Big Picture Big Sound

It may seem hard to believe, in this day and age, with cable, fiberoptic and satellite providers fighting tooth and nail for the monthly dollars of TV watchers across the country, but according to antenna maker, Terrestrial Digital, up to 20% of all US households still rely on over-the-air reception as their exclusive means of watching television. And some of these folks will be in for a rude awakening that not-so-far-off day in 2009 when analog TV broadcasting is scheduled to go dark, with the familiar channels 2 to 69 re-allocated to digital TV, cell phones and other purposes.

Yes, on February 18, 2009, anyone who turns on their analog television tuner or VCR expecting to see anything other than snow will be sadly disappointed. But not if Terrestrial Digital has anything to say about it. They've just announced their first integrated Digital TV antenna/tuner, designed to plug and play with any existing television, providing crystal clear digital TV signals to Luddites and late adopters all over the country.

Just one of a slew of new products from Terrestrial Digital shown at the CEDIA Expo in Denver, the Clearstream tuner/antenna is expected to qualify for the $40 rebate program, developed by the FCC in order to take the sting out of the analog to digital transition. With an expected MSRP of $129.99 (and a street price that will probably be closer to $100), minus the federal DTV voucher, the Clearstream will allow Ma and Pa Kettle to keep on enjoying their beloved old Sony Trinitron for the rest of its natural life (or their own), for a cost equivalent to most people's cable bill for a single month. The integrated antenna is designed specifically to catch the UHF bandwidths currently allocated to digital TV, as well as new bands to be used in 2009 and beyond for over-the-air DTV broadcasts,

In order to qualify for the federal voucher, the Clearstream actually cannot have High Definition quality outputs, only traditional analog outputs such as composite video, S-video and yes, the lowly modulated coax output so near and dear to the hearts of videophiles around the world (not). With this new device, assuming reasonable proximity to DTV broadcast towers, analog television owners will be able to simply plug it in, set it on top of their current set (or, better yet, near a window), set their TV to channel 3 or to a video input, and digital broadcasts will magically appear on their analog TVs. The clearstream will come with its own remote, of course, so you don't have to worry about actually getting up off your couch and burning a calorie while you tune into the "Biggest Loser."

For those of us who have already made the digital transition, Terrestrial Digital isn't leaving us out in the cold either. In fact they're bringing us in from the cold with some indoor antennas that perform as well as outdoor antennas for receiving free over-the-air HDTV signals. At their booth in Denver, they were showing off compact new indoor and outdoor HDTV antennas, computer-designed to efficiently and cleanly pull in digital broadcasts without raising the eyebrows of your significant other, or your homeowner's association or condo board.


Some of Terrestrial Digital's new flat loop-style outdoor antennas are so small, sleek and attractive that a few press members (including yours truly) asked if the manufacturer would be offering an equally stylish obelisk stand for indoor use as a dual-purpose antenna/modern art sculpture (the answer, sadly, was no).

The new line of antennas is scheduled for release in early 2008. More information at Terrestrial-Digital.com.