Something the aerial installers do not tell you: Until digital switchover, those transmitters sending out digital signals (the main transmitters like Emley Moor do the lot; many relays like Keighley (my local) do only a few) are doing so at maybe 10% of the power that they will do after DSO. To avoid interference, I believe.
After DSO, when analogue is switched off, they will ramp up the power dramatically AND switch on the rest of the channels (some small repeaters like Cullingworth will not carry them all though).
This means that aerial installers are persuading people to install bloody great big new multi-multi element high-gain aerials with bells and whistles, when their existing aerial or a decent ordinary new one (its likely the cabling that's stuffed) may well be OK after DSO. If you can see Emley Moor or a proper relay from your house that is almost certainly the case.
Being the sad sod in G1 mode that most of the old hands on here know me to be, I actually got quite interested in all this and did a load of research. What I discovere included the above, and things like:
[list
Forget set-top aerials for digital - you'll suffer from the digital "cliff-face" problem even in decent signal areas.
The cabling is at least as important as the aerial. If you have old co-ax, especially outside, you may struggle especially if the covering is perished or you have some of the low-cost poorly-shielded stuff. Use satellite-quality cable, which is far better shielded.
Loft aerials are probably OK if you have line-of-sight to the transmitter and use a high-gain (or log-periodic) aerial and make sure you don't have things like water cisterns in the way. Otherwise, height is everything.
Trees and other line-of-sight obstructions are not a good thing.
If you fit your own outdoor aerial (like I did) get a decent STRONG mast and a decent STRONG mounting and a decent ROBUST aerial which includes a pcb in the masthead with a funny name I can't recall right now. You can get all of the above from Wickes, but what they have in B&Q is mainly garbage that will not stand up to strong winds (and I speak from experience
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Use a powered masthead amplifier or a loft amplifier if you are looking to run several sets from the aerial.
Use shielded wall sockets (if you have to use wall sockets at all) not the bog-standard cheapo ones.
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Like I said, sad eh?
Check out [url=http://www.aerialsandtv.com/index.html
=#FF0000this[/url site from Sheffield - its bloody brilliant for telling you all about this whole field. I learned absolutely heaps from it. The guy who runs it seems a bloody hero and has a great sense of humour (check out the "Cowboys" bit) - I'd love to meet him.
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