Those of you who thought that TV antennashave become obsolete, think again.Due toadvances in technology and government

rules, antennas have becomeindispensable.These are mainly required toreceive OTA or over-the-air-digital signals

and for this purpose, you may needover-the-roof antennas.People who havesubscribed for satellite signals also need

antennas to receive local channels. Set-topantennas today, provide cutting edge

designs-but they can also set you back byhundreds of dollars.Even the rooftop

antennas have gone changes indesigns.While the older designs stood on

your roofs like scarecrows, the newerversions can be easily camouflaged and

stuck under the eaves of your roofs.Theseantennas can also be amplified to boostsignal receptions. Over the air or OTA

signals can be broadcast in two ways: the 8bit vestigial sideband modulation and the

other is Coded Orthogonal FrequencyDivision Multiplexing.Each of these systems

has pros and cons.

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The 8 VSB utilizes the broadcasting spectrum more efficiently so theUS laws have made this as the broadcast standard for US digitalTVs The drawback of this system is that it is difficult to receive thesignals, hence antennas are becoming even more of a necessity Animportant factor while considering antennas for your HDTV are thedistance of your home from the broadcast station; for distances over10 miles, you need attic mounted or rooftop antennas

On the other hand, if the broadcasting station is not too far, thenindoor antennas can suffice The second drawback of US 8VSBbroadcast is that its multidirectional performance is quite poor Hence you need to invest in good unidirectional UHF antenna

Such antennas are easily available in the electronic stores If you livemore than 15 miles from the broadcast station then you need toplace the antenna at the highest point on your roof Anotherimportant factor you must not ignore when you purchase diploeantenna antennas for HDTV is the front-to-back ratio of the antenna

Larger this ratio, lesser is the interference in signal and better thepicture quality If you are living in an area with very tall buildings,then signal interference is a major issue; a highly directive antennawith a good front-to-back ratio can help your signal reception greatly HDTVs come with HDTV receivers

Some TVs also have ATSC tuners that are built-in The HD signalscan be phased in on some regular and cable channels and a rooftopantenna can receive these Experts recommend that best signalsreception for HDTVs can be obtained using rooftop based aperiodicantennas

You should alos note that any poor-quality signals and droppedsignals are usually due to antenna issues Many electronic storescarry color coded maps to direct customers as to which antenna isbest suited for the area they live in

Hence, if you are in the market for HDTV antennas, make sure youconsult a representative in such stores The price of antennas usuallylies in the range of $80 to $100

If you are wary of rooftop installation, you can go in for a dealer whosells the antenna and also gives free installation with it

diploe antenna