With the analog to digital conversion coming in one month, many people who generally get most of their TV from Over The Air sources tend to question if their current antenna setup will be able to receive the new digital broadcasts.  Today we will be demystifying the Black Magic that is antennas and how they work.

Getting Free TV

There are many ways to get TV.  You can get it via cable, satellite, even IPTV these days.  However, one option that is often overlooked by many is free Over-The-Air, or OTA, TV.  When cable and satellite services first became available, many people changed over to those services because the reception was often clearer and more channels were available to choose from.  While the number of channels available via broadcast antennas hasn't changed much in most areas, the change from analog to digital will dramatically improve picture quality in most cases.  With digital TV you do not have the graininess that plagued analog tv - you either get the channel or you don't.  If the signal strength is above a certain threshold, you will see a picture.  If it's below that threshold, you will not.  If it's right at that threshold, then you may get a picture that stutters or has pixelation.

So here's the big concern.  If you've been watching broadcast TV, you've probably asked yourself if that old outdoor antenna on your house or little rabbit-ears on your TV will be able to pick up digital signals.  You've done some looking around and all of the retail stores are displaying "HDTV" antennas. Well, I'm here to tell you that there is no such thing as a "HDTV" antenna.  This is just a Marketing ploy designed to convince the consumer that the antenna hardware that they are currently using will not support the new standards and that the consumer needs to spend more money on new equipment.

Antennas are designed for one purpose and one purpose only.  They tune into certain frequency bands and and receive information from the broadcast stations.  The antenna doesn't care if the signal that it is receiving is analog or digital.  That is a problem for the tuner.  The antenna just pulls in the information as best as possible.  The difference in antenna designs is that different antennas are better suited for tuning different frequency ranges.

In the case of TV, the frequency bands used are VHF and UHF.  Generally, HDTV antennas are designed for UHF reception.  This is not to say that they cannot pick up VHF signals, only that UHF stations will be amplified more, and thus have stronger reception.  An "HDTV" antenna will not necessarily pick up UHF TV stations any better than the antenna that you've been using for years and years.  The key is to determine if the stations you need to pick up are in the range that can be received by your antenna.  AntennaWeb.org and TVFool.com are both good sites for determining what signals are available in your area.

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