When will i be able to get the rest of my locals in HD?

[aznxrice]

I just bought an HDTV today and the only thing that is keeping me from signing up for Dish HD is that I can only get CBS. I was wondering when we will be able to get the rest of our locals in HD?

*off topic*
but if anyone can help me get OTA please PM me.
according to antennaweb the stations are located around 23-26 miles away from me...would i be able to use an indoor antenna?
Thanks!

 

[BrettTRay]

What DMA are you located in? If you are waiting on getting your HD locals off of satellite, I wouldn't hold my breath. It will be years before the top 40 will be up in my opinion. If you are only 23-26 miles from the towers then you should be able to get the OTA digital channels with a indoor antenna. I would first try something like the silver sensor from sears. If it don't work then just return it. You may have to mount a larger antenna in your attic with a preamp. I don't have any experience with indoor antennas because I'm 60-70 miles from the stations I get OTA. I put up a rohn tower, high gain yagi's, preamps, rotor, RG11, and the whole nine yards because I like in a area with lots of mountains.

 

[Cyclone]

Unless you are in a very mountainous area, under 30 miles is pretty good. But indoor antennas can give mixed results. Some people have great results, others get very miserable results.

If you bite (and I recommend that you do), try to get a antenna in the attic or up on the roof if possible. A lot less issues that way.

 

[ralfyguy]

The cheapest way to get your HD locals is to buy an old vOom receiver, that is still ACTIVATED and has the latest software with the ability to SCAN for channels, AND has the smart card, AND the remote with it off of eBay. I got one for $40 and use 2 WINEGARD SENSAR AMPLIFIED antennas to receive about 20 local channels from up to 70-80 mls away. It works great because it has component, composite, DVI, s-video, digital coax and digital optical outputs. It has 4 different resolutions to choose from. Crystal clear HD picture, even on regular TV's. So up to 30 mls away in your case is no problem. They still sell them on eBay, but be careful to check for ALL the checkpoints I wrote in capitalized letters. If you're interested please DO NOT consider one of those that are NEW IN THE BOX! They will NOT work!
I never regretted to get one. If you get the right one, you'll love it.

 

[aznxrice]

I am located in Dallas, Tx...the tv i bought also has built-in hd

 

[ralfyguy]

Then the Wnegard Sensar is still a good antenna. A room antenna might work, but not sure with about 30 mls distance.

 

[aznxrice]

can i use an old antenna i have laying around before i go out and get an HD antenna?

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I believe you could also get NBC HD in Dallas, as I think that is one of the NBC O&O's. But I don't think you would qualify for ABC HD, even if Dish carried it.

Forget what the link is to see all of them.

A lot of people get their locals via antenna from further than 25 miles away. A common indoor might struggle, a better indoor placed up high, like in an attic, should be able to get them.

 

[aznxrice]

i want to try an indoor antenna before i put a outdoor one up.
anyone have any suggestions on an indoor one or at site where i can get more info on them?

 

[BFG]

Zenith Silver Sensor - Get it at Sears if you want a quick local place you can buy it and return it later if needed

 

[aznxrice]

Do you guys think i will be able to pick up the signals using an indoor antenna? they are about 23-26 miles away..
my zip code is 75218

 

[Tom Bombadil]

If you try a Silver Sensor from that range, you will need to put an amplifier on it. I could only pull in 4 of my 9 local channels with a SS w/o an amp. With an amp, I can get all 9. I'm 10-12 miles away from the two local towers.

 

[aznxrice]

Which amp would u recommend? cuz on antennaweb.org it says i need a small multidirectional antenna(yellow)

