with lots of additional info that will help you understand what your reception will be for each channel.

Now a couple of things to know. Everything is digital now. Wonderful picture IF you can get a signal, but digital signals don't travel as easily through walls and over hills and into valleys as analog did. You either will have a signal, or you won't. There is no fuzzy reception any more.

Though degraded signal, in the digital age, could account for artifacts referred to by some as "skipping" or "pixelization". Also, note that digital signals can be degraded not only by weak or obstructed signal, as tvguy described, but also by multi-path: A strong signal that reaches your antenna twice, either directly plus bounced off of something, or bounced off of two or more things. Though the antenna gets a strong signal, it gets the data twice, and not necessarily in order, and so cannot synch on the signal.

Can you tell I've walked a couple thousand people through this process in the past year?

I know the feeling.

 

[jazz0007]

Thank you SOOOO much everyone. This is so overwhelming! I went and looked at your link (Bicker) for the channels I would get and there are plenty of network/PBS types listed....so I don't think that is a problem. I'll post the plot in a minute.

I have posted this question on another board that I'm part of and one of the people answered this....can you tell me anymore about this kind of setup? Does it get me any of the "cable" type channels (Disney, History, HGTV etc)?? Or would I still just get network/PBS channels?? I understand the NetFlix part...I'm just wondering what the difference in channels received would be and how the setup works.

We got rid of our satellite last year, and built a computer to takes its place.

It has a video capture card which also has an antenna input, so it not only gets the local channels, it gives you a guide just like you could have with cable and satelite to go through, records just like a DVR, and Netflicks works through it. It also has all of the network stuff that they have on their websites, stream through the software, so lets say you watch CSI but didn't record it, its all right there in the same software.

We also use Hulu a lot, and watch a lot of stuff from there, right from that computer. Basically, out flat screen TV works as a monitor for all of this.....and its GREAT! It only cost a few hundred to build the computer, so it easily paid for itself considering our Directv bill was $80/mo.

Like I said, Netflicks also going through it, so I can browns and watch anything on there really easily, and the card has a remote, so you dont HAVE to use a mouse/keyboard.

Perhaps most remarkably, this television apparently has a CableCARD slot. While that isn't the direction you're heading, it means that you were able to get practically all the linear services that your cable provider provided, without using their box.

Don't even get me started on this!!! LOL We did this about a year ago (all because I didn't want to miss LOST)....worked great until the extra stress it put on the part that powers up the TV caused it to fail....a part that LG admits was faulty the year our TV was made! Grrrr....spent $350 to fix the TV! We went back to a cable box after that.

Thanks again for all this help! Who knew the DIS boards could be so helpful in the cable TV realm.

 

[jazz0007]

TV Guy!!

7) If this does not work, you may have to install a roof top UHF/VHF antenna.

We actually still have this on our property. It's a really nice one originally installed in the ground (not on the roof). We thought about selling it to a ham guy or something....but it's how we get up on the roof when we clean the gutters. We do this often being on a wooded lot. The only problem with using it is the wiring has been severed....we'd have to redo it. Who knew we'd ever need it again!

 

[bicker]

I have posted this question on another board that I'm part of and one of the people answered this....can you tell me anymore about this kind of setup? Does it get me any of the "cable" type channels (Disney, History, HGTV etc)?? Or would I still just get network/PBS channels??

What they're describing is just a home-made DVR with Internet access. It gets you the same television stations that you can get with your antenna, none of the cable channels, such as Disney, History, HGTV, etc.

It should be noted that that approach gets you the same as you can get with the TiVo Premiere. The trade-off is that the TiVo Premiere comes that way out of the box, with support just a phone call away, while the do-it-yourself approach requires a good amount of building and technical know-how on your part. I'm very knowledgeable about this stuff, and probably could do what was describe there, but I choose not to: It simply isn't worth the bother.

 

[LisaR]

Bumping this up. Not the OP but I have some similar questions and I am hoping some of you can help me.

We went out this afternoon and bought a VHF/UHF indoor antenna and hooked it up to our HDTV. It is picking up 48 stations! Unfortunately, most of them are in Spanish and there are an awful lot of religious stations. It does pick up ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, CW, and ION. The only thing we will miss is USA Network. We watch a lot of those shows but I am pretty sure those can be watched on the computer.

Here are my questions:

1. We have an OLD Tivo. I believe it is the original unit that they first came out with. We have to dig it out of the attic and make sure it still works. Will it work with this set up or do we have to have the newer version? I was planning on using it on our spare TV as a back up and getting the newer version for the main TV.

