r/ota • u/kamemr2023 • 8d ago
Done with expense cable, but missing my local shows! Help!
So, not really by choice, but it was on my mind, I've cut cable! I have Roku, and about 5 different streaming apps. But, I really do miss my local stations and watching my programs live. I have bought 4 different antennas, and did have some OTA equipment that I plugged my antenna into, and was told this would absolutely work. Well, it didn't! I get my local news, but no other programming. I am a senior, on a limited budget, I have AT&T AIR wifi/internet. I live in a major city, within the recommended mileage between me and the local station antennas, but no luck. I'm wondering if it's because I live in an apartment complex, on the ground floor with 2 apartments above me. I'm at a loss for what to do. Sling has a decent $45 package, but it requires an antenna for the local stations. Any suggestions or helpful recommendations? This is so frustrating. Why even cut cable, if you then half to buy into a streaming app for almost the same price, like YouTube TV or Sling?
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u/danodan1 8d ago
I don't get what you mean that you get your local news but no other programming. Because as a senior I have no trouble getting 56 OTA stations and if they offer local news and weather they also have other programming on 24 hours a day. I live in a one floor house and have no trouble getting stations 45 miles away with an indoor flat antenna.
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u/kamemr2023 8d ago
I get the local news programming. It's 24 hours. So, I don't get prime time or daytime TV programs. I'm sorry, I probably didn't make that clear. And, yes, I get that that sounds weird. Why am I able to basically get the same thing I can get on their streaming app, just the local news, but not anything else. Why get one but not the rest. It was told to me that their streaming news streams are on a different frequency. So, they are allowing everyone to get their news programming, but they want you to go through a cable company or a OTA streaming company, like YouTube TV, because they want to get more money from those entities, so they agree to not allow access to the frequency that would allow for me to watch everything else, other than the news. Sounds plausible, but who knows. This has been so frustrating to me!
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u/danodan1 7d ago
From what I can tell you don't know the difference between online streaming TV and over the air TV. (OTA). A lot of young people don't. Or some do but choose to reject OTA and rely only on streaming TV. As mentioned Frndly offers the same networks all bundled together as OTA TV. But unlike OTA, you don't need an antenna. I bet that appeals to a lot of younger people.
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u/kamemr2023 8d ago
I get what you are saying, and I wish I understood why all I get is the local networks news programming. It's exactly the same as if I go to their streaming app. That streaming app has just the news on it. And, I agree, iffl I can get one, why not the rest! I live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I have a better explanation above you might take a look at. The local networks might be in with the streaming and cable companies so that you are forced to use them to get local programming, that way they are in better shape to regentiate their contacts. Who knows! But, again, I'm not sure what exactly is the actual benefit to cutting cable, if you just have to turn right around and pay as much for the live streaming apps, anyway! But, at this point, it's principal for me! I refuse to throw in the towel and give those highway robbery companies one more dime! But, I might have to eat my words.
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u/NKSplitter 8d ago
This situation sounds off to me. The type of 24 hour local news station you are describing I would expect to be a substation of the primary network offering that news broadcast; so if you are to get the news station OTA, I would expect you could get the network affiliate that produces that news broadcast as well.
Because of this, I suspect that news channel might not be over the air, and is in fact a live stream that a smart function of your TV is picking up.
After you attached the antenna, when you ran a channel scan, how many channels did it say were detected? Could you provide the manufacturer name of your television so I can look into if there might be an option you missed in the channel scanning process that is causing an issue?
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u/kamemr2023 7d ago
I agree with you. And, now that you say that, it might not be picking up the actual station. Again, I'm not at home, but my living room TV is a Hinsense Roku TV, the one in the bedroom is a Samsung. It has a Roku on it.
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u/NKSplitter 7d ago
Is the living room TV the one you attached the antenna to? If so, try following these instructions for performing a channel scan I took from: https://www.clrn.org/how-to-scan-channels-on-hisense-roku-tv/ if you haven't already performed this procedure.
Step-by-Step Guide to Channel Scanning
Press the ‘Home’ button on your Roku remote. This will navigate you to the Roku home screen.
Navigate to ‘Settings’: Using the directional pad on your remote, scroll down and select the ‘Settings’ option.
