Hey guys,

I have a question for you all since I'm not highly knowlegeable on this subject yet.

We bought a 19'' Samsung TV for the kitchen...here's a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LNT1954H-LCD-HDTV-White/dp/B000N50RAK******pd_bbs_sr_3/104-6464302-0723159?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1188490363&sr=8-3

Anyways, I open it up, turn it on, and some channels immediately are in HD (PBS, CBS, and NBC). They rest are pretty poor, though, as they are very snow and not clear.

Now, my questions are these....why are there HD signals only for those three channels? I know, say, the CW probably won't carry a higher signal than what it is. But why isn't ABC carrying an HD signal? Or FOX? I know for a fact both air shows in HD sometimes.

Second, why are the channels that aren't in HD so utterly TERRIBLE? It's odd, because the TV in the kitchen before this one was older, and certainly didn't carry HD signals, but the picture quality on the channels was much better overall. No channel was unwatchable due to the grain or snow. So why is a new TV like this?

Also, is it possible it's the attena we are using? And if so, are there certain attenas that are recommeded and are better so that the rest of the channels are better?

One more question that really puzzles me. I have DirecTV. I have a 46'' Bravia upstairs...in the other bedroom is a smaller Bravia. Now, I have a dual tuner so I can record two shows at once...however, why can I only receive local channels on DirecTV? For example...we bought the Samsung, hooked it up (didn't hook it up to any DTV receiver or cable box, but still), and immediately received local channels in varying quality. While I know my 46'' Bravia is hooked up to a DTV receiver, shouldn't I also be able to receive locals on some sort of...regular, base signal? I ask because I don't have HD on DirecTV at all. I was introduced to HD through the Samsung in the kitchen, and it looked VERY nice. So it has me wondering...is it at all possible to, at the VERY least, get HD on some local channels on the 46'' Bravia just like I get HD on some local channels on the 19'' Samsung in the kitchen? And if not, why?

Thanks for reading, as I know it was long.

If I understand correctly, your new Samsung 19" is connected to an antenna. The digital (HD) channels are being received via the builtin ATSC tuner. The analog channels are being received via the builtin NTSC tuner. Your ability to receive both analog and digital signals depends greatly on the distance you are from the transmitters and the gain of the antenna you are using for reception. You can go to AntennaWeb.org (http://antennaweb.org) to determine what transmitters are near you and their distance. Antennaweb and AVSforum can provide some guidance in antenna choice. Copy and paste the antennaweb page showing your availabe DT channels to this thread.

Your Bravia will be able to receive HD channels via an antenna if it has a builtin ATSC tuner. Otherwise, you would need to upgrade your Directv service to HD. Directv may provide your HD locals via satellite or the HD STB's builtin ATSC tuner will need to be used.

hi Pacman

one thing I'd do is run a digital ch scan on that Samsung-it's not clear in your post if you did that.

also, it's possible the chs you see that look bad are your local analog chs.

on some HDTV's you can do separate analog & digital scans. on others the TV scans everything automatically.

what I did on my Toshiba-which scans everything at once-is delete the analog ch #'s from the ch list so I can only surf the digital chs.

and raouliii is correct-the simplest way to get your digital locals on your Sony Bravia is connect an OTA antenna to it's digital tuner(it's been a mandate for some time now that all TV's over a certain screen size have digital tuners so it's very likely that Bravia has one). for anything more than network HD you'll have to upgrade your D* gear(boxes & dish).

Thanks guys...

Raouliii...is this the link that you want from this site:

http://antennaweb.org/aw/Stations.aspx

I punched in all the information, and that's the site it took me to. What exactly does this mean regarding what antenna I should get? And, would I need to have someone come and install it?

HD...I will try and do a scan for digital signals...I'll look to see if I can find that feature within the menu. I know the Samsung has the ability to look for "Air" channels and "Cable" channels. What does "Air" refer to? A digital, and therefore clear, signal?

