Goodbye, Cable, Pt. 3 -- Another Converter Box For Upstairs!

[@yagami_light63]

I joined you and took the plunge, cut the cable cord...truthfully i don't miss cable! i have a flat screen with hdtv antennae...thanks for the inspiration

[@artistmac]

Yagami Light You're welcome. Most of the shows I watch are ones I enjoyed as a child and teenager: "Adam-12", "Dragnet", "The Rockford Files", "Emergency", "The Fugitive", "Naked City". And without paying $91.00/month

[@CoopyKat]

How cool, you're lucky to live in an area where you can pick up all those local channels. Out here in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles, the mountains prevent us from getting a lot of stations unless we have antennas on top of our houses!

[@artistmac]

Are the mountains also a problem for emergency vehicle communications and cell phones?

[@CoopyKat]

@@artistmac Yes! They are.....the last 2 times I went over the mountains from one valley to the other, my cell phone and car radio all lost signals. I don't text & drive but I use it for GPS, that's how I figured that out.

[@RobertHellier]

In 2012 in UK when the digital tv switched over into full power my cable bill went up to £80 that's for 3 cable tv boxes and broadband... i looked into getting a decent tv aerial/antenna with high gain booster and installed it on the roof by myself and got freeview its working perfectly its still up there now 8 years later

[@artistmac]

There's more broadcast channels now, with rerun content from cable channels, than 10 years ago! With that and Roku, cable can take a long, long, walk.

[@dutchmankamstra96]

OK... you've convinced me and I am going to check into this. I have Comcast and it seems like the bill just creeps upwards every few months. I'm really surprised how many channels are available. Thanks for sharing this!!

[@artistmac]

They're still doing the steady price creep? No wonder they had the money to buy Time Warner cable! :D

[@bluetech7753]

Dutchman Kamstra yeah Comcast is just ripping you off and taking your money I cut the cord quite some time ago and I don't miss it either just get Netflix Hulu or Amazon Prime streaming services are so much cheaper in conjunction with your local over-the-air antenna that should be enough programming for you to watch and not have to pay those outrageous monthly prices that go up every month. And you know this how those monthly bill fees go up all the time never down.

[@Iluv2watchutube1981]

I'm loving your Afro bro congrats on your cable free life

[@artistmac]

Thanks. Saving money never stops feeling great. And most of the shows I enjoyed on cable are on broadcast anyway.

[@sehnzeleid]

@ 3:22, the yellow composite video output actually yields better picture quality than the RF Antenna output, also in conjunction with the red/white stereo jacks you get stereo audio, RF is mono-only. Basically RF > Composite > S-Video > Component > HDMI in terms of lowest to highest picture quality.

[@juliaflo3172]

Hello. I recently bid 'toodles' to the cable box in my bedroom and replaced it with my digital converter box tethered to a digital antenna. Lo and behold--I was able to obtain all of the broadcast channels in the area. I am in the process of obtaining one that has 'dvr' function, for which I will use an external hard drive or thumb drive. I am totally in LOVE with my digital converter box and with the 'diginets' that I have tuned in. (Get ready for Buzzr TV, LAFF, and Decades, the last mentioned of which is in 'soft launch'). Here's wishing you well.

[@artistmac]

Juliaflo Decades is a treasure trove of old TV series! Found it the last time I rescanned for new channels. They've pretty much got every kind of channel on broadcast that was on cable, including Touchvision, a kind of broadcast CNN, and Escape, which has made me forget all about ID Discovery.

[@juliaflo3172]

***** Seems to me that some digital sports, music, and--get this--cartoon channels should be developed. Seems that the 'diginets' may be putting cable's glory to the test. Incidentally, I have decided to keep one cable box--this lowers my rate somewhat. Good luck.

[@artistmac]

Juliaflo As time goes on, they'll probably be developing more specialized broadcast channels. Ten years ago, I never could have guessed there would be as many as there are. But cable subscriptions are flat -- probably why Comcast and Time Warner want to merge so badly.

