One of over-the-air's dirty little secrets is the need for an antenna to get reliable reception. Most engineers will tell you to install an outdoor antenna—the big ugly kind chained to the chimney that ushered in the birth of television.
Now, Terk, the antenna company, has introduced an HDTV antenna designed for use indoors. It is targeted to apartment dwellers and others who cannot install outdoor aerials to receive HD channels.
But Jean-Jacques L’Hénaff, vice president for product design at Terk, makes no hard promises for Terk’s new HDTVi, noting that reception of high-definition television signals can be tricky.
When a conventional analog television signal is weakened by distance or distorted by mountains or high buildings, it remains viewable, if imperfect. With the digital signals used for HDTV, however, such obstacles cause the television screen to go blank, L’Hénaff explained. This is often referred to as “the cliff effect.”
The new Terk antenna’s branches are tuned to receive a broader range of frequencies than a conventional rabbit ear. The HDTVi indoor antenna is also designed to receive both UHF and VHF signals as well as local HDTV broadcasts.
For more information, visit: www.terk.com.
