Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Rabbit Ears To Stage a Comeback Thanks To DTV

Posted by kdawson on from the standing-on-one-leg dept.

Jeffrey Breen writes "Like Monty Python's Killer Rabbit, cheap indoor antennas seem harmless to satellite and cable providers. But with the digital TV transition in the US, rabbit ears can suddenly provide digital-perfect pictures, many more channels, and even on-screen program guides. Already feeling pressure as suddenly budget-conscious consumers shed premium channels, providers must now get creative to protect their low-end as well."

24 of 265 comments (clear)

  1. Not rabbit ears by show+me+altoids · · Score: 5, Informative

    Rabbit ears don't pick up UHF signals; they are for VHF which is going away. It's the "loop" part of current antennas which will receive UHF.

    --
    I feel sorry for people that don't drink, because when they get up in the morning, that's as good as they're gonna feel
    1. Re:Not rabbit ears by Burdell · · Score: 4, Insightful

      In general "rabbit ears" are set-top TV antennas of any type. Also, VHF is not going away (some DTV stations will still be using VHF). Only the top part of the UHF band will no longer be available for TV stations.

    2. Re:Not rabbit ears by JDevers · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Not all DTV is broadcast on UHF and rabbit ears DO pickup UHF on the lower end of the spectrum. There ARE far better designs though and rabbit ears will not make a return.

    3. Re:Not rabbit ears by jtara · · Score: 5, Informative

      A one-inch piece of wire or a dampened finger will "pick up" UHF, VHF, or Martian signals. It's all a matter of how well, not whether or not they do.

      The "loop" is nominally designed-for and tuned to pick-up UHF signals. The "rabbit ears" is designed-for and tuned (by varying the length of the ears) to pick-up VHF signals. But either will "pick up" both bands with some degree of success. ("Both" bands is actually a misnomer, since the VHF broadcast TV allocations span multiple ranges with holes for other services, such as public safety, etc.)

      Given that almost nobody bothers to tune rabbit-ears by adjusting their length, the non-adjustability of loop antennas, and the incredible width of the broadcast TV spectrum, most simple indoor antennas like this are essentially "random wire" antennas for most channels anyway.

    4. Re:Not rabbit ears by Hatta · · Score: 5, Informative

      There are even better designs than the UHF loop. I built one of these, and it works great, even without a reflector. Extremely easy to build too. Something even better and a little more complex would be the Grey Hoverman.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    5. Re:Not rabbit ears by ryanw · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You're absolutely WRONG.

      Rabbit ears are back (at least in my house)! I am one who has realized that me and my family mostly watched "network shows". I am one who canceled my cable service and traded it for rabbit ears.

      At this time DTV looks better than cable services. Digital Cable Services look worse then analog TV and tons worse than DTV, the compression is too high.

      Rabbit ears are back baby..

    6. Re:Not rabbit ears by cheater512 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well its more like digital showing flawless quality where analogue would show some fuzz, but too much fuzz and digital dies completely where as analogue still shows something.

      Its better than analogue if you dont have a strong signal, but you still have enough.

    7. Re:Not rabbit ears by enrevanche · · Score: 5, Funny

      This is not correct, Martian signals require a special rabbit ears type antennae, as demonstrated in this photo.

    8. Re:Not rabbit ears by nabsltd · · Score: 4, Informative

      ALL TV broadcasters have the option of continuing to use their newly alloted UHF channel, or keeping their old (sometimes VHF, sometimes UHF) channel. In either case, they had to notify the FCC long ago.

      Even this is more restrictive than what the FCC allowed.

      Basically, a station could request any frequency (within channels 2-51) as their final digital location, and as long as it was going to be available, they would get it. Stations with a "relationship" with an existing channel got right of first refusal, so any that asked for their old analog or temporary digital to be their final digital were always awarded it.

    9. Re:Not rabbit ears by Fred_A · · Score: 3, Funny

      Anyway you need a 25 foot or higher antenna. Rabbit ears/loops don't cut it here in "rural" Lancaster PA.

      So basically, you're saying that what you need is giraffe ears ?

      --

      May contain traces of nut.
      Made from the freshest electrons.
  2. If only this was truly a threat to them by zappepcs · · Score: 4, Informative

    I don't think that rabbit ears are going to be a threat anytime soon. That PayPerView things is pretty compelling. Admittedly, in tough financial times switching to just a few local channels for free would be an option - until you look at unbundling your catv from internet and phone etc. I'm pretty certain that cable providers have a grip on how to bill this so changing really doesn't save you anything worth getting excited over.

