*This* is how good the OTA tuner is in the S3

[snathanb]

I've been watching OTA HD for about 3.5 years. Before the S3, I used a Samsung SIR-T151.

Since I live 45 miles from the Dallas area broadcast tower, I bought a very large antenna which I keep in my attic. I got pretty good signal from all the stations.

Of course, when I hooked the antenna up to the S3, I get practically 100% signal strength from every station.

Last night, the kids were watching TV, and I was behing my entertainment center, straightening up the wiring from removing the Samsung and putting in the S3. I needed to unplug the antenna cable from the wall jack. I waited for a commercial, so it wouldn't disrupt what the kids (teens) were watching.

When I pulled the cable, I could still hear the commercial on. I waited for it to drop out. It didn't. Amazed, I flipped through all the channels, and more than half of them were still running fine. From 45 miles away with nothing more than a 3ft stub of coax as an antenna.

Hows that? :up:

[Bierboy]

THAT is awesome, and it's one of the biggest pleasant surprises with the S3 in my estimation. I, too, used the Sammy SIR-T151 for about 3 years, and stations that I had to change antenna orientation for in the past, I now don't have to move the antenna at all. The S3 tuner kicks.

[MickeS]

Are you sure...? That sounds pretty strange to me. But promising, since I'm hoping to use an indoor antenna for transmitter that are 15-32 miles away. :)

[tunnelengineer]

THe ATSC tuners are absolutely amazing in the S3. I am almost (kinda) considering dropping the cable HD channels due to the fact that I now have all the locals in HD via the antenna. Well, I won't drop it strictly due to ESPNHD. Monday Night Football is too good to give up in HD.

[classicX]

A definite plus - if my wife will agree to get rid of cable completely (if we can get all the stations), it might be a better sell. Of course, that is assuming MRV will be enabled.

[snathanb]

Are you sure...? That sounds pretty strange to me. But promising, since I'm hoping to use an indoor antenna for transmitter that are 15-32 miles away. :)

I am absolutely positive, since I don't have cable and I deleted all the analog channels from my guide.

[waharris007]

This is as good a place as any to ask about OTA, as I've never done it before. I'm on Charter just south of Nashville, and everything is just fine EXCEPT that Charter doesn't broadcast FOX or the CW in HD. I looked into an OTA for just those two stations, but, according to www.antennaweb.org, I'm too far away from the towers to get a signal. I tried a $40 RCA amplified indoor antenna just for the heck of it, but got zilch from either of these stations. With my S3 and possibly a better antenna, is there a chance of me miraculously getting these two stations?

I'm 39 miles from the FOX and CW (WB) digital signals. Both of these show up as violet in the antennaweb.org listing. That means that there's practically no chance of any OTA HD goodness on these, right? My zip is 37174 if you pros want to check it out or point me to to better tips.

If you guys with OTA experience have any tips or advice, I'd love to here it!

[tunnelengineer]

That's pretty far. I would think you will need a directional antenna on the roof to get those channels. Yes, according to antennaweb you need a big antenna on the roof. You can find them for about $100 though so you can experiment if you wish. Buy one from somewhere that you can return it if it doesn't work.

[RMBittner]

This may not be the best thread for this comment, but...

I've been amazed at the HD display on the S3, after having used the cable company's HD DVR for the last month. The cable company's DVR gave me frequent dropouts, including one glitch in the middle of "House" that actually jumped cleanly over about 20 minutes of the show! Thankfully, I was also recording it on my S2 at the time, so we were able to catch everything. But, by contrast, the TiVo S3 hasn't had a *single* digital glitch since we got it up and running three days ago.

Now, maybe it's something in the cableCARDS as opposed to a tuner box. I don't know. But the result is that I couldn't be happier with the S3.

Bob

[waharris007]

Thanks. I doubt I'll be able to talk the Mrs. into a great big antenna on the roof, though. What are the size of those things, anyway? Any suggestions for good $100-ish outdoor directional antennas to start my research?

[Bierboy]

This is as good a place as any to ask about OTA, as I've never done it before. I'm on Charter just south of Nashville, and everything is just fine EXCEPT that Charter doesn't broadcast FOX or the CW in HD. I looked into an OTA for just those two stations, but, according to www.antennaweb.org, I'm too far away from the towers to get a signal. I tried a $40 RCA amplified indoor antenna just for the heck of it, but got zilch from either of these stations. With my S3 and possibly a better antenna, is there a chance of me miraculously getting these two stations?

