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

Wed Nov 29 13:13:27 EST 2023

Don,
Can you be more specific about the digital TV side?
My Toshiba is quite fancy,  however I have a number of converter units 
that may bridge the gap.
have wondered if I connected an antenna to a spot for one on the set if that 
would do the trick.
or if I reconnected one of the existing digital converter units I have, 
got them from both radio shack  and the source years back, if that might 
do the trick..
Going to check my TV manual, as well.

Thanks!

On Wed, 29 Nov 2023, Don Tai via talk wrote:

> I've been using Over the Air OTA TV for 10 years now, and have been happy
> with the free service. The digital signals are uncompressed, providing
> visibly higher quality images than Rogers (My Mum's service). I receive 17
> digital channels, Southern Ontario and Buffalo, despite my neighbour's
> large evergreen. OTA works well during clear, rain and snow storms, but may
> go out during foggy weather.
>
> You will need a digital TV (slim width one), and an antenna. The antenna
> can be as simple as a coat hanger, but a better one will get you more
> stations. Simply attach the antenna to your TV, place the antenna near a
> window and rescan your TV with the antenna option and presto, free
> digital uncompressed TV stations will magically appear. There is no cost.
> If you dislike it you just rescan your TV to cable.
>
> tvfool.com will generally tell you in which direction to point your
> antenna, though downtown there may be signal bouncing off nearby buildings,
> so you might need to experiment. A free TV guide is available at
> https://tvlistings.zap2it.com/ just put in your postal code, antenna,
> "Local Over the Air Broadcast" and a schedule appears.
>
>
> On Wed, 29 Nov 2023 at 04:07, Evan Leibovitch via talk <talk at gtalug.org>
> 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
>>>>
>>> ---
>>> Post to this mailing list talk at gtalug.org
>>> Unsubscribe from this mailing list
>>> https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada
>> @evanleibovitch / @el56
>> ---
>> Post to this mailing list talk at gtalug.org
>> Unsubscribe from this mailing list
>> https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
>>
>