[kwlug-disc] OT: Non-satellite alternatives to Rogers Cable?

[Jason Locklin]

On Tue, 2011-10-25 at 09:26 -0400, Charles M wrote:
> I've been thinking about just setting up some kind of automatic
> torrent thing to go with our XBMC setup. But if there's another
> solution that doesn't involve a dish we'd look at it. 

If you go with internet streams, digital over the air (DTV) provides a
cheap supplement for local news and mainstream programs. In most of KW,
you can get Global (Ch 6), CTV (13), and TVO (28) with nothing more than
old-school rabbit ears. They are 1080i HD digital. I have an hdhomerun
connected to a mythTV backend and XBMC for PVR functionality, but that's
not necessary. If you have a modern flat-screen TV, most have a built in
digital tuner, so you just plug in an antenna and do a channel scan. If
you are at a high enough elevation in your apartment and face east or
south-east, you may be able to get Toronto, Hamilton, and/or Buffalo
stations, but that can be a challenge. See the DigitalHome.ca OTA forums
for information if you want to try that. You can also put in your
coordinates and elevation to tvfool.com to get an idea of what you need
to pull in signals from those cities, but it's a very rough estimate.
__
Jason