My parents have a DLP TV that is fairly recent and can pick up most HD channels. There is no difference between using a regular antenna and an HD antenna for picking up HD signals from the channels that are working. However, we know of some channels that are broadcasting in HD, and yet, no matter which antenna we use or how much we move the antennae, there is no way for the TV to even pick up these HD signals - the screen either turns black and says no signal was found or the TV won't even switch to the channel that's supposed to be the HD channel (with this TV, if the regular broadcast is on channel 8, the HD signal is on 8-1, and on a few stations, we can't get on to the -1 channel despite the fact that we know it's broadcasting in HD). What should we do?
There is no such channel as 8-1. That's the manufacturers convenient way of making it easier for you to know you're on the HD channel of a particular NTSC station. All HD channels are now broadcasting on the UHF bad, channels 30-83. The first thing you need to do is make sure the set is actually HD built in. In other words, do you know for certain the set has a built in HD tuner. A set that says HD ready doesn't mean it is capable of recieving and producing an HD picture from an off the air signal. If you've determined the set is HD capable, make sure the set isn't in the cable mode. If that's not the problem, you may have an issue with signal strength. HD TV's require a far better signal to recieve HD signals than they do normal NTSC. If the signal is too weak it will merely skip over it during a auto search. You're only option at that point is to try and re-direct your antennae or purchase a better one.