By Mark Wineka

mwineka@salisburypost.com

Don't get rid of those rabbit ears or rooftop television antennas just yet.

Those antennas are likely receive digital signals better than the analog signals they pick up now.

"Even rabbit ears, depending upon location, will pull in digital channels," said David Fries, owner of Fries TV Service in Salisbury. "It's the analog tuner (in television sets) that will be useless next February, unless it is hooked up to a converter."

By law, all high-power television stations are required to upgrade their technology from analog to digital only by Feb. 17, 2009. Most stations, including those which cover Salisbury, already broadcast digitally.

Come next February, they'll stop sending out an analog signal.

Televisions connected to a pay service already are prepared for the changeover, as are those equipped with built-in digital tuners. But televisions that receive an analog signal over the air and do not have digital tuners are not ready.

People can buy a new digital television, subscribe to a pay service or install a converter box for their current televisions' analog tuners.

The converter boxes still work with and depend on antennas. In fact, they can help provide "the very best, cleanest" digital signals with the proper ATSC tuner, says Blaine Holbrook, president and manager of Holbrook's Radio and TV in Kannapolis.

Simply put, people will still need an antenna to continue watching free, over-the-air television after the transition to digital.

Holbrook and Fries each describe as "dead wrong" a Post headline in Wednesday's edition that said rabbit ears and rooftop antennas would be useless after Feb. 17.

In general, the same type of antenna that gives you good quality analog TV signals now, also will provide quality digital television reception.

"At our shop and house, using an old stationary antenna, we can easily receive over 25 digital channels now," Fries says.

Some people who want to continue with free, over-the air television, may need to buy a new antenna because some television stations will be moving to a different channel in a different frequency band.

For example, channels in the VHF band may move to the UHF band and receiving those different signals takes different types of antenna elements. But many existing antennas are designed as combination units that receive both VHF and UHF signals.

The VHF, or Very High Frequency band, is the segment of the television broadcast band covering channels 2 through 13; UHF, or the Ultra High Frequency band, covers channels 14 through 69.

The vast majority of television stations broadcasting in digital are using UHF — channels 14 and up.

Holbrook advises many of his customers still receiving the analog signal to use it as long as they can, then buy a converter box and rely on their old antenna setup.

"If you get it (the digital signal), it's very good, snow free," Holbrook says. "It's the best HD (high definition) signal available, better than cable or satellite."

Holbrook, whose shop has been in business at the same location for some 80 years, says you'd be surprised how many people are still picking up their television reception over the air with an analog tuner.

Often the sets in question are second or third televisions in a home or shop.

Every television with an analog tuner will have to have its own converter box, Holbrook notes.

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