# Digital TV Question - No Signal on Several Channels



## cycler (Jun 25, 2006)

This is related to a question that I asked a while ago and it really was never resolved because I didn't ask the right questions.

I bought a Samsung Digital TV (TX-T2082 20") and because I don't want cable
I use an antenna which is a signal booster. I bought the best one that they had for my purpose and it works perfectly except that there are still several channels that I'm unable to get when I'm in the the DTV mode but I am able to get them when I'm in the analog mode. They are NBC (channel 4 in NY) and all of the PBS stations.

The channels are there, as I said, they are viewable but in the DTV mode it says "no signal". No matter where I move the antenna or how I adjust it there is no signal.

I'm concerned now because it's getting closer to the time when there will only be the Digital signal and I'm worried that I won't be able to see those channels then.

Before I call Samsung customer service I was wondering if anyone had any ideas why this is happening and how to fix it. I live in a big apartment building and I am on a low floor but since it's only those 4 channels I doubt that that is why.

Also, there is a "master antenna" in the wall which I never used because the jack needs to be repaired and I was told that they didn't think that they were still being manufactured - but do you think that using that (if I'm able to get them to repair it) might solve this issue?

Thanks!


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## telecom69 (Oct 12, 2001)

I dont know where in the world you are,but here in the UK we have the same problems as you regarding the reception of digital tv ...its almost essential to have an outside roof mounted wide band ariel of the high gain type to get satisfactory reception and even then on some days,due to local conditions its possible to get low signal strength resulting in poor reception ....you mentioned that you could move your antenna,is it the motorised type? or is it an indoor one? if its indoor then its not really good enough even with a booster ....its the way things are ...maybe that wall jack would be the way to go because presumably it goes to an antenna on the roof of the building perhaps ....and even though you say you dont want cable,you get no problems that way because they do all the signal processing ....have a look at this site about antennas and for freeview read digital http://www.ukfree.tv/fullstory.php?storyid=1107051054&sid=3&subid=0


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## cycler (Jun 25, 2006)

I am in New York City and my antenna is indoors. I'm not sure where the master antenna connects to, or even if it's still functional since almost everyone in the building has cable.
It's annoying that everything will be digital in a few months even though they aren't really ready for it - if I'm unable to get a signal from NBC and I'm just about 40 blocks from where they transmit I don't know how anyone else will!


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## telecom69 (Oct 12, 2001)

Well cycler whatever we (the people) think in your country, the same as mine, the powers that be have decided that digital is the way it will be and so we have no choice in the matter ....digital is accepted over here nowadays and most people either go by way of satellite or cable,there are very reasonable "packages"offered by the relevant companies involved in this and the government even subsidise people on lower incomes to some degree (as they do in yours I'm led to believe) over here for instance I get over 200 channels of digital TV with no problems via cable ....and Im afraid no matter how close to the transmitter you live, you need a top class antenna to recieve it or go the other way via cable or satellite ...

There is by the way a thread on this problem which has a lot of interesting reading if you are interested click on this http://forums.techguy.org/random-discussion/713916-anyone-still-using-analog-tv.html


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## cycler (Jun 25, 2006)

I spoke to someone in my building today and he said that the master antenna won't be working anyway after the switch to digital so that won't work.
I guess I'll just call Samsung and see what they've got to say.
Thanks!


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

You need a good signal level for digital, in no way would I rely on an indoor unit.
I really can't see what Samsung can do about it.


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## Wino (Dec 1, 2001)

cycler said:


> I spoke to someone in my building today and he said that the master antenna won't be working anyway after the switch to digital so that won't work.
> I guess I'll just call Samsung and see what they've got to say.
> Thanks!


 I would question that it would not work. If it works for analog it will work for digital, too. Have a friend with HDTV (no cable) and he's using his old analog outdoor antenna and gets more stations and better reception than I get with powered indoor antenna.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

The trouble is the the old Yagi type antennas are not appropriate for the reception of digital. You really need an antenna that looks more like the old UHF antennas, and, as you know, most of the digital channels will be in the UHF range. The quality is not as good in the lower channel numbers.

As for NBC 4, are you sure you are trying the correct channels? Do you know what channel it will be in February and what channel it is now? They are not the same. Do you do an automatic scan?

There are add-ons for Google Earth that show the nation-wide digital channels both as they are today and as they will be then.


