Why Is My Reception Bad?
When you purchased your digital converter box, perhaps you excitedly thought that now you would start getting more television channels in crystal clear quality. However, when you connected the box to your TV, you might have found that you did not gain many (if any) television stations. In fact, you may have even lost some of the fuzzier channels that you were able to watch on your analog TV alone. What's the deal?
This is because of the difference in the way analog and digital TV broadcasts are transmitted. External factors, such as a dense wooded area outside your home, tall buildings nearby, or even the materials used in your home's structure and roof can impair television reception. Analog TV is broadcast much like radio stations are. If reception is poor, you will get a lot of static or snow. Digital TV is sent out much like computer data, and you will have either terrific reception or none whatsoever.
Can I Improve My Digital TV Reception?
There are several steps you can take to help improve your digital TV reception. If you have not yet set up your digital TV converter, consider foregoing the automatic channel scan that most converters feature. While this might help you find channels you did not even know about if you have good reception, with poorer reception the process might scan too quickly to pick up every channel. Instead, follow the digital TV converter's instructions for manually entering television stations. For a comprehensive listing of local channels by state, check out Newslink.com.
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Another tip to try is to exchange the coaxial cables used to connect the digital converter. If you are using a very long cord, you may lose signal strength. As mentioned previously, with digital TV the reception is all or nothing. Shop around for a shorter coax cable. Here is another little tip: for a really short cord (meaning better signal strength and improved reception) visit your friendly neighborhood hardware folks. Many hardware and electrical supply stores cell coaxial cable by the foot, and most will even install the connectors onto the ends for you.
One resource from which you can benefit is the FCC's DTV Reception Maps site. Enter your address or zip code to find out which stations you should be able to receive. You can even drag the red map point to get directly over your house or outdoor antenna, which will be far more precise than a zip code.
The results will list the signal strength for each digital television station in your area as well as the channel for that station. By clicking on the station's call sign, you can find out more information, such as whether their will be a change in reception of that station following the switch to digital, as well as the compass direction from your home to the station's tower. This knowledge can help you adjust your antenna properly, if you are using one.
Many digital television converter boxes have a built-in signal strength meter, which you can use as you are adjusting your antenna to know at a glance what angles improve reception. Adjust the antenna's position or direction, then give the signal strength indicator a few seconds measure the signal at that position. Learn more about using an antenna to improve digital television reception on the following page
How to Improve Digital TV Reception
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