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But do you have a ATSC or QAM tuner in your TV set?

Some people who still use rabbit ears or antennas may run to their storage of video tapes once the US television stations switches to digital on February 17, 2009 and the Canadian stations switches on August 31, 2011.

Still can't find a converter box for my father's old TV set.
 
Maggie said:
Do you own a Panasonic plasma ? Are you happy with it ?
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Yes, I'm extremely pleased with it's performance. The only panel I've seen better is the 60" Pioneer Elite Kuro, which is out of my price range (7K CDN$). I upgraded from a 42" to a 50" last February and have the Panasonic TH-50PZ700 model but it may not be available any longer in favor of the 2009 models.

The best website if your interested in consumer electronics is http://www.avsforum.com/
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Indeed, great site. Other good home theatre geeky websites/forums are The Home Theatre Forum and The Canadian Home Theatre Forum (not related).
 
Admiral Beez said:
All this talk of television makes me chuckle, as I'm thinking about cancelling my cable all together.
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I've cancelled my cable a long time ago, saving $50 a month. I still get CBC, Global on the cable though even though I am not paying for it, and am considering a good indoor UHF attenna to pick up everything coming off the CN tower and (since my condo faces towards Grand Island without nearby obstructions) maybe even Buffalo stations.

There are times I miss having cable, but I can watch most of the shows anyway legally on the internet (some broadcast cable stations, like Comedy, have on-line watching anyway. I'll watch the good series I missed later on.

Go for it. You'll hardly miss it.
 
We had one of these antennas when I lived in Caledon. I wasn't even on top of the Escarpment and we still got clear signals from...

Buffalo: 2, 4, 7, 17, 23, 29, 49
Toronto*: 5, 9, 19, 25, 41, 47, 57
Hamilton: 11, 36
Kitchener: 13
Barrie: 3

* Today would include 52 and 69 as well

So 20 stations in total. There may be some new Buffalo stations that I missed. You can get a decent number of TV stations in the Toronto area with a good antenna.
`
 
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I love seeing pictures of residental areas of Toronto in the 1960s and 1970s and virtually every house had an antenna extending well above the roof.

It's harder being in a condo, but I'd like to know if I can get good signals from as far away as Buffalo given my elevation (9 floors up) and clear sight to CN Tower and the lake.
 
ShonTron said:
It's harder being in a condo, but I'd like to know if I can get good signals from as far away as Buffalo given my elevation (9 floors up) and clear sight to CN Tower and the lake.
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A friend of mine used to live in a highrise on High Park Avenue, facing east. I think he was on the 12th or 14th floor where he was able to get about 20 channels using a small portable antenna either on his balcony, or inside his balcony window - I can't remember which.

Here is Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Over the Air (OTA) Digital TV, But Were Afraid to Ask - http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81

I'm about a mile away from the CN Tower facing south, I'm looking at exploring this option too as I've read HD signals feature much less compression than cable or satellite.
 
I actually prefer using my VCR over my DVD player. I have VHS tapes that still work perfectly, after 15 years, while my DVDs screw up after just a few years. I can't tell you how many times I've rented or borrowed a DVD only to have it freeze right in the middle of a movie.
On a number of occasions I filmed events and put it on DVD, only to have it not work a few years later, so I lose that footage. That's why I use VHS tapes. They last much longer that DVDs and are much more durable. I must have hundreds of hours of footage I've filmed over the last 15 years, all on VHS, so if my VCR breaks down and I can't buy a new one, I'm screwed! I really can't notice a difference in quality, maybe because my TV is about 5 or 6 years old. The picture looks perfectly good to me. I'll stick with VHS tapes until I feel safe with the durability of DVDs. I've lost too many important moments on my DVDs. (Like my trek across Asia) I'm glad I made a back-up copy on VHS for that trip.
 
I know about that - but aren't the DTV signals also coming from Grand Island? That's where WUTV is located as well - a UHF station. From what I understand, they are broadcast as UHF signals, and it's already possible to get UHF stations from Buffalo.

It just means that the TV I have (which is a newish LCD) has to be able to tune DTV signals. Right?
 
CDL.TO said:
Buffalo: 2, 4, 7, 17, 23, 29, 49
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Will be changing to the following next month...

VHF 2 (NBC) will become DTV Channel 33
VHF 4 (CBS) will become DTV Channel 39
VHF 7 (ABC) will become DTV Channel 38
UHF 17 (PBS) will become DTV Channel 43
UHF 23 (Ind.) will become DTV Channel 32
UHF 29 (Fox) will become DTV Channel 14
UHF 49 (Ind.) will become DTV Channel 34

You'll need a TV with a digital receiver (or buy a converter box) to view them terrestrially in the future.
 
ShonTron said:
I know about that - but aren't the DTV signals also coming from Grand Island? That's where WUTV is located as well - a UHF station. From what I understand, they are broadcast as UHF signals, and it's already possible to get UHF stations from Buffalo.

It just means that the TV I have (which is a newish LCD) has to be able to tune DTV signals. Right?
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Yes, I believe you are right. The channel numbers will be different though (as I stated above).
 
DTV uses virtual channel numbers which are contained in the PSIP data.

I live in a low rise, facing north, around Queen and Logan, I can receive all the DTV broadcasts from the CN tower as well as most of the broadcasts from Buffalo and Rochester....with an indoor antenna.
 
Yes. The PSIP is also supposed to contain the programming lineup (TV Guide) for that station as well. I know CFTO doesn't do this which can cause problems for PVR's.
 
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