# Indoor OTA Antenna Reception, and Recording



## mikemyers (May 19, 2010)

I've been making do with a Terk outdoor antenna for the past five or six years, running a separate set of co-ax cables around my condo, next to the cables from DTV. Things have worked reasonably well, but now I've remodeled, and the cables are gone.

I'm in Miami Beach, and my condo windows/door face West, and South. The transmitters for Miami Beach are all North of me.

I found that I could get quite a bit of reception by attaching a six to ten foot section of antenna co-ax to the TV, and moving it to some spot that worked best - but it wasn't reliable - if i got up to move across the room, the reception might fail.

The choice came down to the "Leaf" antenna, or what I finally bought, this Terk:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/terk-omnidirectional-flat-panel-hdtv-indoor-antenna-black/1439997.p?id=1219051875628&skuId=1439997

I'm very pleased with it. In my kitchen, with the antenna just outside of the kitchen, but not near the door or window, I got 66 channels. Delete half that are in Spanish, and the sales channels, and the religious channels, and I ended up with around 20 useful channels (to me). I was so pleased I bought a second antenna for the bedroom, where my large Sony pulled in 50 stations (which also ended up with 20 to 25 ones I kept).

I'm sure there is no good answer here, but do devices now exist that allow a person to share the reception wirelessly, to other televisions? I doubt this is possible.

Second question, for others who are now receiving OTA programming, if you want to record a program, short of buying or fixing a VCR, what's the way people do this nowadays?


----------



## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

You might want to go to the Buy/Sell forum or eBay etc. and see if you can get an AM-21. 

That is a DIRECTV device that allows you to record and share OTA shows via your DIRECTV setup. It has been discontinued by DIRECTV but you can do find some out there.


----------



## RBA (Apr 14, 2013)

trh said:


> You might want to go to the Buy/Sell forum or eBay etc. and see if you can get an AM-21.
> 
> That is a DIRECTV device that allows you to record and share OTA shows via your DIRECTV setup. It has been discontinued by DIRECTV but you can do find some out there.


AM-21 won't work except connected to a Directv HD receiver.


----------



## RBA (Apr 14, 2013)

There are many OTA DVRs in the marketplace TIVO being the most recognized name.


----------



## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mikemyers said:


> I've been making do with a Terk outdoor antenna for the past five or six years, running a separate set of co-ax cables around my condo, next to the cables from DTV. Things have worked reasonably well, but now I've remodeled, and the cables are gone.
> 
> I'm in Miami Beach, and my condo windows/door face West, and South. The transmitters for Miami Beach are all North of me.
> 
> ...


Check out the Channel Master DVR. I bought 2 of these several months ago and I am very pleased with them. They work very similar to the HR2x series DTV receivers. Be careful when looking as many of them require internet. Having said that, you only get 1 day or less of programming if you are not connected to the internet. If you connect to the internet you get about 10 days worth of programing to your guide.
http://www.channelmaster.com/Antenna_DVR_s/336.htm


----------



## mikemyers (May 19, 2010)

One of the two models can be used with a user-provided hard drive, which is good.

Any idea what format the shows are saved in? Is it something standard, that can be played on a typical PC? Is it compressed, or something more like AVI ?


----------



## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

mikemyers said:


> One of the two models can be used with a user-provided hard drive, which is good.
> 
> Any idea what format the shows are saved in? Is it something standard, that can be played on a typical PC? Is it compressed, or something more like AVI ?


Scroll down the page linked. All your answers are there. Lots of info there.
I chose the one with the add on drive. It is cheaper that way and I can replace it with a bigger drive if I want or just easier to replace when the day comes that it dies.


----------



## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

RBA said:


> AM-21 won't work except connected to a Directv HD receiver.


Yes, and that is why I said it was *a DIRECTV device* and it *plays through his DIRECTV setup*.

So I was trying to provide an answer to his second question: "Second question, for others who are now receiving OTA programming, if you want to record a program, short of buying or fixing a VCR, what's the way people do this nowadays?", the AM21 works great for me -- hooked up to my Genie and now any OTA show I record on the 44 is available to my five other DIRECTV boxes.


----------



## mark40511 (Jul 18, 2008)

Please do not laugh at me. I'm pretty much OTA ignorant. We have DirecTV and have for YEARS, but we also have indoor antennas on all of our TV's. We are not allowed outdoor antenna's due to the HOA...Luckily, the indoor antenna's work well. I've always wanted to DVR things on METV and Antenna TV. I found this cheap thing at walmart for 19.99 (just to try) because I wasn't even sure if it would do what I wanted it to do. I'm able to connect an external drive to this, and then set timer recordings to my drive, which I then take to my computer, edit out commercials and convert them to .mp4 for smaller file size because they are HUGE files in mts format. You can use it as a DVR but it's too laggy for that.......I would LOVE to have that DVR the person in the link provided.....but since I just want something to record OTA, it works.

I envy you people who have rooftop antenna's and expensive OTA dvr's! I would be all about using that, netflix and hulu and canceling all cable/sat.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ematic-AT103B-Digital-Converter-Box-with-LED-Display-and-Recording-Capabilities/28505040


----------



## coconut13 (Apr 14, 2013)

If you want to DVR things from OTA. A AM21 works well with a DVR under the right circumstances. First, your OTA antenna needs to receive the OTA channels you want to record from. Second, you need to check D* database for the AM21 in your home DMA. You need to be sure the channels you REALLY want to record from are in that database. Then, if they are NOT, you still might be able to receive them, with certain workarounds. But, the DVR/AM21 matchup, is still the best way to DVR OTA channels, all in one playlist in your DVR. Remember the AM21 only works with D* DVR's, and you have to have a programming subscription with D*. If you "cut the cable" and go with an OTA DVR (like the channelmaster models) the AM21 is useless.


----------



## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

mikemyers said:


> One of the two models can be used with a user-provided hard drive, which is good.
> 
> Any idea what format the shows are saved in? Is it something standard, that can be played on a typical PC? Is it compressed, or something more like AVI ?


check the thread http://www.avsforum.com/forum/42-hdtv-recorders/2039802-dvr-lister-channel.html


----------



## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Regarding your HOA and not allowed outdoor antennas.

An OTA antenna also falls under the FCC's OTARD rules, so if you have an exclusive use area (like where your DIRECTV antenna is right now possibly??), you can also have an OTA antenna (not to exceed 1 meter and for local reception).


----------



## KyL416 (Nov 11, 2005)

And if it's a place where you actually own and maintain your property, while the HOA is just responsible for the roads and other things like garbage collection, plowing, they're in violation of the rules if they forbid it. HOA's cannot change the laws of physics, if the front of your house is the only spot where you can get reliable reception because of obstructions and line of site issues, and you have control over that area, they can't stop you from putting it there. Another thread in the DirecTV forum has a link to some pro-bono attorneys who would love to stick it to them if they give you problems if a formal letter pointing out the rules they're in violation of isn't enough to get them to back off.

It gets iffy though when it's a townhouse and the HOA is also responsible for all exterior maintenance (i.e. roof, lawn, siding)


----------