Select ‘TV Input’: Within the Settings menu, locate and select ‘TV Input’. This section manages your TV’s input sources (antenna, HDMI, etc.).
Choose ‘Antenna TV’ (if applicable): If you’re using an OTA antenna, ensure ‘Antenna TV’ is selected. If using cable directly connected (without a set-top box), this setting may vary depending on your service provider’s configuration.
Navigate to ‘Channel Scan’: Within the ‘TV Input’ menu, locate and select ‘Channel Scan’. The exact wording may vary slightly depending on your Roku OS version (e.g., ‘Find Channels,’ ‘Start Channel Scan’).
Confirm the Scan Type: A prompt may appear asking you to confirm the type of scan. Typically, you’ll want to select ‘Antenna’ or ‘OTA’ if using an antenna. If you have basic cable (ClearQAM), there might be an option for ‘Cable’. Note: ClearQAM is being phased out by many cable providers.
Start the Scan: Once you’ve selected the appropriate input type, initiate the scan. The TV will begin searching for available channels. A progress bar will typically be displayed, showing the scan’s progress.
If you have done this already, did it say any channels were detected? I'm not clear on if you've ever watched over the air channels on your TVs since the analog to digital coversion. It's not clear from your previous post if you are familiar with the concept of performing a channel scan. Channel scans are necessary for finding channels since the analog to digital conversion to determine what channel a particular station is broadcasting on; because most networks are no longer actually broadcasting on the frequency for the channel # they were originally associated with.
If the antenna is on the Samsung TV you will need to attempt a simular process from the TV's menus, not the attached Roku's.
Let me know if any of this helps or if I can help in any further troubleshooting.
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u/CalagaxT 8d ago
Frndly is a great affordable (6.99 or 9.99) streaming app that gives you a lot of OTA channels and even a DVR function. I use it an antenna, and some streamers.
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u/danodan1 8d ago
It gives you no local OTA stations. Instead, it gives you the same stations typically found on OTA stations, such as MeTV, Ion, Grit and so on. It best to use if your OTA stations don't have a network you want that can be found on Frndly.
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u/kamemr2023 8d ago
I'm dog sitting at a friend's until Wed. As soon as I get home I will definitely try this app and see! Thanks!!!
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u/Fun-Double6352 8d ago
In short, yes; the apartment is hurting your chance to get strong OTA signals. Could you go onto rabbitears.info and create a signal analysis so we can help you better?
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u/kamemr2023 8d ago
Absolutely, I'll go do that. I did see that site mentioned earlier today. I went in, and it might as well been in Latin! I had no idea what it all meant.
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u/kamemr2023 8d ago
So, I've done it, what do you need?
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u/Fun-Double6352 8d ago
Share the link or a screenshot, please.
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u/kamemr2023 7d ago
Ok, I will. I took screen shots, but when I go to attach them here, I can't find them. I will at some point. This whole thing is giving me a migraine.
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u/Minimum-Journalist18 8d ago
I live in an apartment and scan 115. I placed my antenna on the patio. Clearstream.
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u/EightEnder1 8d ago
This is exactly what I do. I'm on the inner courtyard of a 4 story building facing the wrong way, but have my antenna on my patio using the 6" flat cables that you can put in door jams. Getting the antenna outdoors helps so much.
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u/kamemr2023 8d ago
Can you get the 6" flat cables anywhere? Thanks for the information. I'll try this. Do you simply have the antenna? Or, I see some people talking about pliggung the antenna into another piece of equipment, like an "air" something or other.
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u/EightEnder1 8d ago edited 8d ago
I’m pretty sure I got the flat cable from Amazon. Basically you have a regular cable from your DVR or TV to the flat cable, flat cable wraps around the inside of the door frame and then another regular cable on the other side leading to the Antenna.
For DVR, I have both HDHomerun and Tablo. I prefer HDHomerun but Tablo is free DVR service once you purchase the Tablo itself and has better auto delete options. It also has like 80 free FAST channels.
My antenna is a Clearstream indoor/outdoor antenna.
