'Clear TV'...am I missing something?
 

(Sorry if this is in the wrong board; I couldn't decide where it fit in best.)

Okay, so I just saw a paid program for a new(?) mail-order product called 'Clear TV'. The program made it seem like a viable alternative to cable or satellite, allowing you to receive 'hundreds' of channels for free, in HD quality. The longer I watched, however, the more and more it sounded like they were hocking a glorified over-the-air ATSC broadcast antenna! There is no box or other unit that connects between your TV and the square, black antenna unit, and I heard or saw no mention of any channels being available that you couldn't get with standard OTA ATSC...which, in most areas, consists of five or six local stations, not the 'hundreds' they promise.

Seems like a scam to me!! I'll continue to watch ATSC broadcast channels on the one compatible TV I own using my 30-year-old rabbit ears, thanks.

Here is the product's website: http://www.cleartv.com/

It is only for over the air digital signals And it doesnt look like it would do any good there either...

SR

Yes, its a wrapped-up bowtie.
F'rinstance, it would get you about 40 DTV including sub-channels in Philly but out here only about 7, and it positively sucks for high-band VHF.

Yes, that's all it is, a cheap indoor OTA antenna. Yes, it will receive hundreds of stations, just not at any single location. :)

As much of a scam as that "Rabbit TV" USB device that promises free TV over an internet connection. AKA a small flash drive with links to free streaming video sites you can reach with any web browser.

These kind of scams are nothing new, BTW...

http://milk.com/wall-o-shame/dish.html

I thought so! I also hadn't suspected the 'Rabbit TV' device as being similarly scammy, though that's because I never really looked into it. Wow...

I have a Clear Cast indoor antenna. It works up to a point, but it will not receive two network TV stations in my area (both on VHF DTV channels), the subchannels of which are the two stations I watch most of the time. My antenna doesn't get "hundreds" of channels, but I will admit it gets more than I can get on cable, such as ThisTV, the SD (standard definition) feed of the Cleveland CW network affiliate, and several others. I would use this antenna in an emergency, say if my cable quit and it would take several days to have the service restored, but I'd think at least twice before using it as my primary TV antenna. The main reason for this is simply because my cable TV service is part of a 3-way bundle (cable, Internet, home phone). If I downgrade or cancel any one of those services before my contract expires, the cable operator (Time Warner) will charge me an early termination fee, which at this time is somewhere in the neighborhood of $150.

I will admit, however, that one of the claims made for the Clear Cast antenna is credible: the statement that reception of local TV stations using the antenna will be clearer than the same stations received on cable. The reason is that cable TV, especially if you have multiple services coming over the same coax, compresses the TV stations' signals, thereby degrading the quality of said signals. The same signals picked up by the Clear Cast antenna are those coming directly from the stations; there is no compression or other modification done to those signals, so you get the original, unmodified signal from the local TV stations. I've tried this with my Clear Cast antenna and can vouch for the clearer reception using it versus the same signals received over my cable service.

The problems I am having with no reception from two local TV stations (CBS and FOX) in my area may simply be due to the location of the antenna. I've only tried my CC antenna in one part of my apartment; it wouldn't surprise me if moving the antenna to my bedroom, for example, brings in the two stations I presently do not receive. I seem to remember reading that DTV signals are highly directional, and that there are likely areas in any place one uses an indoor antenna which may work much better than others. Digital TV has come a long way since the first such stations went on the air in 2006, but the problem of hit-or-miss reception hasn't yet been solved, and I'm not sure it will be any time soon. Note that the outdoor TV antenna with rotor has made a comeback in the DTV era. There are probably few if any locations in the US where an indoor antenna will work anywhere nearly as well as an outdoor one; that my Clear Cast works as well as it does, even with the two missing channels, is probably a fluke. I live about 40 miles from the transmitters of the major TV stations in Cleveland, so I was actually amazed at the sheer number of stations I was receiving using the Clear Cast. My DTV reception with that antenna is even better in spring, summer and early fall when the TV bands open up; last summer, for example, I connected the Clear Cast to my flat screen, did a channel scan, and was amazed to see stations coming in from Toledo, Ohio, Detroit, and, if I remember correctly, Windsor, Canada, along with the local Cleveland stations.

The only station the Clear Cast doesn't seem to receive here, aside from CBS and FOX, is a CBS affiliate in Youngstown, Ohio, which I understand from looking at the FCC's digital TV reception maps for my area should come in here fairly well (this station is actually supposed to be a fill-in for areas which do not receive the Cleveland CBS-TV affiliate; the latter station does have a UHF translator meant for an area 30 miles south of Cleveland, but that translator doesn't reach here :no:). If I could get that station with my Clear Cast antenna, my reception problems would be solved as far as network stations are concerned. Again, maybe the problem is the location of the antenna. One of these days, I'm going to temporarily move my flat screen to my bedroom, hook up the Clear Cast, and see what happens. Who knows? I may get the two Cleveland stations I am presently missing, and the CBS station in Youngstown as well.

Jeff!
Did you ever try a DTV converter on that set, with that antenna and the location, where you're using it. I'm referring to one of the higher gain DTV converters like the Zenith, Insignia and Digital Steam. Some of the others don't measure up, to those units.
I'm sure, some of the TV's, that have a digital tuner are the same. The Funai sets that I have, can't receive OTA, digital signals, unless I use an outside antenna. The Funai converters are the same.
I have several RCA's, that everyone seems to hate, receive DTV signals with just a set-top antenna. They work well and are reliable.
BTW, all my sets are CRT's.
The only flat-panel, I own is a HP computer display and I like it a lot. :yes:

Yep, it is an overpriced piece of metal encased in plastic. "Buy one, get one free", if you PAY double shipping and handling to get the "free" one. Like most of these junk products, they already make a PROFIT on the shipping "cost" alone, which, or course, is never refunded with the "money-back guarantees" these junk items usually have.

Even before the digital-TV days, there were ads for "amazing breakthrough mini-dish" antennas that were basically rabbit ears.

I do a lot of comparisons of different antennas. I look for antennas at the various thrift shops and garage sales. I'll usually buy duplicates, if the first one I bought works well. The only ones that work well, are the amplified type.
Right now, the best working set-top antenna, I have is the Terk, Yagi design. It comes with an in-line amplifier. My home is 41 miles from The Milwaukee transmitter towers.
Another thing, with those bogus antennas is the coax cable that comes with them. There's too much loss in it, at the frequencies used for transmission.

Is that the one with a decent Log-Yagi design for UHF that also has an adjustable "rabbit ears" dipole in the base for VHF? One of my favorites, although the base is somewhat tippy.
jr

I forgot about the dipoles. I put mine on the closet shelf, next to the TV. I'm using a Zenith DTV converter and the antenna is connected to it. Great results.
I haven't touched it in months. :yes:

I have an old UHF bow-tie antenna clipped to an old pair of rabbit ears attached to a small metal weight. The bowtie is raised about 10 feet from the floor.

With the little digital/analog converter I have, I pick up 11 channels. That's all the channels that broadcast around here.

A buddy of mine actually bought one of these clear-channel things. We hooked it up to his newer flat screen, and it only found 4 channels. He lives across the street from me. He got a refund on it.

Did he get the shipping, handling cost refunded, also. :D

He didn't say. Knowing him and his thrift abilities, he got a full refund.

Some years ago a local TV station consumer affairs person of the local newscast showed the station's chief engineer such an antenna. He said "rabbit ears with a plastic decoration".... :thumbsdn: