[VAL] TV Antennas and the future of TV

["Randy Unter" <runter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The converstion to DTV will have greater inpact than what many believe. I
have been an early adopter of DTV/HDTV in the Denver area and have had to go
through the learning curve. First, for OTA (Over the air or antenna) DTV
reception, many existing TV antennas don't work well or at all. I soon
learned that a 10' RS antenna suitable for >60 mile reception for NTSC TV
did not work well for DTV in my local area. The main reason is DTV/HDTV is
nearly all UHF frequencies, while most antennas in use today have a VHF
orientation with small or no UHF reception capablities. The antenna on my
Sovereign is of this type which I plan to replace.
If you camp close to a DTV tower, practically a coat hanger will work. But
if you plan to received DTV/HDTV OTA, and camp in locations distant from DTV
towers, you will need a good DTV antenna. I have found the Channel Master
antenna with signal booster to work well for this purpose.
http://www.starkelectronic.com/cmuhf.htm

The model 4228 "8 Bay" UHF antenna with CM 7775 preamp, can pull DTV signals
from 100 miles away. The 4228 is about 30" x 30" making it fairly compact
for mounting on the roof of an a/s. I currently have this combo in my attic
and receive all local DTV channels indirectly bounced off a water tower 10
miles away. Very powerful antenna combo.
For many though, the best solution is to go with a satellite systems from
Dish Network of DirecTV. But I'd wait a while. Both of these companies are
converting their systems to MPEG4, a higher video compression technology
that will allow hundreds of local HDTV channels. Exisiting Dish/DTV HDTV
receivers cannot receive MPEG 4 channels.

Randy Unter