Increasing cable and satellite TV costs are driving many customers to go back to the old rooftop antenna as a means of receiving local television in high definition, without paying the extra costs that companies demand.
One example is in the Boston area where cable charges $5 to $11 a month extra for high definition programming. Now they can get it by putting the old standard rooftop antenna up. Many customers are even saying that it is coming in better than the current connection to their TV sets.
Another important factor is that many HDTVs are antenna-ready, and can still be hooked up. The newer antennas are also far better than the old ones, and offer tremendous reception.
"We are witnessing the renaissance of the old-fashioned TV antenna," said Arthur Gubeskys , chief technology officer of Convexicon Inc. of Long Island, N.Y.
They have a Web site set up called HDTVantennalabs.com that will help consumers decide which antenna best fits their needs.
Another thing for users to understand is that digital and high definition signals can be received outside of cable or satellite providers. Many people believe that it's not the case, yet it can be done through the old antenna on the roof.
At this time the opportunity for using antennas is ideal for many, as almost all digital televisions come with tuners that are able to receive over-the-air signals and include tremendously improved chips. Even the antennas have been vastly improved and are now much smaller.
In some cases, which is recommended, even the small indoor antennas work fine. Many have gone that route and are very happy over the high-definition quality they receive.
Consumer interest in free over the air digital- HD TV is definitely on the increase. The number of visitors to our web site http://www.dennysantennaservice.com has skyrocketed over the past year, mainly do to the introduction of free over the air digital - HDTV.
Choosing the proper TV antenna for a particular location is the main issue for most. Many consumer's have a tendency to purchase antennas that are to small to do the job, digital reception is an all or nothing proposition, you're going to want a strong signal. Also, there is a misconception that all digital - HDTV broadcast signals are on the UHF band (14-69) Currently it's true, many broadcaster's are transmitting their digital signals on UHF, because much of the VHF band (2-13) is currently being used to broadcast analog TV signals. However, when the digital transition is complete on February 17th of 2009, the date set when broadcasters will turn off their analog signals, things will change. There are only a handful of broadcast locations across the U.S. that have plans to remain 100% on the UHF band, most areas will have both VHF and UHF digital stations. This means if you purchase a UHF TV antenna now, chances are you may loose the ability to receive a portion of your digital channels in the future. Some areas already have VHF digital stations.
My best advice is to purchase a TV antenna that is large enough to be certain it can easily receive all of the digital broadcast signals in your area, even during poor reception conditions. The antenna should be VHF/UHF capable, unless you are absolutely certain all of your stations are currently UHF, and will remain UHF after the digital transition is complete. To determine the channel number your area digital stations currently broadcast on now, and the channel number they plan to broadcast on after the 2009 analog shutdown date, visit http://hraunfoss.fccgov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf. When you visit this site, start by finding your state and then the city where your area stations are located. The channel number that appears in the first column is the current digital channel number of that station, the second column is the current analog channel number, and the third column is the tentative final channel number destination. The third column is the channel number where the station plans to permanently broadcast their digital signal. VHF channels are 2 - 13 and UHF are 14 - 69. If your not sure where or what stations are available in your area, visit www.antennaweb.org. This is a great site to visit, it will provide the city location of the stations in your area and much more.
Posted by: Denny Duplessis | May 26, 2007 9:40 AM | Permalink to Comment