I have selected a somewhat over-sized UHF OTA antenna to be connected to the OTA modules on two soon to be acquired 722K receivers and to several SD televisions in my home. I do not see any digital SD or HD VHF stations on the list of available stations in my area (16801) at this time. It would then seem that a UHF only antenna would be sufficient. I do notice that there is a comment in the FAQ section of the antennaweb site that states that the former analog OTA channels could be used for digital transmissions in the future (now?). I also notice quite a few high band VHF/UHF antennas being advertised. My question is, is there any digital SD or HD activity in the VHF spectrum now or or in the foreseeable future that I should be planning for with my entirely new Dish + OTA installation?

On a related subject, can someone tell me if the OTA module on the 722k receiver will be capable of receiving analog channels that I inject into its antenna input (properly combined along with the antenna feed) from a multiple channel frequency agile analog modulator? My intent is to create several channels to enable me to view CCTV cameras and the output from a computer to view a web page throughout my home. I have done this before with all analog signals but have not done so with digital OTA and locally modulated analog channels.

1) It'd help if you posted your zip code, but...
2) If TVFool.com doesn't list VHF stations in your area, you probably don't need it.
3) The OTA tuner on a 722 is digital-only.

OK, thanks CowboyDren. The 16801 shown is my zip code. I am not familiar with TVfool.com but I will check it out as well. Thanks for the tip. My concern is for the future use of the VHF spectrum for digital broadcasts. I will be installing a seperate directional FM antenna so I could make it a broadband VHF antenna if necessary. The FM antenna is considerably smaller, less expensive and easier to deal with than a similar performing broadband antenna would be though. If there is little or no potential for digital television use in the now unused VHF spectrum then I will stay with my original plan of a directional UHF only OTA antenna and a separate directional FM band only antenna.

As to #3, it looks like I will have to scrap my analog modulator and buy a digital modulator. I haven't looked for one of those yet so I have no idea what is out there. Actually, I may need to use both for a while because some of the "convenience" TVs (kitchen, bath room, garage, and my man-cave/shop) in my home are older analog only tuner sets. All that is a minor detail at this point so I can re-think the plan as necessary now knowing that the 722 OTA module is digital only. Thanks again for that information. I do appreciate your help.

Sorry, I guess I missed your zip code in the first post. Considering all of the VHF stations that are petitioning to go to UHF like everybody else did, I wouldn't worry about future use, at least not for TV.

Out of curiosity, what's your favorite FM antenna?

Most TV's still have analog tuners, so you could look at your CCTV camers that way. You won't be able to record them with the 722--you'd need some other tool for that. This could be a PC, a Tivo, or a specialized security recorder (which usually supports multiple camers).

I thought about using the analog TV tuners to view the analog modulated signals but I want to keep viewing them as simple and convenient as possible, hence the insertion of the new home-made channels blended into the channel lineup of OTA channels. The less switching of TV inputs to see them on the various televisions the better. I am not concerned about recording the cameras at this time on the 722. In fact, if I develop a need to do so I will invest in a dedicated security DVR / multiplexer to do so.

I think the FM antennas that I have in mind are commonly referred to as the FM-6 or the larger FM-10. They are Yagi types of directional antennas. I have a large mountain near my home so multipath is an issue. Actually, I live in a mountainous area so the one nearby that I am referring to is really in my back yard. If you watch a Penn State football game and they show a picture of "Nittany Mountain", the three pixels in the lower right corner of your screen is the roof of my house. Soon there will be a gray dot in the middle of the brown spec. (You will have to look really, really closely though! :rolleyes: ) That will be the back of the Dish. The directional antenna with a rotor will help to extend my listenable range and hopefully minimize the multipath issue.