Antennas are (or can be) a large part of cord cutting.
And, judging by what I’ve observed with some of my friends & acquaintances, a lot of people get caught up in the snakeoil of “HD Antenna” and other horsesh&T regarding OTA reception.
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I agree sound’s like it would be a great topic to have. Have to bring it up to the power’s that be and see . I vote yeah how about everyone else?
OTA is a big part of what I watch and yes there are many scammers out there promoting super antennas etc… My aunt has an antenna put in her attick by my Grandfather back in the 80’s and she has always been a cord cutter…errrr well never had cable and gets over 100 channels.
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Not as a category, it doesnt need it. However if someone wants to post a ota topic in streaming category i will remove the timer and have it open.
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Regardless whether OTA gets its own category or goes under Streaming, that’s a great suggestion. We get 90 channels OTA. It’s an under-covered area of cord cutting, probably because the basic hardware is so simple. The topic can cover more than just the antenna hardware. There’s casting from a single antenna to multiple TVs; DVRs and recording from the antenna, etc.
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And for those looking for their closest broadcast antenna locations…
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Streaming or hardware as it’s dealing with a physical antenna?
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Draaco,
I’m thinking category.
As been pointed out, there’s a lot to cover, including reception, antenna principles, setting up DVR, suggested boxes, computer cards etc, etc.
And for those who are gifted with a great eye for color and resolution, there’s a big difference between OTA 720 and OTT 720, not to mention rendering motion with sports.
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Its under cord cutting, both hardware and streaming, perfect for this category.
As i said, if someone wants to make a detailed topic i will be more than willing to keep it updated, remove the timer. Look at troys and my pinned topics, lots of info layed out nice, it can always be edited with more info.
I personally dont think it needs a category as it falls under streaming and streaming hardware. Its the same thing. I will also redirect and funnel all conversion to the ota topic as well. But you can also ask troy and ask him if you want. You never know he may add it. Im not saying no just dont think its needed as of yet. I absolutely appreciate all suggestions tho. Please always ask.
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Absolutely. That’s how my cord cutting journey began over 10 years ago. I had a 1st generation Samsung 3D smart tv. ( pre-tizen) and the app selection sucked. I was basically just using an indoor antenna and the YouTube app on my tv. Also videos downloaded onto a hard drive .
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I vote yes.
And in that topic, or here right now, here’s an issue:
Grounding for attic rabbit ears. Needed, yes or no, how?
.
I have rabbit ears in my attic for the best distance and strength reception.
The short thin cable from the rabbit ears connects to a 25’ coax which goes direct to my HD HomeRun.
The HDHR recently stopped getting ANY channels.
Logs sent to SiliconDust said hardware failure, they are sending a replacement, it’s still under warranty.
I suspect an induction surge came thru via the COAX LINE, NOT the power line.
The internet is FULL of opinions on grounding for attic antennas, yes and no.
I say there is no easy way to ground that coax easily.
Opinions please…
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I haven’t seen rabbit ears since 1982. I would swap those ears out for the Mohu Sail -D antenna
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Pirate,
there is nothing intrinsically wrong with rabbit ears. If Flt was previously getting all the channels he wanted & it worked with his hardware before the surge, then an amplified, overpriced, fancy, sleak-looking antenna is not likely to improve his performance enough to justify the expense. And if the broadcast towers are close to his location, even a high quality amplifier that squelches noise will actually make his signal worse.
Couple of thoughts Flt,
With your rabbit ears, are they the real old-school with a flat 2-conductor ribbon wire?
Or is it one with RG-5 coax dangling from the plastic base?
Is there a place that you can place a grounding block near a properly grounded electric outlet? (Some attics do have some outlets.) If you do, you can run a solid copper wire to the third hole or the longer slot…you’d want to verify that the polarity of the outlet is not reversed.
My $14 Onn rabbit ears catch all possible 32 local channels, including one from 39 miles away.
Height is the key.
IMHO Paying $139 or any inflated price is a waste.
Now maybe if you live 30+ miles away from the closest it might be an option,
but I think HEIGHT is the key, and place antenna at the nearest roof plane to proper direction.
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There changed everything and removed timer. Enjoy
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Height is key with any antenna . I wouldn’t call it an inflated price or a waste as it gets me 82 channels and no monthly TV bill. It comes with mounting equipment to either put on your roof or in your attic . Well worth it’s price. Good luck with your rabbit ears .
Pete
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Thank you Dracoo 
Rabbit ears are the one with the thin RG coax and F-Connector, NOT the flat wire.
There is a power strip of some sort, in the attic, not far away, for the garage door opener.
Hmmm, I’ll have to get up there and look at it.
I see some power strips include a COAX in/out, I could route the coax thru one of those… IF they actually work
I’m not sure tho how an “induction surge”, the electricity, gets out to the ground rod with ANY power strip.
…
Yes, all my stations are within 20 miles except the one from about 40 miles, no amplifier.
…
See, this would be a good TOPIC.
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Most power strips don’t go to ground unless properly wired with a 3 prong plug. “surge” bars just have a sensitive “circuit breaker” that will trip the moment a surge occurs to limit any potential damage to devices.
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I actually went for the whole OTA antennas at first , I even had three outside pointed in different directions and boosters etc. I was able to get
85 channels , all local OTA’s and lots of junk channels ,
I now have seen so many free m3u’s that I don’t even use outdoor antennas anymore , if you dig deep enough there are so many that are free, I now combine them in my IPTV app and sort them together, so I say its a yes for M3U’s and EPG’s with free XML’s
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