[@antoniaford5478]

+artistmac Last I heard, Touchvision shut down a few months ago

[@daniellematheny440]

I have to say I'm a little envious of your options with your box. I live in San Diego and even though I can scan 40 channels. About 30 of them are in Spanish. I get the basics but only one movie channel. My favorite aspect of leaving cable (besides saving money) is finding great shows from the past that become new favorites.

[@artistmac]

+Danielle Matheny New channels keep coming online all the time. I am going to have to upgrade the antenna to one of those flat ones that mount on a wall or window -- the rabbit ears don't seem to be doing as well as they used to.

[@artistmac]

New channels keep popping up, like Story, that broadcasts reruns from the History Channel. Every so often, I just browse all the channel numbers, to see if there are any new ones. Between broadcast, Roku and DVD's from the library, cable is a distant memory.

[@truthmanonetwenty3195]

Read the reviews on amazon people say these boxes overheat after a year. I guess it depends on how much you use it. If you leave the tv on 24/7 it will die out quickly. If you watch tv conservatively it should last a lot longer.

[@artistmac]

2 hours in the morning, 5 hours at night. And the Sunkey crapped out in a matter of months. They made junk. Both Digital Stream converters are still working, 8 years later. They're quality products. The one downstairs outlasted the TV it was attached to! kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJDHmqJ4YrJ0q6s

[@KevinPiland]

Most people use channel 3 but hey I'm glad most converter boxes as well as RF modulators also work on channel 4.

[@phillies4100_mainsite]

+Kevin Piland Which is good because in my area we can't use 3 with OTA converters. (That's because 3 is KYW CBS)

[@Juliaflo]

I have this very same converter box. It may interest you to know that these come in handy at a time when cable companies have been dropping certain broadcast channels because of carriage and money issues. Merry Christmas.

[@artistmac]

Juliaflo That's good to know. It's coming up on two years now without cable, and with all the old cable shows that are now in reruns on broadcast and the shows that are available on various networks' websites, there's no need to go back.

[@Juliaflo]

***** For your information, that digital channel is Movies! (Please use the exclamation point). Merry Christmas.

[@bluetech7753]

Juliaflo fuck cable and satellite way too expensive and you don't really have as many channels to watch as they say you do 100 channels can easily trickle down to like 50 or 40 most of the channels or at least more than half of the channels that they say you have are inaccessible because they're either premium channels or Pay-Per-View channels let alone other channels that you probably will never watch. Let's not forget about these promotional fees it's never really what they say for instance 50 channels for $24.95 after taxes and all the service fees and other crap that they charge + Equipment Rental that 2495 Easley turns into about 60 to 70 bucks and a good chunk of that it's just extra charges that they're adding so what you see is not what you pay and this is just a promotional. Imagine when the promotional period ends it shoots up even more before you know it you're paying like 80 or 85 bucks for that same amount of channels.

[@KevinPiland]

Some of the channels shown including HSN were previously available on cable.

[@vkuolema79]

I ignore if someone might have made a comment about the composite video and rca audio outputs.If your tv happens to have an AUDIO and VIDEO RCA INPUTS you should give them a try. Definitely you will obtain a clearer image an audio. Also if you wanna even add more channels to your tv you can look up for FTA satellite receivers and antennas. There are many satellites that have a footprint in your area that carry FREE TO AIR channels in Standard and High definition.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

Also for Japanese NTSC TVs that doesn’t tune down to 90 Mhz.

[@KevinPiland]

14:52 GetTV is now available in Abilene and has been for some time. As for Me-TV we no longer get that unless Frndly TV is used or Philo.

[@Celeron_619]

the RCA cable (Red Yellow White) cables provide a better image quality compared to coax cables in my experience. Thats probably why they're there.

[@gman3030300]

I'm old school too I still have a vcr I had a playsation 2 till I droped it

[@Iluv2watchutube1981]

Im so ready to convert thanks for sharing your info

[@artistmac]

Take the plunge. And if you've got a newer (post '07) TV, all you need is the antenna.

[@weasel2htm]

WOW! You get lots of channels! I have an attic mounted antenna and only get three channels that are watchable. Of course, I'm ~60 miles from the closest TV major market.

