Hello,

I have been looking into getting rid of my $105/month satellite (Bell) bill and converting to OTA with a Mac Mini as a media resource centre.

I would like to have DVR capabilities and think that the EyeTV 250 is the way to achieve this.

My current set up has a 50" HDTV in the basement, a 40" HDTV in the living room and a small on in the bedroom. I will use the DVR in the basement and will have an AppleTV hooked up to the other TVs to allow for media to be shared. We also subscribe to NetFlix.

My question is: Has anyone made the leap to OTA and if so, are you pleased with it?

Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.

I am located in the east end of Toronto right on the Lake.

Thanks,

Mike

there is really nothing much to watch OTA beside a few channels. I've setup my antenna for the HD channels, but the choices are so limited i switched back to cable tv.

Though, NetFlix should complete the selection pretty well.

On a side note if you keep you Bell dish and bell satellite receiver set up you get the free preview channels every month without any service. Check bell channel 271 for the current free previews. Not that this helps in anyway it's OTH TV.

Hello,

I have been looking into getting rid of my $105/month satellite (Bell) bill and converting to OTA with a Mac Mini as a media resource centre.

I would like to have DVR capabilities and think that the EyeTV 250 is the way to achieve this.

My current set up has a 50" HDTV in the basement, a 40" HDTV in the living room and a small on in the bedroom. I will use the DVR in the basement and will have an AppleTV hooked up to the other TVs to allow for media to be shared. We also subscribe to NetFlix.

My question is: Has anyone made the leap to OTA and if so, are you pleased with it?

Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.

I am located in the east end of Toronto right on the Lake.

Thanks,

Mike

Since moving up from the “Big City” 40 years ago, I’ve always used OTA TV, and would never consider paying ridiculous cable fees to watch what I can get for “free”.

Perhaps I’m very lucky, but I receive a good selection of channels, some I never watch, and I do not get certain channels which I would watch (eg. Discovery & History), but for the most part I get what is generally included in the basic cable package.

With a standard old fashioned antenna (no rotor) I can pick up channels:

2-1, 2-2, 2-3 (intermittent), 

3, 4, 5, 7, 9 clearly, 

17-1, 17-2, 17-3 (WNED Buffalo- sometimes blocked by severe Thunderstorms), 

19-1, (TVO) 23-1, 25-1, (Clearly)

26-1,26-2, 26-3 (never watch but it’s there), 

29-1, 41-1 and 57-1.

A few other channels appear from time to time as they sort out their Digital problems.

Our three TVs are all connected to a very old Canada Tire TV “Hub” with coax, so each can select different channels.

Recently I’ve installed an Apple TV (just one) on our larger bedroom set, connected to my computer in my Office/Den with Cat 5 cable.

I record select programs with an EyeTV 250 plus running on a late 2010 27" iMac recording OTA TV quite regularly and it works perfectly. I often record programs from the local american PBS station (buffalo) - they have an HD as well as a Standard channel - the HD channel records well, plays back nicely. I convert most of the programs to itunes to play via ATV2 on a 42" Toshiba and they look great.

My main problem now is storage space - my library of programs is growing - now about 1 1/2 TB, I will have to consider either pruning the collection or buy another HD.

Where your questions will be answered.

Over-The-Air (OTA) Digital Television - Digital Forum (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81)

OTA FAQ & Knowledge Base - Digital Forum (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=41102)

I don't know if your situation is exactly the same as a Mac acquaintance I was talking to last week, but I was surprised that they got rid of their dish and now they just use his iPad and an AppleTV for neatly all their TV viewing. They don't miss the dish at all.

At one time I saw an OTA-EyeTV setup in BeachMac. The staff can probably tell you more. BeachMac is at Queen and Balsam.

I have one of these hooked up to my Mac Mini:

Pinnacle TV Tuner at TigerDirect.ca (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6281505&CatId=4546)

It actually came with an EyeTV license, I can't remember if was a special Mac version, but it looks exactly like the product in that link. I have a run of RG-6 up to my attic where I have a Channelmaster 4221HD. EyeTV is okay, but my previous Linux and MythTV setup was much more flexible, and infinitely harder to set up :)

Hello,

I have been looking into getting rid of my $105/month satellite (Bell) bill and converting to OTA with a Mac Mini as a media resource centre.

I would like to have DVR capabilities and think that the EyeTV 250 is the way to achieve this.

My current set up has a 50" HDTV in the basement, a 40" HDTV in the living room and a small on in the bedroom. I will use the DVR in the basement and will have an AppleTV hooked up to the other TVs to allow for media to be shared. We also subscribe to NetFlix.

My question is: Has anyone made the leap to OTA and if so, are you pleased with it?

Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.

I am located in the east end of Toronto right on the Lake.

