Replacement for basic cable

[dealnewb]

My grandmother has basic cable. She only watches basic channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 11. Its a waste to pay the monthly fee for cable just for those channels. What should she get to guarantee clear picture quality with no monthly fee?

I was thinking an HD tuner. If that is what she needs then does anyone know of any good deals for one?

[jkee]

You need to know what networks correspond to those channels, numbers are different in all areas and between different tv providers. Usually only the major networks NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, PBS, CW, are available over the air.

Punch in her address in at http://tvfool.com to see what channels are available over the air and what the reception is like in her area (post a link to the results (it only reveals your zipcode) if you want antenna advice). Then she would need an antenna and a HDTV or digital converter box for her old tv. After the switch to digital broadcasts and the end of the coupon program, the higher quality converter boxes have gotten harder to find and more expensive. Changes in channel numbers, broadcast format (4:3 vs 16:9 and associated button on the remote), more devices to switch on and deal with can be challenging for grandparents. I know I've had a hard time teaching mine some of these things.

What does she have for a tv?

[heero884]

Mohu Leaf is pretty solid: http://slickdeals.net/f/3774706-Mohu-Leaf-Antenna-34-shipped

But..

What antenna works well for 1 person may not work as good for another. If you follow jkee's instructions he'll be able to offer more detailed advice for your situation.

[WackyP]

I am skeptical of that Mohu Leaf product. It would not surprise me at all if we were to find out later that ratings for the product is not legit. Anyway, it just depends what kind of reception you get in the area for those channels. If you are close enough, almost anything will work. Likewise, there are going to be some areas so bad that a paid provider is required.

[boboli]

Mohu Leaf is pretty solid: http://slickdeals.net/f/3774706-Mohu-Leaf-Antenna-34-shipped

But..

What antenna works well for 1 person may not work as good for another. If you follow jkee's instructions he'll be able to offer more detailed advice for your situation.

I bought the Mohu Leaf about 7 months ago for my parents and it works pretty good - a lot better than the rabbit ears they had before and no need to constantly 'tweek' the rabbit ears for different channels....but that being said, as others mentioned, it also depends how far/near her physical location is from the broadcast towers - AntennaWeb.org (http://www.antennaweb.org) is also a good place to go and plug her address in to see which channels she's likely to get based on her location. (Also the other nice thing about Mohu is it's a flat piece that can be easily hid behind a picture or curtains - major selling point with Mom's & Granny's ;))

[dealgate]

Make sure she actually has basic cable. Most cable companies will not offer this until you threaten to go to the FCC. They usually have a @$15 service that is unadvertised and the very existence of which is denied. I think they are required by law to offer a "basic" basic service but they do everything they can not to let anyone know it is there.

[greenmeansgoooo]

Make sure she actually has basic cable. Most cable companies will not offer this until you threaten to go to the FCC. They usually have a @$15 service that is unadvertised and the very existence of which is denied. I think they are required by law to offer a "basic" basic service but they do everything they can not to let anyone know it is there.

exctly!

if you go to the twc website there is no mention of their basic cable service.

[dayv]

exctly!

if you go to the twc website there is no mention of their basic cable service.
it is listed on my statement as an option, i think its 20 by me.

if you look at the statement, it might say something like standard cable includes basic cable (value of XXXX).

[Dr. J]

Make sure she actually has basic cable. Most cable companies will not offer this until you threaten to go to the FCC. They usually have a @$15 service that is unadvertised and the very existence of which is denied. I think they are required by law to offer a "basic" basic service but they do everything they can not to let anyone know it is there.

I agree.

I remember years ago wanting to get internet ONLY in an apt. So I call up the cable co, tell them I want internet and they start to pitch digital cable to me saying that I'd get $15 off the internet if I also subbed to TV. OK so I ask them what packages they have, and the CSR starts talking about "digital starter" or whatever that's $50/mo.... etc etc. I stopped her right there and said "don't you offer just like 10 channels"? Begrudgingly (I could tell by her voice), she said after a pause "yes sir that's $10.53 a month". :lol: So, I could either get the internet service for like $50/mo, or get internet and basic for $35..

[Curtieson]

I'd get $15 off the internet if I also subbed to TV."yes sir that's $10.53 a month". :lol: So, I could either get the internet service for like $50/mo, or get internet and basic for $35..

*cough $45 cough*

[bonkman]

My grandmother has basic cable. She only watches basic channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 11. Its a waste to pay the monthly fee for cable just for those channels. What should she get to guarantee clear picture quality with no monthly fee?

I was thinking an HD tuner. If that is what she needs then does anyone know of any good deals for one?
HD tuners aren't magic -- they need a signal source. That's where cable comes in. You can replace that signal source with an antenna, as others have mentioned. Or you can use hulu plus or other online streaming services, as they usually carry the major networks. However, as some have mentioned, sometimes it's more expensive to have internet than internet + tv.

