Audio Video News

UHF will not be the exclusive home of DTV channels following the transition from analog broadcasting. Some will remain on VHF, contrary to what's been widely reported.

Pete Putman of HDTVexpert.com writes: "There seems to be a common misperception among consumers and DTV manufacturers that all terrestrial digital TV stations have been assigned and will stay on UHF TV channels. While that's certainly the case in major markets like New York and Los Angeles, it's definitely not the case in smaller markets like Binghamton, NY or Scranton, PA, or even in a large market like Atlanta or Dallas."

He goes on to explain that every channel from 2 to 51 is available for DTV broadcasting. While the FCC assigned UHF frequencies for a transition period, 1997-2008, broadcasters have the option to return to their old VHF frequencies, essentially replacing existing analog channels with their digital counterparts. Example: WABC-7 in NYC.

Some stations that failed to retain their old VHF channels will remain on UHF. Others are waiting for frequencies to be vacated. The VHF frequencies in least demand are the lowband ones (2-6) due to noise and other problems.

Anyway, for the consumer, the significance of all this is that an antenna optimized solely for UHF will not be sufficient in some areas. You'll continue to need one that handles both VHF and UHF.