Good morning Chesseroo..
Ok, here's a few bits of info I have gathered over the last few weeks..
It's not digital, it's a very high end signal, originating from high end cameras, broadcast in the upper UHF band..
It is being broadcast freely over the airways, and takes nothing more than a UHF antenna to bring it home..
There is a lot of confusion on the subject, but this has come mainly from dealers at local good 'ol boy stores, and really not their fault, it's just too new..
If you have an HD reciever, and a UHF antenna, your in business. Even the little loop UHF ant on the back of the tv will work if the signal is stong enough..
Get this, there are only approx 1 million HD receivers in the US at this time, and only half of them are reported to know how or are even attempting to capture HD signals.. ? !
Yes, in a few years all broadcasts are going to this type of signal.. 5 years was the latest time table given..
And you are right, over the last 20 years the world we know today, moved away from antennas of the 50's and 60's to cable and sat systems.. It's not easy to find good UHF gear, or techs that are up to speed on their use..
As a final point on the purchase of a qood quality UHF ant, it was made very clear to me that as these signals are so high up the freg ladder, that just the slightest weak link in the chain (sig to ant to coax to tv) can have a negative effect on the final picture..
Get the best you can.. Check your distance from the trans site, as well as what may be between you and same.. There are a number of ant designes, pick what will work best for you..
One other thing.. A dedicated UHF ant will give you more range and UHF elements, than a combo VHF/UHF model, and at a bit of lower price.. Not that a combo is bad, it's just an FYI.. And you might have to deal with two transmit sites.. One UHF one VHF.. In that case, you run a combo or just VHF at the VHF site, and a UHF at the UHF site.. This is not uncommon..