[@le-db6bc]

If you lived in Kenosha, WI, you would get both the Milwaukee and Chicago stations!

[@artistmac]

And I'd be able to ride the streetcars. A double win!

[@HI-FI_]

The red white and yellow leads is the RCA cable

[@gphilipc2031]

I have been off cable tv for several years. I do have cable internet and that is too expensive. I may wind up with antenna only soon just so I can eat.

[@artistmac]

Antenna's the way to go. Depending on how far you are away from transmitters, it may have to be on the roof, but definitely worth it.

[@Icybubba]

You ok? sounded like a nice sized storm there

[@artistmac]

Icy bubba I'm fine. That was last year; house and garage made it through. :)

[@Icybubba]

***** Yeah noticed the date after I post this :P

[@M1CHAZZ]

cannot get channel 2 ; live to miles west of 294& 90

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

ATSC 3.0 set top box and HDMI TO RF.

[@williamhosking9312]

i live in Australia i had a antenna on my tv with a booster but upstairs some channels just said no signal

[@TheSkullArmyMC]

Believe it or don't, in Chicago, atleast until Labor Day of this year, you can pick up some old analog channels! No converter box needed! Does the converter also pull in analog channels also, or just regular digital?

[@firstnamelastname5407]

They delayed the rest of the switch over indefinitely. You get to keep your analog.

[@samwolcott989]

65 channels you must have good reception

[@gman3030300]

don't thy have a over the air weather channel there? I see some people have that

[@shinbakihanma2749]

EEEEYYY!! Rockford, Alright. XD You made my day with that

[@bluetech7753]

Me growing up as a child in the late 1970s pretty much halfway through the 80s we didn't have cable in our house we just had analog over the air TV just three channels. As of today I have gone back to over the air TV only now it's digital I get about 10 channels it's not bad I used to have cable but it was getting too expensive. So in combination with streaming services like Netflix Hulu or Amazon Prime and my antenna I've got just enough programming to watch on TV with out cable. Cable companies are kind of ripping you off they say you get 200 channels or more but if you think about it how many of those 200 channels are actually accessible for you to watch at least a good 40 50 or a hundred of them are Pay-Per-View channels that you can't access anyway then there are all the premium channels that you pay for separately that you can't access so when they say 2 or 300 channels you really don't have that many channels to begin with that's two or three hundred channels in total that your cable box can receive but not all are accessible and a lot of them are multiple channels for instance 5 shopping networks 10 news channels some of them in foreign language 50 audio music channels oh and let's not forget about those other channels that you probably will never watch but you're still paying for You don't really need all that you're basically just throwing your money away and they are ripping you off then you have to pay for each TV that is connected to the system remember they're charging anywhere from 5 to $10 for the rental of that set-top box that always has to be hooked up to your TV.

[@joeypaulin7342]

That’s cool there wow

[@simonarobinson5328]

Having trouble finding my channels to my sylvania tv with converter box already on channel 3 ,, i just lost how to put it back on game mode

[@GeoNeilUK]

The remote for that digital TV box looks very similar to Sky TV remote. Sky remotes also come with the ability to control TVs for volume, changing channels and power. I don't like how OK is "Restart Scan" instead of "Save Channels" (Sky have a "back up" button which would have made more sense) I'd have probably have wasted time going through another totally unnecessary scan because of that. LOL EAS in action! We don't have a anything like that in the UK!

[@notthatdigusted7468]

I would not send that cool old tv to be recycled, I would probably fix it but I know how to fix old electronic equipment.

[@notthatdigusted7468]

It probably just needed to be recapped on the power supply circuit on the main board.

[@artistmac]

It's still being watched, hooked up to the second digital converter. I'm not that hung up on flat screens.

[@rmx77]

where i am which is in what u call a hole and on the second story of a 3 story apartment style condo we cant get any good digital over the air tv. the best u can get is maybe 3 channels and its a luck if u can even get that with an indoor antenna. they dont allow you to have outdoor antennas so reception is gonna be shitty

[@artistmac]

Sounds like you're either surrounded by other tall buildings (a really bad situation, even with the transmitters near) or far away from the transmitters (worse).

