Rabbit Ears on HDTVs

[Glen Livingstone]

Some HDTVs wearing old-fashioned rabbit ears

POSTED: 1:00 p.m. EDT, May 1, 2007

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- Buying an antenna for a high-definition television seems as out of place as using a rotary phone to make a call.

But some consumers are spending thousands of dollars on LCD or plasma TVs and hooking them up to $50 antennas that don't look much different from what grandpa had on top of his black-and-white picture tube.

They're not doing it for the nostalgia.

Local TV channels, broadcast in HD over-the-air, offer superior picture quality over the often-compressed signals sent by cable and satellite TV companies.

And the best part? Over-the-air HD is free.

"Eighty-year-old technology is being redesigned and rejiggered to deliver the best picture quality," said Richard Schneider, president of Antennas Direct. "It's an interesting irony."

A few years ago, Schneider started an assembly line in his garage and sold antennas out of the trunk of his car. Now his Eureka, Mo.-based company has seven employees and did $1.4 million in sales last year. He expects revenue to double in 2007.

"People thought I was nuts. They were laughing at me when I told them I was starting an antenna company," Schneider said.

Before cable and satellite existed, people relied on antennas to receive analog signals from local TV stations' broadcasting towers. Stations still send out analog signals, but most now transmit HD digital signals as well. (Congress has ordered broadcasters to shut off old-style analog TV broadcasts by February 17, 2009.)

Consumers who can get a digital signal from an antenna will get an excellent picture, said Steve Wilson, principal analyst for consumer electronics at ABI Research.

One major difference with a digital over-the-air signal is it doesn't get snowy and fuzzy like the old analog signal. Instead, the picture will turn into tiny blocks and go black.

"You either get it or you don't," said Dale Cripps, founder and co-publisher of HDTV Magazine. "Some people can receive it with rabbit ears, it depends where you are."

Schneider recommends indoor antennas only for customers within 25 miles of a station's broadcast tower. An outdoor antenna will grab a signal from up to 70 miles away as long as no mountains are in the way, he said.

The Consumer Electronics Association has a Web site http://www.antennaweb.org/ that tells how far an address is from towers and recommends what type of antenna to use.

"When you're using an antenna to get an HD signal you will be able to receive true broadcast-quality HD," said Megan Pollock, spokeswoman for the group. "Some of the cable and satellite companies may choose to compress the HD signal."

Compression involves removing some data from the digital signal. This is done so that the providers will have enough room to send hundreds of other channels through the same cable line or satellite transmission.

The difference in picture quality is a matter of opinion, said Robert Mercer, spokesman for satellite provider DirecTV Inc.

"We believe the DirecTV HD signal is superior to any source, whether it's over-the-air or from your friendly neighborhood cable company," Mercer said.

Others disagree.

Self-described TV fanatic Kevin Holtz, of suburban Cleveland, chose an antenna because he didn't want to pay his satellite provider extra for local broadcast channels.

Holtz, 30, can't get the signal from one local network affiliate or a public broadcasting station but said the rest of the stations come in clearer than they would through satellite. He uses a $60 antenna for a 40-inch Sony LCD, which retails for about $3,000.

"Over-the-air everything is perfect," Holtz said.

Another downside to using just an antenna is that only local channels are available, meaning no ESPN, TNT, CNN or Discovery Channel. Some consumers partner an antenna with cable or satellite service.

Many people aren't aware that they can get HD over the airwaves, Wilson said. He estimates there are 10 million households with HDTVs and that fewer than 2 million of them use antennas. Including homes with analog sets, 15 million of the 110 million households in the United States use antennas.

HD antenna prices range from $20 to $150 for indoor and outdoor versions. The many models of available indoor antennas look more like a fleet of spaceships than the rabbit ears of old. Brand names include Terk, Philips, Audiovox, Jensen and Magnavox.

Those really interested in saving a buck and who have a little MacGyver in them could make their own antenna. Steve Mezick of Portland, Oregon, created one out of cardboard and tinfoil.

"I decided to build it because the design looked exceedingly simple. I scrounged up stuff around the house and put one together," said Mezick, a bowling alley mechanic who repairs pin spotters.

The 30-year-old has since upgraded his original design using a wire baking sheet, clothes hanger and wood. He mounted it to the side of his house and gets all of his local stations.