Regarding my Bravia...you stated that it will only receive HD channels via an antenna if it has a built in tuner? Essentially, this would be the same scenario as the Samsung, which received HD channels right out of the box, correct? What I'm curious about is this, then...I have DirecTV hooked up to the 46'' Bravia. However, there seems to be no way to turn off DirecTV, and instantly see my local channels on basic "free" cable. Why is this? Could this be because of a connection, or lack there of somewhere. If you buy a TV, hook it up, you should instantly receive local channels for free. Why is this ability unavailable on my Bravia?

Thanks again, guys.

AIR likely means the OTA tuner section-analog or digital

CABLE would mean a scan for cable signals-again analog or digital.

it seems your TV's(the Samsung & Sony) have digital tuners that can tune OTA and digital cable. check your owner's manuals carefully. it should give step-by-step directions for scanning cable v. OTA & analog v. digital but sometimes it's a bit confusing.

if you run across these terms just remember ATSC = OTA , QAM = digital cable.

so do you have access to basic cable? just the cable coming out of the wall? I thought you had an indoor OTA antenna connected to your Samsung.

tuning basic cable is a different issue. a QAM-enabled digital tuner will tune any UNENCRYPTED digital cable signal and will do so without a cable box. in most areas the local digital stations-if the cableco carries them-are not encrypted.

now the ch #'s will be mapped much differently on digital cable-#'s like 92-1 or 101-1 or 101-2. and without a cable box there's no program guide-figuring out the ch you're watching is trial & error.

getting from D* to OTA on your Sony should simply be a matter of switching inputs-going from whatever input your D* receiver is connected to, to the Sony's OTA tuner. how is your D* box connected to the Sony?

AIR likely means the OTA tuner section-analog or digital

CABLE would mean a scan for cable signals-again analog or digital.

it seems your TV's(the Samsung & Sony) have digital tuners that can tune OTA and digital cable. check your owner's manuals carefully. it should give step-by-step directions for scanning cable v. OTA & analog v. digital but sometimes it's a bit confusing.

if you run across these terms just remember ATSC = OTA , QAM = digital cable.

so do you have access to basic cable? just the cable coming out of the wall? I thought you had an indoor OTA antenna connected to your Samsung.

tuning basic cable is a different issue. a QAM-enabled digital tuner will tune any UNENCRYPTED digital cable signal and will do so without a cable box. in most areas the local digital stations-if the cableco carries them-are not encrypted.

now the ch #'s will be mapped much differently on digital cable-#'s like 92-1 or 101-1 or 101-2. and without a cable box there's no program guide-figuring out the ch you're watching is trial & error.

getting from D* to OTA on your Sony should simply be a matter of switching inputs-going from whatever input your D* receiver is connected to, to the Sony's OTA tuner. how is your D* box connected to the Sony?

Thanks again. Well, I just checked the back of my D receiver...and noticed that Sat 1 and 2 tuners are connected and the cable goes outside the house through a hole in the wall to the satellite. However, I did notice a plug next to those two tuner plugs on the back of the receiver that stated "Off Air In." Is this what I was looking for to be able to get locals on my Sony Bravia? What kind of antenna would I need to buy? Just a regular UHF antenna?

As for my Samsung...this is sorta what the antenna plugged into it looks like:

http://www.electronix.com/catalog/images/20-058.jpg

I'm unsure of if that's the same as an OTA antenna...but I have it plugged into the "Antenna 1 (Air)" plug/jack in the back of the TV. Adjusting it allows for creating a stronger signal so that the digital channels come in. When they aren't coming in well, they become pixellated as if you are watching satellite TV and it begins to rain. However, adjusting that antenna doesn't do much for the already fairly snowy/grainy channels like FOX or CW or WB or even ABC.

Quick update...I noticed on my Braiva like someone suggested to do a scan for digital channels. So I am doing that now and it will be completed in 50 mins.

I also noticed on the side of the Bravia, there are to connections...one says Cable. The other says RHF, UHF...Through the RHF/UHF connection...if my TV find digital channels, and I hook up my antenna to that plug, will I be able to watch clear local and sometimes HD programming?

Another update...lol, I think I'm learning, haha.

