Alright, Its about buying a digital TV, and the improvement in reception that it gets

Question

Now, a family friend just bought a brand new digital TV, and he keeps bragging about how much better the reception is with all the local channels. Apparently he just hooked it up to his current TV antenna, but uses settings on the TV to make things better.

We want to know if that is really true, or if he is just making things up.

Thanks!

Answer 1

It's not that it is "better" (necessarily) but that there is a new broadcast format called digital TV that is being broadcast which is capable of carrying high definition material. Your old TV can't even see these signals.

The new HDTV's can also recieve and show the old style signal (analog), and it may look a little better on them but that is debatable. This is nearly a moot point, though, since those analog signals will stop being broadcast come February due to federal regulations.

You can buy a converter to display digital signals on an analog TV, but your old tv will be incapable of displaying the high definition content and so an HDTV will truly be better in that case.

Answer 2

Your friend is right. Even without having an HDTV, the new digital tuners pull in a very clear signal on digital stations. I used to have snowy, wavy recption on analog and now get rock-solid images on digital channels, even with my old 1984 vintage TV.

Most major stations are already broadcasting on digital as well as analog. There are also some digital sub-channels carried on many stations that provide all day news, traffic  or weather coverage, plus some kids programming.

Answer 3

Be careful that he's distinguishing between HD and non-HD channels.

While all HD channels are in digital, there aren't many non-HD  channels in digital at this time.  Expect this number to increase as we get closer to the switchover deadline in 2009.

Even non-HD channels that use digital will give you a better overall connection.  But this is both a good and bad thing.  If you have a very strong signal, then the picture will be very clear and sharp - rivaling the best cable or satellite system.  However, digital signals are much more susceptible to distance and interference. This means if the signal's strength drops just a little, you could lose the picture completely.  

For example, my mother lives near Detroit, but can pick up channels from Cinncinati on a good night.  But with her digital tuner, she cannot pick up the digital channels from there because the signal is just too weak.  This means once the switchover is completed, she'll lose Cinncinati completely.

An HD signal will obviously give you a much better picture as it gives you over 4 times the resolution of a non-HD signal, resulting in a much clearer picture.  It's pretty amazing to be able to be able to count the individual hairs on the head of the athletes during the Olympics.

Your friend is correct, however, in that all digital signals use your existing antenna.