How can I get free HD

I live in Honolulu, 96817, and I am tired of paying ridiculous prices, so I am wandering can I get free ota hd channels without paying? My tv has a built in atsc/qam tuner, it is a westinghouse. Also any advice on how to configure it?

Thanks

I live in Honolulu, 96817, and I am tired of paying ridiculous prices, so I am wandering can I get free ota hd channels without paying? I only want to get the local channels: cbs, nbc abc, etc. My tv has a built in atsc/qam tuner, it is a westinghouse. Also any advice on how to configure it?

Thanks

Yes you can. Your TV has a built in ATSC digital tuner for OTA. Many of the digital stations in your area (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) are real close and only 3 or 4 miles away. Unless you are tucked way into a deep valley, you should be able to pick these up with a set of rabbit ears (VHF/UHF). You can grab at Radio Shack or Walmart most likely. You should be able to pick up PBS and a couple others. Just plug it in and do a scan for digital stations and see what you get. You can also get a better indoor antenna at the same above mentioned for around $25 or so. Most are UHF, but a couple like Fox are VHF..

ok, I went to the shack and bought a HD antenna, didn't work. The pic was crappy! Any idea on what is a good antenna?

ok, I went to the shack and bought a HD antenna, didn't work. The pic was crappy! Any idea on what is a good antenna?


What antenna did you get? And what do you mean by the "pic was crappy"? With digital, you either get the signal/pic or you don't. No good or bad like analog. If you are having signal strentgh issues, you may get freezes or pixelation. Is that what you mean? What stations did you get? You should be able to at least pull Fox, ABC and CBS with little issue. PBS and NBC are around 15 miles to the west and may give you issues with an indoor depending on your elevation and line of site. Are you doing a scan for DIGITAL stations?????? And depending on the station and time, the digital stations don't alway broadcast in HD.. Mostly during primetime, news and sporting events..

The antenna was about $70 a ds-5200. AS far as the pic goes, i did the digital scan and the only channels I received was 2.0, 13.0. Tried moving the antenna in diff directions but to no avail.

The antenna was about $70 a ds-5200. AS far as the pic goes, i did the digital scan and the only channels I received was 2.0, 13.0. Tried moving the antenna in diff directions but to no avail.

$70 for an indoor antenna:eek::confused:.. Man I never seen an indoor antenna that was more than $50 or so. The Terk I have was only $40.. And the DS-5200 model does not come up anyplace on the web.:what: What is the name and complete model????

Also, if it is .0, that is the analog station I believe. 2.1 should be the "sudo" digital station. The actual digital station for Fox VHF 2 is channel 8 and for NBC 13 is UHF channel 35. Try changing to those channels and see if you get anything including ABC channel 40. If your not getting a picture, your not getting the digital channel. Try a digital only scan again. If it is an amplified powered antenna and you plugged it in, unplug it and try a scan again.

Are you in a deep valley? That hilly terrain in Honolulu can be causing you some issues. Can you see the antenna on the hill about 3 miles to your South to SSE (if tvfool/antennaweb is correct)??

Ok this is what I did, I disconnected the amplifiers, plugged a cable from the wall outlet to the tv, did a digital scan of the channels, and it was only analog. The antenna I used I returned. This is the one I bought: radio shacks DA-5200

I am paying for hd cable now, that shouldn't matter right? Seeing I unplugged everything and did a hard wire to the TV.
Thanks for all your help

Ok this is what I did, I disconnected the amplifiers, plugged a cable from the wall outlet to the tv, did a digital scan of the channels, and it was only analog. The antenna I used I returned. This is the one I bought: radio shacks DA-5200

I am paying for hd cable now, that shouldn't matter right? Seeing I unplugged everything and did a hard wire to the TV.
Thanks for all your help

I am not exactly sure what you are saying here. You "plugged in a cable from the wall outlet"?? Do you mean coax coming from the wall for digital cable TV via QAM? The DA-5200 was returned or is that the antenna you have now? When you plugged in the DA-5200 to the ATSC tuner (not the NTSC if it is seperate) and did a DIGITAL scan for OTA (not QAM), you were unable to pick anything up except for 2 analog stations??? What I meant as far as unplugging was that if it was an amplified antenna with a power cord plugged in, to unplug the power cord and try again. Sometimes those amplified indoor antennas do more harm than good when you are so close to the trasmitter.

Howszit, Cecelikeike

I got your PM

Hawaii is a very hard place to get OTA signals especially maki partly due to reflections. Your best hope will be to get a good directional antenna and mount it outside. With an internal tuner I'd try to get a solid signal on your TV before moving into a tuner card for your PC.

When I lived in Kona just about everybody that wanted to watch TV had to get cable, so it could be worse. We had a condo bulk deal so it was not as bad as your cost, but then everything is more expensive on Oahu vs Big Island, huh?

Hawaii is a very hard place to get OTA signals especially maki partly due to reflections. Your best hope will be to get a good directional antenna and mount it outside.

