They Never Told Me.

Now that some TV stations have made the switch to digital, people who are not on cable or satellite are discovering what the Government never told them. Not everyone can get reception even if they bought a converter box or own a digital ready TV.

What no one told them is that it’s not the receiver it’s the antenna that makes the real difference. Sure you need to be able to view digital programming with your TV, but you also need to be able to receive that programming with your antenna and most people were never told their antenna would not do the job. It seems that there are to facts about the digital TV single that no one thought to mention. The single is UHF and it is an all or nothing proposition.

You need a UHF antenna and the single drops off to nothing at the edge of its range. In other words you need a new antenna and even with one there is no guarantee you will still be able to watch your local stations. The only people who really benefit from the switch are those with cable or satellite TV.

Analog to digital TV checklist

Make sure you'll have TV reception after stations cut analog broadcasts

   Associated Press March 2, 2009

• If you have digital converter boxes hooked up and you get some but not all the channels you expect, you should first force the box to re-scan the airwaves, since some channels may have moved to new frequencies. Some converter boxes don't scan well, so you may have to key in the channel number manually. Check the box's directions, and look at www.antennaweb.org to figure out which channels should be available in your area. Re-scan periodically until after June 12 to make sure you pick up stations that switch late.
  
  
• If rescanning doesn't help, the problem may be your antenna. Outdoor antennas properly pointed toward a TV tower are preferable, but indoor antennas work if you're reasonably close to the tower. Note that antennas should be capable of receiving both VHF and UHF signals — some older ones are VHF-only. Modern indoor antennas are available from $40 to $100.