Thanks,

Mike

I've always had OTA TV. I made the switch to HD about 5 years ago with a 4 bay antenna and lately a Channel Master preamp. It's not perfect but I do get about 16 channels and watched the Superbowl last Sunday on NBC. Most days the signal is perfect, sometimes the PBS stations fade out depending in the weather. But I'm caught in the middle here in the west end with the antenna halfway between Toronto and Buffalo. The amp helps but I need a rotor to fine tune.
I supplement my OTA with ATV2 - jail broken which helps. I don't receive everything nor do I need it as I have limited time and an even more limited attention span. (I know how most shows are going to end and don't have the attention span to see how they're going to get there)
Being in Scarborough, as you are, if you can see the CN tower from your roof then you're in a great spot for HD OTA. You might even have a direct shot to the CN Tower and behind that Buffalo. Cat birds seat!
I bought my antenna from a place in St. Catherines (now out of business) and this place for the amp (which also sells antennas)

http://www.saveandreplay.com/OTA_Antennas_DTV.asp

Good Luck!

OP, it depends on what you like to watch. I have an OTA antenna. I live in vaughan, so my channel selection isn't the greatest. I currently get 7 Channels. Cbc,ctv,citytv,tvo (i don't watch this), omni 1, omni 2, and global. I get pretty much get all the major cdn networks. I'm pretty sure you get more channels, since you live closer to the CN tower. I'm pretty satisfied with my selection of channels.

I also have a jailbroken apple tv, and netflix. Between the apple tv, netflix, and ota. I always can find something i want to watch.

I would say try out OTA. You really have nothing to lose, and you could save $100 each month. If you don't like OTA channels, then simply go back to your satellite.

If you're on the lake in Toronto you have it made. There are frequent postings in OTA speciality threads of lake front homes in the GTA getting 30 channels plus. The quality of these channels @ 720p uncompressed will be superior to anything you get with Rogers, Bell, or Shaw. And it's free.

We pick up Canadian channels easily here in west end Ottawa but we're too far away and with many obstructions in between to get anything from the U.S. We subscribe to Netflix and I get a lot of foreign content by VPN into the U.K. and U.S. on the Ipad which I then stream to Apple TV.

The only thing I miss are live hockey games on RDS/TSN. And for that I can find a justin.tv feed which helps.

Recommend getting a good antenna and pointing in an optimal position for picking up channels in Rochester and Buffalo. All of your Canadian channels come from the CN tower.

I will never return to a cableco or telco until they offer a la cart pricing so that I no longer have to pay for tens and even hundreds of channels that are never viewed.

The more consumers that do this will force the duopoly to unbundle their offerings. Glad that you are considering this option.

most OTA channels are 1080i, not 720p

iirc the only OTAs we get in toronto that are 720p are FOX, ABC and now CBC as well

So do you guys who use OTA have good recommendations of suppliers/installers to use? Would seriously considered it.

About how much did you spend for the setup?

Save & Replay

HDTV Antenna, OTA Over the Air ,Channel Master,Winegard, Antennas Direct, Centronics and Silicon Dust Distributor. FTA Free to air (http://www.saveandreplay.com/)

You might also consider making your own antenna. Google homemade antenna and you'll get hundreds of hits. I made one that cost me maybe $40. PVR is an EyeTV hybrid that which was around $100.

Well I am going to check it out this weekend. Thanks.

I paid around $60 for the antenna, mast $10 (top rail for chain link fence at Home Depot) and RG-6 cable. The amp ran me about $100. Installed it myself.
So I guess the total was around $200.

I have a splitter in my basement one goes to my cable internet, the other runs upstairs into my TV. It gives me basic cable, and sometimes DTV. I don't know what you use for high-speed provider, but here in NS I can do that with no issues what so ever. I get NBC, PBS, Global, Much, CNN, Discovery, OLN, Score, Sportsnet... (well you get the picture) That may be a viable option if your internet provider also provides cable (AKA Rogers perhaps)

Well, I bit the bullet and had the antenna installed today (channel master 4221HD) and have converted all the Televisions in the house over. I must say I am extremely pleased with the outcome of this venture. I am able to pull in 29 channels with all of the major networks from Canada and the US. ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, CITY, FOX, CTV, Global and a whole slew of affiliates. I cannot believe the quality difference of the OTA signal in comparison to the Bell Satellite. I cannot wait to cancel my satellite service!

I am running one tv with a 2011 Mac mini hooked up to the Eyetv 250 plus. So far the recording is excellent. I have set a few programs to record overnight. Let's see how big they get. The one issue that I am having is the the Eyetv won't let me use the TV guide that is available. It states that "this account is not authorized to download program data.". Not quite sure how to deal with this one.

I appreciate all the feed back the everyone gave me. You were all very helpful in advising me.

I will let you know how the full conversion goes after a while.

Thanks again.

Mike

So do you guys who use OTA have good recommendations of suppliers/installers to use? Would seriously considered it.

About how much did you spend for the setup?

I used Sal's TV in highland creek village (east Scarborough) and they were great to deal with. The full install including antenna, mast, amplifier and installation was 399 plus tax. Basically the equivalent of 4 months of full Bell Service. I will break even on the 5th month!

Hmmm... Call me a dummy if you like, but I understood that most Over-the-Air (OTA) Television signals were being phased out in the US and Canada and some if not most already have been.

