What is an "Off The Air" tv channel?

[pat fan]

I contacted my local TV station about their non-broadcast of the Pat's pre-season game, and they said it will air on the following stations.
Comcast - 288
Charter - 260
Off the air - 22.2
I don't have Comcast or Charter, but what is Off the air?

Any clues? TIA!

 

[tvguy]

Something your local station will be carrying.

Off the air is free tv you get with an antenna, that you don't need cable or a dish to get.

Guess you grew up with cable!!!

 

[DopeyDame]

Yup - off the air (or over the air) is the good-old-fashioned tv signal being broadcast from your local station. Depending on your tv and the signal in your area, a paper clip in the antenna slot on your tv may be all you need. Just tune the tv to 22.2 If the paper clip doesn't work, head to best buy and get an antenna.
The .2 is because there are multiple digital stations for each channel now. So it sounds like your local station isn't broadcasting on their prime channel (which is probably 22.1) but they are sending it out on their secondary feed.

 

[sam_gordon]

Yup - off the air (or over the air) is the good-old-fashioned tv signal being broadcast from your local station. Depending on your tv and the signal in your area, a paper clip in the antenna slot on your tv may be all you need. Just tune the tv to 22.2 If the paper clip doesn't work, head to best buy and get an antenna.

Here are the steps...
1) Does your TV bring in over-the-air (OTA) digital signals? I think any TV built after 2005(?) must do this. If you have a 'wide screen' (the screen is more rectangular), it PROBABLY does. You can google the manufacturer and model number of the TV, and look at the features. It might say 'ATSC' tuner.
2) Find out how far you are from the stations' transmitters. Use tvfool or antennaweb (or both). You put in your address and it tells you what direction & how far you are from the transmitters.
3) If you're close enough (say 5-10 miles) from the transmitter, the paper clip idea might work. Other than that, you'll need an antenna. The type of antenna you'll need will vary based on distance from the transmitter (and some other factors).
4) Once you get your antenna, hook it up to the TV & Scan for channels. If the channels don't come in, move the antenna and try again. This is the aggravating part. The good news is once you get an acceptable signal, you get a crystal clear picture.

The .2 is because there are multiple digital stations for each channel now. So it sounds like your local station isn't broadcasting on their prime channel (which is probably 22.1) but they are sending it out on their secondary feed.

 

[pat fan]

Guess you grew up with cable!!!

Actually, rabbit ears, just didn't know what it was called, and I've never heard of X.something as a channel!

Here are the steps...
1) Does your TV bring in over-the-air (OTA) digital signals? I think any TV built after 2005(?) must do this. If you have a 'wide screen' (the screen is more rectangular), it PROBABLY does. You can google the manufacturer and model number of the TV, and look at the features. It might say 'ATSC' tuner.
2) Find out how far you are from the stations' transmitters. Use tvfool or antennaweb (or both). You put in your address and it tells you what direction & how far you are from the transmitters.
3) If you're close enough (say 5-10 miles) from the transmitter, the paper clip idea might work. Other than that, you'll need an antenna. The type of antenna you'll need will vary based on distance from the transmitter (and some other factors).
4) Once you get your antenna, hook it up to the TV & Scan for channels. If the channels don't come in, move the antenna and try again. This is the aggravating part. The good news is once you get an acceptable signal, you get a crystal clear picture.

Shoot, I bet this won't work for us. We live in a valley, which is why we have DTV in the first place. There used to be a huge antenna on our house that brought in one or two really snowy channels, so I am guessing we are out of luck. I won't be buying a $1000 antenna for a pre-season game
sam_gordon
Do we need a converter box or anything, or just plug the antenna into the TV? Also, we have two tv options. One a new-ish (2 yrs old) flat screen and the other is an older "regular" tv. Is one better to try than the other? WE did buy an antenna during the winter to try this with, just haven't had a chance to try it. It was like $70, we couldn't see spending thousands like our local tv guy said he would charge us.

 

[tvguy]

Actually, rabbit ears, just didn't know what it was called, and I've never heard of X.something as a channel!

Shoot, I bet this won't work for us. We live in a valley, which is why we have DTV in the first place. There used to be a huge antenna on our house that brought in one or two really snowy channels, so I am guessing we are out of luck. I won't be buying a $1000 antenna for a pre-season game
sam_gordon
Do we need a converter box or anything, or just plug the antenna into the TV? Also, we have two tv options. One a new-ish (2 yrs old) flat screen and the other is an older "regular" tv. Is one better to try than the other? WE did buy an antenna during the winter to try this with, just haven't had a chance to try it. It was like $70, we couldn't see spending thousands like our local tv guy said he would charge us.

