DTV Reception Varies inside home

[wjalex4]

I have three TV's. A Sony XBR w/digital tuner built-in, a Polaroid 15" LCD w/digital tuner built in, and an old RCA ColorTrak w/Tivax set-top digital tuner. All the TV's are connected to a single 13ft antenna on a 35foot mast. I have a Winegard two-stage booster (pre-amp on antenna mast and a powered amp inside the home at the first junction). All cabling is RG6.

The tuning varies from TV to TV. For example, I can watch 7.1 on the Polaroid and the RCA TV, but the Sony shows no picture on 7.1. While that is happening, the Sony will show 9.3 (with a 89/100 strong signal), but the RCA (Tivax) and the Polaroid will show no picture on 9.3.

The Sony is physically closest to the Winegard amp inside the home, and the antenna for that matter. If being closest was a true benefit, however, I would expect the Sony to display everything (keep in mind it shows nothing on 7.1). There are other channels that are doing this too.

Before I start swapping stuff around and crawling under the house (I hate crawlspaces), is this normal? Has anyone else seen this type of trouble? I live in a valley that is probably considered fringe for reception (hence the high antenna mast).

Any ideas would be appreciated. The Polaroid is easy to move around for testing... the Sony is a 250lb CRT and the RCA is a big CRT too.

Thanks! - Walter

 

[Aaron62]

Just commenting here (there are others here more experienced with dtv reception than I) but I wonder if it has to do with tuner sensitivity in both your TVs and converter box?? Most of the new converter boxes are built with updated tuners that are able to pick up signals better than previous ones.

What year is the Polaroid and Sony TVs?

 

[1inxs]

Are you receiving a good signal? I would start by verifying this first. There's the old saying garbage in garbage out. If the signal isn't good, you will be amplifying and sending a bad signal to your sets. Try to isolate the signal from the antenna to make sure it's aimed properly and receiving a good DTV signal.

I have three TV's. A Sony XBR w/digital tuner built-in, a Polaroid 15" LCD w/digital tuner built in, and an old RCA ColorTrak w/Tivax set-top digital tuner. All the TV's are connected to a single 13ft antenna on a 35foot mast. I have a Winegard two-stage booster (pre-amp on antenna mast and a powered amp inside the home at the first junction). All cabling is RG6.

The tuning varies from TV to TV. For example, I can watch 7.1 on the Polaroid and the RCA TV, but the Sony shows no picture on 7.1. While that is happening, the Sony will show 9.3 (with a 89/100 strong signal), but the RCA (Tivax) and the Polaroid will show no picture on 9.3.

The Sony is physically closest to the Winegard amp inside the home, and the antenna for that matter. If being closest was a true benefit, however, I would expect the Sony to display everything (keep in mind it shows nothing on 7.1). There are other channels that are doing this too.

Before I start swapping stuff around and crawling under the house (I hate crawlspaces), is this normal? Has anyone else seen this type of trouble? I live in a valley that is probably considered fringe for reception (hence the high antenna mast).

Any ideas would be appreciated. The Polaroid is easy to move around for testing... the Sony is a 250lb CRT and the RCA is a big CRT too.

Thanks! - Walter

 

[Piggie]

What you are seeing is common in fringe ares. But before I jump into why are you sure you rescanned with the antenna pointed at the station?

There have been several generations of decoder chips and more than one manufacturer.

I have 4 tuners here and they are not equal. Some that have analog are better on analog, some are better on digital, some better on UHF, some on VHF, all on the same antenna.

They are not all created equal.

But be sure you rescanned to make double sure you didn't just miss adding that channel.

 

[wjalex4]

More Info

Thank you 3 for replying.

The Polaroid TV was bought in February, 2009. The Tivax tuner (used on the RCA ColorTrak) was bought fall of 2008.. The Sony (the largest TV we have - the "main" unit if you will) is a KD-34XBR970 that was bought March, 2007. It's a CRT-based 250lb monster.

I will certainly try to rescan, but I think y'all are answering my question in that not all digital tuners are created equal. I think I might try the Tivax on the big Sony TV and see what that yields. My biggest peave is the Ion channels on the Sony (including Qubo which my kids love) - some days they are great, other days horrible. I assume that digital TV is affected by weather much like dish-based digital TV can get "rain fade". The other nuisance is the inability to tune anything on PBS with the Sony. Again, I will calibrate my antenna to true North in relation to my antenna rotor's true North.

I apologize - I forgot to mention that I have an antenna rotor (old Permacolor unit). Works good. Even turning the antenna, however, has not fixed these problems with some channels. I will get up there to the antenna, double-check that the unit is tight (wind cannot turn it), and then calibrate to true North. Then I will use tvfool.com data to work my directions. My family is used to the idea of turning the rotor to the correct degrees for the station they want, so that's no big deal.

Thanks again everyone. I will keep you posted as I work my problem. Any other ideas are welcome and appreciated!

 

[Piggie]

Thank you 3 for replying.

The Polaroid TV was bought in February, 2009. The Tivax tuner (used on the RCA ColorTrak) was bought fall of 2008.. The Sony (the largest TV we have - the "main" unit if you will) is a KD-34XBR970 that was bought March, 2007. It's a CRT-based 250lb monster.

I will certainly try to rescan, but I think y'all are answering my question in that not all digital tuners are created equal. I think I might try the Tivax on the big Sony TV and see what that yields. My biggest peave is the Ion channels on the Sony (including Qubo which my kids love) - some days they are great, other days horrible. I assume that digital TV is affected by weather much like dish-based digital TV can get "rain fade". The other nuisance is the inability to tune anything on PBS with the Sony. Again, I will calibrate my antenna to true North in relation to my antenna rotor's true North.

I apologize - I forgot to mention that I have an antenna rotor (old Permacolor unit). Works good. Even turning the antenna, however, has not fixed these problems with some channels. I will get up there to the antenna, double-check that the unit is tight (wind cannot turn it), and then calibrate to true North. Then I will use tvfool.com data to work my directions. My family is used to the idea of turning the rotor to the correct degrees for the station they want, so that's no big deal.

Thanks again everyone. I will keep you posted as I work my problem. Any other ideas are welcome and appreciated!

I understand completely the craziness. I have a widescreen LD TV, yes that is right. 26 inch tube Toshiba that is SD, with 16:9 screen. It's digital tuner is terrible. I already used up my convert coupons and I am afraid converters will be hard to find soon.

Hence I am pulling my hair if I should buy a DTVPal Plus from SolidSignal. You can get them for $70 with no coupon. It would work fine on my TV since its SD anyway. I hooked up an Insignia to once and the picture was great.