If you have an HDTV or are thinking about getting one before the analog cutoff early next year, you may also want to consider picking up your digital TV via an antenna. Many of you are concerned that an antenna is an eye sore or that they are just too big to to deal with. Today we talk about an antenna that takes care of both these issues. According to Antennas Direct, the C2 uses a new breakthrough in size and unmatched ultra efficient design and gain. So in typical HT Guys fashion, we look at this antenna empirically.

Tech Specs Range: Up to 50 Miles Gain of 10.2 dBi Consistent gain throughout the entire DTV channel spectrum Dimensions: 20" H x 10" W x 5" D The test site for this review is 45 miles from the LA transmitters and 80 miles from the San Diego Transmitters. The current setup for OTA is a Winegard HD 9095P. This is a Yagi-style antenna rated for deep fringe. The testing was very straight forward. Put the C2 up against the monster Yagi and see how well it did.

It should be noted that Ara lives in a hilly area and that there is a house directly behind and above him. So this is not a best case scenario to say the least. There were three tests involved. The first was to stick the antenna in a window and scan for digital channels. We weren't expecting much success here but much to our surprise the C2 picked up 9 digital channels. Some of them were channels we actually watch. The interesting thing was that we picked up two channels from San Diego.

Ara has mentioned it in the past but it warrants mentioning again that there are mountains off to the East and the antenna is probably picking up a reflection. The next test was to actually aim the antenna in the direction of the transmitters and hold it outside the window. With this test we were able to pull in 12 channels. We were hoping for more because at this point it has not been a fair test and the only way to do so was to get up on the roof and put the C2 right next to the Yagi.

Anything close to the 45 he currently receives would have kept Ara off the roof. It looks a lot higher when you are up there looking down. For the third and final test we mounted the antenna in the same position as the Yagi and aimed it in the same direction. The scan was rerun and produced 25 digital channels. The channels that were missing were ones in the higher range. Channels 50 and higher.

We could have done better if our topography was less hilly or we had no houses behind us. Even still, the C2 did a great job when you consider its size and our location.

Conclusion If you live within 40 miles of the transmitters or you have a clean line of site and live within 50 miles of your transmitters, the C2 antenna is a great way to receive free over the air digital television. ADSG was the R&D unit of the sound department producing products for movie theaters and movie studios. Two of the products they worked on include the DCP-1000 and DADR-5000.

The DCP is a digital cinema processor used in movie theaters around the world. The DADR-5000 is a disk-based audio dubber used on Hollywood sound stages. ADSG was awarded a Technical Academy Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2000 for the development of the DADR-5000. Ara holds three patents for his development work in Digital Cinema and Digital Audio Recording.

Source: http://feeds.hdtvmagazine.com/~r/hdtv-reviews/~3/jum_nuc1lzo~.php

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TV broadcasters in the U.S. TV signals and started broadcasting only in digital, but she still found herself in a Best Buy store on the DTV deadline day, Friday, buying the last amplified digital antenna on the store shelf. And she even bought a new flat screen digital-ready TV for her living room to replace an old analog TV that was on its last legs. So she thought she was prepared.

But when Coleman hooked up her digital converter box to her TV using her existing antenna on the eve of the digital transition, she discovered that she could get every regular broadcast TV station except channel 2.

Meanwhile, using a new TV antenna with a built-in signal amplifier attached to her digital ready flat-screen TV, she was able to get all the regular channels, plus two extra channels. I was prepared back in February for the switch," she said.

But then when I hooked up the box last night, I realized that I wasn't getting all the channels and that I probably needed a different antenna, so here I am again." Coleman was not alone. TV antennas were in short supply in New York City Friday when full power broadcast TV stations switched to digital-only TV broadcasts. EDT the Radio Shack on 23rd Street near Park Avenue had plenty of converter boxes in the store, but it was all out of antennas.

The Best Buy just down the block on 23rd Street and 6th Avenue only had a few antennas left by mid-afternoon. And by 5 p.m. Best Buy customer service representative at the store on Broadway and 62nd Street said that antennas were sold out in Manhattan. The only stores that still had them in stock were in Queens. As for converter boxes, the representative said the store still had 242 left.

