Rather than going deep into all the differences between the two signals, this is just a simple look at the differences between antenna design. It will help the layman see why there are two types of TV antenna and why one works better with the digital signal over an analogue signal. It is also something as local aerial installers we come across in our line of work.
Type of Aerials used for the digital signal
In order to get the best and most stable picture and sound quality for digital Freeview TV, it is best to use an aerial that is designed for the digital signal. These are both Full band and Wide band antennas & even though these are designed for receiving a digital signal they are not actually called digital aerials. However, for simplicity we are going to refer to them as digital aerials. These antennas come in multiple designs, sizes & qualities.
All of these digital aerials come with an inbuilt filter. This filter is designed to reduce noise interference helping to pull in a clear, good quality signal. This results in a good picture and sound quality for the television. For more info
Do I need a digital tuner?
The digital signal will only work with a TV that has a digital tuner and will no work with the older no defunct analogue tuners. This is why over a decade ago, the older TVs required a Freeview digibox to decode the digital signal and then transmit this via a scart lead to the TV. New TVs have a digital tuner and no longer need these external digiboxes.
The difference between analogue is that the signal could be receive direct to the TV without the need of decoding. Nowadays, all new televisions have the digital decoder within their tuner and therefor can decode the digital signal without any problem. This allows the ability to have a better EPG (program guide), Pay TV, Games and interactive channels.
The digital signal also helps mitigate the interference from WI-FI and local mobile phone masts. Although, with the rise in this kind of technology, there can still be problems with interference.
Conclusion
The main difference between a digital TV aerial and an analogue aerial is that the internal filter helps with signal. At the end of the day, they are both designed to pick up a signal. Analogue aerials can still pick up a digital signal and they can work perfectly well in certain locations
Digitec Aerials
19 Wolseley Street
Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 3PH
01524 489188