Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Olympics
The Winter Olympics have been phenomenal on the HD TV with the coverage coming over the air on NBC. I think it is true what they say about the signal over the air being superior to cable. Even though my tv isn't 1080p and cable is supposed to be HD, the signal from the antenna seems to be better...or maybe it just seems better because it doesnt cost me $80 to watch it.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Got the surround sound cable
I got the surround sound cable which on one end is a 3.5 mm jack, same size as an iphone jack, and the other is the red and white rca plugs. The pc is now connected to the surround sound and the sound is great! I purchased them from amazon and they were only $5.00. Don't waste your money at Radio Shack as their prices are always higher.
Friday, January 29, 2010
connecting pc to surround sound system
We've been watching shows in glorious HD for the last week but the sound has been coming through the pc speakers which, for lack of a better term, suck. The sound doesn't do the picture justice so I figure I have to come up with a better sound option. We have a home entertainment system which is right below the tv and used to be connected to the cable box. Unfortunately, the connections arent the same on the pc as the cable box. The pc only has a 3.5mm jack like an ipod does and the surround sound has red and white RCA jacks. A quick search on amazon yielded a 6 ft. RCA to 3.5mm wire for the bargain price of $2.50. I ordered it last night and will hopefully have it in hand early next week. This should complete the whole setup.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Shopping list
ooma telo phone system 150.00
HD 4400 UHF antenna 21.89
YA 6713 Yagi for vhf x 2 60.00
Jointenna x 2 for ch 8 & 10 11.00
Digital converter boxes x 3 140.00
10 ft 1 1/4 pvc pipe for mast 2.50
Hauppauge 1183 HVR 1600 109.00
RG6 cable 20.00
Cable Total 361.00
Total investment 510.00
Monthly savings by eliminating Time Warner digital cable and phone 120.00
Time to make up cost = 4.25 months
You can probably find cheaper converter boxes than I did and if you have an hdtv with a digital tuner, you dont need the pc tuner card at all (but you miss out on the dvr functionality). You could cut $150 of this cost out based on your setup. You may also need different antennas based on where you live so this is just my experience
All in all, four months to make up the cost and lose very little functionality is great!
HD 4400 UHF antenna 21.89
YA 6713 Yagi for vhf x 2 60.00
Jointenna x 2 for ch 8 & 10 11.00
Digital converter boxes x 3 140.00
10 ft 1 1/4 pvc pipe for mast 2.50
Hauppauge 1183 HVR 1600 109.00
RG6 cable 20.00
Cable Total 361.00
Total investment 510.00
Monthly savings by eliminating Time Warner digital cable and phone 120.00
Time to make up cost = 4.25 months
You can probably find cheaper converter boxes than I did and if you have an hdtv with a digital tuner, you dont need the pc tuner card at all (but you miss out on the dvr functionality). You could cut $150 of this cost out based on your setup. You may also need different antennas based on where you live so this is just my experience
All in all, four months to make up the cost and lose very little functionality is great!
Right now
Right now I am writing this blog and watching Everest, Beyond the Limits, which is a discovery tv show that is available on Netflix. Earlier, the tv tuner card recorded Parks & Rec on NBC and currently is recording my wife's favorite show, Grey's Anatomy. Later, we can pull up the recorded programs in Media Center and watch them and skip through the commercials using our Media Center remote. The only thing I'm paying for now is the road runner service which is $50/mo and netflix which is $8.95. That sure beats the $167/mo we were paying for phone, internet, and cable.
tuner arrives and Windows Media Center
I installed the tuner very easily into a PCI slot that was available based on removing a fax modem card that I dont think I ever used. Once the tuner card was in, I made sure it had the latest drivers which Vista did automatically. I didnt bother to install the drivers from the disk because the Vista found the latest. I also had to connect the graphics card from the pc to the tv and I used a dvi to hdmi cable that I also got on amazon for a little over $5.
After the tv tuner card was updated I connected the antenna coax to the digital tuner tv in on the tuner card. Once the cable was attached, I opened Windows Media Center and ran the wizard to configure live tv. It very quickly ran through all the channels and picked everything up with a strong signal. I also attached the IR remote blaster to one of the usb ports and used the Windows Media Center remote to navigate the setup wizards.
I must say, the Windows Media Center is very impressive. The tv channels show up in a guide just like the time warner dvr cable box. You can record shows in the future and there are options to record the tv entire tv series and choose whether it is new or a repeat (which also shows in the guide).
