TV Antenna

[jimfitz]

I currently have Charter cable. I have basic, expanded basic, digital movie tier, and hd tier. In addition, I have Charter wideband internet. I live in a surburb north of Atlanta and about 20 miles from 6 or 8 high def stations. I was half-way considering dropping my digital movie tier and hd tier and going with basic and expanded basic. If I do this, I will get an indoor antenna. Has anyone done this and how well does it work? My tv has a hd receiver.

 

[Adam]

How well it works depends of course on your location relative to the broadcast towers and any obstructions in between.

For me, I dropped Directv a while ago and used rabbit ears for years. I finally wised up and got a Channel Master 8-bay outdoor antenna for $80 (but I have it mounted inside at the moment). Fantastic reception. I got pretty good reception with the rabbit ears. I don't have many available digital broadcasts in my area (three, I think), but they come in. The analog stations come in well, too.

 

[markw]

are they all in the same general direction? If so, I'd suggest that, if possible, you simply blow for a moderate rooftoop yagi. I'm in about the same situation, only with NY as a target, and a medium rooftop works a heckuva lot better than an indoor. For that distance you don't need a monstor antenna, just a medium one.

 

[808htfan]

I've used this Terk unamplified indoor antenna w/ pretty good results for the most part. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001FV36E/ref=pd_luc_mri/102-9708486-2604947?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

 

[jimfitz]

All of the stations are south and within a couple degrees of 180. The problem with roof top or attic antenna is running the cable. I have a two story family room and house is on a slab. The cable that is already there, I need for basic cable TV. I may just try a cheap radio shack antenna to start out and see how it does. Thanks.

 

[markw]

IMNSHO, it would behoove you to find a way to run a cable for the TV, even if it entails paying a pro. You will realize crystal clear, uncompressed HD from a properly instanned and aimed rooftop antenna. Can't guarantee that with an indoor jobbie.

Your TV does have a built-in ATSC tuner, doesn't it?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I currently have Charter cable. I have basic, expanded basic, digital movie tier, and hd tier. In addition, I have Charter wideband internet. I live in a surburb north of Atlanta and about 20 miles from 6 or 8 high def stations. I was half-way considering dropping my digital movie tier and hd tier and going with basic and expanded basic. If I do this, I will get an indoor antenna. Has anyone done this and how well does it work? My tv has a hd receiver.

I only watch free HDTV broadcast using a Phillips HD indoor antenna I bought at Wal-Mart for $25. It's great as long as all your HD channels are in UHF. It stinks with VHF HD channels.

 

[jimfitz]

Most are UHF, but a couple are VHF. I just realized I could put an antenna on the south side of my chimney, high enough so it is line of sight toward Atlanta, but hidden from the street by the peak of my roof. That's where I always planned to put a dish if I ever go SAT. I can run the wire down the side of the chimney and into the back window right beside the fireplace. Then, it's only about 5 feet to my TV.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Most are UHF, but a couple are VHF. I just realized I could put an antenna on the south side of my chimney, high enough so it is line of sight toward Atlanta, but hidden from the street by the peak of my roof. That's where I always planned to put a dish if I ever go SAT. I can run the wire down the side of the chimney and into the back window right beside the fireplace. Then, it's only about 5 feet to my TV.

For the prices of the antennas mentioned above, cable is inexpensive, it is certainly worth a try.
If it works, you might be able to drill through the wall, near the top plates and drop it inside. Better than the window or coax being squashed by the window.

 

[jimfitz]

For the prices of the antennas mentioned above, cable is inexpensive, it is certainly worth a try.
If it works, you might be able to drill through the wall, near the top plates and drop it inside. Better than the window or coax being squashed by the window.

My cable TV is $70 per month and internet is $35 per month. By dropping digital movie tier and hd tier, I think I could pay for an antenna pretty quickly. I'll check that tomorrow. Oh yea, I also have a 12 month special on a premium movie tier for $10 a month. I'll drop that too, but I may wait until the 12 month special is over to do any of this.

 

[FunkIncubator]

I built my own for $5 based on the designs here: http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9613

It is quite a thrill to get Hi Def from an antenna made of a 2x4 and copper wire. And you can get RG6 cable real cheap from monoprice.

Makes a great Saturday morning project, and it feels great to be freed from the grip of the local cable provider.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

I live in a surburb north of Atlanta and about 20 miles from 6 or 8 high def stations. I was half-way considering dropping my digital movie tier and hd tier and going with basic and expanded basic. If I do this, I will get an indoor antenna. Has anyone done this and how well does it work? My tv has a hd receiver.

