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Antennas for TV making a comeback
By BILL HUSTED
c.2009 Cox Newspapers
ATLANTA - Reader e-mail is the world's best crystal ball - better than the professional tech Web sites I follow - for spotting technology trends.
And seldom does a day pass without an e-mail asking about using an antenna for television reception.
Maybe you're trimming costs by eliminating cable and satellite, or perhaps you are using an antenna as a back-up method. All I know is that I can confirm the trend by seeing rooftops studded with antennas when Lucy the Beagle and I survey my own neighborhood.
I've written about antennas before. Today I get some help from a fellow who helped write the book on antennas: Arthur Gubeskys - a Ph.d engineer with a fistful of wireless reception patents dating from his time at Motorola. Today he is chief technology officer for the HDTV Antenna Labs Web site (http://www.hdtvantennalabs.com/hdtv-antenna-guide.php).
Our conversation covered topics you've been asking me about. For those who want to dig deeper into some of Arthur's answers, I've provided links to Web sites that go into more detail.
Q: Obviously a tall outdoor antenna will outperform rabbit ears. But many of my readers won't use tall ones because of restrictions or aesthetics. What are their options?
A: Rooftop installation is always the best option. Putting the antenna in the attic is second best. Unless you have a metal or concrete roof, that's a good compromise. Unfortunately, indoor antennas are only good in close proximity to TV towers.
(Here's a Web site that talks about installing TV antennas in attics: http://tinyurl.com/ykzpgk4)
Q: I've heard that getting the signal using an antenna results in a better picture than someone would get using satellite or cable because less compression is used for over-the-air signals. Is this true?
A: It's not necessarily true. When the entire bandwidth is used on satellite or cable to transmit a single HD signal there is no need for high signal compression and the quality is superb. However, when the broadcaster uses multicasting - that's using the same bandwidth for multiple programs and it sometimes happens, higher compression ratios must be used and degradation of picture quality can be visible. Broadcasters may argue that. It is a subjective thing.
(For more information on multicasting, go to this Website: http://www.dtvanswers.com/dtv(underscore)multicasting.html)
(For more information on compression, try this site: http://www.prleap.com/pr/61015/)
Q: I see antennas advertised as "designed for digital" or as a "special HDTV antenna." To me, an antenna is an antenna. Am I misinformed?
A: There is no such thing as an HDTV antenna. You're right - an antenna is an antenna. Digital and analog television are on the same frequency bands, so any antenna that is good for analog TV is also good for digital TV.
The "HDTV Antenna" is a marketing ploy adopted by antenna makers to entice Americans to spend their hard earned dollars on junk antennas. In the three years that we've been operating our Web site, we have been contacted by many seniors, single moms, etc., who cannot afford the cable or satellite fees and who "upgraded" their old rooftop installations with a new indoor "HDTV antennas." What some antenna makers did (and still do) is outrageous.
(For more information on antennas: (http://www.tech-faq.com/hdtv-antenna.shtml)
Q: Where can the average person - someone not well-versed in antenna technology - go for more information?
A: I would recommend dtvanswers.com and of course our own Web site, HDTV Antenna Labs.
I hope this helps. As a long-time ham radio operator, I've been in love with antennas for a long time. My wife strongly disagrees, but putting a little aluminum in the sky is a beautiful thing.
Bill Husted writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: tecbud(at)bellsouth.net.
Story Filed By Cox Newspapers
For Use By Clients of the New York Times News Service
