If I have a digital tv purchased this year, do I need a HD converter kit if I use rabbit ear antenna?

Question

Currently my tv does not show digital, is it the antenna or is there an internial switch of some type?

Answer 1

I presume that you have a digital tuner built in to the TV by what you're saying.  If so, then you should (in theory) be fine -- the converters are basically digital tuners that will convert to the analog signal an older TV needs.

If you're not picking up digital broadcasts, you may not be looking on the right channels -- not all stations got their analog "dial" locations back -- or the signal just may not be strong enough for the antenna you have.  We have a lot of people with the latter problem if they don't have a good roof-mounted antenna in my less-densely-populated area, as the digital signals don't travel well in this terrain at all like analog ones do.

Answer 2

I'm a little confused about your question.  If you are talking about HD, it doesn't matter how new the tv is, it needs to be HD capable (Not the same as digital) and you need to pay for HD programming through cable or sattelite.

If you are referring to the digital crossover that is happening in February, you will be just fine with your tv and no converter.

Answer 3

most tvs now are required to be ATSC certified with a built in converter.  you will not get digital signals on your analogue (rabbit ears) antenna... you will need an HD antenna to get those HD digital broadcasts.

Answer 4

The problem may be that the analog channels you are getting are on VHF, but their digital counterparts are on UHF.  In that case, rabbit ears do not work as well as a loop UHF antenna.

For example, in the Philadelphia area Channel 3's digital programs are actually on Channel 26.  I can't get Channel 26 with rabbit ears, but the indoor UHF loop works.

See the link below.  Click on your state.  The table indicates the NTSC channel (old analog), the current digital channel, and where the end-state channel will be.

If the digital channel is 2-13 use rabbit ears;  if it is 14-69 rabbit ears do not work well, you need a UHF loop.