How much would/did you pay for OTA?

[sam91]

I paid $70 US for my NTSC ATSC HDTV USB 2.0 tuner card, product from Korea.
Model I think is Aeromax.

[ASA]

lets see, so far...

$50..... 4221 (I'll probably trade/upgade to the 4228 which is almost double)
$150... Sammy 260 (a very good price for a basically new unit)
$20..... 100ft roll of RG6 (which I'll have to pick up from my friend's place)
Free.... one roof mount tripod with 7 foot pole. (the guy was going to toss it out)
Free.... various conectors, screws, clips, electrial tape/zip ties, ect that I already had at home.

Total... $220 Canadian. ($270 if and when I trade for the 4228)

[silverpig]

If I could get

CBC
CTV
City
NBC
ABC
FOX
PBS

all OTA, then I'd pay $500 or possibly a bit more. I think I could do it now too, but I need to improve my location a bit. If there was some way to get DiscoveryHD, TSN, and Sportsnet, I'd pay $1000. Being free of that monthly cable bill would pay for it all in no time.

[kirok1701]

I just completed my setup which I now consider to be satisfactory today. It is as such:

Samsung DTB-H260F tuner imported from US (~400$ after duties, etc---I had a hell of a time getting it)
VHF/UHF antenna mounted on tripod on roof with rotator, professionally installed by AF Marsh in Brampton (650$; I'm ignorant of the brand of antenna, but the rotator is a ChannelMaster of some sort)
28dB Amplifier from NuTech in Hamilton (50$ with painless delivery)

In short, I spent about 1100$ on OTA specifically, and another 2000$ on an HDTV and surround sound system (which I needed to replace ailing computer parts, anyway). I should have paid closer attention to whether the TV had an integrated digital tuner; I am definitely not making that mistake again.

With my antenna pointed somewhere between Bufallo and Toronto, I get 15+3 digital channels good and steady, and (I believe) eighteen analogue channels that are whatchable. I cancelled my ridiculously expensive cable yesterday, after having switched to DSL (another 200$ expense for modem and sundry) the other week. The entire setup should pay for itself within a year.

I confess I'll miss Jays games in 5.1 with the commentary muted, though... Or maybe I won't? I guess it depends how good the upcoming CBC broadcast is.

[I am Sam]

Hello Everyone, This is my first post on this forum but mostly I have been a reading junkie so far...

I am not sure if I need to spend more money or stick to what I am getting now. Anyway here is the long list of my OTA cost

Terk (indoor) Antenna = $32 including taxes

That's about it. I am able to watch the following HD stations

1) CBC
2) CTV
3) CW (Cannot watch CBC-French with this direction)
4) CBC - French (needs antenna to frech kiss the wall)
5) CityTV

There are several analogue channels as well but none with good viewable quality. Also my TV was replaced yesterday just before the storm. Right after that I scanned....and I got lots of HD channels and good quality analog channels but this morning it went back to the above mentioned channels only.

[PPL4GOLF]

I started out June 2007 :

4221 - $60
ATI650 tuner card - $70
1"x10ft+1.5"x10ft poles (conduits) - $20
RG6 cables and connectors, zip ties, cable clips, etc - already have, ~ $25
Amplified Splitter - already have and not used >10 yeears, ~$25

So, $150 out of my pocket to start, and I can record 720p and 1080i on my HTPC.

I have since got a 42" panel with ATSC as well LOL
Anyone buying a new TV that has ATSC and not utilizing it, you really are not doing any justice to your TV if you put the ATSC feature to waste.
It doesn't cost a much but is a lot of work and planning to setup the antenna.

[OTAfan]

Prime PHD 205 tuner $220(inc shipping & taxes)
Philips (SSclone) indoor $12.50 (e-bay)
Monster cable 7.5m $25

[shooter78]

I paid $20 for an indoor Zenith Silver Sensor UHF antenna from Ebay and another $14 to have it shipped. I stuck it on my balcony with some duct tape and velcro using the existing coax from my rogers box and I have HD for free!!! All in all I'd say it cost me under $50 bucks...which is pretty great considering I'm picking up 12 HD Channels and was probably dishing out a $100 a month for cable including the same HD channels and a few more which are only available on cable/sat. Of course I'm lucky that I'm on the top floor with a decent angle to the CN tower and lake ontario. I'm sure if I lived in a house it would cost me a lot more to get it up high enough to pick up stations.

[tresbojaco]

Nothing ($0.00)

I connected my old yagi corner reflector beamed to Burlington, VT and presto I get:

SRC 2.1
CBS 3.1,3.2
NBC 5.1,5.2
CBC 6.1
PBS 33.1,33.2,33.3
FOX 44.1,
The CW 44.2

I am located in the east part of Montreal.
Regards, Jacques

[mr weather]

$60 for a 4221, the mast I already had as well as the coax.

Watching clear, sharp HD programming? Priceless!

[idlewild35]

I'm very new to OTA but I only paid $30 for my antenna (RCA CANT585). I only get 6 HD channels but my cable bill is $60 a month, and I get ZERO. So it's money well spent in my opinion

[stcanard]

$60 for an amplified indoor antenna from The Source (I can't convince my wife to consider putting an ugly outdoor antenna on the roof, and couldn't find a silver sensor locally).

To date I've used it to watch CBC, with the promise that Global would become available, a promise that now appears to be in the process of being realized.

Technically I also get KVOS and a Shopping Channel in 480P but have yet to find a reason to watch them.

It's already a better deal than trying to get HD from Shaw, now if only CTV would increase its signal I'd be set!

[name777]

Proof of concept project ($50):
$10 - stuff for DYI 4-bowtie antenna,
$10 - 30ft coax cable,
$30 - Samsung SIR-T151.

Final setup ($140):
$60 - Winegard HD9065P (brought from an occasional trip to US);
$30 - CM rotator,
$12 - CM Spartan3 preamp (useless, I don't have a long cable run to get any benefit).
$40 - PCI ATSC tuner to record shows.

Fufure project:
Antenna mast installation, hope to feat in $100 or so.

[Pedroff]

I payed roughly around $300 altogether with the usb tuner for my pc and an indoor antenna.

[ViperZ]

It's scary how you, folks, are claiming low costs of DIY OTA antenna installation, but none of you (at least according to posts) have grounded your roof setups.

The antenna is the highest point of your house, and there is a damn good chance that it will get hit with lightning. The electrical code requires you to ground the assembly, and not just run the cheap wire to ground, but you need ~8 AWG properly installed run with a grounding rod hammered into the ground.

The parts of this grounding install will run you at least additional $100.

To stay on topic, my condo setup:

- Samsung DTB-H260F tuner - $120
- component and optical cables - $30
- Antra 4-bay MB04 antenna - $40
- 3' Tripod - $30
- 30' of RG6 cable, pipe for the mast, cable ends, long drill bits, silicone sealant and crimping tool (I didn't have these at the time of install), lightning arrestor (not much I can do with grounding on the balcony). ~$80

Grand total: $300. Paid off in 5 months (compared to Rogers $60/month). I don't miss Rogers, since I was only watching a few channels anyway, and the rest of the channels were all garbage.