Re: [VAL] TV Antennas and the future of TV

["Forrest McClure" <forrest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On the other hand, I have been using a 6' Radio Shack antenna with a 30 mile
range (we also use a signal amplifier) to receive both UHF and VHF signals
for several years. Two months ago we purchased a HDTV and using the same
antenna now get broadcast High Definition and Digital channels quite well.
We are almost exactly 30 miles from the broadcast towers. The analog signals
for some channels have never been all that strong for us, even when I was
using a larger antenna designed to receive signals from 100 miles, but now I
see the advantage of Digital transmissions. The stations that came in poorly
with analog signals now come in crystal clear with Digital signals. With
Digital there are no shadows, no ghosts. The only disadvantage with the
Digital (this includes the High Definition signals) is that we either get
the transmission perfectly, or we don't get it at all. A few times in the
last two months we have not been able to get a Digital transmission on a
particular channel, and this has been because of a storm (snow most likely)
directly between us and the transmission tower. The big surprise for us with
Digital is that we have picked up additional channels to watch, since
several stations now broadcast different programs simultaneously in their
assigned bandwidth. We are very happy with the improvement in picture
quality, in fact the HD viewing shows more detail than I think I can see
unaided, if that makes any sense.

I think the mistake many people make, including us, is that we thought all
Digital transmissions were in High Definition, but that is not the case.
While the Digital transmissions are ghost and shadow free they are about the
same quality and format (dimension wise) as the old analog transmissions.

Randy, I'm puzzled that you had problems with your old antenna since you are
considerably closer to the transmission towers than I am. Our antenna has
just standard UHF capability, and my understanding is that the higher cost
antennas advertised as being "designed for digital and High Definition" have
no better reception ability than a good UHF antenna.

Forrest