"It works brilliantly," he said.

2007 The Associated Press.

[Mike Cleaver]

Hahahaha!
Just try to find one of these HDTV stand-alone receivers or antennas in Canada.
You have to go on Ebay to buy one from the United States.
They're going at 50 bucks and up
Future Shop and Bestbuy here don't have them.
Besides, the HDTV over-the-air transmitters in Vancouver are all flea-powered.
You need line of sight to the Mt. Seymour site to get good reception.
I know CBC and CTV have over-the-air HD.
I think Global and City do too but I can't confirm that.
If anyone knows where you can get a stand-alone HDTV receiver, please post it here.
And I don't mean one of those $3000 "audiophool" versions either.

[hazmat]

MC:

You make several statements that aren't quite accurate here.

The over-the-air digital standard, known variously as HD, ATSC or 8-VSB, doesn't
absolutely require line of sight from Seymour to work, although that certainly won't
hurt. It actually is quite a bit more forgiving than NTSC analogue, and typically of
digital transmission, reception will either be perfect or non-existent. Fringe reception
will lock up or pixelize from time to time.

Although the Vancouver digital signals are fairly low power (CTV is 900 watts ERP;
CBC is a few kW), reception is surprisingly widespread. Simply put, the old measures
of output power mean very little in the 8-VSB world. CTV's performance is esp.
surprising when you consider that their dig. transmission is on Ch 33, and Ch 32 is their
2 megawatt blowtorch analogue. The audio sub of the analogue is almost on top of
the peanut power dig signal. Global had plans to install ATSC on Seymour, but has stopped
while they argue with CRTC about funding for widespread digital conversion, and CITY has announced
no plans to install digital outside of Toronto, where they were among the early
adopters.

Your post is unclear on whether you're seeking a standalone ATSC receiver to
connect to an analogue TV set, an HD TV set, or a computer. There are solutions
available for each. Fry's in Seattle sells an HD set top box for analogue for less than $250 USD;
computer stores on Broadway here in Vancouver are selling an ATSC/NTSC tuner for computers that plugs into your USB2
port for $130 (really!). It actually works too. Earlier HD TV sets didn't include the
tuner; my neighbour's new 42 inch Toshiba has NTSC, ATSC and QAM tuners
all included in the TV set for less than $2000. It is true that standalone ATSC tuners
for HD sets seem to be in short supply; I think this is because so many of the
current sets have the various tuners built in at no extra cost.

BTW, London Drugs sells a very nice UHF log periodic antenna intended for
set top reception of ATSC signals. Price abt $60.

For me, the real scandal is that these very high quality signals are available free
for the taking, but you won't see this demonstrated at any Future Shop or Best Buy
in the Lower Mainland. Instead, they'll show you the watered-down, bit reduced
stuff that Shaw or Expressvu deign to distribute. DTH Satellite distribution of HD is
presently running abt 12 Mb/s; Shaw won't say what they're doing, but a good
guess would be abt 8 Mb/s. The ATSC standard is 19.38 Mb/s. Believe me, you
can see the difference! Right now, it's apparently alright to take an HD signal and
truncate the hell out of it for distribution, and still say that it's high def. This should
not be allowed (rant mode off).

Haz

[Mike Cleaver]

I was aware of the usb and other computer related stuff.
I have an HDTV that has the regular analogue tuner built in, as well as all the various and sundry audio and video inputs, including HDMI.
I was looking for a stand alone HDTV receiver, nothing more, to connect to an antenna and to this set through any of the available inputs.
Yes, the stuff is becoming pretty readily available in the US but not here.
Your point about the big box stores also is true
They just don't offer the option as you say, preferring to sell you compressed satellite or cable signals.
It doesn't make a lot of sense to spend the money on a receiver for just two local stations, especially since the content on one at least is not really HDTV when it comes to local programming.
I'm not certain if local programming on the other is HD or not.
About line of sight, probably not as big a deal as with analogue tv or great FM reception but still the ideal situation.
I haven't sprung for a new HDVD player or BluRay but movies on my upconverting DVD player though HDMI are pretty spectacular.
Cable tv looks pretty pathetic in comparision and I can't do satellite because I'm in a multi-unit building where outside dishes are not permitted.