taking the plunge

[smack]

I am looking to make the plunge into the hdtv market.  My question is: I live in on the southwest side of Waukesha (59/oakdale) and was wondering what I can expect as far as hdtv channel reception(milwaukee, madison, chicago??), programming in hdtv?etc.  I live on a hill near the top, but on the western slope.  I have Directv so I will be getting the hdnet & hbonet. but was curious about the local OTA channels.
 
However I really am interested in the sports programming such as final 4, superbowl, tennis, racing etc.
 
Great site, very informative.
 
thanks,
 
steve
 
 

[Kevin Arnold]

Welcome to HDTV. You're in a good location for OTA reception. But really need to know if you intend to use indoor or outdoor antenna. Check some of the threads but for indoor the Radio Shack 2 bow tie stand alone works very well but is discontinued and harder to find. Channel Master has something the same though. With a indoor you should get CBS46,TMJ28, and PBS 8 very well. WITI 33 is almost surely no. WISN when they come on should be easy to receive. You'll probably get Madison with an indoor 75% of the time. (CBS50, NBC19, ABC26). With an outdoor it'll be 95%. As for Chicago you'll get other members weighing in but I suspect only with outdoor and then 60-70% of the time.  Let us know.

[MesaV]

Welcome aboard Steve.  I live on the west side of Waukesha near (TT/Madison).  You should be able to, with a good outdoor antenna, pickup the Madison stations ABC, CBS, and PBS.  Some people can also pickup the NBC affiliate which is running at about 19khz ERP.
My antenna is a 4 bay bow tie from Channel Master and it's about 30 feet above the ground.

[smack]

I will probably try an indoor antenna first and see what I get. (Its a two story) Then if I am not happy I would look for the outdoor.  

Also: what will my Directv stations look like on a 16:9 tv with the hughes box?  Will they take up the whole thing or just appear as a 4:3 with black on the sides?  I know the Hdnet and HBO hd will be 16:9 but what about the others?

thanks,
steve

[Gregg Lengling]

The normal stations will have side bars because they are transmitted in the NTSC standard of 4:3.  However most sets have to options to modify the display to avoid burning bars in the side.  Normally they are called Full and Fill.  Full just stretches the picture out horizontally making everyone look a little fat.  Fill expands it both horizontally and vertically thus maintaining perspective, however the top and bottom of the picture is lost in the cut off.

Enjoy.


------------------
Gregg R. Lengling
RCA P61310 61" 16x9
glengling@ameritech.net

[Tom Snyder]

I've tried several different indoor antennas...amplified and non-amplified, and found the Radio Shack Bowtie the best by far (despite its appearance). Apparently they're not making it anymore, but you may be able to find it on close-out for $10...

I'm up in Germantown, but on occasion, I've even been able to pick up a few Chcago stations.

[Kevin Arnold]

FYI: Channel Master makes basically the same antenna as the discontinued RatShack bowtie:
Model 4149
Allegro UHF Antenna

A style leader in bow-tie design for top UHF performance.  Gold screen

and for a picture go here: http://www.channelmaster.com/pages/ia1.htm

[Ron Pollitt]

Smack,
I picked up an extra Radio Shack Bow-tie when they were on close out. New in the box, e-mail me at rpollitt@genevaonline.com and its yours for cost and postage....or pick up in Lake Geneva.  
Ron

[tenth_t2]

I'm at Hwy 164/59 and Cleveland and had to go rooftop for Madison reception also.  Milwaukee (ch 4) was ok through the roof.  Have not gotten Chicago, but haven't looked when the tropo is good.

Most of the HD you'll see is 16:9, and my set (Mits 55859) can apply 5 different stretches of choice, so even my NTSC is full screen.  Now, when a HD station drops to a NTSC commercial upconverted, you get black bars.

HDNET (I've seen it on WDJT-DT) is, well, spectacular.

Welcome!

Greg O.

[ReesR]

Welcome to HDTV

Just another option for ya.  The Radio Shack on Hwy 11 (next to Walmart) in Racine has the Radio Shack Bowtie antenna for under $5 as of a few days ago.

Enjoy your HD.  It usually is awesome and I don't use that term very often.

Cheers

------------------
Rees Roberts
Racine, WI
reesr@wi.net

HDTV Receiver:  Sony KD-34XBR2
Bi-directional Yagi Antenna at 30 feet

[This message has been edited by ReesR (edited 09-17-2002).]