HD rabbit ears?

[Chuck52]

We finally bit the bullet and bought a big ol HD LCD. We were going to immediately get Direct TV, but I want both the HD and the recorder, and Direct TV says there's a waiting list for the new HD reveiver/recorders. Since I'll probably get some kind of new customer discount, I don't want to complicate matters by having to worry about a later upgrade. So, since we can receive several local stations, including a few HD signals, I want to just use some kind of antenna for a while. Plain rabbit ears get us about 16 choices, with I think about 4 HD signals, but they are subject to the weak signal stuff, and we lose them usually just when something good is happening. I see at WallyWorld that there are "enhanced" rabbit vears available with varying levels of signal amplification. They range from about $20 to about $40. Will they be any better than the plain rabbit ears? I know I could invest in a much better antenna, but since I'm almost certain we will be getting satellite fairly soon, I really don't want to waste much more than $30 on an antenna.

Chuck

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Chuck,
Well if your gettin that many stations on regular rabbit ears Im surprised ! I tried using a couple different types of rabbit ears and all I could get was 3 or sometimes 4 stations and only 2 with average reception. Obviously alot of that has to do with how many stations are anywhere close to your area and we dont have many I ended up biting the bullet and getting Dish Direct TV. I got the cheapest package $19.99 per month for the first 10 months and then $29.95 thereafter. I also pay $4.99 per month to get all the local stations. They through in the STARZ movie package for three months no charge.

Getting back to your question, I wouldnt waste any more money and just wait until your HD receiver comes in IMO.

Good Luck !

 

[EarPlug]

Chuck,

There is no difference between a regular antenna and a HD version except the price! What is important is the quality of the antenna as it relates to being able to pick up the signal and get it to your set. What you are really doing is receiving a Digital Television broadcast signal. The content may or may not be in HD.

Check out AntennaWeb to find out about Digital broadcast stations in your area and what type of antenna you will need.

Jack

 

[George2615]

When I got Direct TV years ago, my dish package came with an antenna for local channels since they weren't offered through the dish service. The antenna looked like a flying saucer (9" diameter looked like two small curved woks, one flipped over) and had two wire curved whips about 3' long 180 degrees apart. It was fed with coax and went into an amp then to the TV. I mounted it on a 45' tower behind my house and was able to get 13 channels with it in my area, all crystal clear. Have since gone back to cable who offered a better deal but still use the little satellite antenna when cable and power goes out and I'm on generator. Mine pulls in stations up to about 75 miles away.

 

[Skerby]

Hi, I have like the cheapest rabbit ears i could find (rca from walmart i believe). I'm between philly and nyc and receive about 10 or so channels. I have dish network w/ the HD receiver and this has an integrated ATSC tuner. If the 10 locals are HD i receive in HD. analog hd is broadcast at 1080i. I DONT THINK AN HD ANTENNA would add ANYTHING (which others have said). If you recieve a digital signal its either there or it isn't. (i.e., pixelated or no picture at all). If you DON'T receive enough channels, then get a regular antenna and install in your attic. If i did that, i'd get all philly and nyc, and inbetween (i.e., spanish and public tv ). -Tim

 

[Chuck52]

Thanks for the replies. I went ahead and bought one of the rabbit ear things with a signal booster. It seems to do a bit better than the plain rabbit ears, but it is very directional. For some reason, topography I imagine, the very best signal I get is from the most distant station. It's a PBS station at least 50 miles from me. There are three stations in the town only about 10-20 miles away, and all together I get about 16 signals. I only get all the signals with a single setting of the rabbit ears on rare occasions. This morning, for instance, they were all coming in pretty well. The HD signals were great. I could see all of the pores on Matt Lauer's nose.

This is all rather academic since we will be getting one of the satellite services when we decide which to go with. I really wanted to get the HD receiver with DVR capability. Direct TV still says there is a waiting list for their new receiver/recorders, and literature I have gotten from Dish Network doesn't seem to offer that capability. When I was at WallyWorld getting my antenna, the electronics manager told me that the new Direct TV HD receiver/recorders were going to cost several hundred dollars, so I may not be going that route anyway. However, since seeing what a HD signal looks like on this 37" TV, I am certainly going to get HD on the satellite.

Chuck

 

[kossetx]

Jack, Thanks for that link. Maybe one day a'll be able to pick up more than 2.5 stations.

 

[BobRip]

Height makes a big difference for an antenna. The rule of thumb is that for every 10 feet your go up in elevation the signal strength doubles. We used to put antennas in the attics if they worked well there. If not we went higher, usually to the chimney. The attic ones lasted forever - no weather impact, the chinmey ones corrode from the fumes but are higher. George's 45 foot tower is really great.

 

[jrepp]

Chuck,

Dish Network just installed their latest and greatest HD-DVR for me. The model ViP622 DVR™ (upgrade cost $200). I also have an outside antenna for receiving our local chanels in HD. When shopping for an over the air HD antenna remember the signal is UHF.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I am certainly going to get HD on the satellite.

Chuck

Chuck I've got a couple of HDTVs and recently upgraded to the new DishNetwork HD package. I get 26 HD channels from Dish, plus I get 4 local channels in HD for a total of 30 HD channels. I did not subscribe to the upgraded HD movie channels because I don't subscribe to any movie channels.

When I compared the HD packages between Dish Network and DirecTV, the Dish Network package offered considerably more channels than DirecTV offered.

One of the very best shows to watch on HD is a SciFi show on the Universal HD channel on Sunday evenings called FIREFLY. Firefly on a big screen HDTV with a decent surround sound system can't be beat. WOW