Pixelized and fuzzy reception with DTV, how do I fix this?

NoDTV

DTVUSA Rookie
#1
I recently went out and purchased a Zenith converter box. I hooked it up, but it only found 2 channels, both of which are very pixelized. We sometimes have a little bit fuzzy reception, but when I popped the antenna back onto the TV to check the reception everything looked fine and the main channels weren't fuzzy at all.

Thinking that perhaps I just needed a little boost because our TV is a little ways away from the antenna I went to Radio shack and bought a signal booster.

This time it found a different channel (not one of the two original channels), but that was still pixelized (so I'll be taking the booster back to Radio Shack). The antenna that we have is a full sized one that sits in our attic and while our reception changes a little depending on the time of year it's pretty decent right now.

The main TV is downstairs so I'm not sure if a set-top antenna would work...any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.
 

Jason Fritz

Administrator
Staff member
#2
Good evening NoDTV,

I had a similar problem at our house! I originally purchased a signal booster and added it to our regular antenna....and unfortunately had the same outcome as you. Gained a few channels and lost a couple of others. Check out this thread when you get a chance: http://www.dtvusaforum.com/dtv-reception/66-very-few-channels.html. It describes how we fixed our dtv reception problem.

Are you 30 miles or farther out from a city/broadcast tower?

I always like to recommend (In matters of pursuing a better reception of DTV signals) purchasing a few different antenna's from a store with a good return policy to test out.

Good luck, I think trial and error is going to be your best bet for now, in the mean time, if anybody else has any other recommendations, don't be afraid to post.

Let me know about the distance away from the broadcast tower/city if you can approximate.
 
#3
Good Antenna to start most digital Channels are now on UHF which is a weaker signial from VHF so you need a high gain antenna with a good pre amp Wingard or Channel Master pre amps. that are for the type of antenna get one that has a little noise as possible below 2.5 if possible.digital is effect a lot by to noise.
Good coax preferably quad shield solid copper, as coax that will do for VHF will not always for digital and most certianly not for OTA High Def. hope this helps.:)
 
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