Yeah, I hear what you are saying. But if I could get em in Guam, I figured he can do the same..:D I know what you are saying about reflections, but since he is on the same island as the trasmitter and only 3 or 4 miles away from some stations, I figured he would get at least those 3 or 4. If he was on onother island I would understand. But from what I remember from the last time I was in Honolulu/Waikiki 3 years ago, the 2 trasmitters were in funky spots on the other side of the hills/mountains of Honolulu. If you were in a deep valley or real close on the other side of the hill, reception was very spotty at best.

First off thank you guys for all your help! Yes I did plug a coax from the wall to the only coax plug/insert on the tv. Is the QAM tuner serperate from the tv, I thought it was already built into the tv. I did return the antenna so I am not using it now.

First off thank you guys for all your help! Yes I did plug a coax from the wall to the only coax plug/insert on the tv. Is the QAM tuner serperate from the tv, I thought it was already built into the tv. I did return the antenna so I am not using it now.


If your TV has a built in QAM tuner, it should be the same RF connection as the ATSC tuner. Some TV's have the digital and analog (NTSC) tuners split on 2 seperate RF connections and some have all 3 sharing the same 1. If yours is split, make sure you are connection it to the correct digital RF connection. If you have digital cable, you should be able to pull the non scrambled channels and possibly your local digital/HD stations (depending on your local cable company). Just do a scan for digital in the menu. Some TV settings have a seperate digital scan for OTA and QAM in the menu. I am not sure aout Westy, so check the manual.

can you tell me what is a good relatively inexpensive type of antenna? I don't live in a valley and I am on a mountain but not that high up, and have good view with no obstructions. I foyu are familiar with this island I live next to Kam schools and I can see Aloha Tower and all the piers with partial vies of the reef runway at the airport.

See I did what you said last night, got the digital only scan, and nothing came up. It was only Analog channels, so what I am thinking is an extra piece that I may have thrown away when I first bought the tv, but then it does say built in atsc.ntsc tuner.
http://www.hdtvsolutions.com/flatscreen_rate_it.cfm?part_id=1880

According to you manual, your TV does have a Clear QAM tuner and only 1 RF connection for all 3 tuners. So you should be good there. Are you sure you cable feed is digital and not still analog?
If so, from the manual: http://www.westinghousedigital.com/pdf/111_User_Manual.pdf On page 22, it shows the setup menu for Cable/OTA source. Just change it to the correct tuner source (STD, IRC or HRC Cable or OTA). When you select the correct 1, just do auto scan. Usually STD is the norm I think, but some companies do use IRC or HRC. So either try a scan with all 3 until you get something, or call your cable company and ask.

No luck! I tried all three cbl, irc, hrc, and it only came up with channels 2.0,3.0 etc, all the way up to channel 75 The cable company is Oceanic, a subsidiary of TW, but then again it's hawaii and it probably isn't digital yet!! Do I need a digital receiver? Any other solutions?

Hmm, still analog ey. That is lame. Are you paying for this cable service? If so I would call them and see what's up. Since you have a QAM tuner buil into your TV, you don't need a digital/HD box unless you also want to receive scrambled premium channels like HBO and or want a full HD package. But since you stated that your locals are the key, you will be fine.

And as far as the antenna thing goes.... What results (if any) did you get with the RA-5200? That was an indoor/outdoor antenna and should have gotten you something pointed to the south. Again, FOX, ABC, CBS and IND are only 3 or 4 miles from your house. Since you said your on a hill with a clear shot to the tower, I would assume you would get at least these 4. I know people 15 to 20 miles out that can get OTA with just rabbit ears and hoop, but of course every situation is different and many variables can come into play. Did you do a scan for "AIR" to see what you got? From the manual, it doesn't appear that you can do a seperate scan for digital and analog and have to do a scan for both. You should see the analog channel and digital virtual channel like 2.1. Or you can do a manual scan by changing to the actual digital station like 8 for Fox or 35 for ABC. Check the signal meter to see if you are getting anything. The EPG function also list ALL the stations (analog and digital) you are seeing and the digital channels linked to the vortual channels. Make sure to turn that on if you didn't already.

Again I cannot thank you enough for all the advice! Yeah I pay $210 a month for HD, digital, and some premium channels that no other cable company offers, Directv, etc. I was reading some things that said Oceanic switched to a SDV type of broadcast, which should be giving hdtv through ota right. Then I was thinking about a cable card. Should I just wait for this change to digital come next year? I am going to call Oceanic and find out why I cannot get ota HD channels.

No luck! I tried all three cbl, irc, hrc, and it only came up with channels 2.0,3.0 etc, all the way up to channel 75 The cable company is Oceanic, a subsidiary of TW, but then again it's hawaii and it probably isn't digital yet!! Do I need a digital receiver? Any other solutions?
Did you stop the scan? The QAM channels are usually in the range of 80 to 120. They don't match the OTA or cable numbers.

