With no cable will we get ANY tv?

[annsteere]

We are cutting back/out cable. The cable people have convinced DH that if we don't keep at least a small package we will have NO tv. Is that true? What are our alternatives?

Our current tv is not HDTV but it is pretty good sized and gets a clear picture. It is relatively new (about one year old).

 

[NYCDiane]

You can get a digital converter box for about $50 (maybe less) and you'll get your basic broadcast channels and you DON'T need an HDTV to use it.

The government had a coupon a while back where you could get a certain amount off the box to make the conversion easier for people who don't have or don't want cable. Not sure if it's still available, though.

 

[NYCDiane]

I just looked online... the coupons are no longer available, but here's some info on the digital conversion and how it affects you:

http://www.dtv.gov/getcoupon.html

 

[buckler]

We don't have cable and we get all of our local channels. We have converter boxes on two tvs and one HDTV. Reception with the converter boxes is comparable to the new HDTV (although the HDTV looks much better detail wise).

Check this site for your area to see how far you are from the stations broadcasting and what type of antenna you might need
AntennaWeb

We do well with just basic rabbit ears. You might need something more if you are further from the stations.

 

[Alesia]

You will probably also need an aerial antenna.

 

[kathie859]

My local cable company is not bright enough to figure out how to run cable into my kitchen. I've tried 2 separate times with 2 different installers and it's "no go" (in spite of what the CSR says!!!) Anyhow, I hooded up my small kitchen TV with a converter box and am very pleased.
I get all the local stations including SEVERAL PBS affiliates. I'm in N. Ky and get the Cincinnati, Dayton, Oh PBS stations and the Lexington, Ky KET stations. Each of the PBS affiliates have several stations so all in all I have 22 receivable stations on my converter box TV. Heck, it works for me

 

[RetroMom]

It may depend on your location. I have never had cable or dish type packages. Prior to the digital conversion, I received about 9 channels. These included the main national networks and a few PBS type stations. My mom, who lives on the same street, just several blocks down, received less stations than that. My sister who lives about 6 or 7 miles away would receive virtually nothing. The two of them both have cable. After the digital conversion, I have the converter box and receive about 20/25 stations. Nothing that is specifically cable such as HBO, but more free broadcasts. If someone near and dear to you wouldn't mind, you could do an experiment. Unplug your cable, see what you get. Hook up a borrowed converter box and see what you get. I am not a whiz at technology, but it was very easy to set up. Then you could see what you could get, whether or not you would be happy with it, and make your decision from there. Financially, I could not afford the cable packages, but it also is better for my family. Whenever we go to my mom's the kids are glued to the tv set, but it's nothing they could not (and do not) live without. Oh, I do have two tv sets. One has an old pair of bunny ears on them and the other has a very inexpensive flat antenna on it.

 

[buckler]

Also keep in mind that a lot of television shows are available for viewing online. Take a look at Hulu.com and the individual network websites to see what they offer.

 

[tzolkin]

We got rid of our satellite service last summer.

Recently DH got an antenna, but we were not able to find any channels. We live in a rural area.

We got Netflix and mostly watch what they have available to play instantly. We watch a few other shows on hulu.

 

[CuteAndFluffy]

We swapped out big cable for a converter and a Netflix subscription. Between that, Hulu and tvgorge.com, we have more good choices than we ever did with cable. PLUS we get the travel channel, fox sports midwest, PBS Create and a whole bunch of other stuff. It has been awesome. We're thinking of getting an inexpensive computer to hook up through the tv so that we can watch streaming content.

One thing to consider with cable--if you have your internet through the cable company, the package of the smallest cable plus internet access might be less than internet access alone. Just something to consider.

 

[SandrA9810]

if your tv is less than a year old, it's probably digital. They've had them on the market for years.
HDTV is high definition tv. It's the kind of picture quality you will get on your tv.
DTV is digital tv, this means your tv is already good for recieving digital broadcast stations. We bought an insignia tube tv in 2007 that's digital, but not an HD.

You will need a pair of rabbit ears that are a bit more than just two antennas sticking out. Most of them now have a power supply. And you can spend 20-30$ for a good one.

You should be able to pick up, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW, PBS, TBN, and usually a few others. Stations now are #-#, like here 9-1 is ABC, and 9-2 is run by the local news that shows weather constantly, and local traffic updates. Some stations like ION have 3 channels, each one showing something different. PBS has four, two for local programing, like this old house and antiques roadshow. And the other two seem to be more stuff geared for schools so they can tune in during class.

Your "basic cable" package general just include your local free stations, and maybe a few more, but won't have things like disney, nick, hbo, those sorts of channels. Which is fine for like 10$ if you live in the middle of nowhere and can't pick it up on your own.

Just sign up for netflix. And Hulu shows most of the popoluar series, and without the commercials.

 

[jofo]

Do you have to get up and adjust the antenna whenever you change channels? We got a converter box and antenna but then returned them to the store because we were annoyed whenever we changed the channel -- we had to get up and physically move the antenna ears around trying to find the signal for the next channel. Don't know if we needed a better antenna or if that's standard.

 

[buckler]

Do you have to get up and adjust the antenna whenever you change channels? We got a converter box and antenna but then returned them to the store because we were annoyed whenever we changed the channel -- we had to get up and physically move the antenna ears around trying to find the signal for the next channel. Don't know if we needed a better antenna or if that's standard.

