How is it possible to hear static from an HDTV signal? I thought that kind of problem was limited to an anaolg signal. When I watch my local CBS HD channel, I often hear static. Whenever SD material is shown on this channel, it sounds clear, but as soon as HD material is shown, I hear static. I have 2 HDTV's, each with its own antenna. I hear static on both of them, but only when I watch CBS. The other networks all sound fine. I e-mailed my CBS affiliate, but so far they haven't replied.

Many different ways. I take it this is only in the audio, not video? They probably just have a bad signal. Was it always this way?

Our local ABC station used to have bizarre issues.

I think this is a recent problem. I don't get it. Static isn't part of the digital signal, so how does it become part of it?

I think what you mean is static due to poor reception is not an artifact of digital reception. But if they have crappy audio, it will get sent to you just as easily as good audio.

You haven't mentioned how you receive TV. But I'm assuming with HD content you have some means to play Dolby Digital with an optical cable. Try switching out of Dolby or switching to an analog stereo audio connection between your cable/sat/tuner and the audio system instead of optical. If that fixes it, it is probably a poor Dolby encoding they are doing. That's my first guess, anyway.

Maybe I'm just lucky, but there is a nice website in Minneapolis that covers local issues like this, so I can easily find other people. If they have the same problem, we assume it's the station. If nobody else does, it's at my house. Got anything like this? There are some localized threads at AVS Forum if nothing else. Sometimes we've even gotten hold of the station and helped them fix something.

Each of my HDTV's is connected to its own antenna. Each antenna is connected to a DVR, which is then connected to the tv via HDMI. Last night, there was no static on CBS! This leads me to believe the station either fixed the problem or the problem is intermittent and will be back at some point.

You can still try running analog audio cables (if your TV can work like that) in case there is an issue with their signal again. It may work to clear it up for short term so you can at least watch a show that came with the static.