Old Dish

[John D]

Hi, I have two Dish Satellite Dishes on my roof that I don't use anymore ....can I get an HDTV signal for basic channels from them....instead of going out and buying a UHF/VHF/HD Antenna? the are still wired troughout my house with no recievers attached to the cables....they are doing nothing....John D

 

[skynyrd]

Hi, I have two Dish Satellite Dishes on my roof that I don't use anymore ....can I get an HDTV signal for basic channels from them....instead of going out and buying a UHF/VHF/HD Antenna? the are still wired troughout my house with no recievers attached to the cables....they are doing nothing....John D

John,

If they are Dish Network, then about all they are good for is Dish Network. You may be able to get some free channels from them (I think NASA is free) with a FTA reciever on the dish sats, but that setup wouldn't be worth investing in. You could get a bigger dish (31 inches or higher) and a FTA box, and have a ton of channels/feeds for free- with some in HD - for more info, check out the free to air section here.

But, it sounds like you want OTA reception.. It would be cool if you could use the satellite dish to get OTA reception, but I don't think the signals would be able to pass through the LNB. The best bet is to find a UHF/VHF antenna, depending on where youir channels are broadcasting in the spectrum. Check Craigslist or another simular site in your area, and see if you can find a old antenna. Theres still a lot of people getting rid of these, and it doesn't matter how old it is.. as UHF/VHF will get your HD fine..