After the tv tuner card was updated I connected the antenna coax to the digital tuner tv in on the tuner card. Once the cable was attached, I opened Windows Media Center and ran the wizard to configure live tv. It very quickly ran through all the channels and picked everything up with a strong signal. I also attached the IR remote blaster to one of the usb ports and used the Windows Media Center remote to navigate the setup wizards.
I must say, the Windows Media Center is very impressive. The tv channels show up in a guide just like the time warner dvr cable box. You can record shows in the future and there are options to record the tv entire tv series and choose whether it is new or a repeat (which also shows in the guide).
TV tuner card
I decided to get a tv tuner card for the pc to run the antenna cable into it. Luckily, our home PC is right next to our hdtv so I started looking.
I found on amazon the Hauppauge! HVR 1600 which had good reviews. It was the media center edition which appealed to me because it included a remote that was configured for Windows Media Center. I found that Media Center, when paired with a tv tuner card, will not only find and tune the available channels that the antenna is receiving but will also act as a DVR. It shows a guide and also includes a way to configure your Netflix account so you can watch shows instantly. Being able to use it as a DVR is what sold me. The tuner card ran me a little over $100 but I'll pay for that in a little over a month of cable cost.
I found on amazon the Hauppauge! HVR 1600 which had good reviews. It was the media center edition which appealed to me because it included a remote that was configured for Windows Media Center. I found that Media Center, when paired with a tv tuner card, will not only find and tune the available channels that the antenna is receiving but will also act as a DVR. It shows a guide and also includes a way to configure your Netflix account so you can watch shows instantly. Being able to use it as a DVR is what sold me. The tuner card ran me a little over $100 but I'll pay for that in a little over a month of cable cost.
Putting it all together
The first antenna I received was the HD 4400 so I unboxed it and hooked it up to the tv in the bedroom with the antenna leaning against the wall. To my amazement, it picked up just about every channel I wanted, even the Fox channel which is 38 miles away. It also picked up channel 8 with good signal strength to my surprise. The only channel we didnt get which was one the kids watch quite a bit is PBS.
A few days later the Jointennas and the YA-6713's showed up. Since I already got channel 8 with the UHF, I would only set up one of the yagis.
So here is how I put it together.
I attached the UHF antenna to a piece of 1 1/4 pvc piping which was very cheap at Home Depot. I then attached the yagi underneath the uhf. To join the two together, I used the jointenna for channel 10 and connected the UHF coax cable to the "all channels" coax on the jointenna. I then attached the coax cable from the yagi to the "channel 10" coax connector on the jointenna. There is one more connector and that is the connector to the coax cable that will be run down to your tv's. Once all connected, I brought up to the attic to test out. I connected an RG6 cable to the "to tv" connector and ran it down the stairs from the attic to the bedroom tv and ALL CHANNELS CAME IN! The PBS channel 10 came in with really good signal strength, in the 70% range once it was pointed in the right direction (tvfool.com can help you with the direction).
Now the hard part, run the cable down to the basement. After cutting a hole in the drywall in the kids room and a hole in the drywall behind the fridge and some drilling, I was able to run the 50 ft of cable down to the basement where the splitter for our cable tv is. I connected the antenna coax cable to the cable in connection and the other tv's were already connected. The only problem is, the hdtv's coax connector to the tv tuner was broken so I'd have to come up with another way to get the hd signal to the hdtv.
A few days later the Jointennas and the YA-6713's showed up. Since I already got channel 8 with the UHF, I would only set up one of the yagis.
So here is how I put it together.
I attached the UHF antenna to a piece of 1 1/4 pvc piping which was very cheap at Home Depot. I then attached the yagi underneath the uhf. To join the two together, I used the jointenna for channel 10 and connected the UHF coax cable to the "all channels" coax on the jointenna. I then attached the coax cable from the yagi to the "channel 10" coax connector on the jointenna. There is one more connector and that is the connector to the coax cable that will be run down to your tv's. Once all connected, I brought up to the attic to test out. I connected an RG6 cable to the "to tv" connector and ran it down the stairs from the attic to the bedroom tv and ALL CHANNELS CAME IN! The PBS channel 10 came in with really good signal strength, in the 70% range once it was pointed in the right direction (tvfool.com can help you with the direction).
Now the hard part, run the cable down to the basement. After cutting a hole in the drywall in the kids room and a hole in the drywall behind the fridge and some drilling, I was able to run the 50 ft of cable down to the basement where the splitter for our cable tv is. I connected the antenna coax cable to the cable in connection and the other tv's were already connected. The only problem is, the hdtv's coax connector to the tv tuner was broken so I'd have to come up with another way to get the hd signal to the hdtv.
