Will a new tv get better reception?

My tv is inching towards 20 years old. I'm thinking of a new one but I only watch broadcast tv--no pay channels. Current reception is ok, not great. I use an antenna, of course.

Will a new tv have any better reception or does it still depend on what kind of antenna I use?

Also, is this thing called ROKU going to make my life better? New tvs are priced so cheap it's kind of hard NOT to buy one.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Gerrit

I have a ROKU TV. You need a different antenna. I watch local channels only. The reason I bought it, they were sold out of a plain Jane TV. When it goes out, in the trash it goes, not to be replaced in kind.

June 12, 2009 was the change from analog to digital TV broadcasting. The age of your set might be old enough to require a modem like box to get stations. If so there are two reasons to go with new hardware. the resolution of new sets is superior to most 20 year old consumer video sets. The second is the change to actual digital signal quality. The old set still used fewer lines of resolution both vertical and horizontal, translated from digital higher quality signal. Jim

Even a new modern Smart TV (to receive local channels) depends on the signal
strength and quality sent down by your aerial antenna. As far a a ROKU device, I
LOVE MINE and get more channels than I could ever care or have time to watch lol.
HOWEVER it requires good quality fast internet (simply plugs into a TV HDMI
terminal) coupled with like unlimited data, so what do you have available ??? I have
a high speed unlimited data plan via Fiber Optic. I take my ROKU on the road in the
RV where I have BOTH AT&T plus Verizon Unlimited MiFi Jetpack Hotspots coupled to
remote MIMO antennas..

John T NOT any TV expert but this (old fashion TV antenna up on a tower for local
channels plus high speed unlimited internet) is what works for me, you or others may
have different experiences

(quoted from post at 08:59:39 10/09/23) Even a new modern Smart TV (to receive local channels) depends on the signal
strength and quality sent down by your aerial antenna. As far a a ROKU device, I
LOVE MINE and get more channels than I could ever care or have time to watch lol.
HOWEVER it requires good quality fast internet (simply plugs into a TV HDMI
terminal) coupled with like unlimited data, so what do you have available ??? I have
a high speed unlimited data plan via Fiber Optic. I take my ROKU on the road in the
RV where I have BOTH AT&T plus Verizon Unlimited MiFi Jetpack Hotspots coupled to
remote MIMO antennas..

John T NOT any TV expert but this (old fashion TV antenna up on a tower for local
channels plus high speed unlimited internet) is what works for me, you or others may
have different experiences

Click to expand...

I have had similar experiences. My ROKU TV was cheap, and it does a great job picking up stations. John is right about ROKU requiring good internet. It was pretty much useless with our slow local internet but when we got Starlink it worked great. Local reception was good even with the slow internet, but you had to wait a long time sometimes for the channel information to come up. As far as changing your antenna if your old one had UHF capability it might work well with the new TV. It's worth a try. My TV is hooked up wireless to our server.

Manufactures do not spend the money on tuners like they used to. With fewer OTA users. Sensitivity and selectivity is not as important to as many customers.
What is your nearest town so we can use rabbitears to find what is available .

Thanks for explaining about ROKU. Sounds like you have an ideal setup between broadcast and ROKU. All my internet comes through my phone and I doubt it will be fast enough to stream the programming in any kind of reliable way.

If I'm not mistaken, I can buy a tv with ROKU capability and just use it for broadcast channels if I like. And see if ROKU works with what I have.

As I mentioned, my reception is ok, not great. But I get the few channels I watch pretty reliably. Main issue at the moment is the remote no longer likes talking to the tv. I figured it might be easier to upgrade the old tv rather than trying to pair up a new remote.

Gerrit

What is your nearest town so we can use rabbitears to find what is available .[/quote]

I get the best reception from Baltimore, MD stations. Washington DC is also about the same distance from me. I'm out in the country--they can run cable here but the price would be through the roof and besides I don't like Comcast so it all works out.

Gerrit

If I'm not mistaken, I can buy a tv with ROKU capability and just use it for broadcast channels if I like. And see if ROKU works with what I have.
Gerrit

Click to expand...

It should. Mine does.

Why would you need a different antenna?
Many of the frequencies used are the SAME as the old frequencies pre-2009.

Let me debunk one ''myth'' here...

There is NO difference between analog and digital antennas. All the antenna cares about is signal strength and frequency. The rest is up to the TV. Antennas are tuned for optimum reception within a frequency band. The higher the frequency, the smaller the antenna. Typically antennas are tuned and sized for the middle of the anticipated band of reception frequencies. Generally, they are sized and tuned for a quarter wave or some other harmonic of that frequency. Antennas do not and cannot distinguish between a digital signal and an analog signal.That is a function of the TV's tuner.

So, in conclusion, I say that advertisers of ''digital'' antennas are only out to sell their wares, and they will tell you anything to get you to buy. Don't believe most of what you hear from advertisers.

The old antennas had lower frequency capability for the lower VHF channels. Way back when they didn't even have UHF capability. The later ones are likely VHF/UHF and should work for digital TV.

Almost all electronics gets better with the next generation, TVs included. So yes it will be better. However the antenna and down lead are very important components as well. A lot of digital TV channels are in the UHF band but
not all. Some have even remained at their original channel. As others have said there is no such thing as a digital antenna, so dont fall for that sales pitch. Pick the antenna with the highest gain. Usually dBi is the unit of
measure. If all your channels are UHF and emanating from the same direction, then a good high gain UHF antenna should treat you well. IF some are VHF and or emanating from different directions, a second antenna may be
needed.. I would run nothing less than RG 6 or better yet RG 11 from the antenna to the TV. If you are having signal level problems, I install a preamplifier at the antenna. The amplifier will boost your RF levels without amplifying
the noise as it would at the bottom of the coaxial lead. The result will be better signal quality.

Most new TVs will have ROKU channel as part of the TV. A ROKU stick shines when you are traveling. You can just take it with you and plug it into a HDMI port and have all your streaming channels available. BTW you need a
high speed internet connection over 4 meg or even better 20 meg download speeds for the ROKU work properly.

Most of my working life, I have been working with multi frequency/channel delivery systems, antenna design as weill as a vast knoowlodwwwge base in the broadcast TV and FM radio business.

I would run nothing less than RG 6 or better yet RG 11 from the antenna to the TV. If you are having signal level problems, I install a preamplifier at the antenna. The amplifier will boost your RF levels without amplifying
the noise as it would at the bottom of the coaxial lead. The result will be better signal quality.

Thanks, I'll upgrade to a better antenna along with the new tv. I've typically just used the generic coaxial cable you get with the different components but it makes sense that a better cable will provide a better signal.

I appreciate all the info, glad I asked the question.

Gerrit

Hard to say, some brands get better reception than others but the with digital tv the antenna is the most important.

(reply to post at 12:37:12 10/09/23)

Click to expand...

Go get the new TV at Walmart.

If it does not work you can return it ez peezee.

They have a 43 inch Hisense brand with roku built in for $178.
Or a 43 inch TCL with roku for $198

What is ROKU? What do you gain with it? I watch very little TV and mostly for the local
news on local station. And it is cable that is included in apartment rent.

I use an antenna on the roof.I did get an antenna guy to come out,climb all over,and find the best spot.I also sprung for the good antenna,not the $400.lookalike on Amazon.I get plenty of stations.I also have a Roku given to me by a tenant,that one picks up off my wifi.Total zero cost to watch the TV's,and my internet is $35.per month.I get everything I want,and today the alligator hunters are on all afternoon and until midnight.Plus I get a channel called Grit,just constant westerns.

Some TVs dont even have tuners any more..... internet and cable only.....

So, some have better and some worse tuners that pick up antenna signals.

Your antenna and cable to the tv and any booster likely have more to do with it tho. Pick good ones of these.

Roku is one of many options of hardware that connects to your internet and your tv and decodes signals from the internet to work on the tv. There is a whole host of
oddball free services that bring you reruns, old movies, and so forth. And a lot of monthly pay options to get sort of normal cable type channels.

I have found it difficult to get local tv channels over a Roku, others say its easy. Ive missed out on how.

Paul

Better to have a channels 7-51 antenna vs a 2-51 antenna .
The large heavy elements that receive channels 2-6 just catch extra wind and ice . The channel 2-6 elements also
Pickup FM radio broadcast signals which corrupts the desired TV signals .
There should be an amplifier up on the antenna with an FM trap and a cellular phone trap .

Some TVs have better over-the-air tuners than others. When we put an antenna on my mom's house there was one channel that her living room TV could not pull in, but the bedroom TV could. I tried hooking them up to each other's antenna connections and the problem followed the one TV.

I have found it difficult to update smart TVs and Blu-Ray DVD players. Once they are a few years old they are obsolete. I have had better service from Roku sticks that plug into an HDMI port instead of a dedicated Roku TV. When the sticks become obsolete they can be replaced and updated with a new $30 stick rather than replacing the whole TV.