Justin Barber, a spokesman for Best Buy, said that as of Friday evening, Best Buy stores across the country were meeting demand for converter boxes. He couldn't say whether other areas around the country were experiencing antenna shortages. But he said that the company had anticipated a spike in demand.

We have been working with our antenna vendors to get additional inventory," he said. That was definitely something we were planning for in anticipation of the DTV switch." It's difficult to say how widespread the potential antenna shortage has been. Mark Wigfield, a spokesman for the Federal Communications Commission, said he hadn't heard that antennas were in short supply. But he said he wasn't surprised that antennas are in high demand.

You really do need an antenna to receive digital signals," he said. Best Buy had plenty of digital TV converter boxes on hand for last minute shoppers. They may be able to use the existing antenna they had used to get analog TV signals. But he said that whether the antenna is new or old, consumers should make sure it supports both UHF and VHF radio frequencies. VHF antennas have traditionally been the rabbit-ear antennas that receive channels 2-13.

And UHF antennas have been in the shape of a circle or bow-tie. These antennas are used to tune channels 14-51. Now that broadcasters are only transmitting in digital, it's important to have an antenna that supports both VHF and UHF, since many digital signals are now being broadcast in UHF frequencies. In addition to VHF UHF antennas there are also amplified antennas that can be used to improve reception.

In the case of Louise Coleman, the amplified antenna, helped her get all the standard TV channels offered in her area, as well as two more channels she couldn't get with analog TV. But retailers caution consumers that no antenna is a one-size fits all solution, something Richard Savelli, of Manhattan learned the hard way.

Savelli had bought a basic rabbit ear-style antenna from Radio Shack when he picked up his converter box earlier this year, but even with the new antenna he isn't able to tune in some digital TV channels. He was in Best Buy on Friday looking to buy a new antenna. But the pickings were rather slim. It is frustrating," he said. Nobody told me I needed a special antenna. But cable is too expensive and I don't want to give them my money."

Figuring out exactly which antenna to use can be a big challenge. The FCC has some information on its Web site www.dtv.gov that provides some help. But most of the information on the Internet is about outside antennas. Still, Wigfield recommends that consumers check out the FCC Website and use a tool that allows people to put in their address and ZIP code to see where their local station transmitters are located and what kind of signal they can expect to get.

There is also information available about the different types of antennas. He also says that newer converter boxes work much better than ones made just a few years. And he says he has spent hours testing and figuring out which solution works best for getting digital TV signals in his Astoria, Queens, apartment. What he has discovered is that an expensive amplified antenna did not perform as well in his apartment as a much cheaper HDTV UHF VHF antenna.

And he says that he not only gets more TV channels than he did with analog, but that the TV channels he is getting are much better quality in high definition and with surround sound. A silver sensor HDTV antenna from Philips that is similar to the one CNET editor Matthew Moskovciak uses. So what are consumers to do? Here are a few tips that can be used to help get you started setting up your antenna for digital reception.

Make sure you are using an antenna that supports UHF and VHF. Move your antenna closer to a window. Often it's much easier to get reception from the window. Point the antenna in the direction where you know local TV stations are broadcasting. You may have to adjust the antenna for different channels.

Rescan your digital converter box or tuner to find the channels in case the broadcaster has moved them. If you're still unable to get a signal, try a new antenna. Moskovciak recommends not buying the most expensive antenna first. Instead, he says to work your way up, trying different antennas to see which one works best.

Often a less expensive antenna may work better than a more expensive one. Best Buy has a 30-day return policy, so try as many antennas as you want, and return the ones that you don't need. It's definitely not easy to set this up perfectly," Moskovciak said.