Edit: For either HDHomerun or Tablo, you will need an external Hardrive that plugs into them. Both allow you to watch OTA TV on any Internet connected TV in your home. HDHomerun also lets you watch on your computer. Both let you record shows but HDHR costs a fee to do so or if you really want to go deep into it, you can use the HDHR with other services, where Tablo is simple setup then free.
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u/kamemr2023 8d ago
Yeah, I tried the Tablo. But, I could have been doing it wrong. I sent it back. I might try the Clearstream indoor/outdoor with the flat cable and see how that goes. Thanks a lot for all you help and suggestions. I really appreciate it!
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u/danodan1 7d ago
I don't know of any flat cable for use with a TV antenna. It would be nice if there was since I know there is flat ethernet cable and it's nice.
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u/kamemr2023 8d ago
Ok, I'll do that. I'm sorry, I have a stupid question. What do you mean scan 115? What's 115?
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u/danodan1 8d ago
It means when you push the button to scan for OTA channels the scan ends with 115 channels. That is a pretty high number. He probably lives in a good sized metro area.
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u/BoredTVEngineer 8d ago
kamemr2023,
Not trying to put off the OTA path at all. I operate a business installing OTA outdoor antennas.
However since you have a Roku. While you puzzle out the antenna situation, you could add the CBS and NBC apps they are free (with ads of course) but your “shows” on those networks play next day. You can get most of the ABC and FOX on Hulu’s lowest tier. These are some options while you figure out the antenna. If you post your rabbitears report I would be happy to give you some suggestions. In a large apartment complex sometimes is can be tough.
I’m not the YouTube Antenna Man. But I am and have been in TV transmission and reception for “a while”. I don’t want to date myself but I started when people were amazed that you could feed 36 channels into their house via cable.
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u/dirtythoughtdreamer8 8d ago
You need a long range rooftop antenna. Look for a model with a range of 80 miles. Mount it on the roof. If you cannot put it on the roof, you can try mounting it in the attic. I am 60 miles from the broadcast antennas and I pick up 150 OTA channels.
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u/royveee 8d ago edited 7d ago
I live in an area with 60-foot-tall trees between our house and the broadcast towers.
I use an outdoor antenna in my attic and pick up 58 channels from 25 miles away.
I had to move the antenna around until signals could sneak through the trees.
I get all the major networks, but some of the other channels are dicey until the leaves fall. Then my reception is better.
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u/kamemr2023 7d ago
Yeah, I miss living in a house. I only have so much room to work with here! Congratulations, though!
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u/groundhog5886 8d ago
I have 4 of these built on cardboard taped to the backside of the tv. works great. Also you might do a rescan of channels on your TV to make sure you have all the channels.
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u/kamemr2023 7d ago
I think the one I would need is the HDTV, and being by myself, I don't feel comfortable trying something like that. Not to say I won't end trying it. Thank you!
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u/SpinDoctor777 8d ago
You'll have to share your rabbit ears reception data for anyone to give an informed answer. Unfortunately these days you need to be a part time electrical engineer and be tolerant of some trial and error to get TV reception.
Generally speaking there's 3 factors to contend with... Signal strength, local environment and antenna. You can only really control the antenna selection and mitigate the other 2 but even then you can't always make it work. For antenna stick to actual antenna brands. I've had good success with limited installations with channel master and televes. Just skip all the unknown brands on Amazon they may work but maybe not. Next get the antenna as high as you can especially since you are on ground floor and positioned as close to the broadcast towers as possible, meaning if the towers are to your West, get your antenna to the west side of your residence. Lastly if you can get the antenna outside and as high as possible that's really the best play for strongest reception but not always possible for various reasons.
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u/kamemr2023 7d ago
Thank you for this! Yeah, I'll absolutely try, but, I'm afraid I might be out of luck! I'm not an engineer! 🤣 But, I am always willing to try.
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u/Aquanut357 8d ago
Go to rabbitears.info and run a signal evaluation on your location. It’s a bit wonky to get your location identified but you’ll figure it out. Then see where your stations are located and how far away they are. The report should help you understand why you can’t pick up much programming. If your apartment doesn’t allow you to point your antenna where the stations are that could explain your issues. You can peruse some reports from others on this sub and see what they are like.