Hi, I been doing a bit of research and it seems a classic rabbit ear antenna will pick up DTV just fine. So i been considering buying one but from what http://www.antennaweb.org/ says,the closest signal broadcast from 37 miles away(i live in San Jose).Would buying a Antenna for my HDTV worth it??? Any feedback is welcomed.
Just looking to keep it cheap, i have a comp hooked to it n a Wii.Just looking for some way of getting some local news channels.
Never used an HD antenna but, my tv has a built in HD tuner. Works the same way, I'd say it's worth it just to get your basic, free over-the-air HD channels.
Rabbit ears will pick up DTV signals fine. The main issue is distance from the broadcast antenna. DTV signals can't be picked up as far as analog signals. The furthest distance signal I can receive is 17-20 miles away. Elevation & structures in between make a big difference. I'm considering getting a better antenna, one with a pre-amp to improve current signal reception and hopefully pull in a couple more stations. FYI, I went from receiving 11 analog stations to receiving 19 DTV stations in additon to the 11 analog when I received my HDTV.
Almost everyday depending on if theirs anything worth watching on tv that night.. I get all my on air networks with a outdoor tv antenna going to my HDTV. Hobbit is right about the 20 mile thing. I live in the city and rabbit ears didn't really do much for my ability to lock in digital channels. I'm about 7 miles from the antenna farm and i had to resort to a outdoor tv antenna. The expensive HDTV antennas were a joke, I had as much luck with a piece of speaker wire as i did with those $50.00 antennas. What workes is those old tin multi element tv antennas but only up to maybe 20 miles away from the towers. My work takes me to peoples homes several a day and i get to talk to them about what works and what doesn't. A guy told me that over the air HDTV pictures look better than cable tv's HDTV on the same channel. That was news to me, another reason to shun cable!
@grimpuffa What's your time-table? Reason I ask is that I just put in an order for a new multi-directional antenna which is supposed to have a 70 mile reach. If you can hold off for maybe 3-4 weeks, I'll be able to give an opinion on the new antenna. I'ts kind a pricey @ about $120, but that is what, about 2 months cost of HD cable(those bastards!)? I'm also considering obtaining an inline amplifier as I also intend to eventually split the signal between several receivers (HDTV, DVD recorder, another TV). BTW, a couple of the OTA (Over The Air) channels I receive are in 1080i, and they are jaw-dropping! I think most cable HD channels are in 720p. (Correct, Rustbuket?)
Well did you plunk in your address? AntennaWeb.org should have the answers, including antenna type/size and channels you should get.
I have time to Wait before i buy.i dont want to get ripped off on a antenna.i havent really did much with my hdtv yet so im very ignorant about it at this point.and the closest wasnt 30 miles its like 14 its pbs.i think ill spend more time at antenna.org tonight.thanks for all the input guys,keep it comming
Most of my pbs analog channels have at least 2 digital channels, one has 4! Each pbs station has different programming on their digital channels. Bought a mast for the new antenna today, $13 @ radio shack(its a friggin 5', 1ΒΌ" dia. pole). Also got a RG6 coaxial cable for it at best buy. Plan on propping it in the corner behind the hdtv. My antenna order came in at 84.95 which includes shipping. Should be here Tuesday or Wednesday. It's the largest multidirectional antenna I could find. Photo looks like an outdoor but info says could be used for either. Most I think install them in the attic, where mine might end up. Info says might be available at Target but I found it cheaper online. It's called an "Antennas Direct DB8 Multidirectional HDTV TV Antenna". Should have an opinion by next weekend, will post.
PLacing it in the attic will have it's limitations. Depending on what you have for roofing and how many cables are running around up there. I have read with attic placement you should purchase one antenna larger than what is needed.
would anyone recommend http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882641220 for san jose area??
If you go to antennaweb it will tell you waht kind of antenna to get and wht ideal conditions would give you in terms of analog and digital channels.
I use a roof mounted antenna and 300 ohm coax cable to get my HD over the air channels. This is the same antenna I used on my old 19" CRT, so no special antenna is needed. Here in L.A. we have a bunch of free OTA HD channels. Oh, bought the thing from home depot several years ago.
Antennia works fine get alot of stations but reg tv looks weak but HD programming is good.any tips for better reception with it guys?
The idea works in my head, but wanted to run it by those professionals out there. I want to have DTV support on a new computer I'm building, but I don't want to purchase DTV converters for my other sets until a few have come out and I get to read reviews on them. So my question is can I set up for an HD antenna and still receive good enough quality signal for the analog sets without any additional hookup requirements? Of course by Feb'09 I would need to add boxes to each of those older sets, but for now I wanted to get OTA signals to the analog sets as well.
HD antennas generally don't receive the VHS channels, especially 2-7 very well. Otherwise I don't see a problem. If you currently have an antenna, especially an outdoor one, you might not have to upgrade. Try using the old antenna first. I upgraded my "rabbit ears" antenna to a HD antenna and was disappointed. I do receive 3 more channels, all analog, which are virtually unviewable. Most of the HD channels are stronger but the new antenna seems to be more directional, i.e. I'm experiencing more ghosting and some signal negation.
Thank you Hobbit. From what I've read the UHF HD antenna will possibly give me VHF channels 7-3x. It just so happens that the only VHF channel I can get in my area is 8. I'm staying hopeful that I will be able to pick that up. I think I will go along with suggestions I've seen about attic mounting and having the antenna twice the size you would need for an outdoor. I just was unsure if the analog/digital together (but on different sets) would be able to be done without conflict. In the end it won't matter, but I was going to try to put off buying DTV converters until the middle or end of the year. While still being able to utilize my analog sets until I buy the converters.
