Have a question about HDTV broadcasts? There’s a good chance you’ll find your answers here in our HDTV broadcast FAQ file.
This is the home for our most frequently asked questions about High definition television (HDTV) broadcasts. HDTV is the standard for over-the-air broadcasting and that’s great news for cord-cutters. HDTV has five times more detail than traditional analog TV, it provides a crisper, more colorful picture, and comes with premium Dolby Digital surround sound for the complete movie theater experience. While these are the basics of HDTV, we know you might have more questions. We’ve compiled some of the most frequently asked questions and answers on this page. If you want to know more about HDTV broadcast, feel free to call us at 877.312.4547.
Press the
to find the answer to a specific question. Where is HDTV available?
Almost everywhere in the US. HDTV is the standard for all over-the-air broadcasting since 2009. Each local TV station is in HDTV, and many have sub-channels in standard definition or SD. We have a complete listing of each of all the over-the-air programming in these TV markets. To find out what’s available in your area, simply visit our geographical cord-cutting guide, then click on the area and specific TV market where you live. You’ll be given a guide to all the high-powered TV stations within your area. If you’re new to cord-cutting, this will also help you conduct a channel scan or rescan.
How Do I Get HDTV?
You get an indoor or outdoor TV antenna and hook it up to your TV. HDTV signals are broadcast over the air by the TV stations in your media market and receiving them is simply a matter of cutting the cord on cable TV and switching to a TV antenna.
Does a TV antenna require me to use a certain kind of TV?
Chances are good that the TV you have now will receive free, OTA HDTV. All of the TVs that have been made in the last 13 years have a built-in digital, ATSC tuner. This makes your chances of having a TV that receives HDTV signal pretty good. If not, you have a rather old TV that probably needs replacing anyway.
Are All Methods of Receiving HDTV Signals Equal?
No. There are very legitimate reasons why people prefer using TV antennas instead of cable to receive local HDTV broadcasts. A quality OTA TV antenna will offer these three benefits:
- The best picture quality. Cable and satellite providers have bandwidth limitations. Because of this, these companies often resort to data compression or other techniques that compromise the image quality and don't provide the full benefit of HD programming. OTA antennas are the only method for receiving HDTV in the resolution that the network intended it to be broadcast.
- Full carriage of all your local channels. Cable and satellite bandwidth limitations limit the number of HDTV channels these providers can carry. Many of these providers don’t offer the local channels that their customers want. To further complicate things, contract disagreements between local cable operators and local broadcasters can mean that major networks might not be available in your area.
- The lowest cost. In many communities, cable companies often force customers into their top programming tier at the cost of up to $100 a month just for the “privilege” of getting your HD locals. With an OTA antenna, there is never a fee to watch your local channels.
Does my TV still get the old analog channels?
Most TVs still tune analog channels, and there are still a very small number of these channels that broadcast the way it was done before TV went digital. What you’ll be able to receive depends upon your TV antenna, distance from the transmitters, terrain, and what analog channels are available in your area.
Why are there two different channel numbers for each station?
When TV switched from analog to digital, many of the stations were reassigned to different frequencies. Since most or all TV stations have spent a lot of marketing dollars advertising their original channel number, they naturally want to keep that number. So each station now has two numbers, so to speak, but the only one that matters is the one you know. This is due to the Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP). Let’s say you want to watch something on channel 4, but channel 4 was reprogrammed to channel 36, even though it still advertises itself as channel 4. When you push 4 on your remote control, the PSIP system knows to go to channel 36, which is where channel 4 now resides. PSIP makes it easy to watch HDTV.
Will I need a new antenna for 4K OTA broadcasts?
No. Since antennas are designed to pick up whatever signal is broadcast, any TV antenna on the market should work for 4K over-the-air broadcasting. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there probably won’t ever be any 4K OTA broadcasting. HDTV is the result of the FCC’s mandated that TV stations move to a digital format. As a result, most if not all TV stations opted to switch to an HD format. This transition was a massive undertaking, so it’s not likely that TV stations will want to repeat the process for 4K OTA programming.
What Kind of Antenna Should I Buy?
There is no magic HDTV antenna that will work in every location. You will have to choose one primarily based on your distance and direction from the transmitters. For more information on this, please read our Choosing the Best HDTV Antenna. You can also give us a call at 877.312.4547 for a TV antenna recommendation based upon your distance from the TV transmitters, terrain, and other factors. It’s the quickest and easiest way to make sure you have the right TV antenna.