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Connecting Off-Air Antenna/Cable TV
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• Multiple broadcast stations (to receive good signals from several stations, you may
need to compromise in how you aim the antenna or you may need more than one
antenna).
The effects of poor digital reception are different from the effects of poor analog reception:
• Poor analog reception usually causes the TV picture to be “snowy” or to include
“ghosts,” that is, multiple images caused by receiving reflected signals along with the
direct signal from a station.
• Poor digital reception may cause the TV picture to be “pixelized,” that is, broken up
into small squares of various colors, or to be lost completely (the TV screen is all black
or all blue).
• Digital broadcasts often provide either a very good picture or no picture at all.
• You may be able to receive a poor analog signal but not be able to receive a digital
signal at all.
To get the best possible digital signal reception, make sure you use the best off-air
antenna for where you live:
• You can receive a limited number of channels using a rabbit ears type antenna on top
of the TV set, or a much larger number via a large UHF/VHF indoor/outdoor antenna.
• The higher the quality of the antenna you use, the greater its range and the better its
reception will be.
The Consumer Electronics Association maintains a website, antennaweb.org, that you
can visit for help in choosing an antenna.You may want to contact a professional TV
antenna installer for advice or help in choosing, installing, and aiming an antenna. Keep in
mind, digital off-air TV broadcasting is in its infancy. So, digital off-air service may be
interrupted because:
• Broadcasters are testing digital signals, and may stop broadcasting without notice.
• Many broadcasters do not yet have permanent broadcast stations and may be
operating at less than full power.
• Broadcasters are not legally required to provide full-time digital signals for several
years.
• Some digital channels do not broadcast all the time.
If you have questions about off-air channels, contact the broadcasters, not DISH Network.
DISH Network does not broadcast off-air signals and so cannot do anything to change off-
air signal quality. However, the receiver's digital channel setup menus provide a signal
strength bar that can help you in aiming the off-air TV antenna for the strongest possible
signal.