over air hd, how do you tell? (1 Viewer)

[zpdrummer]

how can you tell if the channel you are watching(over-air broadcasts) is hd or not? if you have a hd antenna and can potentially get either the standard or hd channel, how do you know which is which, if they still show the same content?
ive been really curious about this, because i was looking into getting a new antenna but how can i even know if its working?? my tv doesnt seem to have some kind indicator to tell the signal strength, its only a small tv polaroid FLM-1911
any tips on how to tell the difference

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

1) If you have eyes, you'll be able to tell if you're looking at SD or HD content, believe me.

2) The HD version of a channel is on a different channel number than its analog counterpart.

But note that not all digital channels are HD, and that not all channels that are HD broadcast 100% of their programs in HD. One of my local channels still hasn't upgraded their news and other locally-produced programming to HD, and we often get Miami Dolphins games in SD on the HD channel because they are only airing in the home markets of the teams involved and nobody wants to waste the bandwidth on the HD satellites to carry them. (And because the Dolphins suck and nobody wants to watch their games, even in the Miami market. )

Regards,

Joe

 

[Robert_J]

There is no such thing as an "HD antenna". That's just marketing hype to overcharge you for a regular UHF or VHF antenna. I bought a Radio Shack double bow tie UHF antenna for $10 to pick up my local digital channels. They re-labled it as an HD antenna and doubled the price a few months later.

And like Joseph said in #1, if you can't tell the difference you either aren't getting a digital/HD signal or you need to have your eyes checked.

-Robert

 

[Allan Jayne]

Each station's digital/HD channel and analog channel have different channel numbers. Sometimes an HD (ATSC) tuner puts only the analog channel's number on the screen even after you selected the digital channel.

Almost all "HD antennas" are UHF only. A very small number of stations have VHF (below 14) digital channels and a few stations may move their HD broadcasts to their old VHF channel after February 2009. Those of you in cities where this took place will have to drag out your old VHF antennas.

You will almost never find the same show on two different subchannels of the station's digital channel, one subchannel delivering HD and the other delivering SD. Instead, HD tuners connected to SD TV's or SD TV innards will downconvert any HD show to SD.

Select each channel by number as opposed to using the up and down buttons. If nothing appears where you expect a station, chances are your antenna is not good enough or was not aimed accurately enough.

Generally, if a regular antenna is rated for so many miles of reception, HD reception will be watchable within two thirds of the mileage rating. Mileage ratings are not all that accurate because some stations broadcast with more power than others. If a station's analog channel comes in fuzzily, you are quite likely to have difficulty receiving their digital channel.

Video hints: Video Technicalia Made Easy

 

[Allan Jayne]

Each

 

[zpdrummer]

well see, where i live, all the vhf are offered in sd and hd (and those are my main goals), but the difference is like channel 7 sd and 7.1 hd(thats what i meant by the show the same thing at the same time, even according to the tv guide). so technically they are on different channels so to speak but its not like abc on 7 sd and then hd is 14 or something, thats why i was a bit confused. my question is was there a way to tune it specifically to like the 9.1 or 11.1 for the hd content? or does it switch automatically as the channel switch between sd and hd content?
sorry for the incorrect terminology i guess i meant an antenna optimized for the higher frequencies of hd, or is that a gimick as well?
but thanks for all the help so far, great stuff

 

[zpdrummer]

2
KCBS NCIS Repeat (CC)
2.1
KCBSHD

5
KTLA Tournament of Roses Parade (CC)
5.1
KTLAHD

7
KABC Wheel of Fortune (CC)
7.1
KABCHD
thats what my local tv guide looks like and they have the same shows listed at the same time for both, just so you can see, so i just wondered how i can get it specifically to hd

 

[Allan Jayne]

If the channel display on the screen shows 2.1, then you should be getting KCBS HD. Internally it might really be channel 35 (while KCBS SD is 2), and 5.1 might really be channel 22 or whatever.

What other on screen information does your TV or HDTV set top box give next to the channel number? This may reveal when you are actually watching HDTV.

Some TVs may require manually selecting NTSC vs. ATSC or analog vs. digital much as some old TV's required selecting UHF vs. VHF 2-6 vs VHF 7-13. If NTSC or analog was selected, you would only get herringbones and buzzing sounds when you hit an HD channel.

You could also try punching in channels by number to see exactly what channel number actually represents channel 2.1, 5.1, etc. Also try the camera angle or subchannel selector. All ATSC tuners have this. This will probably not work when you are actually receiving an analog channel because only one analog signal will fit in a channel. But many stations have more than one show going on their digital channel and the camera angle selector will pick these out.

 

[zpdrummer]

ell see my main problem is there is no way of putting in a decimal on my tv as far as i know, so i cant get the 2.1
my on screen says
video: (which is basically the input)
audio: (the sound mode)
ch no:
ch name:

its a smaller tv just a bedroom one(im still just a student) and only a year old, no angle or subchannel buttons.....see i bought my tv thinking hey its a good bargin and suc only moderately familar with all this tv stuff, but as time goes on i keep realizing how bad it really is. o well thanks for the help though. and would adding an hd receiver help with this at all??

 

[Robert_J]

That is the ONLY way to view HDTV on that television.

-Robert

 

[zpdrummer]

mm thanks for all the help guys