Over air HDTV in my area?

BellevilleMXZ

I am toying with the idea of getting a converter box, or maybe upgrading the TV, so I can pick up over the air hdtv channels. The thing is, I have no idea how good the ant. are that are used on boats. Are the disc style ant. any good for picking anything up? Anyone from the St.Lawrence river/Kingston/Belleville area offer any insight?

Michael T

BMXZ. I have satellite but I was using regular antenna at Kingston one time and got a number of good channels. Something guys are starting to do is load a whole bunch of movies and shows onto their PVRs and plugging in at the boat. Won't help with the day's sporting events though. I have also seen guys who have used a regular home TV satellite dish on their boats. They have them mounted to a home made stand, place them on the dock, aim them for signal and bingo. They say they can use their home subscription and it's free except for the cost of a dish. If the docks are solid enough the signal stays great. I came across (actually I heard them first) a group of guys on a boat cheering their teams on with that type of system. No good for on the hook though!

Dream_Inn

It really depends on your location.  In my area, we are decently close to Baltimore and DC, so we get over 30 stations over the air.  The disc style antennas work pretty well.

Cableguy Greg

I upgraded my TV so I could use it while out. It is a 12v TV and I use the factory antenna to get around 30 or so off air channels. There is a myth that you need a "digital" or "HD" antenna. The off air HD channels in the US are located in the UHF band, and the factory antenna receives UHF channels. The only difference is the channel is a digital "haystack" instead of a traditional analog channel. The antenna doesn't know the difference.

Handymans342

Has anyone tried Apple TV where there is a wifi signal?

Stodge

I use a 12 volt LCD TV and an over the air antenna.  I get 20+ channels depending on the area I'm in.

MarkB

I got about 20 channels on Lake Ontario. The quality is okay. If there's a but of rain it does interfere with the signal though. Thr picture will freeze every 2 minutes or so for about 1 second. 

andyd

I have a Shakespeare Seawatch 15 TV antenna mounted on my radar arch. I get sweet HDTV pictures from San Diego, 70 miles south, but only CBS, NBC and FOX, PBS and independent KUSI 51 are reliably strong. It's a straight shot over the ocean, no land obstructions.
The quality of the HD pictures is impressive. Including Spanish language stations, there are about thirty stations available, not all HDTV. Some of the secondary digital signals on each station carry great old classic TV programs and movies. I get nothing from Los Angeles, a bit further north, because the San Joaquin hills block the signal. I'm very happy with the antenna's performance and it looks pretty good too.

Andy

BellevilleMXZ

Thanks everyone! Sounds like it might work better than I thought......now to find a better TV........b.o.a.t........lol

Stodge

The trucker web sites have several of them.  

Cableguy Greg

I got mine from Amazon for under $200 US. Axess is the brand that I got. The picture is decent for what it is and it has a DVD player. It is a 12VDC TV with a 120VAC adapter. I run mine on the 12VDC all the time.

BellevilleMXZ

Thanks guys, that's a reasonable price, esp since I can keep current ant. from the sounds of it. I'll have to do some measuring to see what I can squeeze in there.

Michael T

@BMXZ btw there are lots of mounts with arms that will allow you to mount any new TV you buy in a number of locations, so you don't necessarily have to put it exactly where the old one was.

Also when you start trying your signal - there have been a lot of posts on here over the years where guys have found the co-ax cable was corroded, pinched, nicked or just had loose terminals and that was all that was stopping a clear picture. I respectfully suggest before the $$$$ start flying out of your pocket that you test the integrity of your co-ax cable.

Cableguy Greg

MT is correct... The weakest link in the system is the connectors and cable. I replaced all of my connectors with compression connectors. They are much better than the "gold" screw on connectors that Rinker uses. They must have kept the locak Radio Shack in business buying all of those connectors. The two splitters aren't the greatest quality. One is purposely put in backwards, then the other one the normal way. It is supposed to be like that. If you have any questions, be sure to ask...

BellevilleMXZ

Thanks guys.......I was just going to replace tv because it looks smaller than my phone. ....lol........I might even look at differnt spot to mount this and use cabinet for storage

Michael T

BMXZ - I bought the swivel arm for my cockpit TV at Home Depot. There were a number available. I like the swivel part instead of just a fixed mount as (obviously) you can orient the TV to anywhere in the cockpit - or down in the cabin.. We also bought a TV that had an internal DVD and HDMI ports to accept our PVR. My friend has a TV without the DVD but he has a small portable DVD that he just plugs-in with an HDMI cable. Attached, pics of arm install in cockpit. The second picture shows the TV swiveled slightly towards the bow. This particular mount has two arms so it extends out and will swivel more than 180 degrees.

BellevilleMXZ

Thanks Michael!

LaRea

Another option, if you have internet connectivity:  Get a Slingbox.

A Slingbox takes the signal from your home's cable TV box and transmits it via internet to wherever you are.  You can watch on a laptop, tablet or phone -- IF you have reliable internet access.  And you can control the home cable box just like at home.

Of course, it wouldn't work if you are anchored out in a remote location with no internet access.

BellevilleMXZ

1. LaRea said:

   Another option, if you have internet connectivity:  Get a Slingbox.
   
   A Slingbox takes the signal from your home's cable TV box and transmits it via internet to wherever you are.  You can watch on a laptop, tablet or phone -- IF you have reliable internet access.  And you can control the home cable box just like at home.
   
   Of course, it wouldn't work if you are anchored out in a remote location with no internet access.

   
   Yeah, good point, forgot about that. I'm in the country so don't have super internet, so don't use one,......but marina has decent access. I 'll test and see what speeds I get, might be an option too, thanks!

Michael T

@LaRea you also have to be careful where we boat as there are signal towers in Canada and The US along the River. Boaters from both sides have to be careful that they have not picked-up an internet signal from the other country or the bill for one night's streaming can be costlier that a new satellite system LOL

MarkB

What bandwidth is used for stream from a sling box?  For instance how many MB's per hour?  Most phone plans are no more than 15 GB, assuming you use that as a VPN.  You don't want to chew through your entire month's allowance in 5 hours. LOL.

BellevilleMXZ

Yeah i'd never use my phone, only wifi at marina.

LaRea

I think it's throttled down on phones, but Slingbox is still a wish-list item for me.

Michael T

@LaRea, all the kids in my family have sling boxes and Apple TV - they love them! I have to catch-up....Santa?