HDTV/DTV reception

flynbw01 · 09-09-2002, 04:44 PM

Does anyone have much experience with antenna reception of HDTV/DTV?? I've found the compass orientation on www.antennaweb.org and all of the stations in my area are code red. My question is, would a small indoor/outdoor antenna work (like the terk TV55) or do I really need something like the terk HDTV60 on the roof? I have a very large maple tree in my back yard right in the middle of my compass orientation, and I am in a low area (a creek runs across the very back of my property). Does anyone know if there is a way to test my signal before going through the trouble of getting the HDTV/DTV tuner? Is there something I can attach to an antenna to let me know signal strength? Or do I just have to buy everything and return it if it doesn't work for me? Also, will regular TV antenna's work, or do they have to specify that they receive HDTV/DTV signals??

mrpergo · 09-10-2002, 09:20 AM

Go to the avsforum and post your question.
There is a area for antenna reception.
I read that the turks were no good,but you can go read and be the judge.There is a lot of good info there.

flynbw01 · 09-10-2002, 02:06 PM

What/where is the avsforum? I don't use message boards much.

mrpergo · 09-10-2002, 03:26 PM

http://www.avsforum.com

look under local hdtv and reception

HBombToo · 09-10-2002, 05:06 PM

If a regular TV Antenna works in your house now for you and the stations you watch are HDTV then you should be OK, if so the external antennas will give you more gain for better demodulation.

Are you buying a box that can do over the air and direct tv? I think that is the way to go... IMO

liv4fam · 09-12-2002, 09:10 PM

go stand in the driveway with it during a lightning storm

HBombToo · 09-12-2002, 10:50 PM

What the eff is this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm being attacked again? OK here Goes.

Liv4fam, I run a network that generates more cash in a day than you mentally can count even with a computer. I would not allow you to splice a radio shack cable for me you ass.

You have no Idea how to handle yourself... and at 28 I was 1 hellava lot more mature than you show. I guess thats why you open boxes and I'm where I am but at this rate we will just call you LIVE4BOXCUTTING!

Stop the nonsense NOW! Please.

HBomb

RuSsMaN · 09-12-2002, 10:56 PM

Trolls will be trolls Hbomb, don't sweat the small stuff, and trust me, this 'guy' is small stuff....

Cheers,
Russ

HBombToo · 09-12-2002, 11:02 PM

Ya Russ your Right. I guess if we take his BOXCUTTERS away he won't even have friends in the middle east!

HBombToo · 09-12-2002, 11:04 PM

OH BTW... I wonder if LIVE$BOXCUTTERS even understands this RIP?

mantis · 09-12-2002, 11:45 PM

Guys if you want to insult him..thats fine.
But leave the job thing out of it ...you attack that, you attack me.

Don't question the money thing HBombtoo.

I'm not defending what he's done in here but you need to find a better way of insulting him.

mantis · 09-12-2002, 11:54 PM

I can however answer your questions concerning HDTV.

Getting the signal is like gettiing dss,Its direct line of sight.If you have a big tree in the way,you might not get the signal.

Going on the roof with a field strength meter can check the signal if you have enough to proceed with the Antenna Install.

No you can't use a indoor out door,It's alot of work for a gamble....I have been only able to receive the signal that way once out of 50 times.......they just aren't worth the hassle.

A roof antenna is the way to go and get it up as high as possible, maybe consider triming that tree of yours.

If any advice I can give you, this is the one you want to take........stay away from the terk tv antenna's,the powered ones like the tv55 and such.We had so many problems it's just not worth it at all.
Go to Radioshack and buy a nice off air antenna uhf/vhf with enough miles radious to cover the distance to the towers where you live.A rotor is also a great Idea........these things are cheap.

