Quote:
Originally Posted by AUdubon5425
I'll say it again - I think it speaks volumes:
I can see the transmitters from my yard - 1 mile away. A good set would pull in an analog color picture without an aerial. Digital breaks up in heavy rain on a set hooked to an outdoor antenna 20 feet in the air.
At least I have strong weather band reception, a great geographical knowledge of the area and even a local radio station that breaks in most of the time. Unfortunately, the majority of America is rural and may not have such assets.
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An outdoor antenna on a 20-foot tower or mast seems to me like overkill in your area, even with DTV. If you are only a mile from the transmitters, you are almost certainly getting much more signal than you need for good reception. The only thing I can think of that might cause your problem is that there are trees or other obstructions in your yard, between your TV antenna and the transmitters, that may attenuate the signals, especially in the spring and summer when the leaves are on them. Another possible cause of dropouts is when the trees move in the wind. I don't know how much wind you normally get in the New Orleans area, but if you have gusts or sustained winds of 30-40 mph or more, any trees in the area will sway, causing dropouts and other artifacts in your DTV picture. Another thing that can mar your DTV reception (this is probably what you're referring to) is rain itself. Even with DTV signals as strong as those in your area, I'm sure heavy rains can wreak havoc with these signals, whereas with analog TV we never used to have such difficulties--analog TV signals were not, as a rule affected by rain or snow. I had an aunt who lived in a southwestern suburb of Cleveland; she had excellent TV reception (analog in those days, mid-late 1960s), both in black-and-white and in color, even without an antenna. This was hardly remarkable or surprising, however, as the suburb in which she lived was only about two or three miles (if that much) from the transmitters. She probably had every bit as much signal, if not more (!), in her area from the Cleveland television stations as you have in your area near New Orleans.
Have you considered cable or satellite? This may be your only solution to the problem you seem to be having. I seem to remember you stating some time ago in this forum, in no uncertain terms, that you will not pay for cable under any circumstances. However, with the OTA DTV reception problems you seem to have, you may have no choice but to bite the bullet and get the service--even if you only get basic cable (broadcast channels only). Today's cable and satellite systems are over 99 percent reliable, so you will have no problems with dropouts, pixelizations, etc. except for the occasional, rare glitch or system outage. I have Time-Warner basic cable and generally get excellent reception from all Cleveland stations (plus four out-of-town ones), but every once in a great while the picture will freeze or pixelate due to wind, rain, etc. affecting the signals received at the cable headend; however, these problems do not occur often.