Over the air digital tv signals

rk911 wrote:

the aspect ratio for modern programming is 4:3 older pgming like your ST and TZ have an aspect ratio of 16:9. your hdtv's remote should have a button labeled "picture size" or something similar. when an old rerun comes along use that button to change the aspect ratio to 16:9 and the old programming will look better.

That's true, except the actual ratios are backwards. The old TV (and before that, for many years, movie) aspect ratio was 4:3, the newer (wider) HDTV format is 16:9. Widescreen movie systems vary some in what their aspect ratios are.

I am somewhat amazed by how many times I see the wrong aspect ratio on TVs in restaurants and so forth. It's particularly strange to see a 16:9, presumably digital, broadcast being shown on a 16:9 digital TV with letterboxing (i.e. black bars at the top and bottom) and squishy people. Does nobody else actually notice that the basketball players are all short and the ball not round? Do they really mean to avoid using some of the screen that they paid good money to buy? It boggles my mind.

j.p.f. wrote:
just go to the $5 dvd bin and load up on what you want to see.

But I can't get the latest news and weather forecasts on a $5 dvd. :(

On the other hand there are so many stations on satellite TV and not much worth watching. :R

It's not like the ole days of analog where you could just put the antenna up and give it a spin. You have to move the antenna slowly inch by inch to grab the digital signal. Move your antenna to get in a better stronger line with the signal.

I found out that not all TV's are created equal!!

Some have better antenna reception than others. I have one small flat screen TV that gets 20 channels and one big flat screen TV that will only pull in 6. Go figure! And all while parked in the same location.

Remember TV's today are almost always used with cable etc. Not antenna's. The manufacturers don't have to provide a good antenna reception board anymore and.....they don't. I had a TV repair shop replace my antenna circuit board with a quality one and got 10 more channels. :W

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I kinda miss the days of normal TV. Didn't have many channels but, you could get it almost anywhere. In my area with Digital TV if you can get channels then you get a lot of them and some of them are really good !! But, the slightest little thing will screw up the signal. The rocking of my TT when someone comes in the door is enough to get the signal to cut out.

It's a trade off. I don't know which was better. Kinda a toss up.

The other down side being that none of the old TV's work anymore. I miss my old tube Zenith. It had a better picture then my new flat screen. Except, on the new stuff. The flat screen looks great on Blue Ray movies !! Looks like hell on re runs of the Twilight Zone or Star Trek.

the aspect ratio for modern programming is 4:3 older pgming like your ST and TZ have an aspect ratio of 16:9. your hdtv's remote should have a button labeled "picture size" or something similar. when an old rerun comes along use that button to change the aspect ratio to 16:9 and the old programming will look better.

I kinda miss the days of normal TV. Didn't have many channels but, you could get it almost anywhere. In my area with Digital TV if you can get channels then you get a lot of them and some of them are really good !! But, the slightest little thing will screw up the signal. The rocking of my TT when someone comes in the door is enough to get the signal to cut out.

It's a trade off. I don't know which was better. Kinda a toss up.

The other down side being that none of the old TV's work anymore. I miss my old tube Zenith. It had a better picture then my new flat screen. Except, on the new stuff. The flat screen looks great on Blue Ray movies !! Looks like hell on re runs of the Twilight Zone or Star Trek.

I have heard of the problem, but thank goodness my Starlight does not bother the TV as fas as we have seen (yet).

Bob Vaughn wrote:
Why would you have 5 bars of reception on the tv then there is no picture and a message says no signal.....a second ago there was a beautiful photo....What causes that??

If that 5 bars is measured on a scale of 0-5, then something is intermittent. Could be the things previously mentioned but probably not for that much of a change suddenly.

A loose antenna wire or the antenna itself would be my first suspect.

I have that happen quite a bit if the signal is 3 bars or less; almost never if it is more.

It's called the "Cliff Effect". You can be 1db (that means Not Much) above the threshold of what the TV receiver can stand, and all it takes is a little atmosphereics, noise, etc., in the mix to force the TV receiver over the edge. Very often preamps will do you no good, and that includes the Sensar Pro. What you need is antenna gain... metal in the air, and height. Both are your friends and no amplifier can replace either of those. AND, as mentioned above, be aware that many LED lamps generate enough noise that they can take out radio and TV easily. The only ones I know of that actually payed attention this wide band noise and did something about it was Starlights

Where this 10 mile thing came from I don't know but it simply ain't true

OTA tv is free and sometimes you get what you pay for - zip. It matters not that you just upgraded to the latest batwing, adding device, super duper control box. You can go from shineola to nothin in a blink of an eye. Ditto on the LED interference. Installed a LED in the patio light and when on some channels go away.

Some LED lights will do this as well. Some LED lights emit RFI signals that has been known to block out HDTV signals especially when you are using your OTA antenna to pick them up with.

You turn on the led light and your HDTV picture goes to FREEZE mode then goes to the blue screen saying NO SIGNAL. Turn the LED light off and it all jumps back to normal...

Has happened to me...

Roy Ken