You know it might be in your best intrest to get an antenna guy out to your house to see if it is worth it and or will you be able to grap good signal from all the local channels.

flynbw01 · 09-13-2002, 01:05 PM

thanks for the suggestions mantis, I'm actually talking to a guy up the street who works at Hi-Fi buys, and said he wasn't able to pick up OTA signals, he said he could never completely lock on and they would come in and out. So I might see where my compass orientation for Satellite would be. Thanks

HBombToo · 09-13-2002, 03:00 PM

Mantis, no insult to you intended and your right I did overreact.
***********I apologize and Stand Corrected.*************

It has been a really tough week at work and I'm on edge but why me here is the question. I have never ripped on any1 in this forum even liv4fam, and this is his second whack at me.

As to your advice on HDTV antennas, the foliage effects on uWave less than 750Mhz is very minimal. Even Cellular @ 850 is very tolerant to clutter. uWave degradation buy foliage and clutter is severe @ 2Gig and gets worse as the freq goes up. You are correct about the field strenght meter but it is a little overkill and a spectrum analyzer is more of what your looking for. The analyzer gives you a direct dBm reading which then could be applied to your link budget. The field strenght meter measures W/cm^^2 and is a pain to convert into a uasble link budget.

I was only pointing out that an external antenna is not needed for HDTV specifically and if there is reception the only need is the HDTV decoder. For additional margin an outdoor antenna could be used but now the discussion moves to the point of diminishing returns.

Best Regards
HBomb

09-09-2002, 04:44 PM	#1
flynbw01 Polkie Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Atlanta Posts: 8	HDTV/DTV reception Does anyone have much experience with antenna reception of HDTV/DTV?? I've found the compass orientation on www.antennaweb.org and all of the stations in my area are code red. My question is, would a small indoor/outdoor antenna work (like the terk TV55) or do I really need something like the terk HDTV60 on the roof? I have a very large maple tree in my back yard right in the middle of my compass orientation, and I am in a low area (a creek runs across the very back of my property). Does anyone know if there is a way to test my signal before going through the trouble of getting the HDTV/DTV tuner? Is there something I can attach to an antenna to let me know signal strength? Or do I just have to buy everything and return it if it doesn't work for me? Also, will regular TV antenna's work, or do they have to specify that they receive HDTV/DTV signals??

09-10-2002, 05:06 PM	#5
HBombToo Polk Master Member Sales Rating: (1) Join Date: May 2002 Location: Funny Farm"no doubt there" Posts: 5,321	If a regular TV Antenna works in your house now for you and the stations you watch are HDTV then you should be OK, if so the external antennas will give you more gain for better demodulation. Are you buying a box that can do over the air and direct tv? I think that is the way to go... IMO __________________ *WAREMTAE*

09-12-2002, 09:10 PM	#6
liv4fam Polkateer Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: PA Posts: 311	go stand in the driveway with it during a lightning storm __________________ I sense much dishonesty in you...............Sense much fear in you. Lead you down the dark path they will.

09-12-2002, 10:56 PM	#8
RuSsMaN Hardcore Member Sales Rating: (27) Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: North Texas Posts: 16,025	Trolls will be trolls Hbomb, don't sweat the small stuff, and trust me, this 'guy' is small stuff.... Cheers, Russ __________________ If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough - when you get knocked down, you gotta get back up - Roger Alan Wade

09-12-2002, 11:45 PM	#11
mantis Polk Guru Member Sales Rating: (10) Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Pa Posts: 9,552	Guys if you want to insult him..thats fine. But leave the job thing out of it ...you attack that, you attack me. Don't question the money thing HBombtoo. I'm not defending what he's done in here but you need to find a better way of insulting him. __________________ Dan My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.

09-10-2002, 09:20 AM	#2
mrpergo Polkie Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Hilton, NY Posts: 35	Go to the avsforum and post your question. There is a area for antenna reception. I read that the turks were no good,but you can go read and be the judge.There is a lot of good info there.

09-10-2002, 02:06 PM	#3
flynbw01 Polkie Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Atlanta Posts: 8	What/where is the avsforum? I don't use message boards much.

