A question about HD (1 Viewer)

[chris rick]

I am wondering about hd and these over the air recievers. Can you buy one of them along with an hd antenna and recieve hd as well as standard uhf/vhf channels? I currently have comcast and am wondering if over the long run it would be cheaper for me to buy a reciever/antenna. Are there any hidden charges, and would I get like espnhd, comcasthd, etc. over the air with such a combo. I live in Boyertown, PA and currently have comcast for a point of reference. Thanks for all help with this as I am a newbie with hd!

 

[Neil Joseph]

I am moving this to Audio?Video Sources.

 

[Brian L]

First, not all OTA Digital receivers with also do regular NTSC (standard UHF/VHF), so you would need one to do both.

But, if the receiver will do both, then yes, you can get regular and digital channels via a single UHF/VHF antenna.

But since all channels must now or will very soon be broadcasting digitally, I am not sure there is a need for the NTSC tuner.

Secondly, ESPNHD is not available via an OTA signal. You will need a cable or satellite system for that and any other non-Network HD channel.

BGL

 

[Don_Berg]

OTA HD stations are just the regular free channels from networks like CBS,ABC,NBC,Fox,WB,UPN,PBS - not the cable/satellite channels like ESPN, Discovery, HBO, Showtime, etc. You would need to subscribe to either satellite or cable for those. By the way there is no such thing as an "HD" antenna - its just a regular old-fashioned VHF/UHF antenna.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Chris,

Most ota-only HD boxes will not tune ntsc analog signals. If you're using a tv set as a display device, it will have an ntsc tuner built into it. All you need do is run a single downlead from your antenna and split it, then connect one cable to the set and another to the stb.

There is no such thing as an "HD antenna". All digital tv signals are broadcast on the same UHF or, more rarely, VHF channels as ntsc television signals, so the same antenna will work fine for both digital and analog reception.

You may live in an area where most ntsc broadcasts are VHF and most if not all digital channels are UHF, so you probably need a VHF/UHF antenna.

Check with antennaweb.org to see what sort of antenna is recommended in your area.