I bought the 10 dollar RCA OTA antenna at best buy yesterday because it had some good reviews, but it didnt pick up everything well, I think the 39 dollar amplified antenna might be better. Im going to swap the 10 dollar one today for it and see.
I bought the 10 dollar RCA OTA antenna at best buy yesterday because it had some good reviews, but it didnt pick up everything well, I think the 39 dollar amplified antenna might be better. Im going to swap the 10 dollar one today for it and see.
Here ya go:
http://www.amazon.com/Terk-Amplified-High-Definition-Antenna-Reception/dp/B0007MXZB2
You really can't beat the Terk HDTVa. This is the one I'm using and after a whole lot of research I ended up settling on this one. Couldn't be happier. I think I bought mine at Best Buy thinking I would return it if it didn't get good reception but I couldn't be more pleased. It's amazing to me that more people aren't doing this. I think people don't realize they're all digital and all the major networks plus more are in HD. Not only is it HD, but it is better quality than you can get from cable or satellite.
http://uhfhdtvantenna.blogspot.com/
I did this one myself. Cost was parts laying around the house. It is a great antenna. I live way out in the country and this picks up all but one channel.
I even found a free plugin that strips out the commercials for me.
And how would this make your internet usage go up? You do realize this has nothing at all to do with your internet, right? It comes over the air. You don't need internet at all to receive free digital HD with an antenna.
What's the plug in? I don't archive my EyeTV recordings or export them for iTunes, but I might in the near future for a possible bedroom ATV setup.
It's called ETV ComSkip:
http://code.google.com/p/etv-comskip/
It's not always completely accurate but the cool thing is when watching the recording using Eyetv, the marked commercials are skipped automatically and if it starts a bit too late you can just do a quick rewind. However if you export to iTunes and watch from there, the commercials are not included at all in the encoding so if it's off a bit, there's nothing you can do about it. The iPhone and iPad access ignore the marked commercials altogether so you have to fast forward through them if you don't want to see them.
Here ya go:
http://www.amazon.com/Terk-Amplified-High-Definition-Antenna-Reception/dp/B0007MXZB2
You really can't beat the Terk HDTVa. This is the one I'm using and after a whole lot of research I ended up settling on this one. Couldn't be happier. I think I bought mine at Best Buy thinking I would return it if it didn't get good reception but I couldn't be more pleased. It's amazing to me that more people aren't doing this. I think people don't realize they're all digital and all the major networks plus more are in HD. Not only is it HD, but it is better quality than you can get from cable or satellite.
http://uhfhdtvantenna.blogspot.com/
I did this one myself. Cost was parts laying around the house. It is a great antenna. I live way out in the country and this picks up all but one channel.
I've tried 2 Terks and another brand that I can't remember from Amazon and none have held one channel. I might try the RCA one. It got expensive sending things back to Amazon. I just think I live in a lead building and there may be no hope for me.
I would be there, but i need my cable service for my internet access. You have to have their digital service in order to get internet from them.
I would be there, but i need my cable service for my internet access. You have to have their digital service in order to get internet from them.
This thread sounds like something I just did. What I was going to miss most was the DVR available from pay television and it sounds like others here are thinking the same thing. If you haven't heard of it, take a look at the DTVPAL DVR. It can be had from amazon and Crutchfield. TIVO may have a more elegant guide, but unlike TIVO, it's free. I picked one up last Monday and so far, I like it.
The DTVPAL DVR has two HD tuners in it and can record two different OTA channels at the same time. Between it and my Apple TV, I'm happy.
Who are you with?
Most companies - including Comcast - want to generate revenue any way they can and losing a customer because they won't purchase a whole package of services is shortsighted. In my case, I do get a discount for packaging service, but I can still get just broadband if I want to.
Well here is my exact setup now that everything is done. . . .
Before Apple TV:
Dish Network - $50/month (with DVR)
Netflix - 9$/month
------------------
$708/year
After Apple TV:
1) I downgraded my Dish Network to local channels only so I can have quality local channels instead of crappy DTV stuff. Plus I get to keep my DVR to record shows. Downgraded to $17/month, You can either do this or downgrade to Comcast Basic Cable (local only + Discovery channel)
2) Netflix - 9$/month works great on the new Apple TV
------------------------------------------------------
$396/year
I saved 708-396 = $312 yearly.
Thanks very much for posting these examples, everyone, especially the original poster! This thread inspired me to try something similar. Here's what I did:
Before:
Had Dish Network "Top 200" package for $55/month + $6/month DVR service + $6/month "service plan" (for tech support, I guess) + $11/month Netflix 1-Disc with Bluray = $79 / month = $948/year .
Now:
Dropped down to Dish Network "Welcome" package for $15/month + $6/month DVR service (dropped the "service plan") + $11/month 1-Disc with Bluray = $ 32 / month = $384/year.
This "Welcome" package is NOT advertised at all on the Dish Network website or anywhere. I only found out about it by seeing this thread and looking around on other message forums on the web. Apparently this welcome package is a method Dish network uses to avoid losing customers: people have been cutting back expenses due to the rough economic times, and this ultra-lightweight package allows them to stay on as customers. Anyway, here's the list of channels that are on this package:
AMC
Bloomberg
Boomerang
Comedy Central
CMT
Discovery Kids
Food Network
Hallmark
HGTV
The History Channel
Home Shopping Network
MSNBC
MTV2
Oxygen
QVC
Shop NBC
TBS
TLC
WE
Weather Channel
+Local channels (varies by locality, but includes all major network affiliates)
Wow! Thanks for the heads up about the "welcome package"; this fits my family's needs almost perfectly, except for HBO's True Blood. Do you ask for the "welcome package" by name, or do you have to give some sort of sob story and/or threaten to cancel entirely and hope the customer service rep mentions it?