Canadians didn't switch to cable because they thought antennas were ugly - they did it to be able to get better reception of distant US TV stations - in many cities there were only a couple of Canadian stations, if that, such as CBC and CTV, and analog reception was notoriously iffy. This is why cable came to Canada in 1952, earlier than in the US. That was a very legitimate and it began in cities like Vancouver and London were US analog reception was marginal or non-existent.

The legitimacy of cable did not change when pay TV came alo - it was always a very legitimate service that provider a service that was desired by the Canadian populace.

Don’t forget all the advertizing that went to US stations and the cable companies found a way to steal it from them and the US stations were going to block their signal to us in retaliation . Today they call it sim subbing no?

When I grew up we had 3 OTA stations to watch in Halifax. 3 was CBC, 5 was CTV, and 13 was CBC French. Every time we switched from 3 to 5 or vice versa, we'd have to fiddle with the antenna. If someone walked into the room and sat down we'd lose reception. It was poor. Most tv shows produced in the US were not broadcast on CTV/CBC. So you could not watch the Six Million Dollar Man, SNL, and several other shows. Saturday cartoons were pitiful. In 1977 we got cable. No more poor reception, a host of new cool tv shows to watch, and no more antenna. The bill was $7 per month.

Things changed a lot since 1977. Fortunately OTA is way better than it was back then. The Canadian networks carry mostly US content, there are more local stations, and PVRs so we can hoard good shows until we are ready to watch them. We also have iTunes and Apple TV. So anything not OTA can be picked via Apple TV. The overall cost of OTA is great. Right now I'm paying $58 per month for Bell TV totaling $696 annually. With OTA that's all gone. I can save it or buy something else that I like.

Just as Funkytown alluded to, I think the prospect of having to point in alternate directions for OTA is what turns some off from the technology. I believe that the regulatory bodies should have been less "democratic" in how they let broadcasters choose the locations of their transmitters.

If you take Kitchener-Waterloo, where I live for example, you can see a myraid of locations for the different transmitters, necessitating multiple antennas joined (not trivial to do properly) or a rotor (only a few channels can be viewed at a time)

A better approach is to centrally locate a transmitter to serve a particular market. Toronto has done this relatively well, but i'm not aware of many other canadian cities where this is the case.

Ivan

@ iblackford

In Montreal, most everything is on Mount Royal on the same antenna; although there are one or two that either aren't or will not be on the mountain. Lots of people pissed off at this (I think one station is on an apartment building...)

The US stations used to be divided, now they are all on Mt Mansfield with the exception of WCFE, although for the most part it can be received in the same direction as the rest.

In general, Montreal is pretty well off. Nearby Sherbrooke also has all of its transmitters on the same mountain with the exception of a CBC repeater that will be shutting down anyways (unfortunately).

Ok, this is unreal.
Every single HDTV at one of the big box electronics stores in northwest Calgary is tuned to CBC via OTA digital television. Taking advantage of playoff hockey broadcasts, no doubt.
Good work, to whoever did it!
Now I only hope someone is explaining HOW the signal got to the TV ...

This may be a little off topic, but still...if there were any OTA bumper stickers, I can think of a few places where I'd like to put them.
One could show this furum's yagi with the words: "Yagi strikes back, get HD TV signals for free".

This may be a little off topic, but still...if there were any OTA bumper stickers, I can think of a few places where I'd like to put them.
One could show this furum's yagi with the words: "Yagi strikes back, get HD TV signals for free".

The general public is so clued-out that they would read that as Yeti strikes back...... 'TV signals' is even a more stranger concept and may get confused with signals from outer space. But nice try.

Ok, this is unreal.
Every single HDTV at one of the big box electronics stores in northwest Calgary is tuned to CBC via OTA digital television. Taking advantage of playoff hockey broadcasts, no doubt.
Good work, to whoever did it!
Now I only hope someone is explaining HOW the signal got to the TV ....

And I suppose the fairy godmother grants wishes.....of course no one is explaining where they get it. They are trying to get the cleanest most uncompressed, unadulterated signal to the set, so they can sell HD. This is but another example where "truth in advertising" is conveniently surpressed.

Sorry to be so negative but knowledge of OTA is only in its infancy. HD OTA is even less known or understood by the public.

That is why I think "The Antenna Strikes Back" better. It also sounds more like Empire and everyone knows what an antenna is but hardly anyone knows what a Yagi is. Antenna is a more generic term (Yagi's aren't always the best choice).

I did my share by educating my neighbors about antennas. Most of them asked that question - "is it legal". You will be surprise how many didn't know that we (Canada) already have HD over the air.

I'm helping another neighbor to set one up this weekend. Obviously, he was shocked how much he had to pay for cable!

I eventually came to the realization that the store was probably showing live OTA television because the in-house demo channel appeared to be inoperative ...

I did my share by educating my neighbors about antennas. Most of them asked that question - "is it legal". You will be surprise how many didn't know that we (Canada) already have HD over the air.

I'm helping another neighbor to set one up this weekend. Obviously, he was shocked how much he had to pay for cable!

yep. thats my experience as well. we have all the satellite box hackers to thank for that.

Most of them asked that question - "is it legal". I wonder how they think the signal gets to their AM and FM radios? :rolleyes:

Or like the Shaw CSR's "We've been told peasant vision is being shutdown and you need a signal from a provider to continue watching TV." It is no wonder people are clueless. BDUs and the big box stores are either clueless or self serving.

I wonder how they think the signal gets to their AM and FM radios?That's when you have to impress them with "free wireless TV in HD on any size HDTV" and they suddenly get really interested. :D

I recently went into a store called Audio Avenue in Simcoe, Ontario. On display was a large HD set with the most stunning picture quality I've ever seen on an HDTV. The sales rep told me he was getting it with an antenna. He was pulling in WIVB 4.1, also showed me WGRZ 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 (NBC, Universal Sports, RTN). This guy seemed like a strong OTA advocate.

Based on my TV Fool results for the area I'd suggest there was an outdoor antenna, although I didn't see one outside.

Now that I've seen HD OTA for myself on a large set, I am even more of a believer!

I hope they don't ever tune the store TV to 2-2 (NBC Universal Sports) since that is the blurriest channel that I have ever seen.

WGRZ 2.2 looked blurry when he flipped by, and so did WFXP 66.1 (FOX) from Erie, which was even in SD. He had the TV on WIVB 4.1 initially, which had the best picture quality.

I was in a big box store and saw this woman carefully comparing TVs, features and prices, etc. I suggested that she at least try using an antenna before subscribing to any HD service the store would certainly offer. Another lady overheard us and wanted to know more about indoor antennas and which stations were available in HD. I suggested hooking up a simple bowtie or loop antenna.

But , I realized later that it isn't easy now that manufacturers stopped including them with the TVs. Old rabbit ears don't work because the UHF bowtie or loop have spade connectors not coax. (I had to cobble together a Frankentenna with a bowtie, balun, screws and a wood block for a friend.) It's quite a leap of faith to spend $30 - $100 on an antenna that might not work.

It's quite a leap of faith to spend $30 - $100 on an antenna that might not work.

Not if said antenna is purchased from a local store where it can be returned.