[Arthur McGowan]

the dirty little secret is that BROADCAST HDTV is a bomb. Everyone I know who tries to receive it over the air has problems with reception.

[cvetic]

Eh, broadcast television is a waste of beautiful spectrum anyway. The sooner it dies, the better off we’ll all be.

[Nepeta]

the dirty little secret is that BROADCAST HDTV is a bomb. Everyone I know who tries to receive it over the air has problems with reception.

When it works, it's wonderful.

However, a lot of time it doesn't work. I live no more than 7 miles from the transmitters--and 4.5 miles from some--but there are still frequent dropouts from low signals. That's with an antenna aimed properly--and NO, I am not down in a valley.

I think I might need something like the Very Large Array to capture the digital transmissions from out of town stations I used to receive in analogue transmissions, however. Digital just doesn't get out there.

HDTV transmission needs to be fixed before anything else. And yes, there is a place for OTA television.

[moonhawk]

I have almost zero problems with OTA HDTV. I’ll never go back.

Or look back, in case I turn into a pillar of salt.

[CaptSkip]

Granted I live less than 15 miles from the 'Antenna Farm' in North OKC, but I installed INSIDE MY ATTIC, a Winegard HD 7210P off-air antenna purchased from SolidSignal.com, that is superior to DirecTV image quality. I sh*t you not!

Installed the HD-7210P high in my attic, on a 2" PVC mast, aimed at the 'antenna farm' in OKC where most all local broadcast antennas are, used a 3 GHz capable grounding block and single 3Ghz 2-way splitter (2nd HD set at treadmill), and the image quality in an A/B test comparison to DirecTV is superior!

Whether it's CSI Miami from KWTV or KFOR's in-field HD local news, or the CH4 HD helicopter (Tornados in HD!), the off-air HD signal is superb!