Cutting Our Cable!

yea, I'm set with Netflix. Will probably get that NFL package to watch the games when the season starts.....already forgot the name.

I'll get an antenna soon, just to watch news and stuff.

 

I have to watch Hannibal on the TV. I can get it through Hulu but I hate watching TV or movies on a computer. Although when we go to Mexico we may have to

 

Better idea: DONT USE COMCAST. I use the telephone company's DSL and it works just fine.

Seriously...eff cable companies.

 

@Aqutis now If I can only find my paper work on the antenna to see if is can handle UHF. Well according to the website it can. Now where in the heck is South Mountain.

I sent them an email at [email protected]

 

Antennas depend on location of the transmitter to you. Elevation and such. Distance will degrade the signal, as well.

There is a site that will map signal strength in regard to your location.

 

I was always pleased with DirecTV CS. The wait was never long and the reps were always nice and easy to deal with in my experience. I cut service solely due to price and the contracts.

Worst experiences I've ever had have been with AT&T and Microsoft.

 

I got 2 emails back from WSMV. Here is the first one:

The first thing we recommend is that you try channel *10*. For an obscure technical reason that often works.


The most common reason for difficulty with Channel 4 is an antenna problem. Our station and PBS channel 8 broadcast on relatively low dial positions. (It’s like the difference between WSM AM 650 and WLAC AM 1510. Both stations are 50,000 watts but WSM is much lower on the dial.)


If you remember the old-fashioned "rabbit ears" antennas with the two ears and the round loop in the middle. The ears were for the lower dial positions, the loop for the higher ones.


Unfortunately, many modern "digital" antennas *don't have ears*. These antennas will work poorly if at all on channels 4 and 8.


If your antenna doesn't have ears, I would replace it with a set of rabbit ears. That's still the best indoor antenna you can buy. (And, they're cheap!)


If your antenna *does* have ears...


I would start by manipulating them. Try tilting them up, try tilting them down. Try rotating the entire antenna. (it's hard to predict exactly how to point them. Just try something & see if it works.) Try extending or retracting the ears.


Try to keep the antenna away from metal objects. (I once made the mistake of putting my antenna on the other side of the wall from the refrigerator. It didn't work very well )


Also, try to keep it away from other electronic equipment, like computers. Cellphone chargers are also a potential source of interference.



After making a change, it will be necessary to scan for channels again. On most TV sets, you can try punching in channel *10*. For an obscure technical reason, this will usually cause the TV to scan only our channel. (so you don't have to wait for it to scan the other 68 channels!)


2nd email:

Approximately, where do you live? Transmitters for the Nashville TV stations are not all in one part of town as is the case in many cities. In some parts of town our signal is the easiest to get, in others it is harder.

While WSMV will come in on your TV as Channel 4, it is actually on VHF Channel 10. Most all of the other channels are on UHF, though they come in as 2, 5, etc.

The channels on UHF work better on some indoor antennas than the VHF channels. Is your indoor antenna a “flat panel” or does it include “rabbit ears” that can be adjusted for position? The “flat panel” antennas can be a problem with VHF, even though they are sold as VHF/UHF antennas.


I would suggest manually putting in/selecting channel 10, then adjusting your antenna position to see if there is a sweat-spot where WSMV will come in. Once you (hopefully) find that spot use the auto-scan feature of your TV and it should add WSMV as channel 4.


If all else fails, do you live where an outdoor antenna is an option?

With digital TV an outdoor or attic located antenna pretty much always works better than any of the indoor antenna. In my home I have an indoor antenna located in the topmost part of the attic and it does a fine job of picking up all of the over the air channels.

Off to find some rabbit ears.

Why does it feel like we have come a complete circle??

 

I do remember that site and thought I bookmarked it but I can't find it