Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - Digital Converter Box

I don't have cable nor do I have an antenna. Without the converter box I get about 6 stations in which 3 have clear reception and thats fine with me.

I bought a digital converter box. I hooked it up and saw nothing different about my channel selection or that it even mattered that I had hooked it up. It said it couldn't find a signal. :wall: The paper work said something about getting a "Smart Antenna."

What is a Smart Antenna and where can I buy an inexpensive one? Are they called anything besides "Smart Antenna?"

Thank you, Thank you!,

I don't know what a smart antenna is. It is possible that you need a UHF antenna to pick up the digital channels.

Here are a couple of descriptions for Smart Antenna:

http://www.wtec.org/loyola/wireless/06_02.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_antenna

Unless your in an area that broadcasts off-air digital signals, your digital box is useless. My guess is that your digital converter box takes a digital signal, then converts it to an analog signal so that you can watch it on a T.V.

Digital off-air broadcasts will be in the UHF range.

Here's some more info regarding Digital Television.

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html

Digital off-air broadcasts will be in the UHF range.
Not necessarily. All over-the-air (OTA) stations will broadcast in the the VHF (2 - 13) and UHF (14 - 51) bands just like they do now.

For the transition, the FCC assigned temporary DTV channels to existing broadcasters so they could continue to broadcast their analog signal on the original channel and DTV on the new frequency. Most of the available channels in a given area were in the UHF band. (Keeping in mind that analog OTA channels in a broadcast area can't be adjacent to each other.)

When the analog transmitters are shut off, broadcasters will have the option to continue to broadcast DTV on the new frequency, or move it to the original channel.

The reason for this is branding. Stations have spent fortunes over the decades to promote themselves as "News Channel 7," "2 On Your Side," "Fox12," etc. They don't want to lose market share in the confusion.

Contrary to what the sales people at the big box stores will say, any VHF/UHF antenna will work for DTV. You don't need a special HDTV antenna. The carrier frequencies are exactly the same as those used for analog broadcasts.

The only reason to buy a souped-up antenna is if you are in a fringe are and there's a lot of snow in the picture. Analog signals degrade gracefully with increased distance until there's more snow (noise) than picture. Digital signals have what's called the "cliff effect" which means that when a weak signal falls below a certain threshold, there is no picture at all.

Not necessarily. All over-the-air (OTA) stations will broadcast in the the VHF (2 - 13) and UHF (14 - 51) bands just like they do now.


I stand corrected. I meant to say that OTA stations that move to Hi-Def will be using a higher frequency. I believe that it is in the UHF range. The reason is that it would take 2 VHF channels to incorperate 1 high def channel because of the bandwidth involved. Perhaps that may differ depending on what country you live in. Digital OTA signals will be what Rick said.

rb,
The original HD broadcast scheme required two 6-meg channels until Zenith presented the 8VSB RF modulation format that was adopted by the ATSC in the late 90's.

Today, all DTV stations in the USA use 8VSB to squeeze HDTV signals into a single 6-meg channel.

Cable distribution uses a compression scheme called QAM, which allows them to package up to 15 SD or up to 4 HD channels into a single 6-meg channel band.

Not so, 6Mhz in UHF is the same 6Mhz in VHF.

I found out a Smart Antenna is just a plain old rabbit-ears type of antenna. An amplified antenna isn't needed so save your money. I bought an RCA antenna at target for $9.99 and I get clear stations.
Now...to hook up the converter...LOL

Something tells me that you've been the victim of creative marketing from a cheepo supplier. Anyone can use the generic term "Smart Antenna" but it doesn't mean you're getting one.

Generally a smart antenna is an array of elements connected to a processor. The processor determines which element has the strongest signal, and which (if any) are receiving reflected signals and other forms of interference. It will choose to send only the strongest signal down the cable. More sophisticated devices will also invert the phase of any reflected signals and noise to eliminate them.

A pair of rabbit ears could become a smart antenna if there was a circuit inside that chose to use the stronger signal from only one of the two elements. Technically it's a "diversity" system and it's been around for years in wireless microphone receivers. That's where the creative marketing comes in ...

actually i also talked to an engineer at one of my local tv providers. i receive ota tv from a amplified antenna. i bought the converter box to see if i could get the digital channels, but when i talked to the engineer. he told me that they would not be turning off their analog tower in this area, and that it would not be done probably for another couple of years. so if you are not getting a digital signal. it could mean that the area has not been set up for digital yet. i will agree that the "smart antenna" gimmick is true. just another advertising hoax to get one to spend more money.

he told me that they would not be turning off their analog tower in this area, and that it would not be done probably for another couple of years.

Actually, Feb '09 is when by law, everything has to be broadcast in digital.

Not everything has to be digital, just major primary broadcast transmitters have to turn off their analog. Low power broadcasters and some trasnlators can remain analog for some time to come.

SmartAntenna is not a gimmick, just not needed in some places.