[GTALUG] ot: sort of, is it really impossible to get real cable anymore?

[Karen Lewellen]

Hi Evan,
granted as said, the watching over  my DOS computer, or my flip phone is a 
firm  no.
While I do have personal and professional interest in Boston and Detroit, 
that you are getting Buffalo might make this a worth while experiment, even 
if it just gets me through the Holidays..I am quite isolated here, and all 
the  mayhem around  how i reach the world is weighing quite heavily.
Can you give me a specific loop model, and a from where?
There is a co-worker with cSI who has been a divine gift, putting together 
my DOS machine and working with my spare talking scanners.
If I get this swiftly, I can discover if it is workable, there is a window 
with a ledge right out behind my set.  In fact I have a garden shelf it 
can be attached to, so ling as  it does not have to run through the window 
itself.
Kare



On Wed, 29 Nov 2023, Evan Leibovitch wrote:

> One option available to some cord cutters is going back to the antenna.
>
> I have one on my rooftop and it does quite a good job of picking up Toronto
> and Buffalo channels, which I find preferable to the Robellus options for
> two reasons:
>
>   - The off-air signal is not compressed so it can be noticeably sharper
>   than cable or satellite
>   - The cable/dish options usually get their US feeds from Detroit or
>   Boston or some such; Buffalo local news and weather will be more relevant
>   to me
>
> This isn't just limited to people with their own houses. A good small UHF
> antenna can also work well from an apartment building, especially if you're
> south-facing. I once lived on an upper floor in a St. Jamestown tower
> (Wellesley/Parliament) and my reception was outstanding with just a simple
> loop. A really good website for determining what you can get at your
> location is tvfool.com.
>
> I use these channels mainly for local news, sports and weather. Most actual
> programming can be found on the web, either through a subscription to a
> service like Crave or ... there are other paths
> <https://www.howtogeek.com/71315/the-how-to-geek-guide-to-getting-started-with-usenet/>.
> I also have a tuner called an HDHomerun that takes antenna input and
> provides it through your home network (ie, accessible to your PCs and
> phones) so you don't even need a coax-input TV.
>
> Of course you can in theory receive over the air channels using an antenna
>> and an ATSC tuner, but if you are in a basement that seems unlikely to work.
>>
>
> For the expense of a simple loop
> <https://www.amazon.ca/Antenna-Indoor-Amplified-Digital-Miles-Support/dp/B0BWDSXVLG/ref=sr_1_20>
> -- some are available for under $25, and you can return it if it doesn't
> work -- if you're close enough to the CN Tower you might be surprised.
>
> - Evan
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 12:23 AM Karen Lewellen via talk <talk at gtalug.org>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>> If I could get the digital box, without having to use a modem, I would
>> likely  be fine, because the digital box would tap into the existing
>> blanket internet  wireless wise would it not?
>> In fact that was my landlord's idea adding an extra receiver to his
>> account, for which I would pay the rental, as it is just on another floor.
>> I am curious how the antenna idea works, I am above ground for the area
>> where   my television sits, so perhaps?  what do I need?
>> Oh  boy does my television have optical outs..in spades
>> The DVD player  has an HDMI port, I imagined connecting the cable box to
>> this, and since the set is connected to the  player it would be enough.
>> I still have my old Roger's  digital cable box, the one they provided for
>> older televisions as well.
>> wish I had fewer trees, not only is satellite less complex, from bell
>> there
>> are   channels automatically provided with audio description for the blind
>> enabled..they do not provide this for Fibe.
>> Kare
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, 29 Nov 2023, Lennart Sorensen wrote:
>>
>>> On Tue, Nov 28, 2023 at 08:09:47PM -0500, Karen Lewellen via talk wrote:
>>>> Hi folks,
>>>> before simply saying you avoid television, Part of what I do
>> professionally
>>>> means accessing  a great deal, news channels and other things for
>> example.
>>>> And for me, the, I will just watch it on my computer is a nailed shut
>> door.
>>>> This entire property is Bell fibe saturated which  while it might
>> translate
>>>> to one of their fibe TV boxes working for me, its almost December and I
>> am
>>>> no closer to my land line solution..even with photographs of the
>> existing
>>>> jacks.
>>>> So,I am wondering if at all, it is still possible from anyone to simply
>> find
>>>> old fashioned cable box cable.
>>>> I have all the rest of the equipment, and it all works..even my VCR.
>>>> I am even wondering if, since the place is so saturated for wireless,
>> if I
>>>> got an older apple TV, third gen still had optical connectors, or a
>> rocku, I
>>>> could come up with something. not as good as regular cable, but I am
>>>> grasping for ideas.
>>>> thoughts?
>>>
>>> Bell's Fibe service has only ever worked with their boxes.  Rogers cable
>>> has been moving to all digital over the last quite a few years, and
>>> analog cable (that a VCR could directly tune) has been gone for a while,
>>> with everything going digital.  They even gave people free little boxes
>>> for a while to connect to older TVs that could tune the basic digital
>>> channels but I don't think they even do that anymore.  I think everything
>>> now involves a digital cable box.  On top of that they have been moving
>>> to IP based systems (Rogers Ignite) for a number of years and I doubt
>>> they would install the legacy digital cable anymore for new accounts.
>>> Definitely no analog cable left anymore.
>>>
>>> Of course you can in theory receive over the air channels using an
>>> attenna and an ATSC tuner, but if you are in a basement that seems
>>> unlikely to work.
>>>
>>> So unfortunately as far as I can see, the only things you can get these
>>> days is Bell Fibe or Rogers Ignite, both of which require using a box
>>> from the respective company and only outputs HDMI.  VCRs won't do
>> anything
>>> with that, and older TVs won't either.
>>>
>>> The streaming method might work, although if you were looking to get
>>> access to local TV stations, I have no idea if any of the streaming
>>> services offer that.
>>>
>>> As far as I can find, some of the Bell Fibe boxes have optical audio out.
>>> The Rogers Ignite boxes do not appear to have it.  Of course some TVs
>>> also have optical audio out, so it might not have to be optical out on
>>> the box you are receiving with, if the TV has that.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Len Sorensen
>>>
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>
>
> -- 
> Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada
> @evanleibovitch / @el56
>