    Now, if bundling of services with savings was not allowed, and catv ISPs were forced to act like common carriers things might be different. That doesn't look likely to happen any decade soon.

    As cynical as I am I expect that soon I'll be paying a penalty for using Vonage instead of the catv ISP version of VoIP; which is a sucky service BTW. None of the available VoIP services can compete with Vonage for features or price or price per feature in my area. No soft phone, no taking your phone modem on vacation, and North America Plan means only US and protectorates - no Canada or Mexico etc.

    My mom has DTV and during a storm it sucks. Yes, with indoor antenna it still sucked. Pixilation was devastating to viewing pleasure. It had nothing I'd switch from catv for.

    This is an interesting thought, but nothing we'll see in reality.

    --
    Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
  3. Saw this on Superbowl Sunday. by WiiVault · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The house I went to was tech savvy enough to realize our over the air HD picture was far less blocky and pixelated than the one provided by his HD cable package. If you can get locals with antenna, I would suggest it for any major sporting event. The difference is really amazing.

  4. I cut the cable by asolidvoid · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Here in the Bay Area I get about 42 digital channels over the air, many of which are HD. Between that and all the streamable content on sites like Hulu, and Netflix on demand, the case for paying a monthly cable or satellite fee really does seem pretty weak these days. (At least for those in major metropolitan areas.)

  5. Better than cable by indiejade · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Olympics last year were what motivated me to attempt to do the TV thing . . . so I found a very small set and got some rabbit ears. It was pleasantly surprising to discover the dual nature of the channel settings available . . . the old analog signal is still full of snow and noise while the digital airwaves really are better than cable. Channels are a little bit longer (e.g. KQED is 09-003, needs to be manually entered with the dash and all. Best of all, no monthly cable bill!

    It's likely that the cable / satellite television industry is going to take a hard hit once people figure out that the can get clarity without paying for ridiculous "service contracts" and "package deals" and "bundles".

  6. I wonder how long this will last. by Anachragnome · · Score: 4, Insightful

    My brother hooked up an antennae at his place in LA, and now gets somewhere around 60 channels. All in perfect clarity.

    Considering how much I HATE paying a cable company for ads(what happened to Ad-supported?), this is looking very much like something I am going to try out. Fuck Comcast.

    But how will cable companies respond when broadcast stations start taking back business?

    My guess, they will start BUYING them.

  7. Re:'Rabbit Ears' ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Third possibility:

    - private firms and individuals contracted by a government to raid the carrot patches of an enemy

  8. Waste of time? by ZERO1ZERO · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Why don't you guys just install a proper rooftop / loft aerial and get a decent signal without all the fiddling? In the UK all most buildings where people live have an aerial and tv points in the rooms, in the same way each room has power sockets.

    1. Re:Waste of time? by shippo · · Score: 3, Informative

      In the US the major network affiliates generally broadcast on VHF frequencies, for which these rabbit ears are sufficient. In the UK we use UHF, which doesn't perform as well without a dedicated external or loft aerial.

      The UK used to use VHF for television, back in the days of the 405-line black & white service. BBC1 was broadcast on VHF Band I, whilst ITV was on VHF Band III. You can still see some of these aerials on the tops of some buildings; they were needed as the UK transmitters were often many miles away, although it was possible to pick up some services on an indoor aerial. These transmitters were eventually switched off in 1985.

    2. Re:Waste of time? by russotto · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Outside of the UK, there are things called apartments, and "home owners association" which prohibits having such things visible to the outside world.

      In the US, there's this thing called the "OTARD", which is basically a case of a governmental agency (the FCC) telling a bunch of quasi-governmental petty fascists (HOAs) to stay the fuck out of their territory. The OTARD says that if you need an outdoor antenna, homeowner's associations can't prevent you from getting one. They can't even delay you or try to make it hard through bureaucratic BS (the FCC is obviously well-acquainted with red tape).

      http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

      If you don't own or control a spot to mount the antenna, you still may be SOL, but if you own your home, the OTARD lets you tell an HOA to STFU.

