In most cases, existing antennas that provide decent analog TV reception will work for digital TV. However, there are a number of quirks related to digital TV signals. As a result:

• some people will need to make adjustments to their antenna
• some people will need to buy a new UHF/VHF antenna
• some people, unfortunately, may not be able to get good digital TV reception at all.

If you cannot get good digital TV reception using your existing antenna, don't be afraid to experiment. Move things around, try new connector cable, and, if necessary, try a different antenna.

In general, an outdoor UHF/VHF antenna, placed as high as possible and using good quality connector cable, is the best investment you can make to optimize digital TV reception.

Here is more detailed information to help you deal with antenna issues:

DIGITAL TV SIGNALS ARE DIRECTIONAL

AntennaWeb form

 

Digital TV signals are directional, so it helps to have your antenna pointed in the direction of a station's broadcast tower. Click on this link http://antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx, enter your address and find out which direction to point your antenna for best reception.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Station list

 

After you have entered your address and hit the "Submit" button you will get a page full of information on the channels in your area and where their broadcasting towers are located.

 

 

 

 

 

AntennaWeb map

 

 

Be sure to click on the "View Street Level Map" button to see a map showing where to point your antenna for best reception of each channel.

 

 

 

DIGITAL TV SIGNALS ARE SENSITIVE TO OBSTRUCTIONS

Digital TV signals are more sensitive to obstructions than analog TV signals. So if there are tall buildings, trees, hills or other obstructions between your antenna and a TV station's broadcasting tower you may have problems with reception. Some people have even discovered that they get good reception in winter, when the leaves are off the trees, but have trouble during spring and summer once the leaves are present!

If obstructions are present, you will need to try and position your antenna to avoid them. In many cases, this means using an outdoor UHF/VHF antenna on a high pole (with high quality connector cable.)

WEAK DIGITAL TV SIGNALS MAY DROP OUT OR NOT DISPLAY AT ALL

Digital TV reception is best within about 70 miles of a station's broadcast tower. Beyond that point, the signals become increasingly weak. With analog TV, if you get a weak signal, you see a picture with "snow" or "ghosts" but you can still see and hear something.

With digital TV, instead of "snow" or "ghosts" you may see something called pixelation, where squares of information are missing from the image.

Pixelation of television image

In addition, the picture might freeze up for a few seconds and/or the audio might "stutter" or disappear. Sometimes the image and the sound may get out-of-sync. And, for really weak signals, you may get nothing at all. This is called the "cliff effect," meaning that if the digital signal falls below a certain strength, it will disappear entirely.

Viewers in fringe areas may experience variation in signal strength from season-to-season (even from day-to-day) based on weather conditions. Also, outdoor antennas may have reception problems on windy days, due to the movement of the antenna itself.

Unfortunately, there is nothing TV stations can do about this, it is the nature of the technology. In the worst cases, people may not be able to receive some digital channels, even though they were able to receive the equivalent analog channel.

DIGITAL TV SIGNALS ARE PRIMARILY ON THE UHF BAND

For many years, analog TV signals used two different types of frequencies, or "bands," for their broadcasts: VHF (very high frequency) and UHF (ultra high frequency.) Most of the major network stations used the VHF band for their analog broadcasts.

UHF "hoop" antenna

 

 

Digital TV signals are primarily on the UHF band, although some DTV stations will remain on VHF. Therefore, you'll need an antenna that can handle both the UHF and VHF bands. Some antennas being used for analog TV may not include good UHF elements. For rabbit ears, UHF elements are usually round ("hoop") or "bowtie" pieces.

 

 

Also, there are UHF/VHF antennas you can buy for roof-top or attic installations.

Rooftop antenna

If you are having DTV reception problems, be sure that you are using an antenna designed for good UHF and VHF reception.

 

 

 

 

 

THE TYPE OF CONNECTOR CABLE YOU USE IS IMPORTANT

300 ohm wire

Many older antennas are connected to the TV using a flat, two wire connector (a "300 ohm" wire). These are generally NOT good for digital TV reception.

 

 

 

For best digital reception, a type of cable called "75 ohm coaxial cable" should be used.

75 ohm coaxial cable

 

 

Generally, 75 ohm coaxial cable used for TV antennas is of two types: RG-59 or RG-6. RG-6 is the recommended cable for most antenna wiring situations.

If you are having DTV reception problems, make sure you are using good quality 75 ohm coaxial cable.

AMPLIFIED ANTENNAS MAY HELP, OR HURT, YOUR RECEPTION

Some antennas have a built-in amplifier to help strengthen signals before sending them on to your TV (or digital converter box). In some cases, these amplifiers may help improve your reception. In other cases, the amplifiers can actually make signals too strong. Although it is counter-intuitive, a signal that is too strong may cause a channel to disappear!

The only way to know for certain if an amplifier will help you is to experiment with one. In general, we recommend the use of antenna amplifiers only in fringe reception areas.