Digital TV and Cable TV versus Rabbit ear antenna

[Jacques Carrier]

Hi fellow techs,

These 27" Sony and Panasonic DIGITAL TV's work fine with Cable
TV.(Videotron here in Montreal).

But the reception is very bad if I use a rabbit ear antenna
(snow,diagonal and sinusoidal fine lines).This distorsion is very
apparent on low VHF channels.

I realized that this distorsion is caused by the digital TV which
radiates in the air and this distorsion is fed back into the tuner by
the rabbit ear antenna.All nearby TV's will show the same distorsion
as long as the digital TV is turned on and within about 25 feet of
other TV's.By the way all analog TV's work fine with rabbit ear
antennas.

The only solution I have found so far is to use a 25 feet RG-59
shielded cable
connected to the rabbit ear antenna.Not very practical when I want to
fine tune
the reception on any given channel!!

So it seems that DIGITAL TV's are meant to be used exclusively on
Cable TV.
This was confirmed by the Sony service manager here in Montreal.The
reception
is also very bad if I use an outside antenna.

Please let me know what you think about this situation.

Best regards,

Jacques

 

[Charles Schuler]

The only solution I have found so far is to use a 25 feet RG-59
shielded cable
connected to the rabbit ear antenna.Not very practical when I want to
fine tune
the reception on any given channel!!

So it seems that DIGITAL TV's are meant to be used exclusively on
Cable TV.
This was confirmed by the Sony service manager here in Montreal.The
reception
is also very bad if I use an outside antenna.

Please let me know what you think about this situation.

If what you report is true, it's marginal design but understandable as
rabbit ears are mostly a thing of the past (consider the cost of shielding
and bypassing for all digital receivers when only a very few will be used
with local antennas). I don't understand why an outside antenna would also
suffer when 25 feet of shielded cable works with the ears?

 

[Jerry G.]

Using a rabbit ears to watch TV is really a thing of the past. The stations
are still transmitting terrestrially due to CRTC regulations for license.
There are still people in outlying areas where they cannot have cable TV
service to watch local stations, and want the option for watching basic TV.

In a number of years more, terrestrial TV may go completely digital in the
UHF bands, but on a limited basis.

--

Jerry G.
==========================


Hi fellow techs,

These 27" Sony and Panasonic DIGITAL TV's work fine with Cable
TV.(Videotron here in Montreal).

But the reception is very bad if I use a rabbit ear antenna
(snow,diagonal and sinusoidal fine lines).This distorsion is very
apparent on low VHF channels.

I realized that this distorsion is caused by the digital TV which
radiates in the air and this distorsion is fed back into the tuner by
the rabbit ear antenna.All nearby TV's will show the same distorsion
as long as the digital TV is turned on and within about 25 feet of
other TV's.By the way all analog TV's work fine with rabbit ear
antennas.

The only solution I have found so far is to use a 25 feet RG-59
shielded cable
connected to the rabbit ear antenna.Not very practical when I want to
fine tune
the reception on any given channel!!

So it seems that DIGITAL TV's are meant to be used exclusively on
Cable TV.
This was confirmed by the Sony service manager here in Montreal.The
reception
is also very bad if I use an outside antenna.

Please let me know what you think about this situation.

Best regards,

Jacques

 

[jakdedert]

If what you report is true, it's marginal design but understandable as
rabbit ears are mostly a thing of the past (consider the cost of
shielding and bypassing for all digital receivers when only a very
few will be used with local antennas). I don't understand why an
outside antenna would also suffer when 25 feet of shielded cable
works with the ears?

Probably used twinlead on the outside antenna. Might have worked (somewhat)
better if he'd put the twists in....

jak