My low tech sister has had a high-end TV antenna she has used for years here in the Victoria BC area for her TV viewing, and was even told by her great knowledgable antenna installer specialist that the time had come to take it down as there was hardly anything worth while to view or watch.

Call me confused... ;)

Hmmm... Call me a dummy if you like, but I understood that most Over-the-Air (OTA) Television signals were being phased out in the US and Canada and some if not most already have been.

My low tech sister has had a high-end TV antenna she has used for years here in the Victoria BC area for her TV viewing, and was even told by her great knowledgable antenna installer specialist that the time had come to take it down as there was hardly anything worth while to view or watch.

Call me confused... ;)

Yep your confused (I think :confused:). OTA Analog signals as I understand it are going bye bye. These are OTA Digital signals.

Analogue OTA signals disappeared last summer almost everywhere replaced by Digital OTA. As I understand it Digital OTA signals will be with us for a while but eventually I see everything moving to the internet and consumers will pay for whatever they want to watch, whether on a per show basis (iTunes TV) or by subscription (Netflix/BBC TV).

Lets put these rumours to rest by doing a bit of reading.

Over-The-Air (OTA) Digital Television - Digital Forum

OTA FAQ & Knowledge Base - Digital Forum

OK, thanks. Digital it is and good to learn something new every day. ;)

BTW: I had done a quick look at the previous sites suggested and most were really old, hence my question, and even the latest for any proper reception in the greater Victoria area were about a year old for the latest, and it didn't appear that it would even be worth while for the chance that any proper reception would even work properly.

TV Fool signal locator.

TV Fool (http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29)
Postal code is all should need, but coordinates may be more accurate.

TV Fool main page
TV Fool (http://www.tvfool.com/)



More informative links
Toronto, Ontario & Buffalo, New York OTA HDTV Channel Map (http://www.remotecentral.com/hdtv/)
RabbitEars.Info (http://www.rabbitears.info/)
Over The Air - Digital TV (http://www.sjmillerconsultants.com/ota/)
List of television stations in Canada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_stations_in_Canada)

Hmmm... a whole eight channels - maybe - for our location, without having to use a high gain rooftop mounted antenna.

Thanks for the additional info.

... even the latest for any proper reception in the greater Victoria area ...

We consider YGG to be within the Greater Victoria area, being as we are served by and pay taxes to the CRD.

In our hovel close to the extreme northern end of the CRD, we have only ever had broadcast tv, the name now updated to the more fashionable cryptic abbrevn, "OTA", but it is still broadcast tv in ordinary language.

As they gradually switched from analogue to digital broadcast television over the past few years, we found that the picture improved. But we did not change our antenna - a rooftop one that we bought around 1990 from Radio Shack.

We still get the channels we want, plus a few extra American ones since the switch to digital.

OP, it depends on what you like to watch. I have an OTA antenna. I live in vaughan, so my channel selection isn't the greatest. I currently get 7 Channels. Cbc,ctv,citytv,tvo (i don't watch this), omni 1, omni 2, and global. I get pretty much get all the major cdn networks. I'm pretty sure you get more channels, since you live closer to the CN tower. I'm pretty satisfied with my selection of channels.

I also have a jailbroken apple tv, and netflix. Between the apple tv, netflix, and ota. I always can find something i want to watch.

I would say try out OTA. You really have nothing to lose, and you could save $100 each month. If you don't like OTA channels, then simply go back to your satellite.

I'm in Vaughan too and didn't think we could get much up here. :eek:

I'm in Vaughan too and didn't think we could get much up here. :eek:

Yup we can, but its very hard for me. If i move my antenna ever so slighty, i will degrade my reception on some channels, or lose them. I use an indoor antenna though. I'm pretty sure if you decide to get an outdoor antenna, you could get better results.

Yup we can, but its very hard for me. If i move my antenna ever so slighty, i will degrade my reception on some channels, or lose them. I use an indoor antenna though. I'm pretty sure if you decide to get an outdoor antenna, you could get better results.

And a very good, accurate and precision rotor by the sound of things. ;)

BTW: do trees have any detrimental effect on the OTA signals?? Just curious.

BTW: do trees have any detrimental effect on the OTA signals?? Just curious.

Yes they do, not much but they absorb the signal. And it is worse when they are wet just after the rain. And it depends on the type of tree.

Yup we can, but its very hard for me. If i move my antenna ever so slighty, i will degrade my reception on some channels, or lose them. I use an indoor antenna though. I'm pretty sure if you decide to get an outdoor antenna, you could get better results.

The rule of thumb is that an outdoor antenna will pull in twice the signal of an indoor. And, obviously, the higher, the better.

BTW, CFTO complicated things when they switched to using channel 9, post-analog. All the other major networks are in the UHF band and most people thought all digital transmissions would be UHF-only. Not so--9 is VHF. For you folks further away, like Vaughn, you need to find an antenna that is good for both UHF and VHF. The one I have is no longer available and I'll not up on the current offerings.

Craig

You should probably take a look as well at:

Toronto, Ontario & Buffalo, New York OTA HDTV Channel Map (http://www.remotecentral.com/hdtv/)