  9. Excerpt of an Email from my Brother by Anachragnome · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "It's really not that tough to make. You could make one yourself just as easily in an hour or two. Construction is as follows:

    Make eight Vs from 16" lengths of coat hanger, with stripped insulation at the point(EDIT: Guess he means the plastic coated coathangers). The mouths should open about 3.25".

    On a 33" or longer stick, about 2" wide and ½" thick, measure off 8" increments on both sides of the ruler. At each of these marks use a wood screw and washer to hold down a V. It should look like four cats stacked head on head when the stick is upright. These V's, now lying flat, should be pulled forward about 20-35. Just pull on one wire at a time to reduce strain on the screw.

    Next the Vs need connected with two more coat hangers. Each of these hangers is bowed, connecting to the two center Vs on one side, and the two end Vs of the opposite side. Insulation needs removed at all eight woodscrew junctions, but must be intact where the wires cross over each other between the end and center bows.

    Finally, at the center of these two bows (which should be the width of a ruler apart), also strip insulation, insert two additional screws, and attach a UHF-VHF transformer. This is $2 radio shack item which allows one to hook a 300 ohm spade-lug antenna to 75ohm threaded-tube coax cable. The ideal one should be small tube with male threads at one end, and the two spades at the other end which you will screw to the antenna.

    Installation. Hook a 75ohm coax cable between the antenna and the 75ohm air-antenna connector of your tuner. A brass hook in one end of the stick, and another in the ceiling is a convenient method of installation. Mounting it to a pole on the roof would provide even better reception, but then would be difficult to aim if not all your TV stations come from the same direction. Here they all come from Mount Wilson which is 41 East of North from me. Directions of your stations from your zip code and signal strengths can be found at tvfool.com. The cat faces aim at the stations. I pick up all stations with a signal strength of 41 Db or more (the ones shaded in green)."

    I guess he used a cool piece of driftwood for structure.

    Hope this helps.

     

  10. There's no substitute for the higher bitrates by George_Ou · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The only television service that offers full ATSC bitrates (around 15 Mbps) is Verizon FiOS because they have so much raw capacity down that fiber. Everyone else is between 8 to 12 Mbps.

  11. Re:Digital-Perfect by digitalchinky · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Unfortunately with digitally modulated signals, the receive gear can either see the synchronisation pattern, or it can not. There is no room to fit 'degrade gracefully' into this particular binary problem. The advantage here is that you can encode forward error correction on the data stream, meaning that when you do have a picture, it is actually going to look so close to being identical to the original transmission that it wont matter. Perfection here is measured in bit error rates. The lower that number the better.

    Your problem, or rather your parents problem, is antenna type and positioning. We can safely skip all the slick marketing crap once we have a grasp of the problem.

    Driving a 30 metre satellite dish, you can successfully and reliably pluck good data from a transmission more or less on the noise floor, one or two dB. It's like looking at something through a long narrow tube, you don't see anything other than whatever you are pointing it at. Rabbit ears are more or less the opposite of a nice big sat dish, in this case you have to contend with multipath signals and a very long list of other interference, so your odds of success are far more marginal.

    What can your parents, or anyone else do to get perfect reception? Invest in a slightly more expensive antenna system, pay the extra few bucks to get system that is directional - buy an antenna rotator to make life a little easier as well.

    Some people hit the sweet spot and only need a bent up coat hanger for perfect reception, others have to put a little extra effort in.

  12. Speaking of random wire.... by djupedal · · Score: 5, Interesting

    HDTV antenna on the cheap. Coaxial cable adapter, coat hanger, screws & a board.

    The coat hanger antenna out-performed a $40.00 'HDTV' antenna from Philips and another from Radio Shack.

    Here is one made with a coffee can...

  13. How To Protect the Bottom Line by Zero_DgZ · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Cable companies, you want to protect the bottom line?

    Stop sending me six-page glossy advertisements first class mail every week. How much does that cost you in printing and postage? Quit begging me to upgrade to services I already have. Stop bombarding me with ads that insult my intelligence. Stop offering me "this price for six months!!!1!!" deals that will rip me off in half a year and hope in vain that I'm too stupid to notice. Stop cutting all of the channels I actually watch and moving them to premium packages. Quit reordering my channel numbers every two weeks. Stop lying about how many "HD" channels you have. Stop trying to screw me by playing billing games - my bank tells me when you cashed my check, so don't try to rip me off with fake late fees. Hire operators who are neither surly nor clueless...

    Is this so difficult?