Local channel disputes

andy_horton

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Dec 28, 2010
901
158
Northwest Georgia
So glad to have OTA television!! I'm a cord cutter and not only can stream all my locals, but have a backup antenna in case of an internet outage or cable and satellite having disputes with certain companies!! Plus the picture is better looking!!
 
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Which service do you use to stream your locals?
I have limited basic with Comcast. All my locals can be streamed through my Xfinity TV app from my laptop through an HDMI cable to my tv. Looks really good considering!! I have a few channels I can't receive via antenna so I stream them. Could use the cable box they provided but it's not in HD where for some reason I have them in HD on the app. Not paying HD fee either. Weird
 
I have limited basic with Comcast. All my locals can be streamed through my Xfinity TV app from my laptop through an HDMI cable to my tv. Looks really good considering!! I have a few channels I can't receive via antenna so I stream them. Could use the cable box they provided but it's not in HD where for some reason I have them in HD on the app. Not paying HD fee either. Weird

The down side is that you can't stream the locals outside of your "local" network at home. We have Comcast at work, and I can "See" all the channels I subscribe to if I log in remotely through Xfinity, but only certain ones are eligible for streaming. That would be your usual ones of ESPN, TBS, etc.

They have to provide you with that little "hockey puck" cable box in SD because they scramble all their channels now, even the locals. No more clear-QAM with Comcast. In other words, you couldn't just run a coax directly to your TV and view the clear-QAM channels with Comcast anymore. Some cable companies still do (ie Suddenlink)
 
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The down side is that you can't stream the locals outside of your "local" network at home. We have Comcast at work, and I can "See" all the channels I subscribe to if I log in remotely through Xfinity, but only certain ones are eligible for streaming. That would be your usual ones of ESPN, TBS, etc.

They have to provide you with that little "hockey puck" cable box in SD because they scramble all their channels now, even the locals. No more clear-QAM with Comcast. In other words, you couldn't just run a coax directly to your TV and view the clear-QAM channels with Comcast anymore. Some cable companies still do (ie Suddenlink)
If you plug a coax connection directly into the tv now you get a test pattern. Really sucks you can't run just coax anymore. Years ago my grandmother was bedridden and I split the main line and ran a line to her room. That was 2003. She was so happy!! My grandfather always watched baseball and news and she wanted her soaps. It made me feel like a million dollars to help her out!!
 
If you plug a coax connection directly into the tv now you get a test pattern. Really sucks you can't run just coax anymore. Years ago my grandmother was bedridden and I split the main line and ran a line to her room. That was 2003. She was so happy!! My grandfather always watched baseball and news and she wanted her soaps. It made me feel like a million dollars to help her out!!

Yeah, it's nice when it works. Had Suddenlink for awhile back in 2015 and they still do clear-QAM (or did). Only needed a cable box if you wanted HD.
 
Yeah, it's nice when it works. Had Suddenlink for awhile back in 2015 and they still do clear-QAM (or did). Only needed a cable box if you wanted HD.
Back in the day, when I worked for them, we had traps for channels like HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime. I used to hook my friends up!! And my grandparents. I caught my grandfather watching a HBO boxing match!! He also liked Cinemax. When there was an audit, I'd have to retrap the line temporarily until the audit was over and then I'd take the traps back off. In North Georgia you still see traps on the line but they are useless now that it's a rebuild digital system
 
I'm a cord cutter and not only can stream all my locals, but have a backup antenna in case of an internet outage or cable and satellite having disputes with certain companies!!

I have limited basic with Comcast.
Subscribing to cable television at any level is certainly not cord cutting. Without that subscription, you wouldn't be able to stream your OTA programming as you've claimed. Adding the note that Comcast brings you channels that you can't get OTA pretty much invalidates your claims altogether.
 
Subscribing to cable television at any level is certainly not cord cutting. Without that subscription, you wouldn't be able to stream your OTA programming as you've claimed. Adding the note that Comcast brings you channels that you can't get OTA pretty much invalidates your claims altogether.
Also, if you are using a cable modem, that's not exactly cutting the cord either. Just sayin'.
 
Cord cutting is primarily about how you get your television programming. That cable is most consumers best option for broadband means that coax isn't all bad.

I agree. You have to have internet access in order to stream, which is what most cord cutters do, except for the strictly OTA ones.
 
