Do I have to activate an HD Receiver in order for it work for HD locals

[cachias]

I am to cheap to pay for Satellite or cable, but have already installed an HD antenna in the attic. I have an HD compatible TV but am not using it because I don't have an HD Receiver. If I purchase say a Dishnetwork HD 811 receiver, do I have to activate the receiver in order to use it for decoding HD locals being passed in via my antenna????? Please help.

 

[mdonnelly]

If you don't want satellite, buy an OTA receiver like one of these.The 811 won't work unless it sees a Dish satellite, even for OTA.

And welcome!

 

[korsjs]

yes he is correct. for the 811 to work, you need to be pointed at one of dish networks satellites.

 

[Kevinw]

There are better options fot OTA tuners than the 811..

 

[Uplink]

why about an old voom box

 

[mini1]

no, an old Voom box is useless.
It will not work for OTA only, unless it was disconnected from the sat feed before it got the kill signal, which can't be proven if you buy it online.
Get a DirecTV HD receiver. They do NOT need a card to work, (except for H10) and do NOT need a satellite subscription to work.
Get a Hughes HTL-HD, Sony HD200 or Zenith 520. All are great OTA HD receivers and can be found on ebay for as little as $100 used.