I've spent a lot of time getting mine set up. I have my antenna taped to the wall and pointing toward the transmitters. E-mail Maggie. 5 channels of TBN!! Boy was I a sucker. Yep, I live in suburban area 28 miles from Seattle where the broadcasters are, so what should I expect. Maybe I'll have to move back to the city so I can pollute my brain. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

I'll bet there are lots of folks all over the USA that are in the same boat, but also only have DIAL-UP internet and not able to watch anything on the internet either. Sad. June 12, 2009 7:27 PM PDT I have been watching DTV for 3-1 2 years. My location is 37 miles from the transmitters per antennaweb.org. The antenna is approx 12 feet off the ground in the attic.

Oh well, too bad, tough luck. I am not going through any more hassle to see television. Some is fun to watch, occasionally it is good to see where a tornado is, but I can live without it. Radio, silence, reading, home movies.. By telvision.. USA it was fun. So if she had an antenna that worked, why was she out buying another one?

Or was an "investigative journalist" involved here, creating a story with a loaner antenna? Click here to review our Terms of Use. Comment reply The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. Are they nuts? Subscribe via RSS Click this link to view as XML. Let us know how the transition is going in your area.

The servers stayed up and nothing exploded when Facebook's vanity URL program went live tonight. The Space Shot Shuttle Endeavour set for grueling station mission The space shuttle is poised for launch Saturday on a grueling 16-day space station assembly mission featuring five spacewalks and extensive work with three robotic arms.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10264157-94.html

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3 years Visclosky temporarily gives up key duty Muncie woman indicted in daughter's death Indiana Legislature's special session to start next week Lynsay Clutter Eyewitness News Indianapolis - The countdown is on until the digital switch.

On June 12th, television stations around the country and here in Indianapolis will drop their analog signals and transmit only in digital. To keep your TV from going black, you will need a converter box, a DTV set with a built-in digital tuner, cable or satellite. Learn more about how to get DTV.

Many of those companies are offering deals, but you should act now. The good news: Most people in the metro area are ready. In the Indianapolis metro Area, the oldest age group, those over 55, are almost entirely ready to go. The youngest group, under 35, are the most unready.

They know about it, but they're busy, and since many of them have cable and satellite, they just haven't set up that one TV in the kitchen or in some other room for the switch. Now that most people are prepared, there's a whole other set of concerns viewers are calling and writing in about.

The most frequent question: How do I get better reception now that the digital converter box is hooked up? If your digital signal is breaking up, the problem is likely not with the digital converter box. It's with your rabbit ear antenna. People who maybe had a little ghosting on an analog UHF channel now have some digital break-up on their digital signals and they need to get a little bit better antenna, a higher grade antenna.

Moving your antenna higher up on a shelf or in a window are good spots to get better reception. Buying a television with a built-in digital tuner doesn't really solve the problem and you will likely have better reception for Channel 13 after the switch when it changes to a better frequency.

If you pick up additional channels like universal sports networks, auxiliary news and weather channels and all the numbers have a dot or dash, you are digitally good to go, but on June 13th, the day after the switch, you need to re-scan all the channels again. For example, Channel 13 is changing back to a better frequency, and if you don't rescan, you won't receive it at all.

It's important at that point to just go in the converter box or TV set's menu, do a new digital channel scan to look for more channels, and then the set will know where we've relocated our signal," Grossniklaus said. When you do the scan, make sure the TV is set to "Antenna" and not "Cable."

For more information on the switch, click here. Mobile Assistance Centers Driving Into Indianapolis to Prepare Residents for June 12 End of Digital Television Transition DTV Mobile Assistance Centers will be rolling into Indianapolis on June 5 and 6, 2009, providing consumers one-on-one assistance in preparing for the June 12 digital TV transition. Friday, June 5, 2009, 12:00 pm-6:00 pm Indianapolis Air Show Mount Comfort Airport 3867 N.

Aviation Way Greenfield, Indiana 46140 Saturday, June 6, 2009, 11:00 am-2:00 pm Lafayette Mall 3919 Lafayette Rd. Indianapolis, Indiana 46254 Saturday, June 6, 2009, 5:00 pm-8:00 pm College Park 14 Cinemas 3535 W. 86th St. Indianapolis, Indiana You must be logged in to rate this story. Login or register Comments Terms of Use: We welcome your participation in our community.

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Source: http://wthr.com/global/story.asp

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