HDTV help

[Dooby]

So I bought an HDTV with a built in tuner. I also bought the cheapest antenna I could. I hooked it up and can't get a hi def signal for WFAA (Channel 8 or 8.1 or 8.2 whatever). Obviously, I'd blame my cheap antenna, but here's the deal-every other channel comes in crystal clear with a signal strength in the mid-80s. I even looked at the tower map and the WFAA tower is right next to all the others.

Any help would be appreciated.

[jthig32]

Buddy of mine has an OTA receiver, and he could only get the higher channels (33, 21 etc) with it. He went and bough a directional antenna and mounted it on his chimeny and now gets all channes at full reception.

[AnMan21]

i just bought an HDTV but can only get the analog (antenna) reception for HD - digital is slow to get to the area apparently. anyway, my tv has two inputs 1) cable, 2) antenna. so i'm ticked when i hear i have to buy an antenna to get the reception and the cowboys are on monday night (i just moved and cable is not set up yet), so i get the bright idea to plug cable wire into the antenna input and hold the pin with my thumb on the other end. i get a little reception, but have to hold it. then i'm like, if cable wire works, what if i screw the other end to the wall outlet and use all the wire behind the wall to increase reception?!?. came in so clear it's stupid. i can't believe how good the reception is on the HD through the airwaves.....you might give it a shot at least. won't hurt, and will only take you 5 minutes...

what tv d'you get?

[Drbio]

How many SMU Ponies does it take to connect an antennae?

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

[Dooby]

Originally posted by: AnMan21
i just bought an HDTV but can only get the analog (antenna) reception for HD - digital is slow to get to the area apparently. anyway, my tv has two inputs 1) cable, 2) antenna. so i'm ticked when i hear i have to buy an antenna to get the reception and the cowboys are on monday night (i just moved and cable is not set up yet), so i get the bright idea to plug cable wire into the antenna input and hold the pin with my thumb on the other end. i get a little reception, but have to hold it. then i'm like, if cable wire works, what if i screw the other end to the wall outlet and use all the wire behind the wall to increase reception?!?. came in so clear it's stupid. i can't believe how good the reception is on the HD through the airwaves.....you might give it a shot at least. won't hurt, and will only take you 5 minutes...

what tv d'you get?

I'll give that a shot. I just can't figure out how I get every channel perfectly but that one and, of course, it is the one with MNF, Alias and Lost. Very odd.

I bought a 42" Sony WEGA LCD projection (biggest that would fit in the cabinet).

[dude1394]

Originally posted by: AnMan21
i just bought an HDTV but can only get the analog (antenna) reception for HD - digital is slow to get to the area apparently. anyway, my tv has two inputs 1) cable, 2) antenna. so i'm ticked when i hear i have to buy an antenna to get the reception and the cowboys are on monday night (i just moved and cable is not set up yet), so i get the bright idea to plug cable wire into the antenna input and hold the pin with my thumb on the other end. i get a little reception, but have to hold it. then i'm like, if cable wire works, what if i screw the other end to the wall outlet and use all the wire behind the wall to increase reception?!?. came in so clear it's stupid. i can't believe how good the reception is on the HD through the airwaves.....you might give it a shot at least. won't hurt, and will only take you 5 minutes...

what tv d'you get?

Interesting...I'm assuming you hooked into the ground wire of the outlet?

About 3 years ago I had two antennaes installed. One in the attic (that had been put there years ago to catch over the air cowboy games) and then another I mounted on a mast. At first the one of the mast was really directional, but now it's pretty solid.

[AnMan21]

Interesting...I'm assuming you hooked into the ground wire of the outlet?

About 3 years ago I had two antennaes installed. One in the attic (that had been put there years ago to catch over the air cowboy games) and then another I mounted on a mast. At first the one of the mast was really directional, but now it's pretty solid.

i'm honestly not entirely sure how it's working. i live in an apartment, so it's all pre-wired to a single wall unit. our apartment balcony doesn't have a clear view of the SW, so we are going through a dish installed on the roof of the complex. it could be that it's using that as an antenna (which could make sense).

Doobs, d'you figure it out?

i just got the samsung 42" DLP - it is pretty much awesome....perfect size for the room. i'm sold on the DLP technology.

[dude1394]

congrats on the samsung 42" DLP, nice box. I saw some prototype models at thomson last year. About 18" deep, really nice..

Does this samsung have an integrated tuner? I'm thinking hard about upgrading. I got one of the first RCA HDTVs that (if you can believe it) is a tube at 38". I'm jonesing for a bigger one.

[AnMan21]

it's only around 13" deep actually - it's freakin' skinny compared to the Wega i now have sitting in my closet. digital cable ready tuner is built in....the apartment complex is in the process of updating the digital system, so it'll be until the end of the year before i can experience the likes of ESPN and such in HD. until then i'm stuck with the basic 5 over the antenna .

i really like the DLP technology - takes a few seconds for the bulb to warm up, but once it does the picture looks clean, and is viewable from all eye-level angles. a buddy of mine had a 50" plasma and the picture was a bit cleaner than mine, but in my opinion not worth the extra $3K....add that to the fact that it blew in less than a year and i'm more than satisfied with the purchase.

[dude1394]

Talking to the folks who do the DLP technology they are stressing the longevity of DLP over plasma and price/performance. They can't compete with color of a new TV in a showroom.

Main one is a potential for burning the screen and for the gasses in the plasma to degrade. One thing I read was something like the gasses having a life of 60,000 hours and subsequently a half-life of 30,000 hours (at half-life half the brightness would be available). With a dlp bulb quoted at 80,000 hours or something this sounds a little like market-speak.

However they are correct that the DLP bulb can be replaced (usually) for ~ 200 bucks. When I buy one, I'll check out if the bulb can be replaced easily. I don't think a user can do it, but it needs to be done in the house. Possibly some sort of deal where they guarantee 24hour service or something might be interesting.

I have a bud with the huge Samsung one (60"???) and he had a super-bowl party planned and ooops....Bulb went out. He couldn't get a replacement and had to move the party. I'm not sure if he purchased another one or not, but hopefully with more dlps, there will be a lot more bulbs available.

[AnMan21]

that's pretty much the same thing i was reading when doing my research. the bulb cannot be replaced by the user (which i thought was a flaw), but at best buy you can purchase the 4-year service agreement for $400 and they'll come to you for any and all repairs. they stressed ASAP, but that means different things to different businesses i've generally found.

i've also read that with the change of the bulb, the picture is "like new" again increasing the life to 20 years or so, whereas the rear proj and plasma have about half that, with a decrease in picture quality. i guess i'll find out (hopefully in just under 4 years).

[dude1394]

I'm sure that with a new bulb the picture IS "like new". Since the bulb is what provides the brightness. The mirrors never get less reflective.