Question about all these "HD" antennas today

[jras20]

I know any antenna can be a HDTV antenna, but will these antennas that they are selling now even be worth it in 2009? When some stations are going back to VHF these HDTV antennas are mostly UHF today. I was going to buy a good HDTV outdoor antenna for my place in Lavaca county so I could recieve Houston and San antonio HDTV but I dont think I want to get a UHF only antenna.

 

[gbranch]

It all depends on where you live. Some markets are UHF only now and will stay UHF only. Some are UHF only now, but will have stations migrate back to VHF in 2009. Some have a mix now and after 2009. YMMV.

It's not like an antenna is a huge investment. You can always buy a new one in 2009, or you can buy a VHF antenna and couple it to the UHF. And many UHF antennas, the Channel Master 4228 in particular, will receive VHF high channels just fine.

If you want to future proof yourself, go ahead and buy a big, directional V/U antenna. The physics of over-the-air television is not going to change, and that antenna will continue to be compatible until the elements corrode off, standoffs break, or it gets blown down by a windstorm.

 

[ropertex]

Go with a UHF only. Most U/V antennas have poor UHF coverage compared to UHF only antennas...and most of the size and bulk of U/V antennas goes into the Channel 2 thru 6 elements. I don't think any major HD stations will end up on the low VHF band.

 

[w9wi]

Go with a UHF only. Most U/V antennas have poor UHF coverage compared to UHF only antennas...and most of the size and bulk of U/V antennas goes into the Channel 2 thru 6 elements. I don't think any major HD stations will end up on the low VHF band.

Except channel 6 in Philadelphia.

And depending on your definition of a "major" station, channel 6 in Schenectady/Albany; channel 5 in Memphis & Nashville; and channel 2 in Las Vegas (currently on 3).

MANY major stations will end up on the *high* VHF band. Los Angeles channels 7/9/11/13; in San Francisco and Chicago channels 7 & 12 (in both cases the channel 11 analog stations will land on DTV channel 12); New York channels 7, 11, and 13 as well as NJN on channel 8.

Some viewers are reporting decent results with certain "UHF-only" antennas on high VHF. Others aren't. Be careful.

 

[dhett]

I was going to buy a good HDTV outdoor antenna for my place in Lavaca county so I could recieve Houston and San antonio HDTV but I dont think I want to get a UHF only antenna.

Where San Antonio and Houston are concerned (and Victoria, if you're so inclined), most stations will be on UHF, but some very important stations will be on high-band VHF.

In San Antonio, KLRN 9 and KSAT 12 stay on those channels; WOAI and KENS move to UHF, and the UHF stations all stay on UHF channels, whether it's their old analog assignment, or a new channel.

In Houston, KUHT 8, KHOU 11 and KTRK 13 will keep their old channels, while KPRC moves to UHF. Again, none of the UHF channels moves to VHF.

In Victoria, KAVU will stay on UHF, but KVCT will move to VHF on channel 11. This could give you interference when trying to pick up KHOU, depending on how close to Victoria you are.

Just for grins and giggles, the Austin stations are staying on their previous bands. KTBC 7 stays on 7, while the others stay on UHF.

One thing you'll want to check on is for low-power TV (LPTV) stations in your area. Will they flash cut to digital on their same channel, or do they have DTV companion channels either assigned or requested? If so, those could interfere with the full-power stations you're trying to receive.

 

[jras20]

I wish those DTV boxes will get cheaper, I wanted to see how well it will work with the antenna I have, I have the secound best outdoor antenna from whinegard It can pull in 2, 8, 11, 13, 25 when I have it to Houston, and 4, 5, 12 if I got it to San antonio, I have it to Houston right now, I believe its a little clearer to Houston than San antonio.