[teetee1]

No non-amped indoor OTA antenna can give you multiple channel signals clearer than cable's QAM/analog from my experience.

[Deusxmachina]

No non-amped indoor OTA antenna can give you multiple channel signals clearer than cable's QAM/analog from my experience.
I was going to disagree, but then I reread and saw you said "multiple channel signals."

But, I will disagree anyway since I have a DB4 clone antenna that records 2-3 channels all the time from about 20 miles from the stations and works great. If someone is close enough to the towers, even rabbit ears should be fine.

I don't quite get the "clearer" part. There's not really "clearer" for digital signals. It basically works or it doesn't. Unless you mean something else by that.

[teetee1]

I was going to disagree, but then I reread and saw you said "multiple channel signals."

But, I will disagree anyway since I have a DB4 clone antenna that records 2-3 channels all the time from about 20 miles from the stations and works great. If someone is close enough to the towers, even rabbit ears should be fine.

I don't quite get the "clearer" part. There's not really "clearer" for digital signals. It basically works or it doesn't. Unless you mean something else by that.


Since I've stated it was personal experience...there is really no agree/disagree issue there, wouldn't you agree? (hehehe..)

By "clearer" I mean the indoor antenna could sometimes get signals and sometimes doesn't depending on weather/temperature/environment condition while QAM gets the consistent feed that won't cause ghosting or pause from buffer underrun.

[moey]

Im assuming she doesnt have cable Internet, you can get the basic networks with the QAM tuner and cable internet subscription

[dealnewb]

You need to know what networks correspond to those channels, numbers are different in all areas and between different tv providers. Usually only the major networks NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, PBS, CW, are available over the air.

Punch in her address in at http://tvfool.com to see what channels are available over the air and what the reception is like in her area (post a link to the results (it only reveals your zipcode) if you want antenna advice). Then she would need an antenna and a HDTV or digital converter box for her old tv. After the switch to digital broadcasts and the end of the coupon program, the higher quality converter boxes have gotten harder to find and more expensive. Changes in channel numbers, broadcast format (4:3 vs 16:9 and associated button on the remote), more devices to switch on and deal with can be challenging for grandparents. I know I've had a hard time teaching mine some of these things.

What does she have for a tv?

Thanks for the response. I completely forgot about this thread till now. She only has TV and really watches it for the noise and doesn't really know whats going on unless its something like 'America's funniest home videos.' The channels you listed are what I meant, I am so use to having those be single digit channels I forgot that it changes in different areas.

As far as I know she doesn't know what channels show which shows. She turns on her TV and flips the channels or leaves it on one channel. You mentioned multiple things to turn on after the switch, could she technically leave everything else on ( I know its a waste of electricity) and only turn on/off her TV? Turning on/off the TV and changing channels can be done with one remote?

She lives in an apartment. Currently her monthly bill is around $25 with TWC. Its so much for someone who only watches ABC, Fox, CW, and NBC.

This is the result (http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d0b865ac566ade9).

[jkee]

Assuming she has an analog sdtv, she would need a digital converter box. First ask her / other relatives if they bought a converter for her when they were popular and the coupon program was active.

I'd probably get this converter box:
IF IT"S ACTUALLY AVAILABLE HERE, call or email them first http://chucksaudiovideo.com/product/5963_Zenith-DTT901-Digital-TV-Tuner-Converter-Box-DTT901.html
see:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1183648
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=186

For an antenna, you'll be fine with anything that has ok vhf-hi (non of the vhf-lo channels are anything you'd care about) gain. A cheap antenna from big lots ($8, if you get the amplified one don't plug in the power supply, it will probably only cause problems in an area with good reception) or radio shack would do the job, but you may want something nicer. Personally I'd stuff the antenna in the attic or garage. The Leaf (non-amplified) other's have talked about would be ok, but for the money I'd rather get a more powerful, uglier antenna and put it out of sight.

Some other antennas that would work for you can be found in this post:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=47306000&postcount=37

Make sure to teach her to use the format or zoom button, and delete the spanish and infomercial channels, and if possible program the remote to turn her tv on.

[jkee]

This (http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=ZAT-970A&d=Zinwell-ZAT970A-Digital-Converter-Box-W-Analog-PassThrough-ZAT970A&c=Digital%20Converter%20Boxes&sku=) is another decent converter box that's still available, but it's remote can't turn the tv on/off and it lacks an epg.

These antenna's would probably do the job too and should be easy to return it they don't:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Phillips+-+SDV5122T+Antenna/4620536.p?id=1218498023967&skuId=4620536
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/RCA+-+Indoor+HDTV+Antenna+-+White/8939839.p?id=1215217075905&skuId=8939839