Do i need a UHF or VHF antennae for TV reception?

Question

Do i need a UHF or VHF antennae for TV reception?

Answer 1

The question is ambiguous, so I will try to cover all possible angles.

The answer as written is either

1       NO     (reception can be received through cable TV or satellite TV)

Or I think what you are looking for is analog VHFto watch analog channels 2-13

UHF for analog chanels 14-66

most digital chanels are using UHF frequencies but this is station specific

2   UHF

3  both

The real question is specifically WHAT reception?

Answer 2

One antenna will recieve both UFH and VHF.

Beware, that on Feb. 17, 2009, the over-the-air signal will change from analog to digital.  The antenna you have will still recieve the signal but if you have an older tv, if won't be able to understand the new digital signal.  

To recieve the digital signal, you have to purchase a digital converter box. You antenna connects to the box and the box then connects to your tv.

The goverment has a coupon program in place to help you pay for the box. You get two coupons per household and have to use them with in 3 months of receipt.  The coupons are $40 each (they can't be combined). Most converter boxes are about $60, but Echostar is about to come out with one that is just over $40, making it almost free with the coupon.

If you pay for cable or satelite TV, then you don't need the converter box. Any tv connected to those services will not be affected by the change to digital.  Only tv's using an antenna as the only way to recieve a signal are affected.

www.dtvspeak.org is a great site to get all the info you need.

Answer 3

You can getrabbit ears with both

Answer 4

(This answer assumes you are located in the US)

If this is confusing, perhaps you should add your zip code, distance to your local transmitters, and what is between the transmitters and your TV to your question.

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You need an antenna to receive over the air reception, but what kind you need depends on where you live.

And it might depend on whether you want to receive analog broadcasts (before they are shut down) or just digital broadcasts.

And after 2/17/09, a lot of stations are going to play musical chairs with the frequencies they broadcast on, so the correct answer today may not be correct in a year.

Now it would be nice if the government had a simple web site where you could check your zip code and find out, but that would make too  much sense.

If you enter your location at the tvfool web site, it will find a list of your local stations along with their locations and frequencies they broadcast on.

(*Unlike analog TV channels, the channel numbers used for digital broadcasts are more like names and do not correspond to an actual frequency. So there is a "real" column that tells you what the actual (analog equivalent) channel is.)

Note that there is a separate chart for digital stations after 2/17/09.

VHF low  = channels 2-7

VHF high = channels 7-13

UHF        = channels 14-69