[@rmx77]

well i am around lots of hills and am almost at sea level and indoor antennas just dont help so we have cable to combat that but with stupid comcast doing what they please it does suck at times

[@gman3030300]

I think thy stopped selling crt tv's in 2008 or 2009 I have a 2008 crt tv with a digital tuner in it

[@thepostalteenager2206]

Whats the brand of that tv?

[@thepostalteenager2206]

Fact some chinese made crt until 2016 in Romania

[@CrashOverride777]

NOTE there is no HDMI PORT hahaha

[@artistmac]

For those of us who aren't gamers, it's a non-issue. hahaha

[@Celeron_619]

TV's with HDMI have ATSC tuners. They don't need a converter box.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

@@Celeron_619 some TVs in other countries doesn’t have ATSC, DVB-T, DVB-T2, ISDB-T nor DTMB. Samsung LED TVs in Asia only have analog TV tuner but require to buy DTV box with HDMI OUT.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

@@Celeron_619 ATSC 3.0 and ATSC 1.0 are not compatible. In South Korea, TVs from 2017 and newer have ATSC 3.0 built in..

[@ronniehodgez5810]

I got only old Tvs in house.

[@topfin8441]

What tvs do you currently have now? And also how many channels are you receiving with the antenna on the roof?

[@artistmac]

A Lava outdoor antenna for the big TV downstairs, and this same TV setup (still) for upstairs.

[@Juliaflo]

You know that there is no more Radio Shack as the world knows it--the stores that have not closed are now Sprint stores, although they carry several Radio Shack products.

[@artistmac]

Juliaflo I do now. It hasn't been an issue up to now, since both Digital Stream converters are working flawlessly after two years. Hopefully, they will last until both tube TV's take their final breaths.

[@Juliaflo]

***** I have also purchased a digital converter box that has--are you ready--DVR recording functions, provided you tether a flash drive or external hard drive (3 TB Maximum, to my knowledge). I have yet to unbox it, as I am reading the directions and doing further research. It may also interest you to know that there are a host of DVRs made specifically and SOLELY for "cord-cutters". Good luck.

[@artistmac]

Thanks for the info. I'm still rocking a 2000-vintage VCR and 35 years worth of irreplaceable VHS tapes. Yes, I'm old-school.

[@Juliaflo]

I myself have a multitude of VHS tapes that I am readying for digital conversion.

[@diamondpearl1204]

Thank you for the video it help me out a lot

[@phillies4100_mainsite]

Why is Ion the EAS channel in all areas?

[@BlackAnvil47]

The same thing happened to my maganvox tv the day the signal change my tv slowly went black

[@scottthompson1426]

what digital converter box is that artist Mac

[@artistmac]

The brand is Digital Stream. I got it at a Radio Shack bricks-and-mortar store. If there's none in your area (they're closing left and right) check online.

[@scottthompson1426]

not in our area superior WI we don't have a RadioShack anymore they closed like a couple years ago like 4 years it is now a Verizon wireless cellphone company store my mom buy me a HDTV Emerson brand for 150.00 at Walmart artist Mac I use a antenna called clear tv antenna HDTV antenna as seen on tv I get like 13 channel with this antenna I get Duluth MN stations even though I live in superior WI

[@ishotu747]

Great choice! Digital Stream is a good quality converter box I used one for my 27 inch Magnavox crt tv and picked up so many channels

[@joeypaulin7342]

O wow they come in wow I a, shocked

[@artistmac]

For about the last week, we've been having an issue: A series of heavy rains flooded the basement of Willis Tower, knocking out power to the entire 1,450 foot building, including the broadcast antennas. All we've got now are the NBC affiliate, the PBS affiliate and Home Shopping. But I've got Roku, so no big deal, for now. The more pressing problem -- the blinking red lights on top of the antennas are also out. Airline pilots beware!

[@filipmac1545]

Which converter box that can vertically stand do you recommend?

