If you want substantially better pictures and sound, you’re going to have to work for it. We’ll be the first to admit it: Upgrading to digital television (DTV) and its high-end version, high-definition television (HDTV), is not as simple as adding other video technologies. The transitions from black and white to color or from an antenna to cable, for example, were relatively painless. HDTV requires a little more effort to implement, but only because the change is so much more revolutionary.
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided that your TV picture quality needed sprucing up, it commissioned a group of manufacturers and engineering researchers, called the Advanced Television Systems Committee, to develop a better system. The FCC adopted the ATSC’s all-digital plan, which, unlike the addition of color nearly 50 years earlier, is not compatible with the existing system. The new plan is so advanced and so high-tech that the FCC gave broadcasters entirely new frequencies (or channels) to transmit the new, digital signal simultaneously. As viewers purchase new equipment, the plan goes, they will
gradually switch over from the old, relatively lousy signals to the new, more spectacular ones. Provided that at least 85 percent of the population has made the transition by 2006, the FCC will pull the plug (literally) on the old analog channels. The clock’s ticking and there’s no time to waste.
Until recently, lack of programming made it difficult to justify jumping on the HDTV bandwagon. Now there’s plenty to keep your channel-flipping finger from atrophying. To watch TV in all its digital glory, you need a display, a tuner and a signal. That’s all there is to it. The display should be HD-capable, which means that the unit will accept and display high-definition quality signals. By the same token, the tuner has
to receive the type of digital signals that you have available to you, which might be over-the-air (OTA, also known as
terrestrial), satellite, cable or some combination thereof. The tuner must also connect to the TV, which might sound easier than it is. To find a display and tuner that fit your needs, see our buyer’s guide starting on page 46 in this issue. But before you do, realize that the programs you want to watch have to be available both in high-definition format and in your area, some or all of which may or may not be the case. To help you figure out if your programs meet these criteria and, if so, how to get them, we offer the following step-by-step guide.
Tools needed:
• A computer with Internet connection.
• A competent installer’s telephone number (or a ladder and an adjustable Crescent wrench).
• A beverage of choice (preferably of the alcoholic variety).
• Project difficulty: medium.
• Estimated time of completion: 2 hours (spent mostly on hold with the cable company).
• Reward: high.
Step One: Programming
Start your search on the Internet at www.digitaltvzone.com. Here, under Transmitting Today, you’ll find a list of shows available in HD. This means that the show is either recorded in high- definition video, like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, or recorded on film and transferred to HD, like CBS’s Everybody Loves Raymond. Live shows are still rare, as the cameras are
| USE THE INTERNET to find out what channels and shows are available to you in high definition. |
Though few if any live news programs are broadcast in HD, many movies, sports and special events like the Academy Awards are. In addition to the major networks, there are a number of premium networks that offer an HDTV channel, including HBO, Showtime, Discovery HD Theater, ESPN, NBA TV, HDNet Sports and HDNet movies. Bravo, Starz, A&E and Cinemax have announced that they’ll have high-definition channels available soon.
Even when a particular network doesn’t have HDTV programming to show, it doesn’t go dark. Instead, the station will upconvert the regular channel’s shows to the new format to make them compatible on the new channel. Upconverted shows won’t necessarily look better on the digital channel than on the regular channel, but at least you don’t have to switch back and forth. To get all or many of the major networks in HD, you need either cable (step four) or an antenna (step five). To get any of the premium channels, you’ll need either cable or satellite (step three).
Step Two: Getting Permission
Before you have a small satellite dish (one meter, or 3.3 feet wide or less) or a rooftop antenna installed, make sure you get permission from your spouse. Adding either product may not fit with your home’s decor. If you’re worried about your landlord (if you rent) or a homeowners association, don’t be: The FCC has passed laws that allow you to install small dishes or antennas on property that you own or have exclusive access to unless the landlord or homeowners association makes a communal one of comparable quality available to you (visit www.FCC.gov/cgb/ consumerfacts/consumerdish.html). This includes separate patios and balconies, but doesn’t include such shared areas as a joined patio or roof. A landlord can’t even require you to get permission or pay an extra security deposit (unless you have to drill holes in the walls). If you have any trouble, call the Federal Communications Commission at 888.CALLFCC (888.225.5322). Of course, the FCC can’t help you if your balcony faces the wrong direction for receiving the satellite or terrestrial signal. In such an instance, you may need to negotiate with the landlord or homeowners association.