Just try it and see. If you cant get the "Big-4" HD-locals OTA with the rabbit ears, simply return the antenna within a timely manner, and they'll refund your money.

Even though I get my primary HD locals via SAT-TV, I still use my small rabbit ears because I'm a sucker for Smallville & Supernatural, and the only way I can get the CW in HD....is OTA

 

[jliedeka]

I live in a weird area where I can get some stations without an antenna and at least one, FOX, doesn't come in with rabbit ears. Most of my local channels are on two towers (Isengard and Minas Morgul) that are 5 degrees apart so I could use a directional antenna. I put up a medium sized directional made by Winegaard. It was easy to assemble. The antenna cost abut $80 from Newegg and I spent about $80 more on a chimney strap, mast, rg-6 coax, grounding wire and connectors.

I don't generally watch over the air TV except for Packers games, any Badgers games that make it on the air and occasional shows on PBS. The Fox station comes in great and the football games look better than they did on the local broadcast of the pre-season games. I saw a lot of motion blur during the pre-season that I don't see on Fox. I assume it has something to do with video compression but that's just a guess.

Jim

 

[pzaur]

Check out this website and see what type of antenna is recommended:

www.antennaweb.org

This will help you in your search for the appropriate antenna.

-pat

 

[jcsprankle]

I'm considering getting an antenna for my new Toshiba 720p LCD that I got in the master bedroom (the living room is already on Comcast HD and looks great). I'm trying to decide which antenna to try but I'm leaning to the Channel Master 4-bay or 8-bay (Model 4221 or 4228).

By checking AntennaWeb.org, I discovered that most of the HD stations in my area (including CBS, CW, ABC, FOX, and NBC) are within the same 2-degree area and about 34 miles away. Also, they are all UHF. PBS, which I would love to receive is VHF.

Would I be wise to get one of those Channel Master antennas, point it in that direction is see what happens? Would another antenna be better? I'd hate to invest the money and time (mostly time as antenna's are pretty cheap) for a quality install only to find out that I don't receive any HD channels!

Thanks for your advice.

 

[jcsprankle]

Upon further research, I think instead of a UHF-only antenna (like the 4221 or 4228), I think it would be more beneficial to get a VHF/UHF antenna such as the CM3018. Any advice?

I'm considering getting an antenna for my new Toshiba 720p LCD that I got in the master bedroom (the living room is already on Comcast HD and looks great). I'm trying to decide which antenna to try but I'm leaning to the Channel Master 4-bay or 8-bay (Model 4221 or 4228).

By checking AntennaWeb.org, I discovered that most of the HD stations in my area (including CBS, CW, ABC, FOX, and NBC) are within the same 2-degree area and about 34 miles away. Also, they are all UHF. PBS, which I would love to receive is VHF.

Would I be wise to get one of those Channel Master antennas, point it in that direction is see what happens? Would another antenna be better? I'd hate to invest the money and time (mostly time as antenna's are pretty cheap) for a quality install only to find out that I don't receive any HD channels!

Thanks for your advice.

 

[markw]

A good combo rooftop antenna can't hurt.

Upon further research, I think instead of a UHF-only antenna (like the 4221 or 4228), I think it would be more beneficial to get a VHF/UHF antenna such as the CM3018. Any advice?

You'll have access to the analog VHF channels as well and many also include FM as well. That alone is worth the considering. Generally, it's better than any indoor FM antenna.

 

[Swerd]

You won't go wrong with that choice. You might also think about the Winegard SS-1000. It worked very well for me. It receives VHF and UHF (channels 7-69) and it's very small, only 16" x 16" x 4". That made installation much easier.

 

[jcPanny]

HD Antenna

JCS,
You should have good results with one of the attic or roof antennas rated for the 30+ mile range. I started with a TERK indoor antenna and I am able to pick up all the local stations including one from 70 miles away. The PBS station is also 70 miles away and is still broadcasting analog so it looks like snow on my set. The digital stations look great.

 

[jcsprankle]

Good advice, everyone. I am getting exciting about getting HD over the air. I have a perfect spot on my roof that is begging for an antenna. Once I get my new LCD wall mounted with power and cable drops installed, I'll tackle the antenna.

I'll keep you all posted here. Thanks!