With the growing interest in HDTV and digital TV, there are lots of merchants trying to tell people that they need to buy a new antenna when they buy a new TV. This is not necessarily true, because there is no such thing as an HDTV antenna or even a digital antenna. An antenna is essentially just a piece of wire, and it can't tell the difference between a digital and analog broadcast. What really matters is whether you have a digital or analog tuner between the antenna and the TV, or integrated into the TV itself.
But, you do need to have a certain kind of antenna to watch a digital broadcast, as things stand today. You are probably familiar with the difference between VHF (channels 2-13) and UHF (channels 14-83). Right now, the vast majority of TV stations broadcasting in digital are using the UHF range, so the solution to the digital/analog question is very simple: just get a UHF antenna, or a combination VHF/UHF antenna. Fortunately, almost every antenna available does receive UHF signals, so this is really a non-issue.
It's pretty likely that TV stations will eventually start to use the VHF range for digital broadcasts, since there is no technical reason not to, but no one knows for sure yet. So, your best bet is to get a UHF antenna for all digital TV and HDTV broadcasts. If you want to watch local analog broadcasts between now and February 2009 (the date of the analog to digital switch), get one that also does VHF.
Even though antennas aren't fundamentally designed to receive digital or analog broadcasts, the whole world of TV broadcasting is going digital, so manufacturers are starting to design antennas to fit better into the digital world. Using an antenna from the digital age with your digital TV makes the whole experience a little more user-friendly. So, if you are buying a new HDTV, you sort of need to buy a new antenna, but not really. For more information on antennas and HDTV in general, check out a helpful HDTV info website.
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