A $19 set of rabbit ears from Radio Shack should do the trick

 

[sam_gordon]

A
sam_gordon
Do we need a converter box or anything, or just plug the antenna into the TV? Also, we have two tv options. One a new-ish (2 yrs old) flat screen and the other is an older "regular" tv. Is one better to try than the other? WE did buy an antenna during the winter to try this with, just haven't had a chance to try it. It was like $70, we couldn't see spending thousands like our local tv guy said he would charge us.

I'm guessing (assuming) your flat screen will be fine. The older "regular" TV would need a converter box. By "regular", I'm guessing it's a tube (as opposed to flat screen) and 4:3 (ie: square) screen.

Being in a valley won't help, but you might still be lucky. Since you already have an antenna, you've got nothing to lose but time (and possibly some sanity). Like I said, go to tvfool or antennaweb and put in your address. If nothing else, they'll tell you which way to point your antenna.

Oh, to answer your original question... plug the antenna straight into the flat screen. The higher you can put the antenna (attic?) the better. Outside is better than inside.

 

[DopeyDame]

You definitely don't need a converter box for the new tv. The old tv may or may not need one depednding on how old it is.
Try it with the new tv (you want to watch football on a bigger screen anyway
For us, rabbit ears didn't work any better than a paperclip - We got a few channels with the paper clip, and then we had to get an external antenna and put it on our roof to get the others. I think our antenna was ~$50.
Hopefully samgordan can give you some more tips, as I just know our personal experience.

 

[pat fan]

The older "regular" TV would need a converter box. By "regular", I'm guessing it's a tube (as opposed to flat screen) and 4:3 (ie: square) screen.

Yes, that's what I meant.

Being in a valley won't help, but you might still be lucky. Since you already have an antenna, you've got nothing to lose but time (and possibly some sanity). Like I said, go to tvfool or antennaweb and put in your address. If nothing else, they'll tell you which way to point your antenna.

Aahhhh...little does my DH know the project planned for him when he gets home!

A $19 set of rabbit ears from Radio Shack should do the trick

The outside antenna will be just as good if not better, right?

 

[pat fan]

Here is antennaweb's answer
Stations and Antenna Types
Due to factors such as terrain and distance to broadcasting towers, signal strength calculations have predicted no television stations may be reliably received at this location.

Verify the correct ZIP Code and address have been entered.

Not sure I know how to read TVFool's website. The little hash marks inside the bulls eye with a number by them would be the only ones we might get, right? Here's what they say.
These channels are very weak and will most likely require extreme measures to try and pick them up
Channel 22 is listed as 22.1, but I am told 22.2 will be carrying the game. How do I find that? It is not on the list of channels for TVFool. Is it the same general direction as 22.1?

I still may have DH get on the roof and try.

 

[Nayan]

If they say no channels, then they are correct. Picking up digital signals is much more complicated then when we had analog. There needs to be no interference at all and either you get them or you don't. There's also no such thing as an HDTV antenna, as all antennas can pick up HDTV signals so it's just a fancy word to get you to spend much more money than you need to. My $10 rabbit ears I picked up at WalMart work just as well.

The point channels (22.1, 22.2, etc.) are the main channel and sub-channels. Usually the main one is .1 and the subs are .2 and up.

 

[sam_gordon]

Here is antennaweb's answer
Stations and Antenna Types
Due to factors such as terrain and distance to broadcasting towers, signal strength calculations have predicted no television stations may be reliably received at this location.

Verify the correct ZIP Code and address have been entered.

Not sure I know how to read TVFool's website. The little hash marks inside the bulls eye with a number by them would be the only ones we might get, right? Here's what they say.
These channels are very weak and will most likely require extreme measures to try and pick them up
Channel 22 is listed as 22.1, but I am told 22.2 will be carrying the game. How do I find that? It is not on the list of channels for TVFool. Is it the same general direction as 22.1?

I still may have DH get on the roof and try.

22.1 & 22.2 are the same channel. If you get one, you get both. (remember the old encyclopedias? X, Y, and Z could all be in the same book? Same general idea).

Here's the tvfool plot for my home...

Look at 36, 39, and 40 (top left quadrant). They are all in a line. So if I aim an antenna that direction (up is due north), I should get all three. The chart on the right shows 36 is 16.5 miles away and 39 & 40 16 miles away. Since they're in the green, I'm pretty assured of getting them.