[@artistmac]

I haven't seen one. You could always mount rubber feet on one side of a horizontal converter box and set it upright.

[@filipmac1545]

try using KODI

[@raymondsais5512]

Damn radio shack's no longer 😂

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

In Canada, they have “The Source” (formerly Radioshack Canada).

[@phillies4100_mainsite]

Could I use channel 3 if I live in an area that broadcasts channel 3 or would I HAVE to use channel 4?

[@artistmac]

+phillies4100 If there's a broadcast Channel 3 in your area, if you were using a converter, VCR or DVD player or playing videos from your camcorder on your TV, by necessity, you'd have to use Channel 4.

[@phillies4100_mainsite]

***** Channel 3 is KYW

[@artistmac]

+phillies4100 You'll definitely have to use Channel 4.

[@phillies4100_mainsite]

***** Is there an interference thing then?

[@artistmac]

+phillies4100 It's not really an interference problem. In most parts of the country, Channels 3 and 4 aren't being used by broadcasters. That's why VCR's, DVD players and other devices that hook up to TV's gave you the choice of using 3 or 4. If you tried to use Channel 3, which in your area is being used for broadcasts, more than likely, all you'd ever get with a device hooked up to it is whatever's being broadcast on Channel 3. Just use Channel 4.

[@del2345]

I just found out that there are only 2 broadcast channels in my area.

[@KevinPiland]

You should be getting more even if It's not like Artist Mac's TV.

[@deadaccountguys]

An EAS?

[@dorianplayerone]

are you in the southern area?

[@artistmac]

South Side of Chicago.

[@dorianplayerone]

@@artistmac thats how you were picking up so many channels that i get in louisiana?

[@artistmac]

@@dorianplayerone Some of these channels, like MeTV, Court TV and the true crime channels, are nationwide

[@scottythompson940]

cool video tech talk antenna artist mac

[@kevingaray1593]

We have to sell the Magnavox CRT TV 1992 with remote

[@curtisjones2531]

You probably know by now since this is 4 years after your videos was made Chicago has a Movies channel on WFLD 32-2

[@artistmac]

It's not popping up with the remote -- I'll scan the channels again. It's been quite a while.

[@skeleguns10oooooo10]

12:42 EAS during review

[@gman3030300]

them newer hdtvs are are crap I had a 19" vizio and it droped only 3 feet on my bed and the screen broke now I have a older flat screen tv no HDMI and droped it and the screen didn't break

[@AlexGonzalez-lq9lu]

The Remote Codes For A Panasonic TV are 034 036 03459 and 0675

[@snowdog03]

Can you get TNT, TBS, CNN, FOX, OAN and Cartoon Network?. 😸

[@artistmac]

Except for FOX broadcast, nope. Those others are strictly cable, as is Fox News. But I can honestly say that with KZbin highlights available for all those channels, I don't miss cable one bit. And I definitely don't miss the monthly expense.

[@phillies4100_mainsite]

@@artistmac And there's also ways to stream cable shows if you DO want to watch them.

[@olivermassey3729]

I cant record create tv with a vhs tape i need a dtv box to record create tv

[@yolandajones4905]

Have you ever heard about the Device ....ROKU!!!! CHECK IT OUT ON AMAZON

[@thepostalteenager2206]

Dont trash that magnavox someone will for pay it sell that on craigslist or ebay

[@PACAHOUST]

I like the info ..but at least buy a 1080 p tv....or HD TV..

[@KevinPiland]

Not everyone is interested in HD TV's but there is a video where he has an HD TV.

[@HI-FI_]

That is not an RCA cable that is a standard RF cable

[@Juliaflo]

Have you had a chance to watch Buzzr TV? It is awesome, especially at 2:00 a.m., when black-and-white classics are presented.

[@artistmac]

Juliaflo No, but I'd like to see it! What channel number is it? I rescanned my channels, but it's not coming up.

[@Juliaflo]

In New York, it is 9.3 (or 9-3).

[@aarhead01]

In the Chicago area it would WPWR-TV on channel 50.4

[@eliplasse]

I think we don't get that in Rhode Island.

