Zap! Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 In my spare room, I have a Panasonic CT-26WX15N TV. It's a widescreen, 1080i HD-CRT. It has multiple inputs, including HDMI and Component. I don't have a cable box connected to it, but would love to be able to watch some basic channels. Don't really care about the price as long as it's better. What are my options? Do I buy a box or do I need an antenna too? Is my TV even digital, or is it one of those "HD ready" TV's? Amazon wasn't really a big help, since I didn't know exactly what to search for. Note: Here's a picture of it, with Stranger Things played on Netflix through my PS3. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroLucky Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 It's got digital tuning built in, only a decent antenna is necessary, and setting it to antenna in the menu 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zap! Posted August 23, 2018 Author Share Posted August 23, 2018 It's got digital tuning built in, only a decent antenna is necessary, and setting it to antenna in the menu Ok cool, thanks. Will this do, or are the better options? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroLucky Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 Ok cool, thanks. Will this do, or are the better options? I'm only as helpful as the reviews on that, most I've dealt with were outdoor antennas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H454 Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 Ok cool, thanks. Will this do, or are the better options? Only if you live like 20 miles from the transmitter, put it in a window in "pointed" in the direction of the signal, and have a clear line of sight. And only use it with one tv. https://otadtv.com/antenna/index.html https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps Those sites will help. If you live in a house will one of those old giant metal antenna on your roof or in your attic, try it. It would be better than the "leaf" style antenna you linked to. I live forty miles from my transmitters and I'm currently using this antenna on the top of my roof (about 25" of the ground), attached to the back of my directv dish. https://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT800-Digital-Omni-Directional-Amplified/dp/B001VYTCDK Works pretty good. I tried on of these too: https://www.amazon.com/TT-OA01-Discontinued/dp/B0092ZJ104 The quality is poor and not worth the effort. I just got one of these on sale and will try in the future. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/rocketfish-outdoor-amplified-tv-antenna-gray/5976403.p?skuId=5976403 I have one of these old school antennas in my attic from 30 years ago and it worked as good as the RCA I list first. But I had to have a signal amp. HD8200U Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgeld Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 Digital tuning doesnt mean its dtv ready, it just means your not fiddle farting with a knob and just about every tc made past like 1990 has "digital tuning" 5 bucks says you will need a dtv converter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H454 Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 Digital tuning doesnt mean its dtv ready, it just means your not fiddle farting with a knob and just about every tc made past like 1990 has "digital tuning" 5 bucks says you will need a dtv converter Yea, specs for that TV say "181 NTSC Tuner" - so no digital built & the owners manual says set top box "ready". I have an old Samsung HD digital tuner box that works pretty well for "in-between" TVs like this one. Does 1080i, svideo, component, DVI only. But these TVs don't really use HDMI anyway. Plus, those boxes are dirt cheap(for the quality you get). Ebay Samsung SIR-T451 The cheap Chinese DVR boxes are hit and miss, from the reviews I read on Amazon. I have a OTA Tivo sitting in a box somewhere too, but I can't let myself pay $9.99 in tivo fees to record network tv. Mabel if I was a sports fan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroLucky Posted August 23, 2018 Share Posted August 23, 2018 I must have looked at the wrong manual when I seen everything was built in but it'll need an external box according to the information cf provided https://www.crutchfield.com/S-pmKNEjrmJuZ/p_133CT34W50/Panasonic-CT-34WX50.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zap! Posted August 23, 2018 Author Share Posted August 23, 2018 (edited) Only if you live like 20 miles from the transmitter, put it in a window in "pointed" in the direction of the signal, and have a clear line of sight. And only use it with one tv. https://otadtv.com/antenna/index.html https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps Those sites will help. If you live in a house will one of those old giant metal antenna on your roof or in your attic, try it. It would be better than the "leaf" style antenna you linked to. I live forty miles from my transmitters and I'm currently using this antenna on the top of my roof (about 25" of the ground), attached to the back of my directv dish. https://www.amazon.com/RCA-ANT800-Digital-Omni-Directional-Amplified/dp/B001VYTCDK Works pretty good. I tried on of these too: https://www.amazon.com/TT-OA01-Discontinued/dp/B0092ZJ104 The quality is poor and not worth the effort. I just got one of these on sale and will try in the future. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/rocketfish-outdoor-amplified-tv-antenna-gray/5976403.p?skuId=5976403 I have one of these old school antennas in my attic from 30 years ago and it worked as good as the RCA I list first. But I had to have a signal amp. HD8200U Thanks a lot for all of those links. I live in SI ( a borough of NYC), so I'm assuming I live within 20 miles of one. The problem is that there are no windows in that room with the TV. I'm afraid that it'll likely need the outdoor one, which will be a major pain since I'll have to drill through the ceiling. Ahh, always something. Edit: Finally got some good news. In the room right behind the TV, there is a coaxial cable. I followed the lead and it goes all the way out to a window in the middle of my basement. It doesn't lead to anything, but now all I need to do is hook the end up to an outdoor antenna (and get a box). So it'll be a lot less work, thankfully. Edited August 23, 2018 by Zap! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zap! Posted August 23, 2018 Author Share Posted August 23, 2018 (edited) I must have looked at the wrong manual when I seen everything was built in but it'll need an external box according to the information cf provided https://www.crutchfield.com/S-pmKNEjrmJuZ/p_133CT34W50/Panasonic-CT-34WX50.html That's not the version of my TV, I have the 26" model which looks the same but is slightly different. Still though, looks like it's not digital, even though it was manufactured in November, 2005. 181 channel capacity: VHF-12; UHF-56; Cable-113. Here's the manual: https://www.manualslib.com/products/Panasonic-Ct26wx15n-26-Widescreen-Hdtv-1966780.html Edit, from the manual: This television is capable of displaying 1080i and 480p DTVsignals when connected to a DTV tuner set-top-box (STB). In order to view DTV programming, the STB must be connected to the component video inputs (Y,PB,PR) of the television. ADTV signal must be available in your area. Select the output of the STB to either 1080i or 480p. Edited August 23, 2018 by Zap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zap! Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 I finally got this all done. I was inspired to hook up an outdoor antenna thanks to you guys. I bought a RCA Yagi Antenna for $46.04 shipped and a Digital Converter Box for $34.99 shipped, both from Amazon. Wired the antenna, from my basement and onto my roof (and pointed in the right direction). Before the converter box arrived, I tested it on a more modern TV. Doing a channel scan, it picked up 52 channels. The converter box (with DVR abilities) arrived yesterday, and it's tiny. It came with an indoor antenna, which I obviously don't need. After connecting it to the old 2005 HD-CRT, I did a channel scan and it took like 30 minutes. It picked up 53 channels (and two radio stations), one more than my other TV with the built-in digital tuner. Quality was fantastic, time settings are perfect and the guide is great. Not sure why these cheap new ones aren't recommended by some, but the only way I'd be happier is if it were Android (maybe it is, I'm not sure) and I could put Google Play on it. So, is 53 channels about normal? Either way, I'm sure it's way more than if I had gotten an indoor antenna. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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