Choosing antennas and gear
First off, I live in Gorham, Maine. The advice I received from http://www.hdtvantennalabs.com/ advised me to start out with a small UHF antenna (pictured) called the Winegard HD 4400 which I purchased here at http://www.solidsignal.com/. The price before shipping is 21.89, not a bad deal for free tv. The UHF antenna gets most of the local tv because after the digital transition, many of the vhf channels moved to UHF. However, there are two channels that are vhf that I did want to get and that is channel 8 and channel 10, PBS. To get these channels I purchased two Winegard YA 6713's from Amazon. The YA 6713 is what is called a Yagi antenna which is highly directional and because the PBS station, channel 10, is 38 miles away and is vhf, I had to have a separate antenna.
In order to connect the UHF to the VHF yage antenna, I purchased two Channel Master Jointennas. One for channel 8 and one for channel 10. I only installed the one for channel 10 because 8 actually came in fine with the UHF antenna.
In order to connect the UHF to the VHF yage antenna, I purchased two Channel Master Jointennas. One for channel 8 and one for channel 10. I only installed the one for channel 10 because 8 actually came in fine with the UHF antenna.
Web sources
I started to look around various web sites trying to figure out which antenna to purchase. There are a lot of antennae out there but who knows which is best? I eventually found a site called www.hdtvantennalabs.com and on that site there is a forum with questions about which antennas to use in which situations. This is where I entered some basic info, what I was looking to do and what my zip code is and I got some great advice.
I also found www.tvfool.com which is where you can enter your address and it will tell you all the tv stations that you should get and in which direction and what distance they are. This is where you can start to figure out if there are towers near enough to try antennas. Thanfully, there are some that are close and a few others that might take a little effort.
I also found www.tvfool.com which is where you can enter your address and it will tell you all the tv stations that you should get and in which direction and what distance they are. This is where you can start to figure out if there are towers near enough to try antennas. Thanfully, there are some that are close and a few others that might take a little effort.
Monday, January 25, 2010
The quest begins...at Radio Shack
The only real way to get rid of montly fees for TV is to go with an antenna. First I started out with a trip to Radio Shack to get some helpful advice. I could tell the clerk was thinking about getting back to his mom's basement to resume his World of Warcraft game so he quickly led me to the small amplified rabbit ear antennas and said that was all I needed.
So I bring the antenna home and plug it in to the small lcd tv in the kitchen and find we get one local religious channel from a station 5 miles away. So I bring the antenna back and the same helpful clerk asks if I have a digital converter box for the tv I was hooking it up to. No, that would have been a good question to ask yesterday when I was here asking about hooking up an antenna to a tv.
The digital converter box is necessary because in June of 2009, all over the air broadcasting switched over to digital and if you have an older tv, you need a digital to analog tuner box. If you have a new tv, chances are it has a digital, ATSC, tuner and no converter is necessatry
So I buy a pricey digital converter box for $60 and bring it home. I find that I get most of the local stations except Fox and PBS but I have to move the ears around to get all of them. My wife is also not enamoured with the four foot antennas sitting on the kitchen counter. This obviously is not a solution to buy a set of rabbit ears for each of the 4 tv's in the house. Also, based on my experience with Radio Shack, I come to the conclusion it is an electronic store for those people that dont know how to find stuff and buy it online. The $60 converter box should have cost me $40 on Amazon or cheaper used on eBay.
So I bring the antenna home and plug it in to the small lcd tv in the kitchen and find we get one local religious channel from a station 5 miles away. So I bring the antenna back and the same helpful clerk asks if I have a digital converter box for the tv I was hooking it up to. No, that would have been a good question to ask yesterday when I was here asking about hooking up an antenna to a tv.
The digital converter box is necessary because in June of 2009, all over the air broadcasting switched over to digital and if you have an older tv, you need a digital to analog tuner box. If you have a new tv, chances are it has a digital, ATSC, tuner and no converter is necessatry
So I buy a pricey digital converter box for $60 and bring it home. I find that I get most of the local stations except Fox and PBS but I have to move the ears around to get all of them. My wife is also not enamoured with the four foot antennas sitting on the kitchen counter. This obviously is not a solution to buy a set of rabbit ears for each of the 4 tv's in the house. Also, based on my experience with Radio Shack, I come to the conclusion it is an electronic store for those people that dont know how to find stuff and buy it online. The $60 converter box should have cost me $40 on Amazon or cheaper used on eBay.
the phone replacement winner....ooma
We purchased the ooma and opted to port our old number with Time Warner over to the service. The cost of the unit at Amazon.com was $150 and the cost of porting was $40. Total cost was $190 which equals about 5 months of digital phone service with TW.
