Need TV and antenna help

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  • 04FXSTS

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    Dec 31, 2010
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    Eugene
    I am not all that good on electronic stuff so am asking for help. When we move to Indiana I plan to get Xfinity for internet and that will also get me wi-fi. For TV we will be going with an over the air antenna and will have three or four TV's hooked up to one antenna. With this being a new modular I hate to go around drilling holes in the floors and or the walls so would like to connect everything wirelessly. But being challenged in this area I have looked at Best Buy, Amazon and you tube for how to set something up with no luck.
    Cheap as I am I don't want to spend any more than I have to or have a monthly charge. I don't mind spending some money on equipment, just hate monthly charges. So if anyone has done this and have a system that they are happy with let me know. Otherwise I will get out the cordless drill and start punching holes. Thanks, Jim.
     

    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
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    May 12, 2013
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    Camby area
    If you want to not have CATV cables drilled in floors, walls, etc you will have to just install an antenna by each TV. Kinda like the old "rabbit ears". Thats fine if you are in the same city as all of your TV stations. If you have a ways to go, you'll need to drill a few holes for the rooftop antenna cable.

    There is no wireless antenna to go between the rooftop unit and each TV like a wireless network.
     

    04FXSTS

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    Dec 31, 2010
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    Eugene
    There is no wireless antenna to go between the rooftop unit and each TV like a wireless network.

    That is what I have been coming up with, that and a headache. I would love to be able to use one indoor antenna for each TV but I only have two stations less than 40 miles away so don't see much hope for that. I think I will go with the Lava brand antenna with their DVR so my wife can record her soap opera, very important. Time to charge up the drill and measure co-ax. Jim.
     

    jkaetz

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    Jan 20, 2009
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    Indianapolis
    There is no wireless antenna to go between the rooftop unit and each TV like a wireless network.

    That is what I have been coming up with, that and a headache. I would love to be able to use one indoor antenna for each TV but I only have two stations less than 40 miles away so don't see much hope for that. I think I will go with the Lava brand antenna with their DVR so my wife can record her soap opera, very important. Time to charge up the drill and measure co-ax. Jim.
    Wireless is great for some things, cables are superior for real time video of any sort. Your plan of running coax will serve you better in the long run. While you're pulling cable, pull a couple runs of cat5e or cat6 back to a common location along with the coax. You'll thank yourself later.
     

    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
    Staff member
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    35   0   0
    May 12, 2013
    31,682
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    Camby area
    Wireless is great for some things, cables are superior for real time video of any sort. Your plan of running coax will serve you better in the long run. While you're pulling cable, pull a couple runs of cat5e or cat6 back to a common location along with the coax. You'll thank yourself later.

    This. the same cat5 cable that can handle wired networking can also carry telephone traffic. So even if you dont end up using it for wired network, you can still use it for a land line instead.
     

    eldirector

    Grandmaster
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    Apr 29, 2009
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    Brownsburg, IN
    We have an over-the-air antenna, AirTV box on the wifi network, and Sling. With a USB drive plugged into the AirTV, we can DVR TV broadcasts. We already have Sling on our TVs (via a Firestick), so it all works.
     
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    Jun 19, 2010
    2,754
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    Alfordsville
    There is no wireless antenna to go between the rooftop unit and each TV like a wireless network.

    That is what I have been coming up with, that and a headache. I would love to be able to use one indoor antenna for each TV but I only have two stations less than 40 miles away so don't see much hope for that. I think I will go with the Lava brand antenna with their DVR so my wife can record her soap opera, very important. Time to charge up the drill and measure co-ax. Jim.
    Since it looks like you have decided to go ahead with running co-ax, I recommend you use RG-6 at least for your longer runs. It has better shielding than RG-59 along with less signal loss. You might also want to consider a tower mounted pre-amp for the exterior antenna and if your runs between the TV's are long, a distribution amp might also be something to consider.
    If you find you need to utilize a "splitter" for the co-ax make sure you also use a terminating resistor on any open tap.
     
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