This is for a friend, so if I sound like I don’t know what I’m talking about, that’s why.
Remember television antennas? I’ve had cable since 1978, but I do remember them.
My friend doesn’t have cable. Not even basic. Nothing. He uses a tv antenna. He noted that by such and such year (2008?) all television stations will broadcast in HD. He wants to know (assuming he buys an HD tv) if an “HD antenna” will be necessary, or if he can use a standard antenna like one could purchase now.
Note that in general, you’ll need a better antenna than you would for a normal TV broadcast, because with normal analog, you can tolerate a little snow or interference now and then, but with a digital signal (such as the ATSC HD signal you get from your antenna in the US), if your signal isn’t good enough, it simply stops working. I’m currently receiving all the major networks in HD over the air, and that’s all I watch (I’m too cheap for cable or satellite), but it was a real pain to get my antenna adjusted just right so they wouldn’t drop out now and then.
If you are in a marginal signal location you might need a preamplifier right at the antenna terminals so as to avoid being killed by the line loss. Such pre amps are available at places like this..
This is a good place to ask questions. I’ve had a number of questions answered there.
You do not need an HD antenna because it’s just a fancy name. Though I think most antennas say HD any more. If you don’t get good reception though it’s not like getting analog where it would have static, either you don’t get reception at all or you get junk. If you’re lucky like I am and can get all the major networks in one direction it works great, I love having HD and not paying the $70 for it.