I'm 39 miles from the FOX and CW (WB) digital signals. Both of these show up as violet in the antennaweb.org listing. That means that there's practically no chance of any OTA HD goodness on these, right? My zip is 37174 if you pros want to check it out or point me to to better tips.

If you guys with OTA experience have any tips or advice, I'd love to here it!That's pretty far. I would think you will need a directional antenna on the roof to get those channels. Yes, according to antennaweb you need a big antenna on the roof. You can find them for about $100 though so you can experiment if you wish. Buy one from somewhere that you can return it if it doesn't work.
I respectfully disagree...39 miles is not that far at all. I've read about folks picking up HD stations consistently from 65-80 miles out. A lot of that depends on terrain, trees in your area, etc., but it's most certainly worth a try in my opinion. If those are UHF stations, I'd endorse the Channel Master CM4228 and a CM preamp on a mast with a rotor. Yeah, it'll cost a bit, but I did all that (minus the preamp) for about $150 and one afternoon of work.

[snathanb]

Thanks. I doubt I'll be able to talk the Mrs. into a great big antenna on the roof, though. What are the size of those things, anyway? Any suggestions for good $100-ish outdoor directional antennas to start my research?

What is the terrain like between you and the towers? I'm the original poster pulling in channels from 45 miles away with just a stub of coax.... but the terrain here is flat.
Mountains and hills wreak havoc on digital OTA signals.

[Celusil]

Has anyone tried Standard definition quality OTA? If I go to HD it will be OTA only at first (I'll keep Directtv for most content) I was just curious if S3 OTA quality on SD is as good as cable or close. Thanks

[waharris007]

What is the terrain like between you and the towers? I'm the original poster pulling in channels from 45 miles away with just a stub of coax.... but the terrain here is flat.
Mountains and hills wreak havoc on digital OTA signals.

Well, there's no way to go 40 miles in any direction in Tennessee without passing by a lot of hills! There's a lot of trees and some hills, but no moutains. I wouldn't think that would be too much of a factor in my situation.

[jfh3]

The real test will be when we get people from Denver / Northern Colorado posting. If they can get OTA with an indoor antenna and the S3, then we'll know it's really good.

[generalpatton71]

Well, there's no way to go 40 miles in any direction in Tennessee without passing by a lot of hills! There's a lot of trees and some hills, but no moutains. I wouldn't think that would be too much of a factor in my situation.

Yeah I drive in TN allot, and it's got hills everywhere when you start to move to the south and to the east. However at 40miles out I think the ch4228 and a pre amp will still get the job done. Just make sure you get it to the highest point available. You may went to head over to avs forums and go to the "local info and reception room". They have a list of all the local markets where you can discuss local reception issues in your area.

[vstone]

I tried all the local NTSC OTA's and they didn't look good, so I disabled them. I have one of those flying saucer antennas about 40 miles from my locals. The ATSC channels with realistic power levels are great.

I can't speak to the quality of the NTSC tuners, but the ATSC ones are fabulous.

[infinitespecter]

I just got my S3 (CC overnight shipping rocks) and I was shocked to see how well it picks up HD signals. I am about 30 miles from where the stations are broadcasted on Mt. Wilson and I used to get reasonably good reception with a powered antenna. I've used the Samsung T351 (a 151 with DVI), the LG 4200a, and my Sony HD DVR, which had been the best as far as tuning went.

Plugged in the S3 and got nothing. Fiddled with the amplification and it got better as I turned it down. Turned off the amplification and got a signal on every channel. Out of 4 boxes, this is by far the best reception I have ever had.

[S3OTAfan]

The OTA capability of the S3 is amazing. If only the S3 had a low cost version with just the ATSC tuners, I'd get one for the grandparents who don't want cable.

[Dssturbo1]

Thanks. I doubt I'll be able to talk the Mrs. into a great big antenna on the roof, though. What are the size of those things, anyway? Any suggestions for good $100-ish outdoor directional antennas to start my research?
just go locally to home depot radio shack, lowes wal mart, they come small to really big.... i got a rca from home depot for $60, uhf/vhf combo, large outside directional antenna. dont have the measureements but could easily be 100 inches long and 60 inches wide. not pretty but does a good job at 30 miles here, no amp or preamp needed and runs into an 8 out channel master distribution amp to feed a mits dlp, the S3, a Hdtivo, a dvd recorder, a replay dvr and other rooms. 15 ft in the air with 3 x 5 ft poles from home depot too.

if you need online sources try warrenelectronics.com or starkelectroincs.com

[doctord]

Thanks. I doubt I'll be able to talk the Mrs. into a great big antenna on the roof, though. What are the size of those things, anyway? Any suggestions for good $100-ish outdoor directional antennas to start my research?