2. If we get an antenna for our attic or a small outdoor antenna to attach to our house (we would put it in the spot where our Dish is that we hope to get rid of soon), will it really be worth it? I did check on Antenna Web and it looks like we will only pick up more local affiliates and I am guessing they will be in Spanish. Is the only advantage of an attic or outdoor antenna the number of stations or is there some other advantage.

3. I see that Tivo talks about working with Netflix but I am not sure what they mean. We already stream instant watch through the Wii. Are they just saying we can stream instant watch through Tivo?

4. Can we hook the TV up to the computer to view the USA Network shows on the TV screen instead of my laptop?

Thanks!

 

[tvguy]

TV Guy!!


We actually still have this on our property. It's a really nice one originally installed in the ground (not on the roof). We thought about selling it to a ham guy or something....but it's how we get up on the roof when we clean the gutters. We do this often being on a wooded lot. The only problem with using it is the wiring has been severed....we'd have to redo it. Who knew we'd ever need it again!

This will get you the best reception. We have people come through our neighborhood ringing the door bell offering to take my antenna down for $100. I just looked at the guy and asked, "how am I going to watch TV without an antenna?" You can't see my dish from the street, but it shocks them to think someone today doesn't have a dish or cable. While I FINALLY added locals to my Dish, I bought a converter and have it hooked up because none of the dish or cable providers carry anything other than the primary channel signals....the 3.1, 10.1, 13.1 channels, but not the
3.2, 10.2, 13.2 etc. A lot of stations actually are now broadcasting 2 or 3 or 4 channels on their signal. PBS here is running all 4, and some of their best shows at on 6.4.

 

[bicker]

1. We have an OLD Tivo. I believe it is the original unit that they first came out with. We have to dig it out of the attic and make sure it still works. Will it work with this set up or do we have to have the newer version?

TiVo Series 1 and Series 2 boxes do not have ATSC tuners, so they, themselves cannot tune in all those channels you just found. You could try to mate them with a converter box, but there are a lot of problems with that.
- Converter boxes are becoming a little hard to find now (though there are still lots of places you can find them).
- The TiVo RF blaster is not a fool-proof mechanism for controlling remote boxes.
- There aren't many (any?) ATSC converter boxes that work well driven by a TiVo RF blaster.
- These old TiVos can only handle standard-definition, so they won't provide you any high-definition.
And so on.

I have my old TiVo S2 mated up with a FiOS cable box (same general principle). It works, but it isn't perfect.

2. If we get an antenna for our attic or a small outdoor antenna to attach to our house (we would put it in the spot where our Dish is that we hope to get rid of soon), will it really be worth it? I did check on Antenna Web and it looks like we will only pick up more local affiliates and I am guessing they will be in Spanish. Is the only advantage of an attic or outdoor antenna the number of stations or is there some other advantage.

It all comes down to your preferences and your reception. If you're happy with the channels you can get with the antenna you have, and it is sufficiently reliable for you, then why bother going further down that path?

3. I see that Tivo talks about working with Netflix but I am not sure what they mean. We already stream instant watch through the Wii. Are they just saying we can stream instant watch through Tivo?

Yup, that's what I do, with my TiVo Series 3. However, my TiVo S2 doesn't provide that capability.

4. Can we hook the TV up to the computer to view the USA Network shows on the TV screen instead of my laptop?

Perhaps. It depends on your television and your laptop. If you post model numbers for both, I can help further.

 

[LisaR]

Bicker,
Thanks so much for the great information.

We have a small HDTV that we have been trying this out on. We haven't purchased the main TV that we will want to watch USA Network on. When we look for one to buy, is there anything in particular we need to make sure it has so we can hook up the computer and view some TV shows on it? Thanks again!

 

[bicker]

As far as I know, there aren't any true-HD sources for USA Network programming anyway, online. Generally, the source data for online streaming is either standard definition natively, or is downconverted on-the-fly due to bandwidth limitations.

Beyond that the dependencies I was referring to are on both sides of the connection: What output ports does your laptop offer you. Standard PC monitor connections are definitely not high-definition. My previous laptop had an S-video output, which was a step-up from SVGA, and my current laptop has an HDMI output (useful to me, mainly, for the TiVo-to-Go service, which does support HD).

 

[shortbun]

I'd skip the private school and live a more normal life. Once students from all schools get to college, the difference in their lower level education disappears almost immediately. This from my friends who attended prepschools and then went to college wiith everyone else.