What is blocking my tv antenna?

[Maine Mary]

I use an antenna which gives me 2 network channels. I also get the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. I don't get NBC. Q is this... does anyone know why a solid, black "box" keeps covering the screen? You can still hear the program and see around the perimeter of " the box" but that is it.

Why would an antenna be blocked?.... Anyone?

[The Doctor.]

1. how old is your TV? nt

[Maine Mary]

2. About 3 years

n/t

[Skink]

3. Do you get "The Metal Files" on SHOAM FM...

That show rocks. Kind of 80's though.

[blue northern]

4. closed captioning turned on? n/t

[Maine Mary]

5. I don't think so (regading CC I mean)

BTW- I never had a problem while paying for cable

[Stephanie]

7. It's something in the settings of your TV

It's not the antenna.

[blue northern]

8. was the problem there from the start?

of you using the antenna I mean?
or did it recently develop?

[blue northern]

10. if this has been a problem from the get go w/ the antenna

see if there's a cable/air switch on the set somewhere or perhaps a menu setting in your onscreen setup displays
if it's a recent development, double check that someone hasn't been fiddling with your settings (cc and the like)
if the set's only 3 yrs old, there's probably an automatic setup option somewhere in the onscreen menus as well
enable that and the set should configure itself with the antenna setup

[ladylibertee]

6. What?

[lithiumbomb]

9. hrm

I'd try a different TV, just borrow one if possible, and hook it up to the same antenna and see what happens. Or if you're using old fashioned rabbit ears, try a different antenna, move it around, put tinfoil on it, etc. It's a bit odd that you're getting a uniform black box, however that might be something generated by your TV to cover up video static.

[Maine Mary]

I tried my daughter's tv

and the same thing happened. (Her's is newer) Also, this antenna is installed on top of the house. The channels come in beautifully unless that blocker shows up.

[Maine Mary]

11. I tried my daughter's tv

and the same thing happened. (Her's is newer) Also, this antenna is installed on top of the house. The channels come in beautifully unless that blocker shows up.

[bananas]

12. Some kind of interference?

What channel # is it?
Call the station and let them know about it,
it's probably affecting other people.

It might be interference from a neighbor transmitting a video signal.
Or maybe it has something to do with the tv stations switching to digital tv.
Or there might be a new tv station that just started broadcasting on the same channel, close enough to interfere.

This might help find the source of the interference.
Put in your street address,
and this webpage will draw a street map,
with arrows to all the local tv stations.
(Uncheck the boxes so you don't get stuff mailed to you)
http://antennaweb.org/aw/Welcome.aspx

[rman]

13. probably nothing to do with the antenna,

sounds like it's some kind of interference.

[tkmorris]

14. Nope

Interference with the signal would not show up as a black box covering the screen. He'd simply get a degraded signal or none at all, snow so to speak.

In fact, I can't think of anything that WOULD cause a "black box" over the normal picture. You can't even do that on the antenna really, the TV signal has to be decoded before such a thing could be accomplished, which doesn't happen until the signal passes into the tuner section inside the television. The only explanation is that the signal is being broadcast with the box there, though why that should be I have no idea.

[rman]

15. Depends on the kind of interference

Certainly 'something with the antenna' would not cause such a 'black box' on-screen.

I'm pretty sure an interference could be created that would have just this effect, but it would imply it is intentional. It would amount to jamming.
The chances of such an interference occuring naturally or coincidentally is not zero but does seem quite small to me. Maybe - just maybe - it's some kind of 'copy protection'/Digital Rights Management thing.

[LeftHander]

16. If you are watching a sporting event...

It may be blacked out in you local area if the game is not sold out.

It is likely some broadcasted block.

[BrewerJohn]

17. I had the same problem

It was because the set came from the factory with closed captioning set to 'on', but in some secondary mode that looks like that. Once I finally figured it out, I set cc to 'off' and the black box never returned.

[T Town Jake]

18. HARP. LIHOP. MIHOP. THE MAN ON THE GRASSY KNOLL...

...have you checked for contrails?