It doesn't take much of an antenna if you have a fairly clear line of sight to the CN tower (doesn't have to be perfect). For Buffalo stations, you point accross the lake.

Anyone up the 404/yonge street corridor just points the antenna in one direction, and bingo

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quote:

Originally posted by FunkyCrew http://freetoronto.tv/

you know everything...

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quote:

Originally posted by SasH21 you know everything...

it was like the 1st hit in Google

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they have a torx indoor/outdoor at radio shack/the source that is like $134..it has worked well for me and a few friends. just take it out carefully and if you dont get enough channels to satisfy you you can re-package it and return it.

quote:

Originally posted by Abercrombie It doesn't take much of an antenna if you have a fairly clear line of sight to the CN tower (doesn't have to be perfect). For Buffalo stations, you point accross the lake. Anyone up the 404/yonge street corridor just points the antenna in one direction, and bingo

You would think its that simple, but for building dwellers not so. I was at Yonge and Lawrence, in just the smallest of valley's, and it was a bit tough to get a lot of channels.

BTW - the best forum (source of info) for this type of stuff is:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81

I have been using them for years.

quote:

Originally posted by Orko You would think its that simple, but for building dwellers not so. I was at Yonge and Lawrence, in just the smallest of valley's, and it was a bit tough to get a lot of channels. BTW - the best forum (source of info) for this type of stuff is: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81 I have been using them for years.

yup, I'm on there

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i used to live at yonge/wellesley on the 24th floor facing north and i got about 14 channels...as good a signal as ive ever seen. now i live at dalhousie/dundas facing south/west and i get 1 if i use my antenna..too many buildings between me and the CN tower/buffalo.

sucks having to pay for and endure rogers' shitty signal

quote:

Originally posted by _EuG_ Based on what the specifications say the lcd is good for 60,000 hours and the plasma is good for 100,000 hours.

Um, that 60,000 on the LCD is the lamp life. The backlight bulb is replaceable; when a plasma is finished, it's finished. LCD is also constant; typical plasma TVs today have a "half life" of 60,000 hours, which means that it is only half as bright; not the same as an LCD which stays exactly the same as long as the backlight is working. I'll bet that our friend bcope is comparing brand-new TVs, not TVs that have been watched intensely for 5 years.


Plasma does have the better picture quality. I won't argue with that. But I also think it's so marginal that the longevity concerns far outweigh the slight picture advantages. The only thing I would say is, if you tend to watch a ton of sports, you might be better off with a plasma because LCDs do kind of suck with fast-moving pictures, even at the higher refresh rates.

I've been told that this isn't as much of an issue as a year ago, but plasma TVs also still have the burn-in problem. LCDs don't.

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by the time you get 60,000 hours on any TV in 2009 something three times as good for half as much will have come along. did you do the math on 60,000 hours assuming 5 hours a day viewing (which is a more than most people will do)? we will probably have HDMI ports in our foreheads at that point...hahaha

re: marginal picture quality increase, you might think so, and thats your opinion, but the opinion of every videophile i know and every empirical test i have ever performed or read the results of would be at odds with your opinion.

re:burn in..you have to be a complete and utter tool to burn in a modern plasma...they are all so resistant to it start with and most decent ones have pixel orbiters in case you do leave a fixed image on the screen for some length of time. all you have to really do is turn the brightness and contrast down a bit during the first 100 hours of use and dont play games with static images for like 8 hours at a time when the TV is brand new

pioneer plasmas even come with a video wipe tool which you can use if you do somehow manage to get yourself a little image retention...white bars that scroll across a black screen from left to right to wipe anything thats there off...very cool

quote:

Originally posted by bcope by the time you get 60,000 hours on any TV in 2009 something three times as good for half as much will have come along. did you do the math on 60,000 hours assuming 5 hours a day viewing (which is a more than most people will do)? we will probably have HDMI ports in our foreheads at that point...hahaha

First of all, 60,000 hours ends up being anywhere from 3-10 years depending on viewing habits, and a lot of people (I would say most people) keep TVs for that long, especially big screens - this isn't a cheap desktop PC.

Second, 60,000 hours is an estimation and not a guarantee.

Last but not least, as I explained above, 60,000 hours on a plasma is the "half life", so you are gradually losing picture quality with each passing hour up to that point; you'll likely start to see the effects after the first 10,000 hours and almost certainly after 30,000. Based on your post above, you probably don't keep your TVs long enough to notice.

You may not realize this, but most people do not upgrade their TVs every few years like a "videophile". That term very specifically implies a person for whom money is no object, someone who is willing to pay a hefty premium for small or even imperceptible improvements in quality.

Anyway, I'm sure she's capable of going to the store and checking out the picture on different TVs by herself. That's what really matters in the end. If she thinks that plasma really looks so much better than LCD, enough to offset the fact that she'll need a new one in probably 5 years, then I guess that's the way to go.

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2009-06-18 - DJ Annoying @ People Need To Know Where I'll Be
2012-11-32 - DJ Insufferable ɸ Or At Least the Stalkers I Complain About
2048-06-66 - Spastic & Whocares ¶ Although I'm Actually Flattered
9999-45-81 - Tweaker Gimp ☼ I Probably Won't Even Go To This But I Have To Make Sure I Fill Up All The Available Space Here

Hi guys,

Thanks everyone for providing me with tons of useful information, and I have definitely learned quite a bit about TVs in the last few days I sure didn't want this to turn into a big debate, so let's keep it peaceful haha. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I will be TV shopping next week and will have a look at Sony, Sharp, and the Plasma TV that Brad suggested. I am sure it will be easy to make that choice once I can see the TVs and play around with the controls, etc.

I went over my condo manual last night, and it turns out that we are not allowed to have antennas on our balconies. It goes along the same lines as we are only allowed to have white or light-colored blinds on all of the windows...The management is pretty strict, so I will stick to the rules. Don't want to be in any more trouble especially after receiving complaints from the residents below when washing my balcony with dozens of buckets of water dripping into their suits lol

I will stick to basic Rogers package and will probably get an HD for extra $12 a month

I will let you know what TV I choose next week if anyone cares!

Sasha

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by my math, which could very well be incorrect as i was never that great at math, 24 hours a day/365 days a year=8760 hours in a year...multiply that by 3 and you have 26,280 hours in 3 years...im wondering how anyone can watch 60,000 hours of TV in 3 years??

assuming 5 hours a day again 60,000 hours/5hrs a day=12,000 days/365 days per year=32 years, no?

even if you watched your plasma 24 hours a day, every day, you could run it for like 6 years

assuming worst case scenario, lets say it gets to a point where a normal person would be unsatisfied with their plasma after say 30,000 hours. again assuming 5 hours a day thats 16 years. and thats a "normal person", not a videophile. if videophiles are happy with their sets past the 30,000 hour mark im sure most "normal people" would be as well.

the point of all this is that even if a plasma dims to the point where someone isn't happy with it after...say...8 years, what's available then will be much better than what's available now at a fraction of the cost. look at plasma TVs from 1999 compared to today. you can get a panasonic g series 50" plasma today for literally 1/4 of what a completely inferior in every way, shape and form plasma from the same manufacturer would have cost you in 1999.

to the OP re:going to the store to check out sets.. check the link i posted earlier about how retail lighting conditions affect your perception of displays in a store environment....dont get snookered

let us know what you end up with!