I'm not sure that the QAM channels are going to be the answer you are looking for anyway. You would still need to have cable tv. I'd try an outdoor antenna if it were me. Even if you get an indoor to work, you can expect dropouts even as close as you are to some of the stations. The fact that you have had issues with the antenna you tried may say you are in a difficult area for reception.

$210 for service???? I only pay around $100 with dish HD, and I have HBO and stuff with DVR service. You must have digital cable if you get HD package now. Here is the analog and digital stations you should receive via QAM..

Analog
2 QVC
3 KHON (FOX)
4 KBFD
5 KFVE (MY TV)
6 KITV (ABC)
7 KGMB (CBS)
8 KHNL (NBC)
9 KIKU
10 KHET (PBS)
11 KWHE
12 ZAP2IT (Oceanic Guide)
13 CNN
23 ESPN
24 SNBC
25 KALO
26 KAAH
27 KPXO (Ion)
28 KWBN
43 TNT
44 TCM
45 TBS
47 CSPAN2
48 CSPAN
49 FOCUS (Olelo)
50 DHCP (Discovery Health)
51 FITV
52 OAHU (Olelo)
53 NATV (Olelo)
54 VIEWS (Olelo)
55 OCKNOW (Olelo)
56 TEC2 (Olelo)
57 HSN
58 TRAVP Travel Channel
75 Comedy Central
76 Spike
78 Jewelry Television

Digital
77.1 Sports Choice
77.3 News Choice
85.4 KHONDT2
91.1019
91.1039 Paid Advertisements
104.1004 SportsInDemand
106.3 Paid Advertisements
106.5 KBFD
106.8 KBS World
115.3 PBS Kids
117.5 KFVE (MY TV)
117.6 KITV (ABC)
117.7 KGMB (CBS)
117.8 KHNL (NBC)
117.10 KHET (PBS)
117.211 KHON (FOX)
117.214 ESPN
117.215 Nickeldeon
117.216 OC16
117.217 TBS
117.218 TNT
117.219 USA
117.220 ESPN News
117.221 Disney
119.8 HMSA Now
121.10 Movie On Demand Advertisements
121.11 HSN

HD
46.1 FoodNetwork
46.3 KGMB (CBS)
83.3 KHNL (NBC)
114.2 KITV (ABC)
120.12 KHET (PBS

No I didn't stop the scan, it just stops at channel 78. Just got of the phone with Oceanic and they said that the channel companies still broadcast in analog and you need to have "our equipment" to convert the signal, HD box. As for the antenna I bought it was small, so I really don't want anything to big that will be a hassle to install considering that I rent. Suggestions?

Yeah did you forget how really expensive it is here, and that is with a bundle SAVINGS package!!! I just Oceanic sand they said that the channels are broadcasting in analog still, and that I would need a converter to get the HD.
N o luck on getting the channels.

Yeah I pay $210 a month for HD, digital, and some premium channels that no other cable company offers, Directv, etc. I was reading some things that said Oceanic switched to a SDV type of broadcast, which should be giving hdtv through ota right. Then I was thinking about a cable card. Should I just wait for this change to digital come next year? I am going to call Oceanic and find out why I cannot get ota HD channels.

If you are paying $210 a month for scrambled channels, the cable comany is obligated to give you the box you need to watch those channels. You are not going to get what you pay for by hooking the cable directly to the TV, without the use of a digital cable box. I would never want to part with my premium channels. If you like cable, then do it right. You have spoken a lot of antennae, and OTA channels. If that is your primary concern, then you should cancel the cable, and get serious about mounting a directional antennae on your roof. OTA is still free. Have fun, and feel welcomed here at High Def Forum.

You should be able to get any HD program broadcast over the air by your local channel(s) with a regular antenna hooked up to your HD TV, either the old rabbit ear type or an outside or attic mounted antenna. If you need a analog to digital converter box, it should still work.

As to configuring your particular set, your OM should have the procedure.

This is a duplicate thread and should be closed.

Merged duplicate threads.

Cecelikeike,

If you’re getting digital channels 2.0 and 13.0 then you’re using the over-the-air antenna tuner source. (Tuner Source set to “Air”).

I know you said that you tried autotuning with the other settings and couldn't get any digital channels. But I suggest that you try setting the tuner source to “Cable” under the TV settings and try to directly enter the digital channels that Bigloww listed. Can't hurt.

For KITV enter 1-1-4-DOT-2. Use the DOT “.” just above the volume + key.

For some reason I can't fanthom, my Sharp's tuner remaps all the digital channels to the first available subchannels. So 114.2 shows up on 114.1. And all the 117 subchannels are shifted down. So if 114.2 doesn't work try 114.1 or 114.0.

FYI - I have basic $13 cable from Oceanic and I can get all those channels Bigloww listed except for FoodNetwork which is now encrypted. Fox(85.3), CBS(113.5), NBC(83.3), ABC(114.2) and PBS(120.12) are all in HD. Bear in mind that Oceanic keeps moving the QAM channels around.

When you did your channel scan, did you search for "digital" channels? My TV setup menu offers scans separately for digital and analog signals.