Home > DTV Transition > Choosing an Antenna

Do I need a special antenna to receive digital television (DTV) over-the-air?

With a good indoor or outdoor antenna, you will maximize your DTV reception. In general, dependable reception of DTV will require the same type of antenna that currently works to provide good quality reception of analog TV signals.

However, after February 17, 2009 some television stations will begin moving to a different channel in a different frequency band that may require a different antenna type from the one you may now have. For example, some channels in the “VHF band” (Channels 2-13) may be moving to the “UHF band” (Channels 14-51) and vice versa. Receiving VHF and UHF signals require different antenna types, although some antennas are designed to receive both VHF and UHF signals.

The good news is that there’s a Web site that can tell you what antenna you need in any part of the country – just by typing in your address and zip code. For help choosing an antenna in order to receive your free, local broadcast TV channels, visit www.antennaweb.org.

Quick Links:

• FAQ WTRF-TV DTV Transition
• What is DTV?
• Why the Switch?
• How Do I Switch?
• Converter Box Details
• Choosing an Antenna
• WTRF-TV FCC 388 DTV Quarterly Activity Station Report
• FCC Analog Termination Notification
• Digital TV Home