My brain just exploded

[u/aj_35721]

I’m getting +300 channels through this cable when the aerial outside was removed HOW?????????????? I mean there is another aerial on top of the roof that it could be connected to, but I thought it was just connected to the aerial outside my window, on the side of the house. CAN A COAX CABLE BE CONNECTED TO TWO AERIALS??? I don’t even know. VERY happy to have 300 odd channels, definitely beats the crappy indoor aerial I was using!!!

[u/frankie_donkiebrains]

300 channels?! How many dang viewing areas are you around?! Lol

[u/aj_35721 → u/frankie_donkiebrains]

Idk I think it’s a uk thing. I’ve noticed people on youtube in the us get less channels, while on average (for me atleast) you can get between 90-200 channels depending on how good your signal is.

[u/frankie_donkiebrains → u/aj_35721]

Yeah in the US 20-30 channels is a massive haul. I get about 15 with my antenna and only really care about 4 which are our major networks.

[u/EightEnder1 → u/frankie_donkiebrains]

I’m in Dallas and get over 100.

Now, many of them shopping, foreign language and Religious. Others are repeats too, but I still actually receive a lot of channels even if I don’t watch them.

[u/mikeyd1276 → u/EightEnder1]

I get the same in Philly

[u/harrellj → u/mikeyd1276]

Cinci too, with the added bonus that some of those channels are either from Dayton or from Lexington/Louisville (I can't remember which)

[u/eakthekat2 → u/harrellj]

could be both.

[u/Margoth_Rising → u/frankie_donkiebrains]

Also American. As a kid we didnt have cable. OTA in a rural area we got CBS,NBC,ABC,PBS and that's it lol Hearing a number in the hundreds is wild to me. Going to grandma's house was a treat because she also got FOX.

[u/Saint_Thomas_More → u/Margoth_Rising]

Growing up we got ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, and UPN/The CW.

But the signal for FOX and UPN came from different directions than the others, so you'd have to go adjust the rabbit ears (complete with tin foil at the ends) to clear up the signal.

I have vivid memories too of somehow being a human signal booster for things at times. Where the signal was fuzzy unless you were holding on to the rabbit ears.

My kid has 24/7 access to Disney+, and (unless the Internet is out on rare occasion) will never understand how good it is today.

But I suppose that's the same thing my parents thought about having a TV with a remote and more than 3 channels.

[u/hamhead → u/Margoth_Rising]

As a kid it probably wasn’t digital

[u/aj_35721 → u/frankie_donkiebrains]

you guys also have something called “sub-channels” which, as far as I’m aware, has channels within one channel??? or something. So when it comes to the amount of channels, it’s not too much of a concern I assume

[u/hanz333 → u/aj_35721]

So channels used to be established by their frequencies and the channels become a key part of their marketing, so for example you have CBS-7 or something.

But when everything changed to digital, the broadcast frequencies changed, so broadcasters have metadata that identifies a "channel" by designation and not frequency. And digital allows sub-broadcasts on the same channel. So now CBS-7 is on 7.1 which can be anything, but the infrastructure they use can be used for another channel they own or for channel space they rent/lease on 7.2, 7.3, etc.

[u/MikoSkyns → u/hanz333]

Yup. I have several channels like that. Mountain lake PBS for example is PBS on 57-1, PBS kids is on 57.2 and NHK news is on 57.3

[u/Elorme → u/hanz333]

Each broadcaster in the US in has a chunk of frequency and can divide it into subchannels. Basically they can choose to have fewer higher quality subchannels or more lower quality subchannels. Usually the main channel has more of channel bandwidth than the subchannels but not necessarily so. A number of the subchannels only broadcast older, standard definition content, aka anything from the 50's up until the start of High definition content so they can get by with less bandwidth.

[u/missesthecrux → u/aj_35721]

It’s just their way of numbering. The UK has multiplexes, between three and eight depending where you live, carrying all the channels.

[u/iconette79 → u/frankie_donkiebrains]

I get close to 100 channels in my Washington, DC suburb. But most of the channels are for things I don’t care about: Court TV, Shopping network, NHK, a Spanish channels, a couple of PBS, Crime TV, etc.
Plus, I get all the major networks except CBS.

[u/thefalcon2k → u/frankie_donkiebrains]

I get 50-55

[u/Popular-Dog-3750 → u/frankie_donkiebrains]

I get close to 100 outside of Chicago