and then there was one...

johnsonx42 · 2014-11-19, 05:39 AM

Tonight Time Warner encrypted the last few local channels on my cable. All I have left is Disney.

A few months ago I had a pretty good selection of clearQAM channels, basically most all locals + WGN and Disney (somewhere around 22 good channels). Then sometime around early August most of the channels suddenly disappeared; they were moved & encrypted I guess, as the frequencies they'd been on now had no channels. I was down to 7 channels: CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, KTLA (the CW), WGN, & Disney, but it actually was fine, it covered 90% of what I wanted to watch and I was probably watching too much TV anyway. Then about two weeks ago WGN disappeared, but at least Manhattan had already wrapped for the season so it was a bummer but not immediately tragic. Then last week KTLA was encrypted, and it was on the same frequency as CBS so I knew the other shoe was about to drop. I spent some time fiddling with some indoor antennas I had (I've moved to an apartment and am not permitted to have an outdoor antenna), and I managed to get KTLA back. But the VHF channels including ABC & Fox weren't detected at all, while CBS & NBC are pretty choppy. Now tonight my recordings of Jeopardy and The Shark Tank on ABC are blank-screen, and a scan reveals that the only clearQAM channel I have left is Disney. My daughter loves "Dog with a Blog", and the new Star Wars Rebels animated series is not entirely terrible, but otherwise I have no use for Disney. Presumably that one will be encrypted soon too.

I'm debating what to do. I think my first try will be this: http://www.frys.com/product/8319787?site...IN_RSLT_PG. The idea of giving up on broadcast TV altogether does cross my mind, aside from NFL Football on Sundays I can probably get most of what I want to watch with streaming services. There are surely ways to watch football online too if I try. Of course that means I'd have no further use for NextPVR... Sad

mikeh49 · 2014-11-19, 05:54 AM

I have that antenna and it works great for my area in a valley next to mountains with only low power local translators. At least the PBS are HD, the networks are digital SD.

Welcome to the new world order. I'm thinking the Homerun Prime when my "free" extra STB expires.

johnsonx42 · 2014-11-19, 06:27 AM

I have high hopes for that antenna based on the online reviews, and my main living room window faces north in the general direction of the broadcast towers (I think I can just stick that winegard antenna to the window, right?). I used to get all my channels by antenna, there is good signal in this area, but until I moved in July I had an outdoor antenna. A few years back I got cable channels essentially free when I switched to Time Warner for internet, so I used my HVR-2250 for cable and kept the HVR-850 connected to the antenna (it doesn't do QAM anyway, and there were always a few good broadcast channels that Time Warner didn't carry).

argh, I just noticed I missed tonight's Forever on ABC, one of the few new shows I actually like.

stustunz · 2014-11-19, 06:46 AM

Navi-x on xbmc is pretty good or sports devil or 1channel

feel free to delete this if anyone feels its dodgy

mikeh49 · 2014-11-19, 05:25 PM

The Winegard antenna is directional, so you need to have it "pointed" in the right direction. I have mine taped to the back of a desk that is against the wall. Only problem so far is finding the tape that will stick to the desk for more than a month; the antenna doesn't work well laying on the floor. A window would probably be better, but it's about 15" square, so pretty obstructive.

steeb · 2014-11-19, 11:33 PM

stustunz Wrote:Navi-x on xbmc is pretty good or sports devil or 1channel

feel free to delete this if anyone feels its dodgy

Difficult call on the dodgy issue. I believe that I have the mod powers to delete that post but wouldn't want to do so without an agreed community.

Obviously a load of discussion about such things over at the Kodi forum. There this post would automatically be garbage.

Not sure how it fares here? Personally I wouldn't want to think that sub, who provides an increasingly better working PVR plugin for Kodi would be in any way frowned upon by team kodi for allowing discussion like this here?

But I get really confused about what is and not acceptable discussion away from the main kodi site!

cbgifford · 2014-11-20, 03:49 AM

Guess I am lucky, I am in an area where the broadcast towers are all in the relative same direction. I pick up all the networks plus their additional for 17 channels total OTA. I do use an Antennas Direct - ClearStream Micron XG Indoor Long-Range Digital TV Antenna. It advertised range is up to 35 miles. The farthest one from me is 25 miles and it works rather well but it does use a 20bd powered amp.

johnsonx42 · 2014-11-20, 05:55 AM

I got the Winegard antenna tonight, so far I got more channels than the other one I had, but still no ABC (VHF 7). That's with it hooked up to the HVR-850. I think the HVR-2250 tuner is a little better, so I'll try it with that next. Silly to have a dual-tuner card dedicated to one single QAM channel anyway.

johnsonx42 · (This post was last modified: 2014-11-20, 06:22 AM by johnsonx42.)

argh, no ABC on the HVR-2250 either. This antenna gets me every single station that I know of broadcasting from the hills above LA except KABC. With the other antenna it made sense, I didn't get any of the VHF-Hi channels at all, but now I get 9, 11 and 13 fine, just not 7.

(edit: ok, not quite all: my previous antenna got UHF 29 just fine, but this one doesn't see it at all. I get UHF 28 no problem, and several in the 30's and 40's, but not 29. Weird.)

dgeezer · 2014-11-21, 11:39 AM

It seems like setting up to use an antenna is a truly frustrating trial and error process. The hardest station for me to recieve is only about 3 or 4 miles from my house. I can see the top of the tower from my house. I have always assumed that it was a problem with multipath since the signal has got to be plenty strong. I am even directly between the tower and the target city, so I know it's not a directional thing.

I tried several different antennas and finally had the best luck with a homemade gray hoverman with a big aluminum foil reflector. Of course, it's an ugly thing but it's hidden away in my attic.

However, with all the restrictive changes from the cable providers I do feel like being able to use OTA offers the best long term solution to keeping a usable setup.