Is it any good?
I tried the hd antenna... It was surprisingly similar to a regular antenna in that it didn't work. Although, I didn't bother covering it with foil. Maybe I missed out ;)
Tvs always used to have rabbit ears and the programs were free. You had to watch commercials, but that was ok because the commercials were often better than the programs. Then cable came along and you had to pay to be connected, but the programs still had commercials and they were not entertaining any more. So I bought a VCR and watched a few tapes. That was in the early years of "copy protection", which meant the tapes just didn't work. I eventually gave the tv to a church for their rummage sale, and I don't remember what happened to the VCR. I haven't seen anything that I would go buy a tv to watch.
You can make your own antenna? So you don't need the fishbone antenna?
"Free" digital "over-the-air" TV is what the local television broadcasters are serving up these days. When the FCC mandated conversion to digital they also required that each TV station continue to provide at least one video/audio service at no cost to the viewer, just like before. But they are now allowed to charge for additional video services if they so choose (although no TV operators are doing that yet so far as I know). They're even permitted to transmit non-video/audio information on a free or subscription basis if they want to; after all, it's all "data" now.
And there's no such thing as a "digital" antenna. That's all advertising hype. It's all analog when it gets to the RF layer. (US ATSC "digital" TV is really just a special amplitude-modulated signal, as in AM, comprised of eight vestigial sidebands, or 8VSB; it's complicated, most people in the business don't understand it at the modulated RF level . . . ) All things being equal If you have, or had a decent antenna the worked with the NTSC analog signal it will work just fine with the digital signal.
But all things are not equal for a variety of reasons. Most stations were operating in one of the two VHF bands for NTSC analog operation (channels 2 through 6 are just below the FM band and are considered to be "low band" VHF, channels 7 through 13 are considered to be the "high-band" VHF channels with channel 7 starts at 86-megaHertz above channel 6; a WHOLE bunch of other services between the two bands. And then there's the UHF band that starts at 470-mHz. Many of those VHF stations were assigned a "digital" channel in the UHF band to commence digital operation, with the two signals being maintained during and overlap period. Some of those stations could transmit from the same tower as their analog signal and some had to transmit the new carrier with digital modulation from a different site. And the three different bands have different propagation behavior through the atmosphere, even different channels in the same band can behave differently.
Which brings us to those cheap "free digital" antennas you see advertised on some TV programs and the back pages of some magazines . . . they're crap. A total rip-off. They're basically a piece of "twinlead" fashioned into a dipole antenna. They're poor enough for the UHF signals, barely usable for high-band VHF and totally useless for the low-band VHF stations (although there are currently VERY few ATSC TV stations operating in that low-band VHF portion of the spectrum). Even the new crop of (semi) legitimate antennas out there only give the high-band V's a courtesy nod and mostly ignore the low band stuff altogether, designed more for the UHF band.
And if you're in the Phoenix market (as I seem to remember from some of your earlier posts) those differences between low-band VHF, high-band VHF and UHF affects your reception. You have no less than three TV stations operating in the high-band VHF spectrum at the moment: KAET, KSAZ and KPNX. (Channel numbers no longer have any meaning so far as station spectrum placement; since digital operations commenced they're now just "branding" for the respective stations.) There's also an application on file with the Commission for a new station in that band and two construction permits for low-band operations although they're for 5-watt stations, low power stuff; and appear to be sports related.
So if you're serious about picking up all the free "off-air" stuff you'll probably need to get a "decent" antenna and install it on the outside of your home or pointed through a window, and aimed at the transmitter sites of interest, depending on how far you are from those sites. (There's Rules in effect at the Federal level that override any local regulations or even homeowner association rules banning such antennas, but check anyhow in case you need to prepare for a fight.) Fortunately they're not terribly expensive, under $100, sometimes under $50, unless you really need a lot of gain in the antenna because you're a fair distance from the transmitter site and are high enough above average terrain to overcome "earth bulge" between you and the transmitter site. (And don't believe that "pulls in stations 100-miles away" crap printed on the box of the much more expensive antenna, that's more marketing hype too).
There's a couple of WEB sites to help with that direction and distance to the transmitter site search. https://www.antennasdirect.com/transmitter-locator.html does it by zip code and can be off by a lot at at both ends, but it's a good start. There's also http://www.rabbitears.info/ which has a LOT of good information on the subject.
There! More useless information about TV in the USA that any reasonable person could ever want. But if you're unreasonable like me post back with additional questions on broadcasting (even your current efforts to receive "off the air" ) and I'll be happy to share what I know.
Good luck!
I use this one and get about 25 channels. Totally free.
https://www.amazon.com/1byone-Amplified-HDTV-Antenna-Performance/dp...
I just got Sling TV (sling.com) too. It's $25/month and has all of the sports channels. I'll cancel it in January after football season is over. I don't care about all the cable channels that come with it. If you like cable but don't want to pay the price, Sling TV is the answer. No cable wire either. Check it out. AND, if you don't want all of the different ESPN channels, it's just $20 per month. You do have to have broadband which you obviously do. You can watch on your TV, your computer, or your smart phone.
Stepper I didn't say the antenna was free, I meant the service is free, unlike COX who charges you for a box.
S&P
That was the most amazing answer ever. But, can I get more channels if I buy one of these instead of paying a company like COX television services here in Phoenix. Can I just buy one of these things for 19.95 and plug it in and get lots of channels? I have hardly any now that COX went digital. I have about 6 channels if I'm lucky.
I can deal with this Thrifty. Thank you. I will check it out. Way cheaper than COX. I just need a few more channels. All I get is local news and 60's re-runs. Very depressing, that era. Thank you for saving my life once more.
Don't waste your time. Just watch free streams of channels on the internet.
When digital TV was first announced many years ago, I bought an antenna and converter box. You could request and get a "credit" from the guvment for buying the converter box. Radio Shack had stacks of them sitting out. It worked really good for a while, but that was before the official switch. Then the day they eliminated the "old airwaves" and switched to only digital "air waves" it stopped working. I get a few channels, but I can basically only pick up CBS with any consistency. If there is even the slightest breeze or rainstorm, it barely works.
I'm convinced the broadcasters only put in the minimum of power and technology required by the government.
So I just sit and watch Netflix or YouTube.
Good tip. I'm going to look into that. I can get sling through my Roku box.
Antennas pick up digital signals too.
Ever used a cell phone?
I have a HD antenna so I can get PBS ABC, NBC and a few other channels for free. I only watch the news and some of the great Documentaries on PBS (and of course sesame street And I got the Olympics perfect!!
The reception is better than when I paid for cable, I love it. I live in a big city, if you don't you might not get clear channels. I got that white square antenna about $45, you can move around to get the best reception. I have heard that the rabbit ears are just as good.
I absolutely love not paying for TV any more, and who wants to sit in front of the TV all the time anyway. There are so many things in life I want to do like write a book and exercise more. I don't miss cable.
Yes and if you have a TV with a browser you can download the Sling Player.....also to your phone and ipad (I know you have every imaginable gadget). :)
They will give you a free Roku 2 if you prepay for three months. I took them up on that.
Broadcasters were obligated to replicate their old NTSC analog coverage area with their new ATSC digital coverage so I doubt that any are transmitting with less power than they legally can.
Have you tried doing a channel re-scan on that converter box? You won't be able to pick up any stations that "flash-cut" their digital signals back to their old analog channels when NTSC sunset until you do a re-scan. Nor will you be able to receive any channels that may have changed their PID information in their transmitted signals until after you do that re-scan.
