Digital TV Antennas for Dummies
You may laugh and say that TV antennas are a leftover from a forgotten time. With your 500 channel satellite package or your 14 premium cable movie channels, you’d be right to scoff. Until you get your bill. Many viewers are embracing digital TV antennas to get the same audio quality and stellar that you pay big bucks for; all for free. There are several advantages to OTA (over-the air) reception and I’ll discuss those along with how to choose the best antenna for HDTV in your area.
Broadcast HDTV channels are the best of the best
The digital television transition is bringing with it solutions to the 2 most annoying troubles of analog broadcasting; snow and picture ghosting. Digital TV channels allow for a crisp, ghost-free picture and clear sound. All local content is not yet broadcast in HDTV, so it’s typical for stations to broadcast their digital TV channels in standard definition during the day and switch to a full widescreen HDTV broadcast during the “prime time” hours.
If you’ve never experienced what a digital TV antenna can do for you, here are a few reasons to consider one:
- Over-the-air (OTA) digital TV channels are free. With the exception of the costs you incur for your antenna, receiving digital stations with an HDTV antenna is free.
- You get access to all your local channels. Many satellite and cable companies will not carry all of the local stations in your area. On many systems, you have access to some of your local stations in exchange for an extra monthly fee.
- Free access to out of town stations. It’s possible that with the right equipment you can receive out of town stations and often be able to catch sporting events that are “blacked out” in your area.
- Local digital TV channels are everywhere. Although the largest concentration of digital TV stations are in metropolitan areas, 90% of US viewers can easily get 6 or more digital TV channels.
- OTA reception has the best picture quality. While your satellite or cable company may offer 500 channels, this comes with a price. They use data compression techniques that lower the audio and image quality of your broadcast often adding distortion or artifacts.
Finding your OTA digital TV channels
One of the best ways to find specific digital TV information for your address is the AntennaWeb.org website. You simply put in your address and it will return a list of the digital stations in your area. It allows you to look at both analog and digital TV stations in your area, or you can filter it to show digital broadcasts only. Since many stations broadcast from the same area, they will be clustered together on your results page. Now that you know what digital TV channels are available in your area, it’s time to pick your antenna.
About the Author
Aaron McCann is a 15 year veteran of the technology and media industries. He built and operates the largest free community Wi-Fi network in Arkansas. His digital TV converter site aims to take the confusion out of digital TV and provide all the DTV answers you need. He is also a fan of vet pet insurance.
How to Make a Digital TV Antenna
In today’s rocky economic climate, most households are cutting back wherever they can. And with cable and satellite television costing anywhere from $65-$150 a month (more if you count premium movie channels) many people are making their television sets the first part of their homes to get the ax. But what if there was a way to enjoy thousands of television channels, including hard to find international shows and sports programming, and never pay another monthly cable bill again? Click here to access the rest of the article: Satellite Direct
