720p TV - Terk HDTVa indoor antenna?

jimguzowski · 8-Aug-2010, 7:41 PM

Live in the western chicago area and just bought a Vizio 720p set at costco. Will an indoor antenna - say Terk HDTVa pull in the signals OK? Does it make a difference if the set is 720p vs. 1080i?

John Candle · 8-Aug-2010, 7:46 PM

http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=4

jimguzowski · 8-Aug-2010, 7:49 PM

Dumb question: Does it make a difference that the TV is 720p vs. 1080i. In other words, is there such a thing as HD being broadcast in 720 v 1080i?

John Candle · 9-Aug-2010, 8:24 AM

You can read alot about this on the internet. People have opinions which looks better 720P Progressive scan or 1080i Interlaced scan. A great subject to research and have some talking points. . Progressive scanning verses Interlaced scanning is an issue to jump on first. . . I did a lot of research some years ago and for a Nice Clear Steady HD Picture I like 720P More then - 1080i .

John Candle · 9-Aug-2010, 8:46 AM

Some HD Broadcasts are 720P and some are 1080i . . . Some broadcasts are LOW DEFINITION 480i and 480P. . . Here are the rankings , the references points along the scale of low to high , because we need to have a point of reference scale , Low Definition 480i , 480P . High Definition 720P , 1080i , 1080P.

John Candle · 9-Aug-2010, 9:03 AM

http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=4

mtownsend · 10-Aug-2010, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimguzowski

Does it make a difference that the TV is 720p vs. 1080i. In other words, is there such a thing as HD being broadcast in 720 v 1080i?

I'm not sure if you got the answer you were looking for.

Just in case you were wondering, all ATSC receivers (the digital TV tuner in your tuner or set top box), at a minimum, must be able to receive and display all of the "standard" ATSC broadcast formats (various combinations of 480, 720, and 1080 resolutions, progressive/interlaced, and frame rate settings, a total of 18 possible formats).

Even if the "native" display resolution of your TV is only 1280x720, you can still receive and watch 1920x1080 programming because the receiver will automatically downconvert the picture to fit your display capabilities. Even if your TV is not "full HD" (1920x1080), you should still be able to watch all the programming that's being broadcast in any of the "standard" formats.

In other words, the physical limits of your TV's display resolution will not restrict your access to any programming even if the broadcast format is intended for higher resolution displays. You might lose a little bit of picture detail due to the image conversion (usually only a minor visual difference), but you will always have access to all of the broadcast channels, regardless of the source resolution.

So, bottom line is that there ARE programs broadcast in different formats including 480, 720, and 1080 resolutions. All TVs (regardless of 480, 720, 1080, or any other native resolution) should be able to access exactly the same digital TV channels (assuming you have strong, clean signals). If the broadcast format does not match the display's resolution, the picture is automatically resized to fit the display.

As a separate issue, people often debate whether 720p or 1080i pictures look better, or whether or not the average person can tell the difference between HD resolutions when sitting 8 feet away from the screen.

Dave Loudin · 10-Aug-2010, 12:23 AM

By the way, you are better off with the HDTVi, which is the non-amplified version. Amps on indoor antennas are generally useless.

jimguzowski · 10-Aug-2010, 1:29 AM

First post -- great advice guys. mtownsend -- you hit my question right on the head. The Terk HDTVa is en route -- will let you all know how/if it works OK. Thanks very much.

mtownsend · 10-Aug-2010, 5:09 PM

jimguzowski,

Without a link to a tvfool analysis for your exact location, none of us are able to tell how many broadcasts are reaching you and how strong the signals are. Without this information, we cannot tell what size/type/configuration of antenna is appropriate for you.

The Terk HDTVa is an indoor amplified antenna. That may or may not be the right antenna for you. If your signals are too weak, an indoor antenna might not be good enough to pick them up. If your signals are too strong, it might overload the built-in amp of this antenna and end up causing signal distortion. It would really help if you could post your tvfool analysis so that we can see what kind of signals you're getting.

If you need help trying to use the tvfool signal analysis tool, try reading the tutorial posted here.

Dave Loudin · 10-Aug-2010, 6:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimguzowski

First post -- great advice guys. mtownsend -- you hit my question right on the head. The Terk HDTVa is en route -- will let you all know how/if it works OK. Thanks very much.

Sigh. I hope it works for you, but I'm pretty sure that you're wasting money by including the amplifier. If signals are not strong enough for a non-amplified indoor antenna, an amplifier will not help. The best choice, as I said before, is the Terk HDTVi.

John Candle · 10-Aug-2010, 8:02 PM

http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=233

jimguzowski · 11-Aug-2010, 11:47 PM

Here's the thread...

http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...9fbe08d879ae1c

Dave - Is the hdtva vs. hdtvi difference simply the amplifier? Overpaid for a feature that is not really needed? Does the hdtvi have something the hdtva doesn't?

Dave Loudin · 12-Aug-2010, 2:48 AM

Yes, the only difference is the amplifier. You don't get much benefit from it because it amplifies all the energy coming in from the antenna - signal and noise. In fact, the amp adds noise to the circuit. For DTV, signal-to-noise ratio, not raw signal strength determines whether a station can be received. Amplifiers are useful to mitigate losses in long cable runs.

With indoor antennas, the loss in the short cable is virtually zero, so there really is no reason to use an amp.

Now that I've seen your report, the first five or so signals in your table could overload the amp in the Terk.

jimguzowski · 12-Aug-2010, 9:35 AM

Dave - So just unplug the amplifier -- does that in essence make the terk hdtva an hdtvi?

Dave Loudin · 12-Aug-2010, 7:32 PM

I'm not sure about that. In general, if an amplifier loses power, then no signal goes through. Perhaps the HDTVa has a bypass switch for the amp.

kb2fzq · 13-Aug-2010, 8:56 AM

Just my 2 cents...from what I've read, 720p handles fast action programs such as car races better then 1080i....FOX runs 720p during the NASCAR races that are broadcast OTA....ESPN on ABC (OTA car races) does as well, I think....personally, my eyes can't see a difference between 720p and 1080i....they are both remarkable to me...

mtownsend · 13-Aug-2010, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kb2fzq

my eyes can't see a difference between 720p and 1080i....they are both remarkable to me...

To complicate things even further, many TVs now come with image processing chips (120 Hz, 240 Hz, 600 Hz, and various flavors of "motion processing"). These technologies artificially smooth the appearance of moving objects in the video and can make it hard to tell the difference between 24p, 30i/p, and 60p video sources.