Q: I have a tabletop Dynex HDTV and an RCA multi-directional digital flat amplified antenna. I get a beautiful picture that keeps breaking up completely.

I know I live in an area where it is hard to tune over-the-air stations. Do you have any suggestions other than paying for TV?

V.F. Mahoney
Minneapolis, MN

A. You seem to realize your antenna isn't doing a good enough job locking in the signal. A large rooftop or outdoor antenna is always most effective but this is not always practical.

I receive questions like yours very often, so I will say it again: The Philips Silver Sensor is the absolute king of set-top antennas. I still have not found anything that can compete with the Silver Sensor's amazing performance and, if you want to tune a digital TV signal with a small antenna, it offers your best chance.

Here's an example. I have a friend who lives 30 miles from the broadcast towers. He complained that since the DTV switchover, he couldn't tune anything using a converter box and the small amplified antenna he bought in a big-box store.

I sent him home with my Silver Sensor and told him he was in for a shock. He texted later that night, "I pointed the Silver Sensor towards the towers and I get 16 stations, more than I ever did before, and the digital picture looks so much better. Now I love digital!"

The Silver Sensor is notoriously hard to find in retail stores, but Amazon.com has had it in stock continuously for a good while. It sells for under $25. Look for Philips model number PHDTV1 or SDV2780.

Good news for Comcast subscribers! Last week I answered a question about receiving free local HDTV broadcast stations via Comcast basic cable.

In my reply, I mentioned that I knew of subscribers who lost their free HDTV channels when they were switched from the coaxial cable to converter boxes. Given the many areas Comcast serves, I was unsure if this was a nationwide change and if it was still possible to receive unscrambled local HDTV with basic cable.

The first day the column ran I was contacted by Robert Grove, director of public relations and community affairs for Comcast Keystone Region. He confirmed that Comcast still broadcasts local HDTV stations on basic cable and any HDTV that has a cable-ready QAM digital tuner can receive these channels.

Don't worry about the technical jargon there. If you have a relatively recent HDTV with a built-in digital tuner, you will be able to receive the channels.

You need an A/B switch in order to watch local HDTV along with your standard definition channels from the converter box. Comcast will ship switches to subscribers at no cost. The offer is open to subscribers nationwide. Call 1-800-COMCAST to obtain your A/B switch. I suggested that Comcast make the A/B switch a standard part of their basic cable installations and hope that this becomes their policy in the future.

Thanks go out to Comcast for making local HDTV channels free to their basic cable subscribers, and to Mr. Grove for taking the time to confirm that these channels are available not just within his region, but to Comcast customers nationwide.

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