Jwobot
join:2002-08-14
Sterling Heights, MI
2 edits | Old Antenna's don't work.
People are also not aware that you need a new antenna to watch digital. They hook up their box with the old rabbit airs and don't get the channels. I have heard of people having this problem. |
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hamburglar_
join:2002-04-29
Columbus, OH
 ·WOW Internet and C..
| said by Jwobot  :People are also not aware that you need a new antenna to watch digital. Incorrect. They may need an outdoor, or better antenna, but digital channels are both VHF and UHF. Most are UHF now, but many will go back to their old VHF channel after February. I installed a common outdoor antenna for my grandparents and pick up over 20 digital channels. »www.radioshack.com/product/index···=2103085 |
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Pashune
Inhaling at 675 KB per sec.
Premium
join:2006-04-14
Gautier, MS
1 edit | reply to Jwobot
Ignore this post |
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digitalfreak
join:2005-12-09
49533
| reply to Jwobot
said by Jwobot :People are also not aware that you need a new antenna to watch digital. They hook up their box with the old rabbit airs and don't get the channels. I have heard of people having this problem. ROFLMAO! Speaking of those who spread incorrect information.... |
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Pashune
Inhaling at 675 KB per sec.
Premium
join:2006-04-14
Gautier, MS
·CableOne
 ·AT&T Southeast
1 edit | reply to hamburglar_
20?
Wow, that's amazing. Even with an outdoor antenna at a few places I've lived we only got 5-6 channels (analog). Must be different for more rural areas I guess.
I don't watch enough TV to purchase an OTA setup (I have cable anyway)...but it would be an interesting experiment. |
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Jwobot
join:2002-08-14
Sterling Heights, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
4 edits | reply to hamburglar_
said by hamburglar_ :said by Jwobot :People are also not aware that you need a new antenna to watch digital. Incorrect. They may need an outdoor, or better antenna, but digital channels are both VHF and UHF. Most are UHF now, but many will go back to their old VHF channel after February. I installed a common outdoor antenna for my grandparents and pick up over 20 digital channels. » www.radioshack.com/product/index···=2103085 Well the news did a report on it and the guy got a digital antenna and it worked all fine. Plus not everyone can have outdoor antenna in the community they live in. I know I can't as I would be taken to court by my Apartment complex for distruction of their property.
Also it is not incorrect as they need a better antenna like you said and that would mean they need to buy one like I said. Plus the guy could not get digital tv using his old rabbit ears. There is nothing incorrect about this as people are having problems picking up the VHF and UHF channels with old rabbit ears. |
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evilghost
Premium
join:2003-11-22
Springville, AL
1 edit | There is no such thing as a 'digital antenna' aside from marketing nonsense. VHF is VHF, UHF is UHF, regardless if it's analog or digital. What he probably purchased was an amplified antenna marketed as a HDTV/Digital antenna. |
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hamburglar_
join:2002-04-29
Columbus, OH
·WOW Internet and C..
| reply to Jwobot
said by Jwobot : Plus not everyone can have outdoor antenna in the community they live in. I know I can't as I would be taken to court by my Apartment complex for distruction of their property. Incorrect again. »www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html |
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Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1
clubs:
·RoadRunner Cable
·Time Warner Cable
 ·Time Warner VOIP
3 edits | reply to Pashune
said by Pashune :20? Wow, that's amazing. Even with an outdoor antenna at a few places I've lived we only got 5-6 channels (analog). Must be different for more rural areas I guess. I don't watch enough TV to purchase an OTA setup (I have cable anyway)...but it would be an interesting experiment. i can not get any channels OTA channels
analog or digital
the only choices are
ATT- Uverse ,TWC ,satellite(dish or DIRECTV) |
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hamburglar_
join:2002-04-29
Columbus, OH
·WOW Internet and C..
| reply to Pashune
said by Pashune :20? Wow, that's amazing. Even with an outdoor antenna at a few places I've lived we only got 5-6 channels (analog). I was surprised myself. They are on Lake Erie between Toledo and Cleveland. They get most channels from both cities and a few from Detroit. |
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
4 edits | reply to Jwobot
Super Mega Digital & HD antenna! |
said by Jwobot :People are also not aware that you need a new antenna to watch digital. They hook up their box with the old rabbit airs and don't get the channels. I have heard of people having this problem.
Uhm, no.
I bought an ATI Digital Tuner.
Wanna see the Killer OTA Digital HD antenna that came with it?
--
Think outside the Fox... Opera |
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Jwobot
join:2002-08-14
Sterling Heights, MI | reply to hamburglar_
If that was allowed, then every apartment complex and condo would allow the tenets to have them. Not inncorrect again. |
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hamburglar_
join:2002-04-29
Columbus, OH
·WOW Internet and C..
| said by Jwobot :If that was allowed, then every apartment complex and condo would allow the tenets to have them. Not inncorrect again. Therein lies the problem. Most people are misinformed, like yourself. |
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Jwobot
join:2002-08-14
Sterling Heights, MI | Oh yeah the whole state of Michigan (8 million+) is misinformed. Try again. |
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hamburglar_
join:2002-04-29
Columbus, OH
·WOW Internet and C..
