antenna question

[realmfg]

I have an antenna on the roof that feds oour house local channels. I get the rest through dish. Does a ota give me HD for local channels? What would i have to buy? I have a hitatchi 51s500

[Splicer]

You need a HD tuner if te TV does not have one built in. No first hand knowledge but I have been reading that a regular antenna will receive HD OTA broadcasts. :smokin:

[twonami]

Of course your local stations have to be transmitting in HD to receive HD, some stations are only transmitting in SD like FOX but that will change in Sept/Oct

[Splicer]

Good point twonami ;) . :smokin:

[DrewB]

An OTA box (like the common Samsung SIR-T151) will give you free digital locals, off the air. Whether they're broadcasting in HD or not is the real question, as the broadcast content changes throughout the day. Generally, most prime-time stuff from the major networks is HD.

One caveat though: Check www.antennaweb.org to see where the towers are in your area. There's a trend towards ganging the transmitters together on a single tower, but if you're in an area that has multiple towers, especially if you're far from them, you're back to the ol' rooftop directional antenna, complete with a rotator. (This is progress?)

[LazyJ]

so if you get an HDTV that doesnt have an ATSC, you have to get an OTA box, right?

and regardless, you need an antenna as well?

edit: nevermind, i read the FAQ

[Splicer]

Right. You need a HD tuner and an antenna for free OTA and/or cable or satellite box's. :smokin: