TV in the USA
Hello Mylan. I am a TV broadcater (among other things) and will give you some facts.
First analog (NTSC) TV broadcasting in the USA is scheduled to be turned off after 2/17/09. People watching TV exclusively from cable and satellite will not notice much. However, anyone who gets an off-the-air signal, even on 2nd and 3rd sets, will notice. Without a converter (or being connected to a TV service provider) they will no longer pick up broadcasts off-the-air. There is a SLIGHT chance that date might move, but IMO that will be only for a very few channels across the USA.
Currently TV in the USA is broadcast on channels 2 through 69. All digital (ATSC) broadcasting will be limited to channels 2 through 51. Channels 52 through 69 are being "given back" to the government to be auctioned off. That's the "700 MHz" band.
There are currently channels on the air broadcasting ATSC everywhere in the USA. Many of these stations also have second channels. In my area, each broadcaster has a 2nd channel and one has 4 (sub)channels total. Have you ever heard of "The Tube"? A totally music video channel that does not even run commercials.
I know there is more current data available, but the data I have from 06-06-06 shows the following channels for West Virginia:
STATION CITY DTV NOW NTSC NOW DTV LATER
------- --------- ------- -------- ---------
WLFB BLUEFIELD 14 40 40
WVVA BLUEFIELD 46 6 46
WCHS-TV CHARLESTON 41 8 41
WLPX-TV CHARLESTON 39 29 39
WVAH-TV CHARLESTON 19 11 19
WBOY-TV CLARKSBURG 52 12 12
WVFX CLARKSBURG 10 46 10
WOWK-TV HUNTINGTON 47 13 13
WPBY-TV HUNTINGTON 34 33 34
WSAZ-TV HUNTINGTON 23 3 23
WVNS-TV LEWISBURG 8 59 8
WWPX MARTINSBURG 12 60 12
WNPB-TV MORGANTOWN 33 24 33
WOAY-TV OAK HILL 50 4 4
WTAP-TV PARKERSBURG 49 15 49
WDTV WESTON 6 5 5
WTRF-TV WHEELING 32 7 7
Antennas do not care whether the signal is "digital" or "analog"; the only thing that matters to them is the frequency/channel. I am not sure which stations are in your receiving area, or if you are receiving stations from another state, but it does look like there are channels which will be broadcasting ATSC in all 3 bands (VHF low, VHF high, UHF).
I purchased my antennas at, of all places, Radio Shack. I bought the best they had. I can receive digital (or analog) television from as far away as 100 miles (I am in Sacramento but receive TV from the San Francisco bay area). The thing about digital, either it is "perfect" or you get nothing.... well sorta. A signal on the fringe might drop out a lot or the picture may "block" from time to time. But there is no snow or ghosts.
Note: what is happening to broadcast television in the USA has nothing to do with rebanding in the 800MHz spectrum.
Are you asking about receiving Pittsburgh, PA? Here is the data for those channels:
STATION CITY DTV NOW NTSC NOW DTV LATER
------- --------- ------- -------- ---------
KDKA-TV PITTSBURGH 25 2 25
WPGH-TV PITTSBURGH 43 53 43
WPMY PITTSBURGH 42 22 42
WPXI PITTSBURGH 48 11 48
WQED PITTSBURGH 38 13 13
WQEX PITTSBURGH 26 16 38
WTAE-TV PITTSBURGH 51 4 51
I am using a Winegard amplifier. It has 3 adjustments, one for each band. It also has a switchable FM trap. I have cable wired to every room of my house, and between the cable length and the splitter loss, the amplifier was needed just to break even. Of course I've got a lot of gain left over.
Let me know if you have more questions.
Take care,
George
Mylan said:
I am in the hunt for a new TV antenna but not really sure which kind to get..... With the FCC rebanding coming soon I'm wondering if it's even worth it to get a combo job or just go with a UHF... looking at the reception guides, it looks like all the stations have digital brodcasts on the air so would there be any benifit to getting a vhf antenna for TV... I would like to get the Pittsburgh stations (which I get most of now albeit some very fuzzzy using a 10+yr old rig) and I know that with digital signal there is no snow so I probably will need some gain or something to ensure a lock... The specifics of my hilltop location are: high elevation, between 60 and 80 miles line of sight fron the PGH towers; there are no physical obstructions and the closest signal would be a station with a transmitter 17.4 miles away... Right now on that station's DT, they are pushing only 4.5 but they have a permit for 730.9 kW... their analog power is 316 kW... Do I have to worry about an overload if I use a high gain antenna or preamp? any antenna or preamp recommendations? The Winegard HD series looks pretty sharp.
EDIT: now I read that the vhf stations will still be around after feb 09 so I don't know if that is correct or not....
