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albert_135

Since the advent of digital TV can one use an antenna?

The old man at our local Radio Shack tells me no one can use an antenna anymore, that I must have satellite or cable or some such.

Comments (7)

  • jimisham
    14 years ago

    Not true. ATV antenna will pick up either analog or digital signals.
    However, you may need a better antenna. Some of those set top antennas or antennas that have been up on the roof for 20 or 30 years may need to be replaced.

  • albert_135   39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks. I found an FCC signal strength chart for my zip code. According to our government, with an antenna 30 feet above ground, I can get a "moderate" signel for one channel and a "weak" signal for two more. And that is it. No others.

    Perhaps the old man at Radio Shack was speaking of practically rather than offering a technical opinion.

  • netlos
    14 years ago

    Listen with an antenna(ota) ,depending on where you live you can have access to all your locals broadcasting in your area,if they distribute H.D you will also have those for free,the guy at Radio Shack is one of the millions of uninformed people out there who should not be giving advice,i bet if you ask him if a big dish(satellite above 8' in diameter)could pull in any chaneles he would say that they are useless!But my parents use it to pull in all of the programs they want,in digital and H.D.Sorry for the rant but it iritates me when some one who should be giving proper advice has his head in his a**

  • jdbillp
    14 years ago

    OP, what is your zip code?

  • regus_patoff
    14 years ago

    >... must have satellite or cable or some such.

    "some such" would also mean a digital TV or your own stand-alone TV "digital converter box"

    since older "non-digital" TV's won't receive the new digital signals,
    and there are no longer any "analog" TV signals. (OK, maybe a few "low-power" stations)

  • carolyn53562
    14 years ago

    We just bought a little portable digital HD TV and it gets at least 10 channels in Madison, Wisconsin with only its internal antenna (the antenna is not on the outside) and the picture is great, so you can get great digital TV reception without an antenna, but I am sure the number of channels you get depends upon your location. We get channels that I did not know were broadcast over the airwaves in our area. We got the portable digital HD TVs for $30 over Christmas (after all the sales and coupons) so you may want to borrow or purchase one of those to test it out before investing in upgrading your antenna.

  • maryland_irisman
    14 years ago

    A rooftop antenna (or internal or rabbit ears for that matter) doesn't care if the signal is analog or digital. It will allow your set (or converter box) to receive these signals. Some of the newer antenna include a preamp on them but you can put one on your old antenna if you need one (mostly in fringe areas or running long coax runs). In other words, if digital television had been in required when you had your old antenna installed...it would have been labeled "Digital Ready" on the box also.

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