Digital Roof Antennas (?)

[Seeker47]

Are there any, capable of making the after-Feb.-'09 converter boxes unnecessary ?
If there are such things, could you post a link or two for some good ones, which can handle OTA HD ?

[kush]

It sounds as if you're looking for an antenna that will take the digital signal and convert into analog directly, thus bypassing the need for a box? NOT possible, sorry.

An antenna is an antenna (don't fall for that "super cool HDTV antenna" stuff). I don't get the whole why no analog crap - digital, as cheesy as the commercials sound - *is* better. None of that fuzziness that you get w/ analog. You either get it or you don't. And usually any signal issue has more to do w/ not having the proper antenna type for the usage, ie: a set top "Silver Sensor" type when you're in a mountainous area ~50 miles from the transmission towers and the like.

If you need to know what the best antenna for your case is - check antennaweb.org, input your location, and it will spit out you possible channels, how far away you are from their towers (and their direction[s]), and what "color" antenna you would need to get the best reception. TBH, I am close enough to most of the L.A. towers that I can get away w/ an indoor antenna, but you may not be so lucky. As far as what to get, I often hear Channel Master mentioned, and a few others, brand wise.

[Squash]

What kush said.

For OTA transmissions, the converter boxes will only be necessary if you plan to continue to use equipment like older TVs, VCRs, DVD recorders, etc. that don't have ATSC tuners in them. An antenna's not going to help with that.

If your TV is "HD capable" but doesn't have an ATSC tuner, you can use an OTA ATSC tuner box like the Samsung H260F (that's what I use). In that scenario there's no need for the CECB boxes the government is pushing.

For antenna selection, there are a ton of HDTV antenna posts over at avsforum.com in the HDTV-Technical subsection of the HDTV section, including posts about how to make your own antenna for a few bucks if you want.

You can go to tvfool.com and get a print-out for your location. It will show you a map of the stations' frequency assignments both before and after the digital switch, along with an estimate of the signal strength at your home from each station (that's something you don't get at antennaweb). Using that info you can decide what type of antenna to get, or post your scan over at avsforum and some very knowledgeable people will be glad to help you out.

I'm getting great results using a Channelmaster 4221 indoors, even though it's sold as an outside antenna. It's maybe 2'x3' and I stuck it in a closet (fortunately in my situation I don't need to rotate it). Picks up a transmitter 27 miles away with a signal strength of -70dB. But it's not going to be the best choice for everyone. All depends on your local situation.

[kush]

Hence the need to do a little legwork on your own.

And thanks for the tvfool note - I personally haven't heard of that site before..May come in handy.

[edDV]

Hence the need to do a little legwork on your own.

And thanks for the tvfool note - I personally haven't heard of that site before..May come in handy.

TV fool finds more stations than antennaweb but understand the antenna tower height required column. Here they would require a 900+ foot (300m) tower. That hardly conforms to county limits. It reports in a more techy format that some may find useful. Antennaweb seeks realistic antenna performance prediction for a normal rooftop antenna.

[Seeker47]

It sounds as if you're looking for an antenna that will take the digital signal and convert into analog directly, thus bypassing the need for a box? NOT possible, sorry

What kush said.

For OTA transmissions, the converter boxes will only be necessary if you plan to continue to use equipment like older TVs, VCRs, DVD recorders, etc. that don't have ATSC tuners in them. An antenna's not going to help with that.

If your TV is "HD capable" but doesn't have an ATSC tuner, you can use an OTA ATSC tuner box like the Samsung H260F (that's what I use). In that scenario there's no need for the CECB boxes the government is pushing.

O.K., got it -- and thanks. I wasn't looking to "cling" to analog service, which I'm aware is a no-can-do, anyway. I'm more than half digital-converted at this point, and was just wondering about the outside antenna side of it. I do have some older analog devices in the mix (as you mentioned), which I intend to keep using. At the moment, they are fed by digital cable boxes, and I assume that type of scenario will continue, whether it happens to be a cable, sat, or FIOS service. Just wondering what my OTA options were . . . .

[edDV]

... At the moment, they are fed by digital cable boxes, and I assume that type of scenario will continue, whether it happens to be a cable, sat, or FIOS service. Just wondering what my OTA options were . . . .

None of those are affected by analog transmitter shutdown Feb '09.

Your existing antennas may work. Use antennaweb.org to get your current DTV options. Then find out which channel frequencies will be used after the day. Many stations switch channels that day to a narrower band of UHF and/or upper VHF. Good news is smaller VHF/UHF antennas can be used except in the very few areas still using VHF channels 2-6.
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx

This thread covers many of the antenna issues for suburban to fringe.
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic346808.html

This site gives final channel numbers for most local markets. A few are still in flux.
http://www.rabbitears.info/dtr.php

To read the data, here is the breakdown

"WCBS DT CBS 02 56 33 1302' 290. kW ND 20080527ABQ Will flash-cut 02/17/09; fun details"

WCBS DT = TV Station call letter
CBS = network
02 = old analog channel #
56 = temporary DTV channel
33 = permanent DTV channel number (effective Feb 17, 2009)
1302' = tower elevation
290. kW = DTV transmitter power (this may change Feb 17, 2009)
ND = non directional
20080527ABQ = FCC DTV TRANSITION STATUS REPORT explaining construction plans and change dates
"Will flash-cut 02/17/09; fun details" = webmaster comments


The individual station details are hidden in attachments to the comments section of the FCC status report. Major big city towers like New York (Empire State Building) or San Francisco (Sutro Tower) have multi-month transition issues. Here is an example of a more typical station transition plan.
http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=615310