If you can post your plot (right click on the plot, copy url, and paste it like a picture here on dis), I'll try to help you decode it.

 

[RitaE]

My head hurts now, sounds much easier just to head out to a Sports Bar.

 

[sam_gordon]

Hey pat fan (and others), I've got something else you can try. $0, and maybe 30 minutes of time.

I assume you have some kind of box from the cable company. There's a cable that comes from the wall and goes INTO that box. Unplug that cable from the box (it should unscrew), then plug that cable into your TV. Have your TV scan for channels (if you get an option, you're looking for 'cable' channels).

It's possible the channel you want is put out "in the clear" (ie: you don't need a box to see it) by the cable company.

Ooops, sorry pat fan, just noticed you're using satellite... this won't help you, only those who have cable. sorry.

 

[pat fan]

My head hurts now, sounds much easier just to head out to a Sports Bar.

1) I like to watch in the peace and quiet of my home. Alone. No one talking and interrupting my concentration.

2) I don't drink.

3) and most importantly, there are no sports bars near where I live. I live in the boonies. Hence no cable. Or bars. Or grocery stores. Or anything...well, a low crime rate and lot's of wild life

 

[pat fan]

Here's what I get.

 

[sam_gordon]

OK, I'd say there's a chance you can do this with what you have. I am fairly confident you'll need to put the antenna outside and as high as you can safely go. I can GUARANTEE rabbit ears won't work. lol

So, look through your TV menus (if you have the manual, look through that). There should be some way to 'manually' add a new channel. If you can't find that, turn on the TV and from the remote control, press 1-1 (11), then 'Enter' or 'OK'. You'll probably get a screen that says 'no signal'. That's to be expected right now.

Hook the antenna to the TV, have DH outside and point the antenna SE (if you have a compass, ~135 degrees). Have him point it at the horizon. On the TV, hopefully there's some place you can turn on a signal strength meter (not all of them have it, and I don't know what kind of TV you have). With you watching the meter, have him slowly turn the antenna clockwise (first south, then southwest). Hopefully, at some point, you'll see the meter change. If you don't have a meter, hopefully at some point you'll see the picture appear. In theory, the transmitter you want to receive is 173 degrees true (187 magnetic) from your house. It's 37.5 miles away.

If you do have a strength meter on the TV, have DH keep rotating until you get the highest reading you can. Lock it down. The good thing is if you can pick up the NBC, I'd also expect you to get the ABC and the PBS (and their subchannels).

Now to blow your mind... I hope you paid attention when I said to put your TV on channel 11. I know you're looking for 22.2. If you look at the chart, there's a column for 'Real Channel' and one for 'Virtual Channel'. The virtual channel is what the channel is known as (ie: 22, 6, 19, etc). Broadcasters add some data into their signal that tells the TV what channel to display. But that's not what channel they're broadcasting on. If this confuses you, don't worry. I just wanted to explain why you use '11' to find the channel.

Oh, once you find it, there should be some way to 'save' it manually. Or you can have the TV scan and it should find it on it's own. The trick was getting the antenna pointed correctly.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you still have questions.

Good luck!

 

[pat fan]

So Sam, can you come over? I promise I'll make cookies. Or cake. Or whatever you want! LOL!!!

Seriously, I've got it all set for when DH comes home. Antenna is plugged into the antenna cable thing in back of tv, have it set to 1-1 (shows no signal just like you said!) and antenna is outside waiting to be hoisted up to the roof.

Of course, there is a serious thunderstorm happening right now. Hopefully it passes before he gets home!

 

[sam_gordon]

So Sam, can you come over? I promise I'll make cookies. Or cake. Or whatever you want! LOL!!!

Whatever? just kidding. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Seriously, I've got it all set for when DH comes home. Antenna is plugged into the antenna cable thing in back of tv, have it set to 1-1 (shows no signal just like you said!) and antenna is outside waiting to be hoisted up to the roof.

Of course, there is a serious thunderstorm happening right now. Hopefully it passes before he gets home!

Sorry, when I typed 1-1, I meant 1, then 1 again (so you get 11). 1-1 is something different if that's how it's displayed on your set.

Umm, yea, holding a metal stick up high in the thunderstorm might not be a good idea. lol

 

[pat fan]

Ok, if I go to manual settings, I have a choice of

TV- there is no signal strength box
Cable DTV- there IS a signal strength box
Cable TV- no signal strength box
DTV- there IS a signal strength box

Which do I want?

Whatever? just kidding. Sorry, couldn't resist.

HA! Well, within reason. I could go get pizza if you don't like baked goods