When Do You Need A TV Signal Booster?

You just had your sparkly new digital antenna installed. You go by the book and have everything set up professionally. But just as you're about to enjoy your favourite show, you're not getting the most reliable TV reception. How did this happen? Fortunately, you're not alone. This is a lot more common than you think. Boosting or amplifying the signal can potentially fix the reception issue. So when do you need a TV signal booster?

Why You’re Having Problems with Reception

There is nothing worse than sitting down with a snack or cup of tea, settling in, turning on the TV expectantly, and then finding out the signal is gone or the screen is fuzzy. Especially if you've just installed a new digital antenna.

Do You Know Your Current Signal Level?

Before you can determine if an amplifier/booster is going to fix your TV reception issues, you'll first need to know what your current antenna reading is. This reading is measured in dB (decibel). The Australian standard for television is between 45dB-80dB. Anything under 45dB is what's called the Digital Cliff, meaning that the TV signal is too weak to be converted. You'll receive either pixelation or no picture at all. Therefore if your readings are below 45dB at any TV point, an amplifier/booster will be required. At the other end of the spectrum, a signal level over 80dB can also cause interference, pixelation and no picture. However, amplifying this will likely blow up your TV rather than fixing your issues. In this case, you would need an attenuator that retards your signal to a set loss to prevent it from being too high.

Boost Your TV Signal With An Amplifier

If you’re experiencing reception problems, you’ll need to get a technician out to diagnose the issue. But if they confirm that a weak signal is the issue, they'll likely recommend a TV amplifier as the solution. This is especially important with digital TV because if the signal isn't strong enough, you won't get any picture or sound at all. But the good news is that if you can increase the signal enough with an amplifier, you should be able to enjoy the full TV experience, with a clear picture and sound.

How Does A TV Signal Booster Work?

An amplifier works to correct weak signals in your antenna. Sort of like an audio amplifier that can take a small noise and make it much louder, an antenna amplifier can take a weak signal and make it strong enough to broadcast channels, pictures, and sound on your digital TV. In simple terms, the number of channels you can access depends on the signals that are broadcast in your local area. The reception quality depends on the physical distance from your local signal towers along with other factors including the weather, your surroundings, and the terrain. TV signal boosters, often also known as TV antenna amplifiers, help to improve the signal quality received by TVs in locations with distant or weak signals from a TV transmitter. Signal boosters are often used with aerials on properties that have many obstructions around them like trees in rural places, tall buildings in urban environments, or in hilly locations.

Types of TV Amplifiers

There are two types of TV antenna amplifiers:

Masthead Amplifiers

These look like a small plastic box (usually black or grey) that's attached to the lower part of your TV antenna. Occasionally it’s hiding inside the roof and won’t be visible from the outside. You should be able to see wires connecting your antenna and masthead amplifier, and wires also running down into your roof and home. Masthead amplifiers are the most common type of amplifier used in residential free-standing homes in Australia. They're mainly used to boost the signal if your location has bad coverage and interference like large buildings and tall trees.

Indoor TV Antenna Booster

This type of booster is normally installed close to a TV, although a better output can often be achieved if it is installed closer to the aerial. Most indoor TV antenna boosters have 2 outputs that can be used to improve 2 TV's signal quality. It should be noted that indoor boosters can never be a good substitute for a quality aerial installed on the roof. It is also better to use this type of booster together with a roof aerial, rather than using it with an indoor aerial. In installing an antenna inside the home or building, a glass mount antenna placed on the glass of a window would work best because it would attract the maximum amount of transmitted signals.

Distribution Amplifiers

Distribution amplifiers are usually a lot bigger than masthead amplifiers and if you need one, it'll get installed either inside your roof, a cupboard, or a service duct. Distribution amplifiers are mainly used in units or flats where there are multiple homes and TVs connected to one antenna. Or you might need a distribution amplifier if you have multiple TV wall points installed and this is causing your signal to weaken.

Which TV Signal Booster To Use?

Deciding which type of TV amplifier you want to use is ultimately a personal choice, but it can be influenced by a number of different factors such as your current TV antenna setup, property type, and cost. A TV signal booster kit can include the HDTV antenna that is more sensitive than the old traditional cable antenna and can therefore pick up signals that would otherwise be difficult to catch. This allows you to access cable TV channels that you couldn't previously access, and at the same time expand the signal range you can receive. As the signals received are also boosted, this will dramatically improve the clarity of your TV channel frequency.

When Do You Need A Signal Booster?

Amplifiers can play a vital role in keeping signals at an acceptable strength throughout a TV aerial system. There is a time and a place for signal amplifiers or boosters. Plugging one in on a TV that is suffering from poor TV reception isn't going to miraculously create a reliable signal. An amplifier cannot create a signal where there otherwise was none, and it cannot simply make an unreliable signal, reliable. Amplifiers should only be added to a TV system to overcome signal losses associated with the resistance on coaxial cabling and losses that occur due to the splitting of TV signals to multiple TV's. So, if you have an otherwise good signal coming off your aerial and owing to cable length or cable type this was being lost on the coaxial cable before it reached your TV set. Then a TV aerial amplifier would help, but it would depend greatly on where you installed the TV signal amplifier.

If you're looking for the best TV Antenna technician in Waterloo, Sydney NSW, contact AntennaPros today!