[bebw]

I moved a Tivo to a set that doesn't have access to cable. My reception is terrible. All I want to get on this set is NBC, CBS and ABC really. I wish I could get PBS but I think that is asking too much of 'today's' television sets. My experience is the new televisions are basically boxes set up for cable reception and have very poor receiver in them. However I don't think I'm asking too much to try to get the major network stations okay. I live on a hilltop. I got the fanciest antenna I could find, not plain rabbit ears. Does anyone have any ideas? I don't have a DVD receiver but I have a VCR recording machine. Do VCR recorders have better receivers than televisions? That used to be the case. I'm just worn out from redoing all the television connections or I would just try it. Also the VCR recorder I have is already in use in another area and sometimes used there. I never use a VCR recorder on same set as Tivo is set up since I prefer to record with Tivo so I would just be moving the VCR recorder to this television to aid reception only. It seems like a waste but if that is only way to get channel reception I'll do that.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
I have two Tivos. Other one is located where cable is available so no problem.

 

[davezatz]

Just to be clear... you're connecting the antenna to the TiVo which is connected to the television? Did you re-run guided setup to let the TiVo know you want to get channels from OTA? In this scenraio you're also changing channels through the TiVo, not the the TV - right?

And yes, tuner quality can vary by device - I remember buying a specific JVC VCR model several years ago to act as a TV tuner in my home theater because it was suposed to be more sensitive and precise.

 

[atmuscarella]

I think you indicated you are using an indoor antenna? If so you may have to get a out door one. This site is a good guide for what you should need:

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

I have to have a near top of the line out door antenna with a mast mounted amplifier to get my local channels and I am only about 35 miles from the city them come from and live on a hill too.

Good Luck!

atmuscarella

 

[bebw]

Yes, I have connections as you say. I must add that poor reception I am getting is what I got prior connecting Tivo to it, so it isn't because Tivo isn't connected properly. I just get loosey television reception without cable. HOWEVER I have two old black and white 12 inch sets that I occasionally set up in guest room or something and they get excellent reception so it isn't the area. It is the receiver on these new televisions. This is a Panasonic television but all the newer (last 15 years) sets I've found they don't have as good a receivers as older televisions. Some people don't get cable. I guess they are all looking through fussy pictures or they have old TVs or they are getting good reception through some other device, like a VCR.
My main problem is with NBC. That means I get ABC and CBS okay and that is all. I get no PBS channels. NBC is owned by GE and I have never had any luck getting good quality from anything GE.

 

[bebw]

Thanks atmuscarella,
That was helpful. Apparently NBC receives better reception on some UHF signals, like PBS, so that would explain why I can't get PBS or NBC well. I have fooled around with my 'round' UHF antenna and improved picture somewhat on NBC. Since I pay for cable, I won't invest in an outside antenna unless I give up my cable connection. Picture is good enough. It still has squigley lines through the center but they are pretty faint now with adjustment.

 

[DocNo]

I moved a Tivo to a set that doesn't have access to cable. My reception is terrible. All I want to get on this set is NBC, CBS and ABC really. [...] My experience is the new televisions are basically boxes set up for cable reception and have very poor receiver in them.

I guess I am confused. You want to get Over the Air (OTA) reception on a Tivo/TV combo. In that case, the tuner in the TV is irrelevant - the tuner in the Tivo is doing the work - not the tuner in the Television. If you had an antenna going directly to the TV with no Tivo in the loop, then you would be rightly concerned about the tuner in the Television.

NBC is owned by GE and I have never had any luck getting good quality from anything GE.

This is a rather bizarre statement. You think the NBC affiliate in your area (who is probably not owned by GE) is using a GE transmitter and that's why you are getting poorer NBC reception? It more than likely is your position to the NBC transmitter, that's all.

Since I pay for cable, I won't invest in an outside antenna unless I give up my cable connection.

Well there you go! You pay for cable, instead of paying for an antenna that will only get you a couple of stations, if you don't want to do it yourself, pay either an alarm install company (Specializes in low voltage wiring), a handyman or your local cable company less than $100 to run some coax over to where your Tivo and TV are. Problem solved, plus you will get all your other cable channels. I mean, you are paying for cable - would be rather daft to not take full advantage of it, no?

I guess "pennnywise, pound foolish" is running through my mind right now....

