L am getting a digital tv antenna will l still need a set top box to use my dvd recorder which is not digital?

Yes. If you can get a signal on the set top box without an antenna you must be really close to the transmitter(s).

Yes. The reason is that the antenna is much like a telephone is with audio. You can change languages at any time and still use the exact same equipment. In the case of TV, the signals are the SAME, but what changed is the content, exactly like changing a language with a telephone. The set top box is the translator which turns the new language into the old language your recorder understands. You may NOT need a new antenna. Most channels are transmitting on the same frequencies as before so the old antenna will work just fine because it is what the signals contain in content that has changed, NOT the frequency used to transmit the signal to you. I live in a fringe area. I used to have a number more channels available than I do now with the new set top box converter and several of the ones I get are weak and drop in and out. I now have only 4 channels which are solid when I used to have 14! Thank YOU Congress, for mandating this change, forcing me to spend money for a converter and what did I get, fewer channels than before. I too, thought "new antenna" with an antenna amplifier (which I did NOT need before) but it had absolutely NO effect. I spent over $70 on the new antenna and achieved NO improvement whatsoever. I simply live in an area of poor reception because of all the hills and valleys around me. Analog signals didn't care much, but the digital ones complain a lot and do not work well if at all... YMMV...

You do need a set top box for digital reception. There are 2 systems used in Australia at the moment, standard definition and high definition. In high definition you get some extra channels and you will need a high definition set top box . Most outdoor antenna will still be suitable for digital tv. I suggest you buy the set top box (either sd or hd) first, connect it and see if it works first before you rush out to buy a "digital tv antanna". Good luck.