Go to the Antenna Web site I linked above. Plug in your address and see the distance and direction of the local stations. It may be they are located in different directions so you may need an omni-directional antenna. I'm lucky that most of the stations are located southeast of me so we just have to point the antenna one way. Also, see what color antenna they recommend the different colors indicate the range of the antenna. Print out the listing and take it with you when you antenna shop.

 

[DVCBELLE]

My local cable company is not bright enough to figure out how to run cable into my kitchen. I've tried 2 separate times with 2 different installers and it's "no go" (in spite of what the CSR says!!!) Anyhow, I hooded up my small kitchen TV with a converter box and am very pleased.
I get all the local stations including SEVERAL PBS affiliates. I'm in N. Ky and get the Cincinnati, Dayton, Oh PBS stations and the Lexington, Ky KET stations. Each of the PBS affiliates have several stations so all in all I have 22 receivable stations on my converter box TV. Heck, it works for me

Do you have an antenna that goes into the digital convertor box? I live in West Chester and have an antenna but I don't pick up that many channels! I can't get channel 9 and have to watch Dayton channels - I might have to buy a digital convertor box!

 

[kathie859]

Do you have an antenna that goes into the digital convertor box? I live in West Chester and have an antenna but I don't pick up that many channels! I can't get channel 9 and have to watch Dayton channels - I might have to buy a digital convertor box!

The antenna is a flat looking thingie...there were several available but I asked the guy at Best Buy for a recommendation and (surprisingly!) he did not pick the most expensive. My DS set it up for me Can you tell I'm not a techie

 

[Chuck S]

As others have said, it depends upon your location. I got a DTV converter, and while the local stations were on their low power antennas, before the the actual switch over date, it worked OK. I still had cable, but was considering disconnecting from it after the big switch. After the switch, when they went to their "full power" broadcasting, I get NOTHING over the air, and neither does anyone else nearby. I had to keep cable.

I get the least expensive cable package, and the mid range cable internet for about $50 per month. I have Vonage for my phone, so I have phone, basic cable, and internet for about $80 per month, including taxes. AT&T, for home phone service, used to be about $60 per month, just for the phone. So overall, not a bad deal.

 

[mistysue]

You will not have to keep adjusting or moving the antenna. I actually suggest that when you get a digital antenna you get one that doesn't have rabbit ears or make your own, if anybody around your house is into that kind of stuff. They make ones that are rectangular shaped that they say are for indoor/outdoor use. We just taped ours to the wall behind the TV.
Two important things we learned from experiments:

1)Walk around the room with it and figure out where you get the most channels. One side of the room may get 3 channels and the other 28. (my living room is that way)

2) For some reason, the length of the cable cord you use to connect the antenna to the TV makes a difference. Bigger is sometimes much better. My brother (total tech geek) found that he got over a dozen more channels by getting an extra 25 feet of cable and just setting it in a coil behind the tv. The best result was actually when he took it and ran it around the edge of the room on the floor. This got even better when he ran the cable around the room and then hung his antenna (which he made with duct tape and some paperclips and metal scraps- he found out how to do it online) on the window.

By using spare things he had around the house I think he said he gets over 30 channels. Using the expensive version they sell in stores and following the instructions he got about a dozen.

I have never had cable. Please take time to visit places like Hulu.com while you are considering your options, it makes the decision much easier.

 

[VroomVroomLightning]

Check your tv first because you may not even need the converter box. A lot of the newer tvs are already digital and all you need is the antenna to get a signal! Just the basic ones, but they work!

 

[thunderbug548]

We are cutting back/out cable. The cable people have convinced DH that if we don't keep at least a small package we will have NO tv. Is that true? What are our alternatives?

Our current tv is not HDTV but it is pretty good sized and gets a clear picture. It is relatively new (about one year old).

We got rid of cable back in November (I miss it!) but dh hooked up our TVs to the outdoor antenna that came with the house. I don't know if your computer has this or not but we're also using Windows Media Center as a DVR. I can still record all my shows (on local channels) and FF thru the commercials plus if you have a TV tuner in your PC you can watch tv right on your PC.

 

[seashoreCM]

Most likely if you got any UHF stations clearly before you subscribed to cable TV, you should be able to get stations over the air now.

The majority of TV stations nowadays broadcast over the air on UHF channels 14 through 51 even though their names and station ID's may still have numbers between 2 and 13 in them.

When using rabbit ears, first try with the ears pushed in (shortened) all the way and/or use the UHF antenna terminals or pigtails.

On average, an antenna for today's (digital) broadcasts has to be "better than" the antenna you used to use in order to get the same number of stations that don't break up every now and then into checkerboard patterns and blue screens. This may mean having to get an outdoor antenna to replace your rabbit ears. This may mean having a separate antenna for each TV set instead of using splitters.

All of the really sensitive antennas need to be aimed (narrow end towards) where the stations are and will need rotators if stations are located in different directions from your home.

If you know for a fact that some of the local stations still use channels 2-13, you will need a VHF-UHF antenna as opposed to a plain UHF antenna. There is no difference between a "digital TV" antenna and an "ordinary TV" antenna.

Ask your neighbors to find out who does not have cable and how well they get stations over the air, before buying a converter box.

Having an ATSC tuner means the TV does not need a converter box between it and the antenna. The TV does not need an ATSC tuner to be connected to a cable system.

History of cable TV: Many rural areas did not have any good TV reception so some entrepreneur or company put up a master antenna on a nearby hill and installed a big booster amplifier and wired the town and people subscribed to the service.