What features do i look for in a HD TV that will let me watch HDTV through Antenna?

Question

Im buying my gf who don't have cable and she wants to watch HD on regular channels. I have a Sony HDTV and when i plug a HD Antenna in it automatically picks up the regular channels in HD. Sometimes there is no HD but it still gives me digital broadcasting, which is way more clear then analog channels. Basicly, i get 2 of the same channels, one in analog and one in Digital. I just bought a Sharp HDTV LC32SH12U (720p) and when i plug my HD Antenna in, i don't get anything digital. The channels is still very blurry. I though HDTV's are all capable of picking up digital channels though an antenna. So i have to return the TV. Is there a feature i should look for to give me digital channels through a HD Antenna? PLEASE HELP.. Thank You..

Answer 1

any new HD television will give you that option. The only problem may be the area you live in. Not all markets offer HD over the airwaves yet, or even after feb 12th. It will take some markets years to be HD ready over the airwaves.

Answer 2

Assuming your antenna is hooked up properly, you probably need to redo the channel search. Go to the main setup menu and push the right button twice to highlight the tool menu. Choose "Air" next to Air/cable then go down to Auto Ch memory and start the scan. That should program the digital channels for you. It's on page 17 of your manual if you need step by step instructions

Answer 3

On the second TV that's not receiving digital, make sure the TV is set for "ANTENNA" not "cable" and rescan for channels.  This selection will be on one of the menus.

Channels 2-13 are the same on cable and over the air, all the other channels are different so the set will only see channels between 2 and 13 if it is set incorrectly.  

Out of the box, my new Toshiba was set for "cable" so I had to change this.

Answer 4

It's not a function of the TV or the antenna, it's mostly a function of where you live.

Here's a site that gives a really good explanation of this, and even helps you find signals in your area:

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-V6ek...