Antennas are selected based on the frequency/channel that is to be received, not the content. All off-air/broadcast antennas will receive both analog and digital signals; however, receiving the new digital off-air (8VSB) channel may require a new antenna because of the new channel frequency assignment of the digital channel.

The necessity for a pre-amplifier cannot be determined until a site survey is performed. If required, the pre-amplifier is mounted outside on the antenna mast, and requires a separate power supply that is mounted in the building. The appropriate power supply for the pre-amplifier being used must be specified separately.

The digital demodulator is the system component that receives the off-air digital (8VSB) channel and tunes to a particular program (within the channel) if multiple programs are transmitted. The digital demodulator provides analog, baseband audio and video outputs to connect an analog modulator. This modulator then creates the new channel that will be viewed by the existing analog televisions.

It is common practice to re-modulate onto unused VHF or CATV channels to minimize distribution losses and make it easier to construct and manage the system. When the new channel is combined with other channels in the facility it must be done at the correct level so that the signals do not interfere with each other.