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Jeff Harrison · 07-29-2005, 09:55 AM

Hi HDTV Experts,

I live in Livermore CA 94551 (30 miles north of San Jose stations, 45 miles south of Sacramento) and I am in the pursuit of better tv reception. I currently have a Channel Master 3020 with a CM Spartan3 amplifier, and I get good reception, from San Jose, for ABC(7) & pbs(54), fair for NBC(11) & NBC(3) - which are in opposite directions!, and lousy for FOX(2) & CBS(5). If I point at Sacramento, I can get good reception for NBC(3) & PBS(6), but lousy for the rest.

So, I'm considering getting a rotator or trying stacked anntennas, but while researching I ran across this great forum. But now I'm wondering if I should be going digital instead of messing around with VHF.

Are the digital signals stronger or weaker than the VHF? I don't particularly care about the increased resolution of digital, I would just be happy with decent reception on all major networks. So, if I'm already struggling to get VHF reception, am I going to have any more luck with the digital (with, say, a CM 4228)?

It's also interesting to note that antennaweb only shows a few digital channels (none of which are the major networks) for my zip, but another site http://www.choisser.com/sfonair.html does show that all of the stations that I am currently going after do have digital signals as well as the analog.

Thanks for your help!

07-29-2005, 09:55 AM	#1
Jeff Harrison My plasma is High Def. Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 7	DT(UHF) vs VHF Hi HDTV Experts, I live in Livermore CA 94551 (30 miles north of San Jose stations, 45 miles south of Sacramento) and I am in the pursuit of better tv reception. I currently have a Channel Master 3020 with a CM Spartan3 amplifier, and I get good reception, from San Jose, for ABC(7) & pbs(54), fair for NBC(11) & NBC(3) - which are in opposite directions!, and lousy for FOX(2) & CBS(5). If I point at Sacramento, I can get good reception for NBC(3) & PBS(6), but lousy for the rest. So, I'm considering getting a rotator or trying stacked anntennas, but while researching I ran across this great forum. But now I'm wondering if I should be going digital instead of messing around with VHF. Are the digital signals stronger or weaker than the VHF? I don't particularly care about the increased resolution of digital, I would just be happy with decent reception on all major networks. So, if I'm already struggling to get VHF reception, am I going to have any more luck with the digital (with, say, a CM 4228)? It's also interesting to note that antennaweb only shows a few digital channels (none of which are the major networks) for my zip, but another site http://www.choisser.com/sfonair.html does show that all of the stations that I am currently going after do have digital signals as well as the analog. Thanks for your help!