It took a couple of dry runs and an annoying number of phone calls to my technophile buddy, but I figured out this tangle of TV cables in my attic and actually added to it. The idea was to get the best possible "over the air" (OTA) signal to my fancy high definition (HD) TV's.
I am convinced that satellite TV is vastly superior to cable, but sadly satellite providers are not offering local stations in HD on their service. Now, don't go arguing with me that the cable companies do have local HD's, because there's no dispute. Point conceded. I can tell you, though, that a good, strong OTA HD signal is much better than the one provided after the signal is squeezed down and sent across miles and miles of cable. 
To meet my own HDTV demands, it was necessary to set up a Sattelite/ OTA combo. Thanks to the technophile and no thanks to the satellite installers, I was able to service three HDTV's with one antenna in the attic (with capacity for a fourth.) Awesome awesome awesome. This invloved using six little gizmos calls diplexers, two or three splitters and who knows how many jumpers (short cables), but it's all working fabulously and I have magnificent satellite and OTA High Definition. As a bonus, I'm even picking up some distant OTA signals not offered on the satellite service.
Trying to explain what's over the air and what's coming across the satellite dish to the rest of the family has proven to be a challenge, particularly for the young adults in the house who have never known life without cable or satellite.
All they know is since I moved the antenna from the living room into the attic (diplexers, whatever!), most of their favorite shows are reliably in HD. As long as they know what button to push and which remote control to use, that tangle of cables in the attic is just Dad's problem. 
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Digital TV Revolution
Sunday, September 14, 2008
How Great is DirecTV?
Hurricane Ike played havoc with a couple of local television stations. Saturday night, the NBC affiliate was off the air. This was worrisome because the much-anticipated season premier of Saturday Night Live was coming on! The local FOX station is still not transmitting, which is an issue because it's NFL day. No problem. The fine folks at DirecTV somehow knew of the troubles and simply directed another FOX signal and another NBC signal into this market. They provided on-screen messages on the channels where we would normally see these networks instructing us where to tune. It was a beautiful thing.
Try that with cable.
It wasn't perfect. The video streams were got were not in High Definition. If you're accustomed to HD, it's an adjustment to go back to the old way of seeing things. But, hey, I'll take it.
Do the right thing. Switch to satellite. If you do, tell them I sent you. Maybe I'll get a free month of ESPN GamePlan or something.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
We Can Breathe Again
The first full weekend of football in 2008 has been reasonably entertaining despite the hurricane-induced absence of the LSU Tigers. In the off-season, I upgraded my High Definition package with DirecTV and it's worth every penny.
I spent more time today watching the NFL than I did in a month last year. The Cowboys looked New England Patriot-like in their imposing win over the Cleveland Browns. 
Felix Jones, the rookie running back from Arkansas, gives Cowboys fans reason for high hopes in the years ahead and quarterback Tony Romo was virtually flawless in the first half. In the second half, the Cowboys seemed to go through the motions against a hapless Cleveland defense.
I know I should have been riveted to the Saints' game against Tampa Bay. I turned the TV on and watched a lot of the game, which they won.
But I simply could not stop myself from changing channels to watch the New York Favres in Miami. The drama of quarterback Chad Pennington playing his first game for the Dolphins against the team that released him to make room for Favre was too compelling. 
The presence of the unretired living legend in a Jets' uniform was reality TV at its best. Favre and the Jets won, but barely. I'm looking forward to seeing how Favre's season develops. It could be legendary.
I'm surprising myself by watching so much pro football. I'm planning to watch JaMarcus Russell and the Raiders Monday night. I'm not sure if it's the sport or the HD, but I need to shut things down and get out of the house.
