I don't understand the new going digital with our tvs. I don't have cable & I have no signal on local channel

Question

I bought the box to go digital but doesn't pick up one of my local channels. I really don't understand what the new tvs are giving to the digital box. I have an old Sony TV that works great. We use the anthena now and i don't really want to purchase a new tV.

Explain please. If I buy a new tv what do you recomend. I need something less than $300

Answer 1

If you are not getting anything, check these.

1. Do you have the converter box connected correctly?  If you do, you should be able to see prompts (text messages) from the box itself.  Things like "no signal".  If you are not seeing these, check that the box is turned on, is connected to the "antenna in" connector of the TV and that the TV is tuned to the same channel the box is outputting (usually channel 3 or 4).  If you are using the video jacks instead of the antenna in, make sure your TV is set to the A/V input.

2. If you are seeing prompts from the converter box, make sure you have a good TV antenna connected to the "antenna input" of the box and scan for channels.

3. If you have completed the first two steps and still don't get anything, you probably need to adjust or upgrade your antenna.  In the digital world, if the signal is too weak, it will appear as though you are not getting anything.  Check http://www.antennaweb.org , put in your ZIP code and you will get a list of digital TV stations in your area along with suggestions on antennas and where to aim them.

I hope this helps.  Please return and select a Best Answer from all of those submitted.

Answer 2

Unless your converter box is defective, buying a new TV will probably not solve your problem. The tuners in the converters are about as good as the ones in new TVs. As long as your old Sony works at all, it doesn't have any effect on what channels the converter box can pick up.

Unfortunately, there is easy way to tell why you can't get a particular station.

The first place to start is to adjust your antenna for the best analog reception for the station in question, then connect the converter and have it scan for channels. Unlike analog TV tuners, digital tuners need to find channels by either scanning for them or manually adding the "real" digital channel to the converter. You can find out the "real" digital channel number at the web site below.  

If you were to give the model of the converter, zip code, channel number, and type of antenna you use, and distance to the transmitter, someone might be able to make an educated guess as to what the problem is.

It may be that you need a better antenna. But it also might be that the particular station is transmitting digital signals at low power until the 2/17/09 analog shutdown, in which case buying a new antenna could be a waste of money.