2 edits | If you actually _read_ the FCC fact sheet, it states that a balcony, patio, or other non-common area that is under your control cannot be put under restriction by your landlord or association. They may prevent you from drilling the wall to run the wire in, but there are other ways to get the cable into the dwelling. For example, »www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Coa···002KR74A |
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Jwobot
join:2002-08-14
Sterling Heights, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| reply to evilghost
Whether its called a Amplified or Digital antenna, it still pulls in the digital channels while people are having problems using plain old rabbit ears to pull them in and they have to upgrade to the Amplified "Digital" Antenna.
The fact that it is happening to other people, the public should be informed about this or else they will be left without TV and not knowing what is going on. |
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keyboard5684
join:2001-08-01
Youngsville, PA
·Teliax VOIP
 ·WestPAnet Inc.
·WestPAnet Inc. CA..
| There is nothing they can do. The digital signals are at the same power, I think. The difference is that you can put up with a little snow, digital does not. Digital needs a minimum signal strength to decode, analog is just what it is, you see what you are getting. |
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BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| reply to Jwobot
said by Jwobot :People are also not aware that you need a new antenna to watch digital. They hook up their box with the old rabbit airs and don't get the channels. I have heard of people having this problem. Boy talk about uninformed. You don't need new a new atenna.
Once Feb 2009 gets here everything will be fine. The reason some channels don't come in as good because station are still broadcasting the analog signal too. Once that goes away the digital channels will come in fine. In fact it's the LAW that if you can get an analog channel in then you MUST be able to get the digital version in. |
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older dog
Premium
join:2005-06-09
Norwich, NY | reply to keyboard5684
Some area like mine are broadcasting at a much lower power. To make maters worse the FCC has limited the new digital transmitters to a lower power lvl then what the analog had once the change over is complete.
End of over the air for me. |
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WhyADuck
Premium
join:2003-03-05
| reply to Jwobot
And you believe everything you see on the news? Boy, do I have a great deal on a bridge for you!
There are antennas for UHF only, antennas for VHF only, antennas for both bands, and even single-channel antennas. There are antennas that have greater gain that other antennas (those are usually larger and have more elements). Those antennas are very different from each other.
But then there is marketing hype, to try and convince people that they need a new antenna when they really don't. In the days when people were changing over from black and white to color, suddenly there appeared "color" TV antennas. Even back then, if you had a strong enough signal, there was no need for a "color" antenna.
Today the new hype word is "digital". But from an engineering standpoint, there is no difference at all in an antenna constructed for analog reception, and one where the manufacturer has slapped "digital" on the box. Sure, some antennas may have "digital ready" on the box, but that's just in an attempt to fool you into thinking that your old antenna isn't good enough to receive digital television - which, for many people, is a lot of hokum.
Now, if someone was using "rabbit ears" and they switch to an outdoor antenna, OF COURSE the signal will be better. If they have an antenna that's 20 years old and has been beaten to death by the weather, OF COURSE a new antenna will give a better signal, assuming it's an equivalent model. If you're trying to pick up UHF stations and your antenna is a VHF-only model, then replacing it with a UHF (or combination VHF-UHF) antenna will give you better results. And if you replace an old, low gain antenna with few elements with a new, high gain antenna that's physically larger and has more elements (cut for the proper frequency range) they of course you will get better reception. But none of that better reception is in any way, shape or form related to whether the word "digital" appears on the box, despite what some talking head news anchor (who is probably reading a press release) may be telling you.
As for the assertion that "not everyone can have outdoor antenna in the community they live in", if that is ever true it's true in far fewer cases than you might think. Believing a homeowner's association or a municipality when they tell you what kind of antenna you are allowed to erect (or not erect) is like believing your spouse's attorney when they tell you what your soon-to-be ex is entitled to in a divorce. They are obviously operating in their own interest, not yours, and (unlike the attorney) they don't even risk being sanctioned if they know the law is on your side and blatantly lie about it. FCC rules pre-empt regulations by homeowner's associations and municipalities.
That doesn't mean you can put up any old antenna anywhere, but it does mean that if you need an outdoor antenna to get adequate reception of your local signals and they try to stop you from erecting one in an area that you have legal access to (for example, an apartment balcony), you could doubtless sue them and they would lose, unless you have the world's most incompetent attorney. But you might not even have to do that, since a complaint to the FCC might result in them getting a stern letter telling them what they can and cannot do under federal law.
The point is, they cannot effectively restrict you from getting over-the-air television - that would be considered as not being in the public interest. They may be able to tell you that your antenna can't be in the front yard when a rear yard location will work, and they can definitely tell you that your installation must meet applicable electrical codes with regard to proper grounding, etc. But cities and homeowner associations that have decided that they want to unreasonably restrict the method by which their residents receive over-the-air or satellite television signals have found themselves on the losing end of legal action. Note that homeowner associations may have more rights than municipalities, because you in effect voluntarily agree to their restrictions by buying the property, but even then they are not allowed to keep you from getting over-the-air TV from your local stations, or satellite TV using a small dish for that matter. Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice - check the FCC web site and/or a lawyer if you need to know exactly what your rights are.
All that said, I am not disputing that people who were satisfied with weak analog signals from "rabbit ears" are going to find that they need a better antenna to get digital television. But that's often because they were willing to put up with a marginal analog signal to begin with (especially true for those with failing eyesight) and there's no way those "rabbit ears" are going to pick up an adequate signal strength for digital. |
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