Well, I did a search for digital signals on the Bravia, and it found 10 digital channels. I plugged the antenna into the UHF/VHF plug, and I got the channels in much clearer picture quality than my DTV receiver would output. I am even receving channels I never see on DTV, like a bunch of WGBH/PBS channels, and such. Still no FOX in digital, which I'm surpised about especially since NFL games are on FOX. But I'm happy I figured out this part. Thanks again everyone.

I guess now I have to head to Best Buy and by two more antennas for the Samsung 19'' and the smaller Bravia. But at least I know. I'll do digital scans for both TV's now.

...Raouliii...is this the link that you want from this site:

http://antennaweb.org/aw/Stations.aspx

I punched in all the information, and that's the site it took me to. What exactly does this mean regarding what antenna I should get? And, would I need to have someone come and install it?.....You'll need to input your information and produce the listing of available Digital channels for your location. If you input a 400 ft antenna height in the options section, you will get a better listing. Copy and paste the text to this thread.

Thanks again. Well, I just checked the back of my D receiver...and noticed that Sat 1 and 2 tuners are connected and the cable goes outside the house through a hole in the wall to the satellite. However, I did notice a plug next to those two tuner plugs on the back of the receiver that stated "Off Air In." Is this what I was looking for to be able to get locals on my Sony Bravia? What kind of antenna would I need to buy? Just a regular UHF antenna?

As for my Samsung...this is sorta what the antenna plugged into it looks like:

http://www.electronix.com/catalog/images/20-058.jpg

I'm unsure of if that's the same as an OTA antenna...but I have it plugged into the "Antenna 1 (Air)" plug/jack in the back of the TV. Adjusting it allows for creating a stronger signal so that the digital channels come in. When they aren't coming in well, they become pixellated as if you are watching satellite TV and it begins to rain. However, adjusting that antenna doesn't do much for the already fairly snowy/grainy channels like FOX or CW or WB or even ABC.

yep, that's an OTA-Over The Air-antenna. sorry about the alphabet soup jargon. I think at least one reason we use it so much is not many of us type all that well!!!:)

you posted that your D*(Directv) receiver has an antenna input(which is what "Off Air IN" should mean). what is the model # of your Directv receiver? I was a D* sub, & I thought the only D* boxes with OTA digital tuners were HD-capable.

it sounds like you're getting a good signal from the tuner in your Bravia.

as for what antennas you need-check antennaweb.org for your area. it's likely all of your local digital stations broadcast in the UHF band but there might be one that's VHF. VHF, just in case, are chs 2-13, UHF chs 14-69. if I remember how the antennaweb list is laid out, the ACTUAL ch # is listed next to the compass azimuth.

now here's yet another thing to check-be sure you're using the correct antenna input.

some TV's-usually the smaller ones-have one antenna input & use an internal splitter to feed the analog & digital tuners. some of the larger TV's have an input for each tuner.
in my case i have one of each-my 27" Toshiba(SD but has a digital tuner) has one antenna input. my 56" JVC HDTV has an analog antenna input & a digital antenna input.

i'm gonna check on the Sony & Samsung websites & see what's what. if you don't mind let us know what D* box you have(model #).

As far as Fox OTA, try moving that antenna to every possible place you can - if you're getting the other channels so well, then positioning may be all it takes. Fox channels generally broadcast at equivalent power to all the other, big networks now in most markets.

Thanks for the help, guys.

What I did was do a search for digital channels on the Bravia. It found at least ten. I also found a plug/input on the side of the TV that read UHF/VHF. So I plugged my OTA into that plug and finally got locals. And, now I also get HD when it's broadcast in HD...late night shows like Leno look good, and I saw a NFL game in HD finally.

I have to say that the picture isn't 100% crystal clear like the best picture quality on an HD-DVD or Blu Ray disc. I can still see a bit of artifacts going on. But it is certainly better than the DTV alternate.

One thing, though, is that FOX is not one of the digital channels. I was surprised by this. Is there a reason, or does it just depend on where you live?

Thanks for the help, guys......One thing, though, is that FOX is not one of the digital channels. I was surprised by this. Is there a reason, or does it just depend on where you live?yes