Step Three: Satellite
If you have satellite already, you’re in luck because part of the effort to get HDTV is already done. If you don’t, you might think about getting it. Both Dish Network and DirecTV offer nationwide access to several premium HDTV channels, including HBO, Showtime, Discovery HD Theater, ESPN-HD, HDNet sports, HDNet movies and a pay-per-view HD movie channel. Dish Network adds a national feed of CBS and NBA TV to that list, while DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket will offer some CBS games in high definition this year. Other satellite services and additional networks may be available by the time you read this. You might need a new, wider dish, or an additional dish, or maybe just an additional LNB head (that’s the little knob-head that hangs in front of the dish and collects the data) to receive the extra channels. In extreme cases, you might have a tree or a building blocking your view of the necessary satellite location, but it’s rare. You’ll want to speak with your installer about adding the requisite hardware. Once the dish is in place, you need only to purchase an HD-enabled DirecTV or Dish Network tuner. Then just add the HDTV channels to your satellite service. Since most HD satellite receivers also offer terrestrial HD reception, you should consider adding a rooftop antenna, particularly if you want local digital channels.
Step Four: Cable
If you’re like most people, you probably have cable. Fortunately, some cable services offer both local and premium HD channels. They may even offer regionally available sports channels, like the Madison Square Garden Network and Comcast SportsNet, or their own pay-per-view movie channel, such as iN Demand. Numerous companies offer HD via cable, but not all of them do, and the ones that do don’t always offer it in every city. Time Warner, for example, has reached the majority of its markets while others, including Cox, Charter, Comcast, Cablevision and Insight, to name just a few, are slowly adding more markets and channels as time goes by.
You have to call your local cable company to find out what’s available in your area. Have a refreshing beverage (and a speakerphone) handy, and don’t be surprised if the person you finally reach doesn’t know what you’re talking about. The operator might confuse digital TV with digital cable, which is different and doesn’t guarantee you’ll get HDTV. Digital cable, similar to satellite, is just a digitized version of analog cable and allows for hundreds of channels instead of just dozens. The image might be slightly cleaner than analog cable (or considerably worse, in some cases), but it still originates from the analog recording, not a digital or high- resolution recording. Make sure the company specifically offers HDTV.
For an on-line listing of cable companies and the locations where they offer HDTV, visit Consumer Electronics Association's HDTV Guide and download the file named Broadcasters List (a PDF file). Last we checked, the list hadn’t been updated since April 2003, but it should give you a good starting point. The cable company may provide the appropriate cable box or HD service for little or no charge. Add the TV and that’s it. In the future, so-called digital-cable-ready displays will eliminate the need for a box altogether. You’ll just need a smart card from the local cable company. If you want more (or want to pay less), you should check out your antenna options.
Step Five: Local stations
Adding an antenna to your roof or attic to pick up local network broadcasts, which are free, is one of the best ways to get HDTV, and it’s a great combination with satellite signals. But it’s not easy. For starters, you need to determine what local stations are transmitting terrestrial digital signals. Just because CBS broadcasts CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in HD doesn’t mean that your local CBS affiliate has a digital channel for you to tune in. Go to www.antennaweb.org. The site will ask for your street address and then list all the TV stations available to you. Oftentimes, the site will also mention when as-yet-inactive stations are expected to go on the air. Stations listed with an asterisk or the letters DT added to the call sign are digital.
| A SATELLITE DISH and a rooftop antenna is a great way to get local and national HD channels. |
Choose the station that you want to receive, and the site will tell you what type of antenna you’ll need to receive that station, as well as all the stations that are listed above it. The site even has a map that will tell you in which direction to point the antenna. You can tune the signals with either a terrestrial-only HD tuner, or with the off-air ATSC tuner found in most HD satellite receivers. An installer with antenna experience (and a piece of test equipment called an RF spectrum analyzer) should be able to get you set up.
Once you have the signal, you need just the tuner and the TV. While in most cases you’ll likely purchase the TV first, it’s a good idea to know what kinds of HDTV signals you can get and what you need to get them before you start shopping. After all, if you don’t have a rooftop antenna and don’t plan on adding one, you have no need for an integrated HD display unless it accommodates digital cable as well. The tuner is the easier purchase to make; just match the signals you can and want to receive with the appropriate type of tuner, and make sure it has a connection that works with your TV.
If watching HDTV is your goal, you should find enough information here to get you on your way. It may not be the easiest task you’ve ever attempted, but the reward is well worth it.
 Additional ResourceGo Digital: Choose and Install the Right Antenna |
Illustrations by Kevin Spaulding