 

[bebw]

Hi DoNo,
Yes, you are right: over the top statement on GE. Just dislike GE because of prior experience, and an exaggeration.
Running the cable to tv makes sense but it is temporarily set up in a formal dining room while I do some paperwork there, not someplace I would normally want a tv. In addition, dining room is over a garage so wiring would have to go through cement garage wall and then up through ceiling which I just had refinished. No good way to get it there simply.
Thanks anyway. It is okay now. A little fussy on NBC but for temp situation, okay. Even with cable, I typically tape about 85% of programs from NBC, CBS and ABC. It's just one of two shows that I pay cable to get.
I tape all three hours of the Today Show every day, in one hour segments so I can erase them an hour at a time, all the television 'news' shows like 20/20, 60 Minutes, etc, the evening network news. I don't like to miss any news I guess. On my other set I tape Lou Dobbs CNN, The McLaughlin Group on Fridays PBS, and the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. So I will tape all the channel 9 and 12 things on the antenna set. TMI I guess!!!

 

[DocNo]

I hear you about not disturbing walls that have just been re-done

Well, one other thing I forgot is you can always go wireless. You could leave your Tivo in a room that has access to cable, and use a wireless extender (There are several, and lots of good threads in the forums here with users experiences) to get the Tivo signal to the TV that is temporarily in your dining room....

Just a thought....

 

[wilbret]

Cable companies like to rip you off... as if you don't pay enough, they want to charge you by # of connections, and they also want in your house to make the connection.

You can do it yourself, in your attic. If you are capable of few basic things, that is.

1 - identify the cable wires.
2 - cut the cable wire in a spot, and crimp on new connectors
3 - install a splitter in-line
4 - use a fishtape or stiff cable to drop the cable where you want it.
5 - cut a hole in sheetrock and install a box for your new outlet. I like to run a phone cord and/or cat5 to the same outlet, since new receivers tend to require it anyway.

The easier option is to spend 40 bucks on a LeapFrog and just plug your tivo into a cable jack somewhere, and have the signal beamed to your remote tv. We do this in our sun room, as there was no access from above, and we can wheel the tv outside for football games, etc... while grilling. Your remote for tivo will work from wherever you have the setup.

 

[bebw]

Hi. Thanks for the info. Cable wires go across ceiling in basement but I may have seen some in attic too. I will look. I have plaster walls so I am a bit fearful of putting hole in wall myself. I have a handyman I pay 35.00 an hour to do electrical work that maybe could do it. I also have a cable outlet in bedroom directly above an area that would be handy and discreet in dining room, so it is a possibility. I will save your directions as a guide if I decide to do it.
As for Leapfrog, I have concerns about transmission signals crisscrossing inside my house. I don't have wireless internet. I have one computer on a high speed telephone connection and the other on a regular sluggish dialup that I don't use much, nor do I use cellphones, so perhaps a little phobic about that, or wise???? Who know which.

 

[davezatz]

$35/hr sounds like a bargain if we works at a normal pace! As a repeat customer, he'd probably also take more care than your typical cable installer.

I don't have your same wireless phobias, but my experience sending AV via LeapFrog (not sure which brand I actually used) didn't work out so well - I had enough interference to make it too frustrating for regular use. That's when I bought fish tape and started cutting holes in the drywall.

FYI I've had decent luck with uPnP over a 802.11b network. I assume it'd be even better on G.

 

[bebw]

FYI I've had decent luck with uPnP over a 802.11b network. I assume it'd be even better on G.

Dave,
You lost me here: What is uPnP? thanks.

 

[davezatz]

I used it as short-hand for "unplug and play" covering computers and media devices that stream content to each other via WiFi. Ages ago, I had a GoVideo DVD player that could receive the stream... so I'd stream music, photos, and even a DVD in the computer from PC -> player. Eventually the device was rebranded as the Gateway Networked DVD Player. For an early attempt at this technology and using B, it was very impressive. Nowadays, there are many media streamers out there such as this Dlink one: http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=438. VLC will let you set up your own streaming PC to PC: http://engadget.com/2005/11/29/how-to-stream-almost-anything-using-vlc/. Windows MCE does the same when talking to the Xbox 360 though it's locked down, so you need MS products on both ends.

Anyway, it's interesting technology and looks like we're graviating towards a standard protocol (though with different companies and interfaces powering it). It won't help you with TV problem, I just brought it up as an example of wireless streaming that did work in my apartment.