'Rabbit ears' find new life in HDTV age

[alebowgm]

What a surprise I saw today when this was on the front of the My! Yahoo page under AP Top 10 Headlines...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070428/..._ear_revival_5

By JOE MILICIA, Associated Press Writer

CLEVELAND - 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.

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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 Feb. 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, Ore., 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.

Any publicity for OTA is good publicity, as far as I am concerned, just to get people to know it exists...

[stampeder]

That's becoming more and more true in Canada's biggest cities too, and its a nice follow up to the article in this thread:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=58736

I hope that article doesn't encourage people to go out and buy cheap old rabbit ears though. What a waste of money when there are such better options like the ZSS!

[alebowgm]

They did mention though, that unless you are close to the tower, indoor rabbit ears are not really the answer...

[lorenzow]

I was in Orlando a while back. The hotel I stayed in had a 34" Zenith CRT HDTV with 2 antenna inputs. One was hooked up to the hotel cable feed with no HD signal. I went to K-Mart and bought a set of rabbit ears for $7, hooked it up to the 2nd input, performed a channel scan and Presto! I was watching network HDTV. It could have been better with an outdoor antenna, no doubt, but the price was right.

[alebowgm]

Should have informed the hotel what you did, may have interested them to know that...

[StoneyCreekOTA]

Listening to the radio this morning on the way to work (102.9 FM in Hamilton) the news was ended with essentially the same story - OTA is coming back due to superior picture quality (lack of compression) and that it is FREE! I was amazed to hear it being said.

[alebowgm]

What we need is some TV Coverage of it somehow, specifically available on the top networks in Canada...

[lorenzow]

Originally Posted by alebowgm

Should have informed the hotel what you did, may have interested them to know that...

In what way?

[Yaamon]

I think alebowgm meant that the hotel might not be aware that HD can be had if they now mount a proper outdoor antenna.

This would be a treat to the hotel guest, being able to watch locals in HD. Giving them a taste.

Hmm how would they get the signal into the roof from a outdoor antenna, since the rooms only have one coax cable and ota signal use the same frequencys too. Maybe they would buy silver sensor clones and place them on top of the tv.

[stampeder]

Someone at the Best Western in Surrey, BC figured it out already:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/show...9&postcount=91

[beanagee1]

If the cable companies did not own some of the channels then we might see more channels available off the air. TSN and Rogers Sportsnet, if they were available OTA, then OTA would be a legitimate alternative to cable and Sat. companies.

We need to have regulations that serve the consumer rather than large corporate interests. I would force the cable and satellite companies to stick to their knitting and stick to being just in the delivery business.

[lorenzow]

Not to mention the fact that hotels use the cable to broadcast their own promotional features, pay-per-view, tourist info, etc. They could be giving up a potential revenue stream.

[stampeder]

At this point lets get back on topic regarding the increasing awareness of Digital OTA in today's media.

With the U.S. cutoff coming up in 1 1/2 years (assuming no extensions) I think we can expect more of what is in Post #1 to spill over into the Canadian media.

[alebowgm]

With the U.S. cutoff coming up in 1 1/2 years (assuming no extensions) I think we can expect more of what is in Post #1 to spill over into the Canadian media.

I went into BestBuy last week as I was ahead of schedule and had some time to kill, and it was amazing to look at all the dumped TVs that dont have the built in ATSC tuners, especially the smaller size ones. Heck, BestBuy even left the warning on the displays saying that US Customers dont have the ATSC tuners built in to these TVs and are not compatable...

[blakew]

I saw those same warnings on some TVs in London Drugs in Vancouver... Interesting.