[@MsTellitlikeitis48WithTheTea]

how are you getting internet and phone

[@artistmac]

AT&T. When my contract expires later this year, I'm going to angle for a rate reduction.

[@MsTellitlikeitis48WithTheTea]

is AT&T more expensive than optimum??...I hate optimum

[@artistmac]

dancob43 $46.00/month. That's about what I was paying for Earthlink, which was garbage. And my connection is fast. I can upload a 10-minute KZbin video in as little as 25 minutes at night, when there's not a lot of traffic.

[@MsTellitlikeitis48WithTheTea]

Have you tried Magicjackplus, I just brought one...didn't hook it up yet...

[@Bobster986]

Lost your concentration a few time proves that TV can zap your mind. Why do you think they call it "programming"?

[@artistmac]

Trying to keep track of 60 channels can do that.

[@rgion29247616]

Hi, You can go to anntenadeals.com and see all the digital tv antennas that are available now for all of us. They have a thin pancake style square that allegedly picks up 150 channels. You might want to check these folks out. Thank you for your uploaded videos. We all are suffering with Time Warner, Comcast, Direct TV, Dish Network.

[@Edp-jf8zn]

you have nfl.redzone

[@KokoandFooFoo]

12:26, was that porn? lol

[@artistmac]

Porn on broadcast TV!? If only. You can't even see nudes in Playboy anymore, lol

[@raymondsais5512]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@jasonl5967]

those set top antennas are useless for UHF TV Channels here in the UK, Everyone here has to have Outdoor antenna for robust and pixellating free pictures and sound

[@jasonl5967]

+Kamil Niewiadomski I agree there mate, I get Mynydd Machen Transmitter on a indoor aerial with no problems, but that's because it's high powered, I used to get a small low powered transmitter and a indoor aerial was useless.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

How about DVB-T2 ?? DVB-T for SD and DVB-T2 for HD. ISDB-T anf DVB-T2 receivers even if you’re inside moving vehicle or you move DTV receivers, no pixelation. DVB-T has bit of pixelation and ATSC are the worst for pixelations.

[@raymondsais5512]

Exist

[@GKennon]

EAS

[@aintdatsnipes177]

converter box pure junk,nothin but blue screen

[@artistmac]

What kind of antenna are you using? If you're far from a transmitter and using rabbit ears, that might be the problem.

[@cornishchris8404]

all channels in 4:3? i hate 4:3

[@artistmac]

Chris Cornish No, shows that were shot in 16:9 HD show up on broadcast TV in 16:9 HD. That's a blessing and a curse, especially on newscasts where anchors I thought were forever young look every year of their ages. What's truly a curse: Shows like "Rockford", "Mod Squad" and "Bewitched" look worse on widescreen HD TV's. 4:3 doesn't bother me a bit -- neither does black-and-white. For the first 14 years of my life, B/W 4:3 TV's (and B/W 4:3 TV shows) were what we had.

[@le-db6bc]

They were 16:9 but it was cutting off the sides to fill up the whole screen. That’s called edge-cropping. And for me, That’s ideal for entertainment on old CRT TVs.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

Aspect ratio settings either letterbox or pan&scan cutoff

[@dhide14]

Another cheapskate who can't afford cable LMAO!!

[@artistmac]

And YOU must be a cable company employee. Or a stockholder LMAO ;)

[@joshalverson7136]

Why would you ever knowingly pay for cable? Less choice and more cost for the same ultimate point. Why do you think all the cable companies started providing internet about 17 years ago? They know they are regurgitating crap and they dont like you to have options. More options for you = less collective money for a single entity.

[@BlackAnvil47]

The same thing happened to my maganvox tv the day the signal change my tv slowly went black

[@artistmac]

That was the day millions of TV's that didn't have a converter box attached went straight into landfills and thrift stores. Like the asteroid that's alleged to have caused the dinosaurs to go extinct.

[@BlackAnvil47]

***** I agree 100% a business plan to male millions and yet we Have Billionaires running and draining this country dry all in the name of debauchery and greed