digital tv question

Ray · Aug 7, 2014

Will a antenna booster make any difference on digital signals.Been looking for an antenna that will work in the woods.I was told that a booster won't work on digital signals,that the station can only boost the signal.

JMOR · Aug 7, 2014

(quoted from post at 18:16:33 08/07/14) Will a antenna booster make any difference on digital signals.Been looking for an antenna that will work in the woods.I was told that a booster won't work on digital signals,that the station can only boost the signal.

ot true. Have used & improvement was obvious to anyone.

redforlife · Aug 7, 2014

I was on antenna T.V. up untill a few years ago when all stations went digital. A buddy told me the only way to get the stations back was to buy the little box you needed for digital. I didn't do it because I figured it would just be the start of having to buy this box, and then that box, and another newer box to replace both boxes, and then having to do something else because T.V.'s not digital anymore. And all this just to get 2 or 3 local stations. I said the heck with it, I don't have T.V. at my house. So I'd say you have to buy the digital box, cause I don't get nothing on my antenna.

paul · Aug 7, 2014

You need a good enough signal to reach your antenna. If not, nothing will help.

Then get a good cable, well shielded.

Then, the longer the cable is, the more a booster will do for you. The booster takes the signal that is found, and sends it down your cable much stronger.

So yes, a booster will sure help.

If there is a signal there to begin with, the booster will make a difference. It sure did for me. My signal was not watchable, fade in and out every few seconds, until I put the booster on it.

Then, if you are feeding more than one TV, you might need a powered splitter at the bottom of the cable from the antenna.... This takes the signal from the wire, and sends it down several wires, powered up a bit.

Paul

ss55 · Aug 7, 2014

I have to use a booster on my digital antenna. I'm 77 miles as the crow flies from the broadcast tower.

VaTom · Aug 7, 2014

Ray, our trees run 80' tall, not small. Nothing but woods here. We use an old antenna with a rotator, rarely gets turned. The old booster we use is critical, without it very little signal. Has nothing to do with wire length, everything to do with signal strength at the antenna which needs help for the TV to work.

Learned that when the transformer in it died. Now using an external transformer to power it, works great. This is a booster that needs house power for the transformer.

No idea how old all this hardware is, but guessing at least 30 years. Certainly nothing since digital came around. Which was a huge benefit to us, using broadcast TV.

Old antenna, old booster, great reception.

You've been talking to someone who is wrong. Are they trying to sell you satellite service? We tried that free for a year, decided it wasn't worth the money. Broadcast, with a booster, is adequate here.

Russ from MN · Aug 7, 2014

We use an old antenna and a booster that we put up about 12 years ago, well before digital. It works great with a new flat screen digital TV. And we are in the woods and the trees are growing.

IH2444 · Aug 7, 2014

The Booster will for sure help. also a digital antenna is not needed. The digital format analog signals are still broadcast on the same channels as before digital.

old bc · Aug 7, 2014

That is "BS". You need a booster that has an amp on the antenna and a power supply at the TV. You also need to use the bigger RG6 wire. I don't get a good signal without the booster.

MarkB_MI · Aug 8, 2014

The difference between analog and digital TV is that the picture quality degrades gradually with analog, but with digital it's pretty much all or nothing. If you're in a fringe area where sometimes the stations come in but other times don't, a small improvement in your antenna system can make a big difference. But if you're trying to get stations that today you can't get at all, you need to go all-out on your antenna. If you're in trees, you need to get it as high as practical, particularly for UHF. And yes, an amp will help, but you first need a high-gain antenna mounted as high as possible.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 8, 2014

Yes, booster works, you are getting good advice. Get large antenna, tall pole, install booster properly. .

Jon Hagen · Aug 8, 2014

I live a minimum of 90 miles from the nearest station. My analog TV reception was 3 weak snowy channels before digital.
Using the same old cheapy mid range antenna with the addition of a signal booster AT THE ANTENNA, we now get 19 clear digital channels. TV has never been this good.

They tell me that the at the antenna booster is necessary, as an at the set booster has to deal with both a weak signal and the lead in wire signal loss. I have used both, and the signal quality from an at the antenna booster is far superior to the at the set booster.

digital tv question

Ray

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JMOR

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redforlife

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paul

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ss55

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VaTom

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Russ from MN

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IH2444

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old bc

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MarkB_MI

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Anonymous-0

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Jon Hagen

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