Just today the porting process (which took almost 4 weeks) was complete and I was able to call Time Warner and cancel our digital phone but maintain the same phone number! Yee haw!
Just today the porting process (which took almost 4 weeks) was complete and I was able to call Time Warner and cancel our digital phone but maintain the same phone number! Yee haw!
Get rid of digital phone...ooma
So in searching around for additional phone options, I came across a link to www.ooma.com. This site, needless to say, was a whole lot more professional than the Magic Jack site but can we truly judge a book by it's cover. What are the differences between ooma and Magic Jack. Well, ooma is a voip like Vonage is. The big difference is the pricing model. The ooma telo unit is $200 but on Amazon it included a $50 rebate card so really it only cost $150 including shipping. That is it for costs, just the device and once you register it online, you get a free phone number in your area code. For an additional $39.95 you can port your old number over. There is a premier service where you pay $13.95 and you get an instant second line, email of your voicemails, etc.
Pros
Pros
- No monthly fees!
- Computer doesn't have to be on
- Unit connects between modem and router or just the modem if you dont have a router.
- Call quality is very good
- Ability to port old number in most cases to the ooma service
- Comes with free voicemail and other features
Cons
- Unit is pricey
- Unit can't be used for anything else if they go out of business
- No monthly fees doesn't give you the warm fuzzies about the viability of this company in the future
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Get rid of digital phone...Magic Jack
The first site that I came to was Magic Jack at http://www.magicjack.com/. It looks like a pretty good concept and the price seemed to be right, no monthly fees. What is it? Well, it is a little unit that you plug into a USB port on your PC and then you plug your phone line into it Let's break it down...
Pros
Pros
- $39.95 for unit and first year of service
- $19.95 each year after that
- Call quality seems to be pretty good, just search around for some reviews
- Might be great for long distance calls when you dont want to use up your cell phone minutes.
- Good if you have a PC and it is always on.
Cons
- PC has to be on for unit to work.
- Not a great option if all you have is a laptop
- One of cheesiest web sites I have ever seen - probably designed in Czech Republic or former Soviet Eastern Bloc country. Seriously, site makes you doubt this unit will ever work.
- Inventor of MagicJack has two dogs named Magic and Jack. Enough said.
Get rid of digital phone
So, about $40 of the cable bill is the digital phone portion. Both my wife and I have cell phones so the obvious choice would be to completely drop home phone but there were some concerns about completely getting rid of it. With the kids old enough to dial 911 (and apt to use it in situations where my boy is holding barbies hostage with his nerf blaster), we thought it was probably a good idea to keep a home phone up and running. I didn't want to go back to the phone company and have to pay for their silly charges and taxes so what was I to do? That's when I went to, as George W. Bush would call it, the internets, and decided to see what options there were. My goal, find something that doesn't have a montly cost...here is what I found in the following posts...
Intro
Ok folks, the first thing I want to say is I LOVE TV! I'm not one of those nut cases that drives around with a bumper sticker that says "Kill your TV". I grew up watching quite a bit of television but since there were issues getting cable tv to our area, we had to deal with an antenna and most shows we watched were broadcast from Boston, about 50 miles away, which meant snowy reception. That was ok though, we dealt with it and it wasnt a big deal.
However, over the years we have sort of gotten used to the ever increasing cable bill. Now that the services are bundled together, the cost still seems to get higher and it wasnt until about a month ago that I really noticed how much it cost. I paid a bill right on it's due date in November and when I got the bill in December, it showed both November and December on one bill. Since it was cable, phone, and internet, can you guess how much the bill was? $340 American dollars!!! What?!? That's right, a car payment every other month to pay for 1000's of channels I never watch and a phone I hardly use. So here begins my quest to cut the maximum amount out of our Time Warner bill.
However, over the years we have sort of gotten used to the ever increasing cable bill. Now that the services are bundled together, the cost still seems to get higher and it wasnt until about a month ago that I really noticed how much it cost. I paid a bill right on it's due date in November and when I got the bill in December, it showed both November and December on one bill. Since it was cable, phone, and internet, can you guess how much the bill was? $340 American dollars!!! What?!? That's right, a car payment every other month to pay for 1000's of channels I never watch and a phone I hardly use. So here begins my quest to cut the maximum amount out of our Time Warner bill.
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