Any difference between the newer rooftop TV antennas labeld for HDTV and the one's we've been using for years?

Question:

I have an old rooftop TV antenna that's working fine but rusting out. I want to replace it to receive off-the-air HDTV. Should I be concerned if the product label doesn't say it's specifically for HDTV? Aren't the HD digital channel frequencies still in the UHF and VHF bands so that any antenna for UHF/VHF channels will still produce good results? Is there really anything special about HDTV antennas? A similar question could be applied to antenna amplifiers; should I look for one specifically for HDTV or will any UHF/VHF amplifier work?

Answer:
Yes there is !! The HD antenna comes in a nicer cardboard box and it says " HD ready in big colourfull letters .
A few years ago we used to get antennas that said they were " colour antennas " as well !
Cheers Pete

no difference at all

Nothing.

The HD label is a sales thing... All attenas are capable of recieving HD. From the Hi-end Turks, all the way down to your rabbit-ears. All attenas are just chunks of steel or aluminum to catch RF signals.

All HD broadcasting is, is a High deffenition 720+ resolutions, and encoded digitally.

What you need to recieve the HD transmittion is a HD tuner. Beit inside your TV, or an external box.
This HD tuner is what decodes the digital HD signal. Most newer televisons that are called "HD" have HD tuners bulit in. Only tv's marketed as "HD monitors" won't have the built in tuner.

So, Just run regular ol' Coaxil from the TV attenna to the back of youre TV.
Now keep in mind that not all shows are in HD. And not all locations will recieve the HD over-the-air broadcast. If you want, I would look into DISH network. They have 36 HD channels, plus offer Free HD DVR Box uprades, with HD service plans starting at $59.99 a month.

-TRV

I would replace the antenna with the whatever works best for your area. Where I live (NH) we have a lot of hills and mountains. We use an Antennacraft D9000 antenna. It is a deep fringe UHF/VHF antenna that works best in this area. As long as your tv has an ATSC/QAM tuner in it it will receive HD signal from ANY antenna. If your TV is HD ready (ie a monitor without the hd tuners) or standard analog you will need a converter box to get the HD signal. As far as amplifiers go, there is no such thing as an HD amplifier. It is just an amplifier even if it is labeled as an HD amplifier. Any amplifier will boost or enhance your signal and may help pull in channels you wouldn't get without it. We always recommend using a rotor when we do antenna installs as it allows you to turn the antenna and get channels from different areas.

Any difference between the newer rooftop TV antennas labeld for HDTV and the one's we've been using for years?

Hot Topic