<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;color:#0b5394">One option available to some cord cutters is going back to the antenna.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;color:#0b5394"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;color:#0b5394">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:</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;color:#0b5394"><ul><li>The off-air signal is not compressed so it can be noticeably sharper than cable or satellite
</li><li>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</li></ul><div>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 <a href="http://tvfool.com" target="_blank">tvfool.com</a>. <br></div><div><br></div><div>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 ... <a href="https://www.howtogeek.com/71315/the-how-to-geek-guide-to-getting-started-with-usenet/" target="_blank">there are other paths</a>. 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.<br></div><div><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div>
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">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.</span></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>For <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Antenna-Indoor-Amplified-Digital-Miles-Support/dp/B0BWDSXVLG/ref=sr_1_20" target="_blank">the expense of a simple loop</a> -- 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. <br></div><div><br></div><div>- Evan<br></div><div><br></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 12:23 AM Karen Lewellen via talk <<a href="mailto:talk@gtalug.org" target="_blank">talk@gtalug.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">Hi,<br>
If I could get the digital box, without having to use a modem, I would <br>
likely be fine, because the digital box would tap into the existing <br>
blanket internet wireless wise would it not?<br>
In fact that was my landlord's idea adding an extra receiver to his <br>
account, for which I would pay the rental, as it is just on another floor.<br>
I am curious how the antenna idea works, I am above ground for the area <br>
where my television sits, so perhaps? what do I need?<br>
Oh boy does my television have optical outs..in spades<br>
The DVD player has an HDMI port, I imagined connecting the cable box to <br>
this, and since the set is connected to the player it would be enough.<br>
I still have my old Roger's digital cable box, the one they provided for <br>
older televisions as well.<br>
wish I had fewer trees, not only is satellite less complex, from bell there <br>
are channels automatically provided with audio description for the blind <br>
enabled..they do not provide this for Fibe.<br>
Kare<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On Wed, 29 Nov 2023, Lennart Sorensen wrote:<br>
<br>
> On Tue, Nov 28, 2023 at 08:09:47PM -0500, Karen Lewellen via talk wrote:<br>
>> Hi folks,<br>
>> before simply saying you avoid television, Part of what I do professionally<br>
>> means accessing a great deal, news channels and other things for example.<br>
>> And for me, the, I will just watch it on my computer is a nailed shut door.<br>
>> This entire property is Bell fibe saturated which while it might translate<br>
>> to one of their fibe TV boxes working for me, its almost December and I am<br>
>> no closer to my land line solution..even with photographs of the existing<br>
>> jacks.<br>
>> So,I am wondering if at all, it is still possible from anyone to simply find<br>
>> old fashioned cable box cable.<br>
>> I have all the rest of the equipment, and it all works..even my VCR.<br>
>> I am even wondering if, since the place is so saturated for wireless, if I<br>
>> got an older apple TV, third gen still had optical connectors, or a rocku, I<br>
>> could come up with something. not as good as regular cable, but I am<br>
>> grasping for ideas.<br>
>> thoughts?<br>
><br>
> Bell's Fibe service has only ever worked with their boxes. Rogers cable<br>
> has been moving to all digital over the last quite a few years, and<br>
> analog cable (that a VCR could directly tune) has been gone for a while,<br>
> with everything going digital. They even gave people free little boxes<br>
> for a while to connect to older TVs that could tune the basic digital<br>
> channels but I don't think they even do that anymore. I think everything<br>
> now involves a digital cable box. On top of that they have been moving<br>
> to IP based systems (Rogers Ignite) for a number of years and I doubt<br>
> they would install the legacy digital cable anymore for new accounts.<br>
> Definitely no analog cable left anymore.<br>
><br>
> Of course you can in theory receive over the air channels using an<br>
> attenna and an ATSC tuner, but if you are in a basement that seems<br>
> unlikely to work.<br>
><br>
> So unfortunately as far as I can see, the only things you can get these<br>
> days is Bell Fibe or Rogers Ignite, both of which require using a box<br>
> from the respective company and only outputs HDMI. VCRs won't do anything<br>
> with that, and older TVs won't either.<br>
><br>
> The streaming method might work, although if you were looking to get<br>
> access to local TV stations, I have no idea if any of the streaming<br>
> services offer that.<br>
><br>
> As far as I can find, some of the Bell Fibe boxes have optical audio out.<br>
> The Rogers Ignite boxes do not appear to have it. Of course some TVs<br>
> also have optical audio out, so it might not have to be optical out on<br>
> the box you are receiving with, if the TV has that.<br>
><br>
> -- <br>
> Len Sorensen<br>
><br>
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</blockquote></div><br clear="all"><br><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div style="text-align:center"><div style="text-align:left">Evan Leibovitch, <span style="font-size:12.8px">Toronto Canada</span></div><div style="text-align:left"><span style="font-size:12.8px">@evanleibovitch / </span><span style="font-size:12.8px">@el56</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>