by C C Media

Created on: November 10, 2009   Last Updated: November 12, 2009

Welcome to the new world of digital TV. Before we get into how to increase signal strength let me first tell you why we now have digital and no more analog tv. With a digital signal more channels can be used on a certain frequency compared to analog. Thus we now have channels like 10.1,10.2 etc. This gives the tv stations a lot more room for programing compared to analog which used a wider frequency and wasn't able to carry several channels on the same frequency. With the new digital signal over the air tv viewers now will have more programs to watch then with the old analog signal.

With the old analog signal you could point your antenna just about anywhere and pick up some kind of programing. With the new digital signal you have to have your antenna pretty much pointed directly at the transmitter your signal is coming from. Its either you have a good signal or you have nothing. That is why is is very important to know what the strength of the signal is coming into your antenna. If you have a converter box you can check it with the signal strength meter button which is on the remote or by going into the menu and finding it there. On the new digital TVs it is the same, either a button on the remote or in the channel setup menu on the tv.

If your signal meter shows less than 40 on the meter or less than the half way mark on the meter,for those meters which don't use numbers only a color bar, you are going to need to strengthen your signal if you are going to be able to have a good picture most of the time.

Your old analog tv antenna can still be used but you need to make sure it is all there and isn't all corroded or rusted as this will cut down on the ability of the antenna to receive the new digital signal. If your antenna is in bad shape then it is time to replace it with a new one. But before you do go to http://antennaweb.org to see what kind of antenna is needed for your location. Make sure you put in your correct address and not just your zip code.Just putting in a zip code will only get you a general signal strength for that particular zip code not your actual address. Once you have this information you will be able to buy a new antenna based on the CEA color code which is carried on the box most antennas come in.Also check your local stations to see if they are broadcasting on VHF or UHF. If some are broadcasting on the old VHF frequency then you will need an antenna that is capable of receiving both VHF and UHF. If they are all broadcasting on UHF then

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