Best digital TV antenna?

How do I get Digital Television from broadcast antenna for my analog TV

• I would like to receive Digital TV (DTV) broadcasts for my analog NTSC Television. I have a 32" Sony NTSC Television and a roof-mounted Broadcast antenna. I am able to receive many Los Angeles area TV stations, although the quality of the picture is not superb. I would like to purchase a separate DigitalTV receiver that allows me to plug in my current broadcast antenna and output to my NTSC TV. I have found standalone Digital TV units that output to "Digital TV Ready" Televisions, but I would rather not have to purchase a new TV that has that capability. I know that the picture quality will NOT be as good as if I had a Digital TV Read Television, but it is bound to be better than what I currently get with analog broadcasts, as the only analog part of the setup will be the three feet of cable from the box to my TV. I am specifically looking for a receiver that ouputs NTSC video, and perhaps some breakdown of what all the silly connectors, standards, and acronyms for Digital TV mean (ATSC, DTV, HDTV, Enhanced TV, EDTV, SDTV) Thanks!

• Answer:

  Greetings! There are several DTV off the air recievers that can output signals to a standard definition TV. Your only requirement is that the DTV reciever have an analog video output, like RGB Component or S-Video, so that you can connect it to your TV. The Panasonic TU-HDS20 has outputs for DTV, S-Video, RGB video and composite video. This should allow you to hook it to any TV in your house. The Samsung SIR-T151 also offers DTV and composite video out. Also, the Samsung SIR-T150 offers DTV, component, S-Video and composite video output. In my brief survey, it apppears that all of the set top recievers offer some kind of analog video output that you can connect to your Sony. I found these at Vanns.com, under Digital Recivers: http://www.vanns.com/avcom/DCe.dna?RG=336-3996&dt=731468&tm=29465&cart=324063426523131&cID=0&MC=Video&DC=Digital%20Receivers Now, for some terminology: ATSC -- Advanced Television Systems Committee the standards body setting the new television standards. DTV -- The term "DTV" refers to a television system that can transmit, receive, and display digital images. HDTV -- Although there is no single, universal definition for "HDTV," or "high-definition television," it is generally accepted to encompass several elements which are described by various consumer, broadcasting, and regulatory groups. HDTV offers the potential for approximately twice the horizontal and twice the vertical resolution of current (NTSC) television. When combined with a wide screen format (16:9 aspect ratio), this can result in about 5 times as much visual information as conventional television, i.e., approximately one million pixels per frame of video. When referring to consumer products, HDTV sets: 1) can have 720 or 1080 active vertical scanning lines and 2) are capable of decoding the transmitted 720 × 1280 and 1080 × 1920 ATSC formats and displaying them as a 16:9 aspect ratio image. While these high-definition transmission formats will be supported by such sets, the actual delivered resolution may vary by broadcaster, by product, and by program. HDTV is normally accompanied by digital surround-sound capability. Enhanced TV -- Enhanced TV is a LIVE Interactive Television experience on the Internet that allows you, the TV viewer, to interact with the broadcast. Currently, ABC is doing most of this; more information about the ABC Enhanced TV lineup is found at http://etv.go.com/etvHome/abc/about.shtml Microsoft also offers a similar definition, and a screenshot at their Enhanced TV page: http://www.microsoft.com/tv/Microsoft-TV/Vision/enhanced.asp EDTV -- EDTV stands for enhanced definition television. It is generally accepted to describe a system used to convey programs featuring pictures and sound that are superior to conventional (analog) television. SDTV -- SDTV stands for standard definition television. It is generally accepted to describe a system used to convey pictures and sound that are equivalent to the best conventional (analog) signals possible today. Answers from the ATSC FAQ located at: http://www.atsc.org/faq_general.html I hope this has answered your question, and I wish you luck on your quest to get Digital Broadcast TV. I only wish we had more stations to tune into here locally! If you need further information, please ask for a clarification before rating this answer. Search Terms: digital receiver broadcast tv ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=digital++receiver+broadcast+tv&spell=1 atsc ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=atsc Enhanced TV ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=Enhanced+TV&btnG=Google+Search