HDTV Antenna - which one is best?

[WDWorld2003]

We have cable in our house but because of wiring issues cannot add it to our kitchen right now and I refuse to pay for another cable box.

I have a small HD TV that I want to put in the kitchen to watch news on and I have tried two different Philips antennas and can only get a couple of channels (and only 1 comes in well). Before I go out and purchase another antenna I thought I'd check and see what everyone else is using. I would appreciate any input! Thanks!

 

[lsyorke]

I thought antenna's went out with the analog signal? I guess it would require the new box + antenna, but I can't imagine how that would come close to giving you an HD picture.

 

[mickilee]

sent u a pm..

yes if tv only has analog tuner you need converter box

 

[bicker]

We have cable in our house but because of wiring issues cannot add it to our kitchen right now and I refuse to pay for another cable box. I have a small HD TV that I want to put in the kitchen to watch news on and I have tried two different Philips antennas and can only get a couple of channels (and only 1 comes in well). Before I go out and purchase another antenna I thought I'd check and see what everyone else is using. I would appreciate any input! Thanks!

There are several dedicated online services you can avail yourself of to gain some better insight into how to get better over-the-air reception. I volunteer at one of them: DTV USA Forum (LINK).

An essential first step in getting a better understanding of what you're up against is getting a TV Fool plot for your home. You can to to this website, enter your address and estimate how high off the ground your antenna will be, and then post the plot for folks to use to help you. (LINK)

Beside how strong the over-the-air signals are at your location, and what obstructions you face, it is important to know from which direction the channels you're aiming for are coming from. If they're all coming from the same direction (as they are for me), you may benefit from a directional antenna.

When posting, you should also indicate what is the exposure of the antenna you're going to be putting in (in which direction from where you're putting the antenna are the windows of your kitchen, and how far away). Also include what your building is made of, since that affects reception as well.

 

[ICF]

I have a $10 antenna i bought from Wal-mart that works just fine to pick up the national local HD channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, WB and some PBS) here.

I would not think you would want to be doing a roof mount antenna just for a small kitchen tv.

 

[bicker]

It all depends on where you live, what type of signals the broadcasters are putting out, what obstructions you face, the position of the antenna in the building, the construction of the building, etc. and so on. The nature of the use of the television (i.e., "small kitchen television") does not have any impact on what may or may not be necessary to achieve adequate reception. Indeed, the size of the tuner in a small kitchen television is probably not much different from the size of a the tuner in a 65" big-screen display, and if anything, that distinction would tend to make it more difficult to achieve good reception than make it less difficult.

 

[WDWorld2003]

Thanks everyone - this TV is HD ready. The weird part is we used to have an analog tv in the same place that would pick up all local channels plus quite a few UHF. Now I can only pick up two channels............ Added - I just went to the site named above and put in my address and it states I should be able to pick up signals with a regular antenna.

 

[bicker]

Green
An indoor "set-top" antenna is probably sufficient to pick up these channels

Yellow
An attic-mounted antenna is probably needed to pick up channels at this level and above

Red
A roof-mounted antenna is probably needed to pick up channels at this level and above

Keep in mind that these advisories are expecting ideal conditions, i.e., that your antenna is of high quality, and connected to your television with high quality cabling and connectors, with the line-of-sight to the transmission towers unimpeded by walls or structures. In some areas, folks have reported that digital signals have been having a harder time penetrating through such impediments. I know that here in the Boston area, very few people downtown were able to get our NBC affiliate when it moved its digital signal down to VHF7. They have since moved their digital signal back up to UHF42 and that resolved the problem.

To help further, we'll need to know the model number of your antenna, model number of your television, and have the link to your TV Fool plot.