HDTV Antenna
By Donald Magnus
An Hdtv antenna is the ticket to receive free Hdtv reception over the air. If you've decided to buy a Hdtv there is a low cost alternative to paying cable or satellite providers monthly for Hdtv broadcasts, a simple Hdtv antenna hookup is all that is required. You can receive crystal clear high definition local and network broadcasts. All you need is a ATSC tuner built in your new Hdtv or a external Hd tuner connected to your Hdtv to start getting free Hdtv over the air. If you presently own a good VHF/UHF antenna for indoors or out doors you may be able to use it. Digital tv uses the same antenna as analog tv, manufacturers have just labeled them HD to take advantage of the Hdtv buzz.
Your choices are a indoor Hdtv antenna and a outdoor Hdtv antenna. Some are amplified to increase signal quality and pickup further stations. There are different factors that will determine what Hdtv is best for you. The proximity of your house to a broadcast tower is the biggest one.
The closer you live to a broadcast tower the stronger a signal and better reception you will recieve. Those that live in an urban area or are surrounded by high buildings may get interference with the Hdtv broadcasts. If where you live prohibits you from installing an outdoor antenna there are still viable alternatives available.
Once it is decided which type of antenna will best suit your needs to receive free hdtv you may want to test it. Not in the store but in your home to see which Hdtv antenna provides the best signal. Turn the antenna in different directions to see where the best reception is. Why settle for poor reception when you can get crystal clear free Hdtv reception with just a little tweaking of your antenna?
You may have to get a indoor antenna if you can not install a antenna outdoors. These are usually optimized and powerful to receive signals indoors and there are a wide variety, some amplified (increase the strength of the signal) to fit your living conditions. There are Hdtv antenna's as low as $40.00 such as the Zenith ZHDTV1 Digital Indoor antenna and many others, that can provide great Hd reception indoors in most cases.
You will find a few Hdtv antenna designs to allow outdoor reception without you having to get on the roof. One is the Terk HD-TVS slim profile Hd tv antenna that you can install on a balcony, railing, outdoor wall, in the attic or on the roof and still receive great Hdtv pictures, even in the city.
Optimal reception will be received if you can remove all or as much interference as possible from the transmitter and your Hdtv antenna. This is the reason for the popularity of the outdoor antenna. The outdoor Hd tv antenna that is most popular is the medium directional antenna, because it's not too large and has characteristics that prevent or reduce interference. There are also large and small Hdtv antenna's that may fit your needs.
If you've sworn off paying for cable and satellite subscriptions and want crystal clear HDTV all you need to do is a little research, then get your Hdtv antenna. One good source for more infomation is the Consumers Electronics Association's, Antenna Web. After you have selected the right Hdtv antenna you can just connect directly to your Hdtv set (with ATSC tuner) or HD tuner and receive free Hdtv.
Get more information at HDTV Reviews on how to receive free Hdtv, selecting the right Hdtv antenna for your home and other Hdtv resources at www.hdtv.totalinfoguide.com.
More Hdtv antenna articles at www.hdtv.totalinfoguide.com/Articles/HdTvAntenna.php
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=DonaldMagnus
http://EzineArticles.com/?HDTV-Antenna&id=412675
1 comments:
September 4, 2008 at 8:11 AM
With respect to some of your comments:
1.“Digital tv uses the same antenna as analog tv”
It is true that antennas can’t tell the difference between analog and digital signals. It is also true that if you live very close to the transition towers, a wire coat hanger can pick up some broadcast signals and higher is better, outdoor is the best. And viewers should certainly try their old antenna first. It’s also true that any of these older antennas will pick up some signals, maybe all the broadcast signals a viewer wants to receive, depending on their location. If they’re getting all the OTA channels they want and almost completely uncompressed DTV and HDTV, unlike cable or satellite, than they’re good to go.
2. “manufacturers have just labeled them HD to take advantage of the Hdtv buzz.”
If an antenna manufacturer or marketer just repackages a VHF or older UHF antenna and calls it a HDTV antenna, that is a “marketing ploy” and, you are right, it is unfortunately being done. That’s why Off-Air antenna buyers need to be informed correctly.
Here’s the dilemma antenna manufacturers and the Off-Air public face. Antenna manufacturers are now experiencing the full force of the lack of antenna knowledge, as OTA antennas sales begin to explode. Scores of complaints are coming in from irate people that request an "HDTV" antenna not a UHF antenna. Some customers insist that the channels the want to receive are VHF, when designated 5.1 or 2.1. Customers actually refuse delivery of a digital antenna designed, tuned and optimized to receive the digital bands (470 -700 MHz). Does the general population even know what that frequency represents? No. So antenna manufacturers have to walk a thin line here. If all customers were educated, all manufacturers would need to do is post the specs on the box and let the market and word of mouth do the rest.
After losing thousands of dollars, manufacturers finally got tired of arguing with people and changed the box on a “new” digital antenna to read HDTV antenna, but kept "UHF antenna" but in smaller type. Was that deceptive? I don't think so; the customer got a reliable antenna, return rates dropped drastically and both manufacturers and customers avoided confusion and aggravation.
Many of the station engineers are planning on keeping their current VHF channel identifiers (2.1, 4.1 5.1 etc...) after the 2009 shut off. This will create even more confusion in the marketplace when people (mistakenly) seek antennas which are suited for low VHF. Can you understand why manufacturers are keeping "HDTV" antenna on the boxes?
The efficiency of an antenna tells us how much of the power makes it to the cable. In all antennas, a portion of the energy is wasted. For most antennas, mismatch loss is the single largest factor in determining the efficiency of the antenna. Older antennas are less efficient.
While it’s correct that antennas can’t tell the difference between analog and digital signals, there are definitely certain models which have higher DTV batting averages than others. Not all antennas are equally suited for DTV. A percentage of viewers will require something a little more tailored for DTV reception, and that’s the purpose of digital antenna marketing efforts.
3.“Terk HD-TVS slim profile Hd tv antenna”
This is a re-brand of the older Winegard SquareShooter. When it was launched 6 years ago, it was a good antenna for the time. But a lot has happened in 6 years.
Many of the TV antenna designs now in use and on the market today such as the VHF Yagi and rabbit ears have technology roots going back 30 years or more.
The fact that most designs in use now were developed prior to the advent of much of the computer technology, software and algorithms in common use today left open numerous avenues to improve upon tried and true designs and develop new ones. Additionally, recent regulations and standards opened new doors for antenna engineers to develop much smaller antennas with greatly improved performance and aesthetics.
With one of the newer and smaller OTA antennas, with greatly improved performance, power and aesthetics, viewers may also be able to receive out-of-town channels, carrying blacked out sports programs, several additional sub-channels or network broadcasts not originally available with analogue. And for those with an HDTV, almost completely uncompressed HD broadcasts.
While antennas can’t tell the difference between analog and digital signals, there are definitely certain models available today which have higher DTV batting averages than others. Not all antennas are equally suited for DTV. A percentage of viewers will require something a little more tailored for DTV reception.
Post a Comment