09-10-2002, 03:26 PM	#4
mrpergo Polkie Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Hilton, NY Posts: 35	http://www.avsforum.com look under local hdtv and reception

09-12-2002, 10:50 PM	#7
HBombToo Polk Master Member Sales Rating: (1) Join Date: May 2002 Location: Funny Farm"no doubt there" Posts: 5,321	What the eff is this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm being attacked again? OK here Goes. Liv4fam, I run a network that generates more cash in a day than you mentally can count even with a computer. I would not allow you to splice a radio shack cable for me you ass. You have no Idea how to handle yourself... and at 28 I was 1 hellava lot more mature than you show. I guess thats why you open boxes and I'm where I am but at this rate we will just call you LIVE4BOXCUTTING! Stop the nonsense NOW! Please. HBomb

09-12-2002, 11:02 PM	#9
HBombToo Polk Master Member Sales Rating: (1) Join Date: May 2002 Location: Funny Farm"no doubt there" Posts: 5,321	Ya Russ your Right. I guess if we take his BOXCUTTERS away he won't even have friends in the middle east!

09-12-2002, 11:04 PM	#10
HBombToo Polk Master Member Sales Rating: (1) Join Date: May 2002 Location: Funny Farm"no doubt there" Posts: 5,321	OH BTW... I wonder if LIVE$BOXCUTTERS even understands this RIP?

09-12-2002, 11:54 PM	#12
mantis Polk Guru Member Sales Rating: (10) Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Pa Posts: 9,552	I can however answer your questions concerning HDTV. Getting the signal is like gettiing dss,Its direct line of sight.If you have a big tree in the way,you might not get the signal. Going on the roof with a field strength meter can check the signal if you have enough to proceed with the Antenna Install. No you can't use a indoor out door,It's alot of work for a gamble....I have been only able to receive the signal that way once out of 50 times.......they just aren't worth the hassle. A roof antenna is the way to go and get it up as high as possible, maybe consider triming that tree of yours. If any advice I can give you, this is the one you want to take........stay away from the terk tv antenna's,the powered ones like the tv55 and such.We had so many problems it's just not worth it at all. Go to Radioshack and buy a nice off air antenna uhf/vhf with enough miles radious to cover the distance to the towers where you live.A rotor is also a great Idea........these things are cheap. You know it might be in your best intrest to get an antenna guy out to your house to see if it is worth it and or will you be able to grap good signal from all the local channels.

09-13-2002, 01:05 PM	#13
flynbw01 Polkie Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Atlanta Posts: 8	thanks for the suggestions mantis, I'm actually talking to a guy up the street who works at Hi-Fi buys, and said he wasn't able to pick up OTA signals, he said he could never completely lock on and they would come in and out. So I might see where my compass orientation for Satellite would be. Thanks

09-13-2002, 03:00 PM	#14
HBombToo Polk Master Member Sales Rating: (1) Join Date: May 2002 Location: Funny Farm"no doubt there" Posts: 5,321	Mantis, no insult to you intended and your right I did overreact. *********I apologize and Stand Corrected.*********** It has been a really tough week at work and I'm on edge but why me here is the question. I have never ripped on any1 in this forum even liv4fam, and this is his second whack at me. As to your advice on HDTV antennas, the foliage effects on uWave less than 750Mhz is very minimal. Even Cellular @ 850 is very tolerant to clutter. uWave degradation buy foliage and clutter is severe @ 2Gig and gets worse as the freq goes up. You are correct about the field strenght meter but it is a little overkill and a spectrum analyzer is more of what your looking for. The analyzer gives you a direct dBm reading which then could be applied to your link budget. The field strenght meter measures W/cm^^2 and is a pain to convert into a uasble link budget. I was only pointing out that an external antenna is not needed for HDTV specifically and if there is reception the only need is the HDTV decoder. For additional margin an outdoor antenna could be used but now the discussion moves to the point of diminishing returns. Best Regards HBomb

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