Digital Vhf Uhf
Finding the Best TV Antenna for Digital/HDTV Reception
Even a poorly designed TV antenna will work good for someone somewhere. Great antennas work at most locations most of the time for everyone.
I think most TV antenna experts would agree, “it’s all about proper design and size that separates good antennas from bad”. TV antenna designers struggle between… antenna size, looks and performance. If the antenna is too small it won’t work good. If it’s too big consumer’s won’t buy it. If the antenna fits into the junk drawer in the kitchen it probably won’t work very good.
There is no such thing as a digital TV antenna or an HDTV antenna. However, modern antennas designed to receive the frequencies currently in use to broadcast the digital/HDTV signals work best. What is the best HDTV antenna?… The one that works of course. A great page that covers the subject is Best HDTV Antenna.
Each TV signal from each TV station is sent to the TV antenna on a specific frequency wave length. The receiving antenna must be of a specific size, shape and design to best receive each individual frequency sent by each station. The more frequencies the TV antenna is designed to receive the larger the antenna must be. Each section of the antenna is designed to receive different specific frequencies. The TV broadcast frequencies are broken down into 3 groups. Low VHF channels 2 – 6, High VHF channels 7 – 13 and UHF channels 14 – 51. As of June 12th 2009 channels 52 – 69 were eliminated from the TV broadcasting spectrum. Plus, only a handful of stations in the entire Country use channels 2 – 6 for digital/HDTV broadcasting. Nearly all U.S. TV stations use channel frequencies between 7 and 51 to broadcast their signal.
The channel number displayed on the TV or the number the station uses to identify itself may not be the actual broadcast frequency. In many cases the number displayed on the TV tuner is used for station recognition purposes only and is not the actual broadcast channel frequency in use to broadcast the TV signal. In other words, the on screen channel display number you see may not correspond with the actual broadcast frequency number in use. The channel frequencies in use today by all full powered TV stations are channels 2 – 51 with majority of the stations using channels 7 – 51. To find which antenna will work best for your location and determine what channel frequencies are in use in your area I suggest you visit the Digital TV Antenna Selector.
As I said earlier. “The receiving TV antenna must be of a specific size and shape to best receive each individual frequency sent by each TV station” The quickest way and the most popular method antenna designers employ to reduce antenna size is to reduce the antennas ability to receive the full spectrum of TV frequencies. Many antennas are too small to perform well. In some cases performance is disregarded in favor of appealing to the consumer’s desire for a small more appealing antenna. These tiny antennas may work in a limited areas for a limited number of people but for the most part they will disappoint the user with unsatisfactory reception.
The best TV antenna for digital/HDTV reception, the TV antenna that will perform best for the most people at most locations is designed to receive channels 7 – 51 with few exceptions.
About the Author
Denny Duplessis is considered to be an expert in his field. He has installed thousands of TV antennas in his twenty plus year career. Now retired from installing he spends his time helping others learn how to install TV antennas. His website TV Antenna Source is full of helpful tips and useful information for the do-it-yourself TV antenna installer.
Winegard Sensar IV RV Motorhome Digital HD Television Antenna
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