HD Antennas (1 Viewer)

[John Karpiscak]

Hi all: This may sound like a stupid question but can a standard rooftop VHF/UHF antenna be used to receive HD signals without too much signal strength loss or do I need to buy a dedicated HD terrestrial antenna?
I live 52 miles SSW of DC and (living in a valley) strain to get a signal on both VHF and UHF signal (no boost) even with the antenna on a 20 pole. I have no idea about HDTV signal strength or other issues that might affect reception of that type of signal.
I am considering the purchase of a new HD capable terrestrial antenna but thought I'd check with all of you before I bought it.
BTW: By contrast, the DirecTV HD signals are great. Steady and in poor weather rarely break up.
Regards,
John K
www.y2kfam.com

 

[Patrick Sun]

John, check out AntennaWeb for the necessary antenna type for area.

 

[Chu Gai]

nice link Patrick.

 

[Hap C]

John, I'm in Reston, a little closer to DC than you, and I recently added a Samsung HD Terrestrial receiver, and had Fairfax Antenna install a high quality Yagi design UHF antenna. It's not very large, but it works great, the HD pictures are just unbelievable, very three-dimensional. My guess is if you can get local VHF channels 4, 5, 7, 9 and UHF 26 (WETA), you should also be able to get the HD version of their signal too.

The antenna is oriented to get the DC HD signals strong, but it can do Baltimore sometimes too. I'm going to add a rotor so I can get them with greater ease.

Our viewing habits have changed, and now we look for what is on in HD first! Last Sunday, Fox had the Redskins game on in what appeared to be HD; usually Fox is only 480p, but maybe they have ugraded recently. Anyway, the picture looked HD and was fabulous. One of the unexpected benefits of going to HD is the audio signal - it's Dolby Digital 5.1, and sounds like DVD quality most of the time.

Good luck.

 

[Jeff O.]

John,
To answer your first question, any standard antenna will pick up the HD signals. Success in picking them up is dependent upon your specific situation. In general, I believe that if you can pick up the analog stations, you should be able to pick up the digital stations. Also, most digital stations are UHF, so a good UHF antenna may be all that you need. Again that depends on the stations broadcasting in your area. For instance, in the Cleveland area one of the digital stations is broadcasting in the VHF band. You could just try your existing antenna and see if it works.
Jeff

 

[John Karpiscak]

Thank you all for your info. Being a budget-minded guy, I'll try the existing antenna, do a signal strength check and then start to get the more esoteric antennas if there's a problem. Thanks for the link too!
Regards,
John K
www.y2kfam.com

 

[DougR]

Just don't be Fooled by the "HDTV Antenna" ,marketing hype !!

 

[John Karpiscak]

Well folks I hooked up the antenna boosted the signal and almost got a signal. On a scale of 0-100, I scored an 08 in signal strength for VHF, UHF didn't show up at all.
Not so good.
I'll need to get a better antenna and a booster it seems; thoughts on what would make a good 'deep fringe' antenna for HD, VHF, UHF?
I'll keep looking on line.
Thanks,
John K
www.y2kfam.com

 

[DougR]

John,
There's a good selection of "Deep- Fringe" antennas at Starks
I would also recommend a Channel Master #7777 Pre-amp to go along with a Deep Fringe antenna.

 

[Glenn Mcc]

I live about 35 or more miles from where the HD signals are transmitted from in Dallas Tx and I was able to pick up HD signals with a pair of rabbit ears on top of my TV. I could not believe it. The first night that I had my new Mits 65 plat plus I was watching bubble heads on Monday night football and towards the end of the game I got an idea, "I wonder if I hook up those old rabbit ears to the HD input would I pick up anything" so I did and boom there was Jay Neno in with living room in HD!!!!!!! The picture was so clear that I could tell that Jay Neno forgot to brush his teeth before the show.

I have now installed a 10 foot antenna from Radio Shack in my attic I pick up all HD clear as a bell.

HD Rules!!!!!!