Over the air tv question

[Betty]

I've got an HDTV that we currently have Dish Network for. I'm considering getting rid of it and going to an antenna.

I bought a cheapy one over the weekend to try out and see what sort of reception we got. Unfortunately we got zero channels.

The very un-articulate lady at Radio Shack was trying to tell me something about a cable box but I sort of ignored her ... well... because she wasn't able to explain what she was talking about telling me if I had a cable box I could use them both. It was like she heard someone say something about it once and was trying to relay the info but it just wasn't coming together.

Now though I'm thinking perhaps she meant I was going to need a converter box. I'd forgotten all about that whole thing.

Do I still need one of those? Is that why I'm not getting a signal? Or is it more likely my location on a hill and down in a little impression. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be out of luck on the antenna unless it's an outdoor one on the roof and even then I'm not sure.

Anyone know about the converter boxes, antennas and over the air tv?

[Ghoulish Delight]

It's very unlikely you need a converter box. Those are for TVs that do not have a digital tuner, and unless you got a very early HDTV, pretty much all HDTVs have digital tuners.

Your location is probably the culprit. Use a site like this one (http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/) to determine signal strengths at your address. The strength will be color coded and based on the color, you can select an antenna to match (the antenna boxes are usually labeled with what color zone they are good for). The map will also show you the location of the transmitter for each station so you can aim you antenna in the generally correct direction.

[Ghoulish Delight]

One other possibility is seeing if you cable company offers an "over the air channels only" option. Wouldn't be AS cheap, obviously, as going just with an antenna, but you wouldn't have to worry about reception issues at all.

[Betty]

Thanks GD! That should be a big help.

Unfortunately, we don't have cable available in our area. It's fairly rural part of the IE and I'm lucky I have DSL even.

[Betty]

It's not looking good for us with one green, one yellow, seven brown and the rest red. :(

[lindyhop]

I only have antenna TV and because of that I watch very little television. It's kind of like when I used to hold the antenna of our old black and white TV so I could watch "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." Sometimes just walking around the room makes the signal go away.

[Betty]

I ended up just going with a different package... saves a little.