Will Rabbit Ears Work in TV?

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Old 02-18-2010, 09:47 PM
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Default Will Rabbit Ears Work in TV?

...even if you are not a rabbit. Can one receive "any" over the air channels on TV, in TV?
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Old 02-19-2010, 07:53 AM
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I thought you moved down here to get away from the snow.
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Old 02-19-2010, 08:38 AM
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I don't think you'll have much success. I have tried and only get a signal when I put them up in the attic, and even that is not good. I think to get any decent signal you would need a more sophisticated antenna (in the attic or outside on the roof), perhaps with an amplifier.
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Old 02-19-2010, 09:32 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BogeyBoy View Post
I don't think you'll have much success. I have tried and only get a signal when I put them up in the attic, and even that is not good. I think to get any decent signal you would need a more sophisticated antenna (in the attic or outside on the roof), perhaps with an amplifier.
When you tried it were you trying to pull in a digital signal or analog? I've had people tell me that with the digital converter they were able to get more and better reception than they did when the signal was analog. Just curious since I have a couple of digital converters sitting in my desk drawer.
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Old 02-19-2010, 10:21 AM
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We just went thru this last week in our rv-gave up Directv and went to the antenna on top of the rv.

We went to Radio Shack and bought a converter box ($60) and also an amplifier $40) in case our antenna was not amplified (it was). We hooked up the antenna to the converter box and tv and had enough tv to watch. Mostly local stations.

Radio Shack can most likely help with your question, but I think all tvs need a converter box if not hooked up to cable or satellite since the government change last year.
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Old 02-19-2010, 11:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Xavier View Post
When you tried it were you trying to pull in a digital signal or analog? I've had people tell me that with the digital converter they were able to get more and better reception than they did when the signal was analog. Just curious since I have a couple of digital converters sitting in my desk drawer.
Initially I tried to pull the digital signal with a digital TV. Then I tried with a converter and analog TV. (Only at ground level.) Same results, very limited reception and only by constantly adjusting the antenna.

BTW - I did go to Radio Shack and asked for their advice. The individual who assisted me said customers have had limited success with over-the-air reception since the switch to digital.
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Old 02-19-2010, 11:55 AM
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only if he's not deaf.......


sorry, I couldn't help myself
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Old 02-19-2010, 12:20 PM
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Default Digital reception

I haven't tried it in TV but at our home up north we use a converter box and old analog TV.

Digital made a huge difference. Many stations came in. All local and PBS came in. With the new digital most of the locals have two or more stations. It seems it either comes in clear or you get nothing. No more snow, it connects or nothing.

We are relatively close to stations up north so I don't know if over the air reception will work in TV. We have Dish in the villages but frankly we watch the networks most of the time. The rest of the programing is just too boring so I would love to get OTA reception in TV.
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Old 02-19-2010, 05:17 PM
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OK. Thanks. We are moving in increments - going back and forth between TV and IN every once in a while but it isn't worthwhile to hook up Comcast quite yet until we are there all the time. I was hoping we could get something OTA but that appears unliekly.
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Old 02-19-2010, 05:50 PM
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we bought a new LG flatscreen LCD and when we cycled through to set up the channels, we get quite a few over the air, maybe a dozen or more - enough for our time here so far. good luck
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Old 02-19-2010, 07:11 PM
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Default TV should be free

If you can golf in TV for free why would you pay big bucks for TV (television)
Of course you can't use rabbit ears, Stations are as much as 60 miles away and in all directions. When we moved to TV in Oct 2009 we had cable for one month paid by previous owner. The quality of the picture was so bad I thought we went back in time 30 years. I ordered an antenna from http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/1073325.html. 2 days later we were back in business. 4 major networks plus PBS and 12 other channels all in HD.
Not only HD but most OTA are broadcast in 1080p while almost all Satellite and cable are not and even HD is extra money. For some reason I am not allowed to insert an image or file so I can't show you a picture of our antenna in TV. PM me and I will send you a picture of our house in TV with antenna.
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Old 02-19-2010, 07:19 PM
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It is my understanding that Comcast does have a vacation or seasonal program at a much lower rate if you are here enough to warrant that. Otherwise when my husband were only visiting the house for a week or two at a time, we set up a DVD. Not incredibly satisfying but better than total silence when you just want to kick it for an hour or two.
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Old 02-19-2010, 08:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Virginians View Post
If you can golf in TV for free why would you pay big bucks for TV (television)
Of course you can't use rabbit ears, Stations are as much as 60 miles away and in all directions. When we moved to TV in Oct 2009 we had cable for one month paid by previous owner. The quality of the picture was so bad I thought we went back in time 30 years. I ordered an antenna from http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/1073325.html. 2 days later we were back in business. 4 major networks plus PBS and 12 other channels all in HD.
Not only HD but most OTA are broadcast in 1080p while almost all Satellite and cable are not and even HD is extra money. For some reason I am not allowed to insert an image or file so I can't show you a picture of our antenna in TV. PM me and I will send you a picture of our house in TV with antenna.
Thanks, So it it OK to use this in TV? It should be because it looks the same size as the direct tv dish that is all over my neighborhood even mounted on a pipe in backyards. Can you feed more than one TV with a spilter and still get a good picture? Thanks
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Old 02-19-2010, 09:43 PM
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I use a splitter, one to DVR and one to television tuner. This allows me to record two shows and watch a third such as Sunday morning at 9:00 AM. Works fine. Yes the antenna is actually smaller than a dish. The law allows any antenna smaller than 3' in diameter. Dish network sells a DVR for OTA that requires no monthly fee (DTV Pal). One of the networks sends a signal to provide tv guide information. It is not as reliable as T-VO but it is free.
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Old 02-20-2010, 06:22 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Virginians View Post
....Not only HD but most OTA are broadcast in 1080p while almost all Satellite and cable are not......
Not true, and in fact, quite the opposite:

In the United States, 1080p over the air broadcasts still do not exist as of 2010; all major networks use either 720p60 or 1080i60 encoded with MPEG-2. Satellite service though has many channels that utilize the 1080p/24-30 format.
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