My experience has been that the OTA signals with my DB8 antenna and amplifier have gone from low to mid 70's with occasional signal loss before the S3 to high 80's up to 100 on some stations with no loss after. I also pick up 2 more stations (17 total) than before ( unfortuantely spanish and no halba espanol). The DB8 is about 4'x4' square, mounts vertically, and I have it installed just above the eave on my 2-story facing south. I am on a side hill (about 900' above the valley floor shooting through trees), but the towers I am picking up the signals from are 85 miles south of me according to antennaweb. These stations are from the next market and not available to me on cable. My friend is at a little higher elevation and is sucessfully using a DB4 with amp at around 100 miles from the towers with a clear southern exposure.

What I'm trying to relate is that looking at antennaweb made me reluctant to even try OTA, but it works better than I thought possible and the S3 makes it even better.

[waharris007]

Thanks for all of your great feedback. I'm going to do some antenna shopping this weekend! And thanks for pointing me to the OTA by city threads on AVS. I found a few people who live in my area and are getting FOX and WB with little trouble.

Those two channels will be the last piece in my S3 puzzle!

[keenanSR]

THe ATSC tuners are absolutely amazing in the S3.
I agree, I've tried for years and spent piles of money on equipment to get the one station in HD that I couldn't get from any other provider and could never get a decent signal. With the S3 the station comes in and stays locked. My antenna sits atop a 70' redwood tree, and even with the wind blowing like crazy right now, the station still comes in.

This unit is so good with OTA it's almost worth the price just to use it for OTA only.

[l_emmerdeur]

Perhaps they should consider adding this to their marketing spiel then, hhhmmmmmmm?

[generalpatton71]

If ESPN was OTA I'd seriously consider going ota only.

[tgibbs]

Well, there's no way to go 40 miles in any direction in Tennessee without passing by a lot of hills! There's a lot of trees and some hills, but no moutains. I wouldn't think that would be too much of a factor in my situation.

Trees and hills can be a factor even if you are fairly close to the transmitter. Basically digital OTA works reliably if you have line of site. Otherwise it tends to be hit or miss. Sometimes you can catch a "bounce."

[waharris007]

Got a Radio Shack antenna today for $80. It is AMAZING! The only problem is figuring out where to mount it. Thanks for the great tips on this!

[waharris007]

By the way, for those reading this who have been discouraged by antennaweb.org... The two stations I wanted in HD that weren't provided by cable were FOX and WB. The antennaweb site was less than hopeful, saying I was 40 miles from the tower and giving it a dismal "violet" color rating. However, I now have an indoor/outdoor antenna mounted on the wall INSIDE my garage, and I'm getting 97% signal strength on both of these stations. OTA is unbelievable. I can't believe I never tried this before.

[JTYoung1]

I think the tuner in the S3 is better as well. I had a the HR10-250 before I recently switched back to cable and there were 2 locals that I could never pick up decently even though I was only 7 miles from the farthest one. When I hooked up the antenna to the new box I had a great picture on both of them the lowest the signal strength has dropped is in the 80s and it is usually in the 90s now.

[tivo_madness]

The OTA ATSC tuner on the S3 is amazing. Better than my Bravia S2000. In Palo Alto, it picks up everything from SF to San Jose and gets the station IDs from Monterey and Sacramento (over 60 miles away!).

All with a Winegard SS-3000 Indoor. Sweet.

[nhey]

I agree with everyone. The OTA tuner is phenomenal and by far the best I've ever had. I get OTA channels I never have even seen one frame of before. This is the biggest surprise with the S3.

[abroun]

I have 2 weeks before RCN will bring me Cablecards :( ... so just for yucks tried plugging in the cheapo FM antenna that feeds our old stereo receiver, re-ran guided setup, and was rewarded with HD OTA reception on all the locals!

What's amazing to me is that the NTSC equivalent of the station is little more than gray snow, yet the same ASTC channel is nigh on perfect. Dont know if the transmitter has more power, or it's the encoding, or the Tivo's receiver (and don't really care)...but happy nontheless..

Now if I can just find HBO in the ether...

[gwsat]

Now if I can just find HBO in the ether...

ROFL. Yes, and I have been yearning for a winning multimillion dollar lottery ticket. :)