yellow - vhf WFAA-DT 8.1 ABC DALLAS TX 217° 24.0 9
yellow - uhf KXAS-DT 5.1 NBC FORT WORTH TX 216° 23.7 41
yellow - uhf KXTX-DT 40.1 TEL DALLAS TX 216° 23.7 40
yellow - uhf KTVT-DT 11.1 CBS FORT WORTH TX 214° 23.5 19
yellow - uhf KTXA-DT 21.1 UPN FORT WORTH TX 211° 25.6 18
yellow - uhf KSTR-DT 49.1 UNI IRVING TX 211° 25.6 48
yellow - uhf KPXD-DT 68.1 i ARLINGTON TX 217° 23.6 42
yellow - uhf KUVN-DT 23.1 UNI GARLAND TX 217° 23.5 24
yellow - uhf KDTN-DT 2.1 DAY DENTON TX 211° 25.6 43
yellow - uhf KERA-DT 13.1 PBS DALLAS TX 214° 23.5 14
yellow - uhf KFWD-DT 52.1 IND FORT WORTH TX 216° 23.5 51
yellow - uhf KDAF-DT 33.1 WB DALLAS TX 211° 25.6 32
yellow - uhf KDFW-DT 4.1 FOX DALLAS TX 217° 24.0 35
lt green - uhf KDFI-DT 27.1 IND DALLAS TX 211° 25.6 36
red - uhf KDTX-DT 58.1 TBN DALLAS TX 217° 23.5 45
red - uhf KMPX-DT 30.1 DAY DECATUR TX 273° 13.0 30

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Several options on antennas, including:

http://www.antennasdirect.com/DB4_HDTV_antenna.html

Smaller brother might work:
http://www.antennasdirect.com/DB2_Indoor_antenna.html

For the Zenith Silver Sensor, Zenith sells a small amp, the ZEN-AA1, for around $12.

Or a Winegard SS-3000, which has a built-in amp. Likewise for a Radio Shack 15-1880.

 

[Jordan420]

can i use an old antenna i have laying around before i go out and get an HD antenna?

There is no such thing as an "HD antenna"

Jump over to the local info & reception at AVS & find the thread for your area & see what other people near you are using to receive OTA HD

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=45

There is a thread for just about every TV market

 

[Tom in TX]

Do you guys think i will be able to pick up the signals using an indoor antenna? they are about 23-26 miles away..
my zip code is 75218

I live in Coppell, about 30 miles from towers. I can get 4,5,11,13,27,33 with an indoor antenna. Channel 8 is VHF, so you would need an antenna for both UHF/VHF. Look up www.radioshack.com . They have an amplified indoor antenna for both. I also have a Siver Sensor, but my results were better with the one from Radio Shack. It was $49.
Tom in TX

 

[meh130]

Antennaweb does not calculate for a small directional antenna. All of your channels except for KMPX Ch 30 are within 6 degrees of each other, excellent for a directional antenna. And all but KDTX Ch 45 and KMPX Ch 30 should be receivable with a small directional antenna. KDFI Ch 36 will require a pre-amp.

If you don't need KDFI, KDTX, and KMPX, go for a small directional antenna like a Zenith Silver Sensor. If you need KDFI, but not KDTX and KMPX, go for a small directional antenna like a Zenith Silver Sensor along with a pre-amp. If you need everything, consider an external multidirectional antenna with a pre-amp.

If you go with an indoor small directional antenna, consider putting it in the attic. This will help reception considerably.

FYI, I have a Silver Sensor in my attic, and picks up a station Antennaweb says requires a medium directional (green) antenna just fine.

 

[aznxrice]

how do i get the cable to run from my attic to the tv in the living room?

 

[meh130]

I did not catch that one of your stations is VHF. The Zenith won't pick that up. You should consider the Radio Shack UHF/VHF models.

I would start with one of their UHF/VHF indoor amplified models, and if reception is poor with it inside, consider moving it to the attic.

As for cabling, I ran a coaxial cable through my living room wall, by first running a PVC conduit down the inside of the wall. This only works if there are no cross beams in the wall. I replaced my cable outlet faceplate with a dual outlet.

If you end up needing to pull cable through your walls, use a stud finder to determine if there are cross beams. If this is the case, you will need to run cables through an existing hole in the cross beam, alongside an existing wire. This requires a wiring fishrod rather than a wiring fishtape, and is a big pain to do.

This all assumes you have a conventional house without vaulted ceilings in your living room.

 

[SimpleSimon]

how do i get the cable to run from my attic to the tv in the living room?

Cables don't run, they fly.

I mean, c'mon, how can this question be answered.

You start by drilling holes, but if you don't know that, then you don't know how to put the holes in the right places, so you better call in a pro.