An off-air antenna is recommended for customers who wish to receive their local networks broadcast in high-definition. Although the use of an off-air antenna may not be for everyone, satellite customers who wish to get the maximum use out of their high-definition receiver will greatly benefit from this addition to their new or existing satellite system.

Most satellite service subscriptions include digital local channels in their basic packages at no additonal cost. High defintion is a subset of digital televison broadcast signals. In otherwords, just because it is digital, it is not necessarily high defintion. High definition local channels are not broadcast via satellite and are only available with the use of an off-air antenna. If you would like to receive the most high definition available with you new or existing satellite system, it is strongly recommended that you consider adding an off-air antenna.

The locals you are able to receive in high definition may vary depending on your location. Typically here in the Charlotte area, residents are able to obtain the four major locals (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC) in high defintion.

Not necessarily. Some kind of high defintion signal decoder is required. This is typically accomplished with a set-top high definition off-air tuner or a high defintion satellite receiver with built-in off-air tuner. Simply having an off-air antenna will not deliver a high defintion signal to your TV. You must have some kind of decoding device as mentioned above and a HD ready TV.

No, there is no fee to receive the off-air high defintion local broadcast.

The antenna will typically be mounted on your roof or in your attic. The antenna then needs to be peaked for optimal reception. A line is then run from the antenna to your high definition satellite receiver. The satellite receiver has a built-in off-air tuner which decodes the high definition signal and allows you to view your local broadcasts in HD. Your satellite receiver can be set-up to display the HD local channels in your program guide right along with your other satellite channels.

The larger the area of the antenna, the stronger the signal. Alhtough rabbit ears and other small indoor antennas may pull in some channels, in order to get the most out of your HD system, we recommend that you have a high quality outdoor antenna installed.

According to FCC rules (47 C.F.R. Section 1.4000), no local government, community association or landlord may enforce rules that: (1) unreasonably delay or prevent installation, maintenance or use; (2) unreasonably increase the cost of installation, maintenance or use; or (3) preclude reception of an acceptable quality signal. Please see the FCC Fact Sheet on Placement of Antennas for more information.

Anything that may block the signal from an antenna tower from reaching your off-air antenna may proclude you from receiving adequete signal strength on some or all of the channels you wish to obtain. Generally, the higher you can place the antenna on your property the better your chance for avoiding these obstacles. In additon, larger obstructions like large buildings or water towers can cause a phenomenon known as ghosting to occur. Ghosting occurs when the receiver (off-air tuner, satellite receiver, TV) receives a TV signal from more than one direction. If the TV signal is received by your tuner and is also reflected off of one of these structures and then is received by your tuner again, the picture on your screen will have a "shadow" behind it which reduces the clarity and quality of the picture from that particular channel on your TV.

No. Although the roof is usually the highest place on your property to resonably mount an antenna and is the preferred location to obtain the best signal, it is still possible to aquire an adequete signal if the antenna is mounted indoors in a place such as the attic. There is generally a 30% signal loss when installing an antenna indoors. The use of an amplifier may help boost signal strength enough to overcome this. However, the best place to install an antenna is lways outdoors.

When running the antenna through an HDTV terrestrial tuner, the quality of the picture you will receive is better than even satellite or digital cable can deliver (please reference "Clearer HDTV reception - for free!" for a more detailed explanation). Combined with an HD television high-quality HD cabling (HDMI, DVI, or component cables), you will experience the highest quality HD progamming available anywhere.