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Subscribing to cable television at any level is certainly not cord cutting. Without that subscription, you wouldn't be able to stream your OTA programming as you've claimed. Adding the note that Comcast brings you channels that you can't get OTA pretty much invalidates your claims altogether.
Unfortunately, I can't put up an outdoor antenna. It's in the lease. The broadcast stations I want that can't receive are WDSI 61.1,.2 and WFLI .1, .2, .3. Unfortunately, when the signals went digital, you can't get them here in Lafayette Georgia. So cable is the ONLY option for me. And it's limited basic. It's not like I pay sports fees and equipment fees. As far as internet goes, Comcast is the ONLY option in this area. This area is depressed and rural. We are 35-40 miles from the broadcast signals. So I see myself as a cord cutter the best way I can do it with limited basic, Sling, and Netflix. You take what you can get. Nuff said
 
Unfortunately, I can't put up an outdoor antenna. It's in the lease. The broadcast stations I want that can't receive are WDSI 61.1,.2 and WFLI .1, .2, .3. Unfortunately, when the signals went digital, you can't get them here in Lafayette Georgia. So cable is the ONLY option for me. And it's limited basic. It's not like I pay sports fees and equipment fees. As far as internet goes, Comcast is the ONLY option in this area. This area is depressed and rural. We are 35-40 miles from the broadcast signals. So I see myself as a cord cutter the best way I can do it with limited basic, Sling, and Netflix. You take what you can get. Nuff said

Depends. If you have a balcony or patio they legally can't tell you "no". It just has to be completely within the "area of exclusive use" (ie not hanging over your balcony or out into the common grass area). You just might need to get a flat coax to run through a window/doorway. Check the sticked thread in this forum, http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/thr...hoa-cant-stop-you-fcc-otard-reference.232368/ I've had to deal with cranky leasing offices a couple of times, but I've got a dish and an antenna on my balcony now with no issues.

Of course, you still need to pick the right kind of antenna. if you put your exact coordinates into tvfool.com you can get an idea.
 
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You will find lots of threads on this. In the end you can put up an antenna on an area that can only be accessed by you or your guests but landlords and HOas sometimes act quite vindictively if you are too aggressive. I suggest a conversation forst.
 
Well if you are looking for an outdoor TV antennas FCC seggest to use à uhf :vhf TV antenna use the tvfool report to helpe you to pick what antennas is best for your state
tvfool.com shows you what is projected for a given address, not just your state.

While Andy may have been a pirate and a rebel back in the day, it is important to "choose your battles" when getting righteous with landlords and property managers.
 
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tvfool.com shows you what is projected for a given address, not just your state.

While Andy may have been a pirate and a rebel back in the day, it is important to "choose your battles" when getting righteous with landlords and property managers.

This is SO true. I've lived in a couple of apartment communities where the landlord(s) / management companies were VERY hostile toward satellite dishes. They also had absolutely no knowledge of the rules about where antennas and dishes could be placed legally. Sometimes, educating them worked, sometimes, it just served to make the relationship tense.
 
It's a duplex like house, and only one story with no attic to place an antenna in. The front porch faces the wrong direction and the back porch is only big enough for 2 plastic chairs, with a metal roof overhang. I get the big 4 from an indoor antenna well enough, which is what I watch for most of the news and primetime shows anyway. But PBS, MyNet, CW, THIS, METV, and RTN, I can't receive even with a preamp and clearstream antenna placed on a small pole outside near the porch. Believe me, I have spent 2 years trying to perfect the process. Went to tvfool.com many times an it says those channels require an outdoor antenna with preamp. The ones I can get indoors actually say attic mount or better. Luckily, those stations are on hi-vhf so amplified rabbit ears to 2 TV's is sufficient with Sling TV and the limited basic comes with internet, 75mbps down, locals (not in HD that's why I have indoor antenna and can stream them in HD) HBO, Cinemax, Showtime to one tv for 75.43 for 2 years taxes included. So I'm still saving over 40.00 per month from cable.
 
Andy look what i do for my bedroom tv. You have to find the sweet spot in an apartment.
 

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Back in the day, when I worked for them, we had traps for channels like HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime. I used to hook my friends up!! And my grandparents. I caught my grandfather watching a HBO boxing match!! He also liked Cinemax. When there was an audit, I'd have to retrap the line temporarily until the audit was over and then I'd take the traps back off. In North Georgia you still see traps on the line but they are useless now that it's a rebuild digital system

Funny enough is late 2015 my company (Atlantic Broadband) finally turned off analog for Extended Basic (Nat Geo, Discovery, etc). We had analog and digital copies of those channels since Jan 2014. ABC, NBC, etc still both analog and digital. Due to some analog they are legally required to provide local's ClearQAM.

Anyway on to my point, they still keep leaving traps on people's lines that were to block 23-75 if you had Locals only with or without Internet or block 2-75 if only Internet.

They basically have themselves in a bind to add more HDs for local customers or more Internet channels for Internet Customers due to not going around and removing all these traps.
 
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