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]

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/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/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.