O.T.A. (Over the Air)

Over the Air (OTA) is the oldest technology that has been used in Canada, USA , Europe and Asia since the 1950's. With technology changes OTA has taken a huge leap forward over the last year. The major change is that the old style analogue transmitters used to broadcast the signals over the air (OTA) has gone digital making a dramatic improvement in reception now known as DTV (Digital TV).This new digital feed is so good it is far superior to even cable TV like rogers, cogeco. In our Hamilton Retail showroom we had connected the Terk TV55 antenna and more recently the Channel Master 4221 4 bay HDTV Antenna, and now the newest Channel Master 4221HD and are currently receiving CityTV (HD) Fox 29 (HD), many Buffalo channels in HD, and standard definition , we are also receiving Global, PBS, SunTV, Omni 1, Omni 2, CBC and so many others in standard digital crystal clear reception, over 30 channels all LEGALLY and for FREE! we managed to pick up over 30 channels of which 26 are high quality digital from a superior quality channel master antenna hung indoors by our window. People in different areas are reporting different results but all are receiving some HD as well as some high quality digital SD TV with a simple OTA (Over the Air) antenna. For best results in OTA channel master provides the best results we have seen yet. With good quality Outdoor Antenna's like the Channel Master 4 Bay and the even more impressive 8 Bay Channel Master 4228 Outdoor Antenna the results are even more Dramatic. These are all Digital Over the Air channels that are currently being broadcasted and by Febuarary 2009 the number is going to increase even more in the US. Some regions like Windsor have reported over 40 Digital (DTV) stations of which some are true HD.More and More People are turning to OTA (Over the Air) Antenna's, when calculating paying cable companies over $300 a year for basic cable which is really very poor quality compared to over the air digital broadcasts (DTV) in makes no sense to go anywhere else but OTA.

1. What does OTA mean? It stands for Over The Air television reception, as has been available free-of-charge in Canada since the early 1950s. It is not to be confused with FTA, which is a form of satellite TV reception. OTA is broadcast either in old-style Analog or in new Digital television (DTV, which includes HDTV). The quality improvement of DTV is huge. The Government of Canada has set the date by which OTA broadcasters must convert their old-style analogue transmitters to new digital OTA broadcasting: August 31, 2011. Canada uses the ATSC (8VSB) standard used in the U.S.A., Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan, with more Western Hemisphere nations expected. ATSC is not compatible with the DVB-T standard used in all other countries except Japan, which has its own ISDB-T standard.

2. Is OTA expensive? Most of our Canadian customers that have purchased a decent Antenna, have spent between $80 to $150 to receive over the air broadcasts in UHF Digital format. These customers have already made the investment in a New HDTV, and most TV's purchased in the last 18 months have a built in ATSC tuner and the purchase of a good quality Antenna is all that they needed for this TV. So is it expensive is the question? For one TV to get HDTV and local TV compared to basic Cable, this expense covers itself within 6 Months and you get major networks in HD. And as for our fellow Americans we Canadians love you guys, we live in a colder country and living across the border means we can also get your local TV in DTV and HDTV free of monthly bills from other subscribed providers. If you don't have a newer TV that does not have an ATSC tuner then you would need to also purchase a digital converter box which brings your average cost for one TV between $250 - $300. Thats usually 10 months of basic cable services to get Digital DTV and / or HDTV broadcasts. There have been a subset of our customers that have spent over $500 - $1000 and purchased additional equipment like distribution amplifiers and digital converter boxes to enable the whole house to receive DTV on multiple TVs and free yourself from paying for basic TV services and get to watch the best HDTV you have ever seen, with less compression then satellite and higher quality HD!

3. What OTA channels can i see in my area? To see what is possible for you area by postal code, choose llocal Antenna Click Here enter your postal code or zip code and then select Local Antenna and you will see the amount of possible channels you can receive with an OTA (Over the Air Antenna) . Please note this link is OLD still as more and more channels have been added to this line up and using products like the channel Master outdoor antenna it gives you more range or radius to receive more channels then say an indoor Antenna. See the channel Line up from Toronto GTA area

4. What Equipment do i need to start enjoying this free TV? There are two ways to receive OTA on your Television, the first is if your TV has an ATSC tuner built in, most TV's purchased Mid 2007 have a built in ATSC tuner. All the HDTV's currently manufactured have a built in ATSC tuner. This allows you to run RG6 coax from an Antenna directly into your TV and scan for 'Air' and receive either the old style analogue VHF or the newer DTV UHF broadcast. If your Television does not have an ATSC tuner then you need to purchase an addition Digital Convertor box which acts as an ATSC tuner and will bring OTA to your HDTV as well as you non HDTV.

5. Does the Antenna i choose matter?

Yes of course it matters, You can in essence, get a coat hanger and put it at the back of your TV into your antenna in of your TV and you maybe lucky and get some OTA (over the Air) TV, also buying a cheap antenna usually sold anywhere between $25 - $50 may get you some stations if you are lucky, but these are very poorly constructed and cheaply made antenna's from a company that makes and tries to copy every solid product. Selecting a channel master antenna and dealing with a company that celebrates 60 years in making nothing but Antenna's the quality and the difference in price is minor compared to the substantial difference in results. The cheaper made antenna's work only slightly better then the coat hanger method. Choosing between a 4 bay antenna and 8 bay antenna varies depending on distance factors, and terrain (high or low ground). The channel master 4 bay antennas are rated at 45 miles which they over exceed especially when going across water like a lake and the 8 bay antenna extends to 60 miles.

Going back to TV antenna's sounds so old fashion something grandpa used to do or people that live in the sticks? Yes it does bring back some memories of the old days, but those used to give terrible picture quality looking very snowy and not digital quality, well we are in a new era, now you can get better quality then regular cable providers that try and get as many channels through one cable and now also the internet and even the phone from one cable. OTA is digital quality and far superior then regular cable providers and because it is uncompressed it is even better then satellite quality. where stuffing too many channels into a cable causes too much loss and poor quality. Yes there is some loss in OTA and weather can effect it but it is digital quality and reception does vary from area to area. Nonetheless its all Digital quality and its absolutely free! Not only is it free and legal but you can also get some HD as well as digital standard definition Television with better quality then your cable provider can deliver to your home.

Antennas very and some people have reported great success with some of the old fashioned style antenna's that grandpa used to use with a signal amplifier known as a preamp. But we have tested and used the Terk 55 indoor/ outdoor antenna as well as the smaller indoor model with great success. To Guarantee even better success with OTA the outdoor channel master antenna's both channel master 4221 (4 bay), 4221HD and the channel master 4228 (8 bay) have dramatic results. To see the channel master antenna running in Mississauga, visit our showroom and take a deep breath as this will change your view on these HDTV antenna's and make you wonder why you are paying for cable TV.

 

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