Cutting the cable... going to antenna.

My wife and I have decided to cut of our Comcast cable forthree reasons. First, we can use that money towards other things that are more important. Secondly, we would only really miss two channels... Disney and ESPN. Both of these are available online for the most part. Lastly, Comcast has got in the habit of taking channels away from us while increasing our bill. The last time I lost History, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, and CMT. These are not channels we watched all the time but every so often would. Then our bill went up about $10/month. This was the final straw.

With that being said, I'm currently researching HD antennas to use. We live in a somewhat rural area... about 50+ miles from any stations. My TV picks up about 15 channels on it's own such as the major networks and a few others. So, with the antenna added to that I should be able to pick up my local channels in HD and a few others that I don't get now. I will also be hooking my iMac to the TV for watching online selections.

I'd like to know if any of you guys/gals have already done this, and what reccomendations you can make.

Thanks!

My wife and I have decided to cut of our Comcast cable forthree reasons. First, we can use that money towards other things that are more important. Secondly, we would only really miss two channels... Disney and ESPN. Both of these are available online for the most part. Lastly, Comcast has got in the habit of taking channels away from us while increasing our bill. The last time I lost History, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, and CMT. These are not channels we watched all the time but every so often would. Then our bill went up about $10/month. This was the final straw.

With that being said, I'm currently researching HD antennas to use. We live in a somewhat rural area... about 50+ miles from any stations. My TV picks up about 15 channels on it's own such as the major networks and a few others. So, with the antenna added to that I should be able to pick up my local channels in HD and a few others that I don't get now. I will also be hooking my iMac to the TV for watching online selections.

I'd like to know if any of you guys/gals have already done this, and what reccomendations you can make.

Thanks!

jshaas

I don't think there's any difference between a regular antenna and an hd antenna, it's all marketing jargon.

My mom and dad have had this for a couple years now (since about a month before the switch from analog to digital and it has done a much better job compared to the old one they had.
http://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Direct-ClearStream4-HDTV-Antenna/dp/B001BRXW74/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1317269275&sr=8-7

That said, they also replaced the coax with new coax and it made it even better. They live at least 50 miles away and this brought in at least 7 to 9 channels that they never got before it went digital.

With all that said, recently, I got them one of the wireless/streaming TV boxes - the ROKU 2 XS ($99 model) and they are enjoying quite the selection of programs from netflix, hulu plus, crackle and several other types of internet-based content. I would recommend the roku (even the $59 model) to anyone who has access to a wireless internet connection fast enough to stream something like youtube.

Comcast is probably the biggest pile of ____ in the world.

Comcast is probably the biggest pile of ____ in the world.

dxmcat

[url http://www.gamespot.com/users/Bozanimal/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=m-100-24962731]This is an old guide[/url] I wrote that could use some updating, but it should prove helpful.

The type of antenna you use will depend heavily on your location. At 50 miles out you're going to want one of two types of antennae: The "waffle" style you selected, or a Yagi. Yagi benefits from very high gain, and a long range if you go for a long boom. The tradeoff is that the Yagi is highly directional, so if you have channels coming from multiple directions you may run into issues picking up those stations outside 145 - 180 degrees outside its range.

Note that these antennas are the same as you would have used for traditional analog reception, because HDTV is broadcast in the UHF frequency band, so you do NOT need a VHF-friendly antenna (or shouldn't).

Make sure you've got all the accessories you'll need, too, including ground wire, RG-6 cable, an antenna mount for your home, connectors for the RG-6 wire, a proper tool to cut and prep the wire and attach it to the connector, any tools you need to run the wire into your house (we plugged our RG-6 cable into the connection the cable provider had previously used, since we didn't need it anymore!), and a ladder.

That's all I have the energy for at the moment, but I know a lot about antennas. Come back and ask any questions you might have.

Happy gaming,

Boz

Thanks Boz! I should have the proper cable in place due to my house being wired already. At least, I think that's right. I was wondering though... Can I use the cable box on the outside of my house where the cable comes in from the ground, and hook my antenna to it so that I can use my antenna with multiple TV's?jshaas