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## cycler (Jun 25, 2006)

The antenna that I got is specifically for digital - I'll see if I'm able to locate a picture to add.
I called NBC but they never got back to me on it.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

I was referring more to the one on the roof, especially if it has been there a while.


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## cycler (Jun 25, 2006)

Oh - right - from what I was told that one isn't really even an antenna - it's just something that was put there long before cable to bring in the signal.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

You could always put your own up there if the cable exists.

I'm looking for a good roof-top antenna with the longest range possible and a rotor. There are quite a few on Ebay that claim ranges of 75-95 miles, but I'm a little wary of those mass-produced Chinese products with new names. They could make a fortune on those things and vanish before anyone realized it was junk (not that it is, but could be).


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## mrobot (Aug 11, 2008)

I just got the same TV as you and am having a similar problem. My old TV picked up all the analog channels perfectly, while on the Samsung they come in rather grainy. The HD channels it can receive are great, but many channels aren't coming in.


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## cycler (Jun 25, 2006)

That's the same for me. The digital picture is the best I've ever had (but I had an ancient TV so anything is an improvement). So what are you going to do about it for next year? 

I don't think that my building will let me put an antenna there because I'm sure that everyone except for me has cable - it's a huge building - almost a square block in NYC and I think that they'll say there will be liability issues.


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## mrobot (Aug 11, 2008)

I'm not sure, I was just googling the TV to see if other people are having similar problems, it seems they are. I'm thinking about trying to return the TV and see if a different one would get better antenna reception. Maybe they just built these without testing the antenna tuning very well.


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## cycler (Jun 25, 2006)

Did you buy an extra antenna?


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## mrobot (Aug 11, 2008)

I already had a roof-mounted antenna on top of my house


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

What kind of antenna are you guys getting? I have an old Yagi on the roof, which of course won't be appropriate for the new frequencies. I'm thinking of getting one of those directional, Chinese-made ones I saw at Ebay with ranges around 85 miles and rotor. But I'm a little wary of those things since I know of no one who has tried them. I really need range here in the boondocks.


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## mrobot (Aug 11, 2008)

Mine is an old Yagi type one. The thing that makes me suspect that the TV is at fault for reception issues is that another TV plugged into the exact same antenna cable gets better reception, at least for analog. I don't have another digitally capable TV to compare it with.


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## telecom69 (Oct 12, 2001)

This is the type of antenna that is in widespread use in the UK at the moment,the UK is slowly being turned over to digital,region by region, and most people use cable or Sky for this ....but for those that cant for various reasons, it seems this is the way to go at the moment,but even these are not the complete answer,even though they are specifically designed for digital reception ...it is now accepted that cable or sattelite is by far the best option if possible ....

Click on the picture to enlarge if you are interested enough


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

The trouble with the non-antenna alternatives is that most cable reception is not HD. In an effort to fit more channels into the bandwidth, the new digital channels will be carried at a much lower quality on cable than they can be received over the air (at least in the US). So many people who already have cable are looking at the antennas because they want true HD, especially for large TV's.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, that's not an issue if you have a fiber connection, plenty of bandwidth available!


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

I can only repeat, with analog you might have a "watchable" channel, but on digital the signal strength needs to be better than the old analog in many cases - irrespective of the set.

While a poor signal in analog may be perfectly acceptable, in digital you will get nothing. One way or another you need a good UHF yagi.


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## mrobot (Aug 11, 2008)

So it turns out there was a splitter installed on the antenna line that was corrupting the signal! Now that I have a straight line, channels are coming in beautifully both digital and analog.


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## cycler (Jun 25, 2006)

So it wasn't the TV - that's great to know - hopefully I'll be able to get my signal fixed too.


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## richard matthews (Aug 25, 2008)

well, 
a. is channel 4 or the pbs stations even transmitting in hd ?
pbs is always way behind
b. does your set have a digital or analog tuner and which are you plugged into .. the person who commented about the diference in channel #'s for the same station is correct, too


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## cycler (Jun 25, 2006)

Yes, they are both transmitting in HD. PBS in NY had a big announcement when they began several months ago.
My television is digital but there is also the option of using analog which won't be available next year. You push a button on the remote to switch between them.
I've got a digital antenna or signal booster which works for all of the channels except for those.
I'm not sure what he is saying about the channel numbers - they are the same as they were before since this is broadcast - not cable.
NBC doesn't return my calls about this.


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