Since the country went to the High Deff switch about 3 years ago, I have not had a working TV. I do not have cable, and for as little as I actually watch TV, have no intention of getting it.
I had the converter boxes but they didn’t work worth crap. Any little shift in the wind and I had to get up and re-adjust the antenna; I would end up missing half of whatever show I was watching.
The new TVs that are out now, the ones made for the high deff stuff… is a converter box or cable still needed? I have been thinking about getting myself a small TV with my tax return, but if I still need that stuff I’m not going to bother. And I am not trusting enough to feel coinfident that a sales person would give me correct advice in the interest of trying to make a sale.
You don’t need a converter box. You do need either cable or a decent antenna. The new televisions do not come with an attached antenna. I bought an antenna from Radio Shack, it works pretty well, but sometimes certain channels that come in great one minute will suddenly come in not at all. So I can’t always watch what I want to see, but it’s better than having no television signal at all (or paying for cable).
If the converter boxes didn’t work well, your new TV won’t work that well, either. You’ll need a better antenna than whatever you were using with the coverter box.
AntennaWeb can help you estimate what kind of antenna you’ll need based on your address, but their calculations don’t factor in things like terrain or whether you have a bunch of trees in your yard.
Nitpicking here, but what the FCC mandated was a switch to digital transmission, not high-def. There are plenty of broadcasters who are transmitting their old, standard-def signals just using digital equipment.
I don’t have cable but I got a converter box and got loads of over-the-air channels with my $20 antenna. Then I got a HDTV and ditched the converter box, and still got the same loads of channels with my $20 antenna.
So a new TV is not going to help your ability to get channels but a new antenna might.
I’m within range of 2 PBS stations and they only come in once the leaves fall off the trees But when they do, they have like 6 sub-stations!
If you want to watch just the stuff being broadcast free (over-the-air, or OTA), you need a “tuner” in order to receive (and “decode”) the signals. The converter box can do that for you, or, you can buy a TV that has a built-in tuner. Make sure the tuner uses the ATSC format, which replaced NTSC.
Your lousy reception of signals may be due to the antenna, or you may be in a place where reception is poor (affected by your distance from transmitter(s), being in a valley, large trees surrounding your dwelling, etc.)
Www.antennaweb.org, mentioned above, is a good place to find out what quality of reception your area receives and which antenna is best for your location.
(Note: not all stations broadcast digital signals. Some low-power stations are still transmitting their signal in analog format.)
My personal experience with this differs. The converter that I was using sucked. Pixelation, stuttering, total signal loss, you name it. Like the OP, I normally chose not to use the TV at all. I did spring for cable when I bought a new TV, but before it was turned on, my OTA experience was like night and day difference. Absolutely flawless reception. Same set of rabbit ears. It only stands to reason that not all tuners are created equal, right? FWIW, my TV is a Samsung. The digital converter is made by Access HD.
tv sets and converter boxes may have tuners that will behave differently, some are far more sensitive than others.
all new tv sets in the USA now get digital.
the antenna is important, more important than with old analog. with old analog you could live with some bad reception. most signals now are VHF HI or UHF, new antennas aren’t needed though a good one is. outside is better than inside, if inside attic is better than lower floors. if the antenna is in your attic it is at least as if you were 30 miles further away. inside antennas with metal roofing or siding will do poorly.
reflected signals from hills or other buildings will deteriorate your signal. reflections from walls if it is an inside antenna can deteriorate a signal.
since most stations now are UHF (even if they used to be and still call themselves a VHF channel number) then you need a UHF antenna which is a loop or bowtie for a set top antenna. aiming an antenna involves direction and also height. digital tv is slow to react to movement of an antenna, this especially affects moving a set top antenna.
i have antennas in my attic with good results for distant stations.
Thanks guys! I will probably see about getting a small TV when the taxes come back. I knew it wasn’t high deff we switched to, but for the life of me couldn’t think of digital for some reason.>blush<
I actually have a couple of decent antennas but may splurge and get another when I get the TV.
Check out this site http://www.antennaweb.org/ , that you put your zip code, address, or use the map to scroll to your home and it will show you a list of channels you should be able to get with what type of antenna. It will even show you channels you may get if your lucky, and what direction to point the antenna.
The switch to a digital signal has a shorter range then the older system, so channels you once got you may not anymore.
The converter box does make a difference, some are better then others Some, well one, displayed a message with a 800 number if your signal drops too low even though the picture is still fine.
If you have unlimited high speed internet, you may considerer a Netflix and/or Hulu Plus subscription instead, much cheaper then cable and wil get you a good variety of content.
over the air tv (USA digital) into a digital tv will be a much better picture than internet tv or analog cable tv (unless you subscribe to digital cable [which is a higher cost package and needs a converter before your tv] then you have analog cable).
you don’t need a digital antenna (there is no such thing). you need an antenna that gets UHF and likely VHF HI, a combination antenna, very few need VHF LO anymore, check your local information. an antenna that worked for old analog tv covering UHF and VHF HI will still work now.
on the left side is ‘Check Your Address for Free TV’, enter your zipcode (or address for a more exacting result) and the height above ground for your antenna (optional).
this will give a chart of stations with the channel numbers (the real channel numbers show what antenna [VHF LO 2 through 6, VHF HI 7 through 13, UHF 14 through 51] you will need). it will give the direction needed to aim the antenna and the quality of signal. the result shown is conservative, i get over 95% of the time what it shows as marginal.
But when they do, they have like 6 sub-stations!