space_cowboy Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I’m about to dump my cable TV service since I hardly EVER watch TV, plus the rates are going up again. The TV, Hitachi Ultravision 51UWX20B doesn’t go to 1080p, and defaults to 1080i through the Time Warner supplied HD converter box. I can sometimes select 720p, but the resolution is not that important for occasional viewing. The TV is about 8 years old, so I ‘guess’ it has a tuner, not sure, and I can’t readily find the manual. So any recommendations or experience on an in house HD antennae? It must be something I can place indoors…….I’m not willing to run something outside, and probably wouldn’t mess with something in the attic. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCliff Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 http://www.amazon.com/Terk-Technology-HDTVi-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B0001FV36E I have used this one and it works well, I am located about 25miles from Chicago to give you an idea of signal strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I'm using the same ole Radio Shack antenna. I had it in the attic but could not get the HD signals as good so I moved it outside. If you have an old analog TV antenna laying around give it a try. You don't need a HD antenna to get HD signals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCliff Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I'm using the same ole Radio Shack antenna. I had it in the attic but could not get the HD signals as good so I moved it outside. If you have an old analog TV antenna laying around give it a try. You don't need a HD antenna to get HD signals. Depends how far away you are. I had the RCA rabbit ears and only got a few stations with the Terk, I was able to get almost twice as many. I agree if you are located very close to the trasmitting towers then a cheap rabbit ear antenna will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Here you go: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx Basically you just need to know if you need UHF or VHF> I choose the http://www.antennasdirect.com/store/DB4_HDTV_antenna.html and this amplifier: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=CM-7777&d=Channel-Master-CM7777-Titan2-VHFUHF-TV-Antenna-Preamplifier-with-Power-Supply-(CM7777)&c=Pre-Amplifiers&sku=02057207774 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 So any recommendations or experience on an in house HD antennae? It must be something I can place indoors…….I’m not willing to run something outside, and probably wouldn’t mess with something in the attic. I used the highest gain in-room antennas that I could find - and they weren't enough. I finally broke down and got a Radio Shack Yagi antenna that did the job in the attic, but not after having to move it around a bit. Hope you don't have to do the same thing, but it's nice once it's done: no outages - no monthly bills. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNRET Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 .Im not willing to run something outside, and probably wouldnt mess with something in the attic Sorry, I missed the in=house ONLY part of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 http://www.amazon.com/Terk-Technology-HDTVi-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B0001FV36E I have used this one and it works well, I am located about 25miles from Chicago to give you an idea of signal strength. I too bought this and got every channel just fine from the north side of Columbia Missouri, most of the networks were down in Jefferson City around 30-40 miles away. The only network that didn't come through was CBS but then, no one could get CBS in the area due to issues with their system. If I could have opted for an outdoor or attic antennae I certainly would have but this fit the bill just fine for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCliff Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 http://www.amazon.com/Terk-Technology-HDTVi-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B0001FV36E I have used this one and it works well, I am located about 25miles from Chicago to give you an idea of signal strength. I too bought this and got every channel just fine from the north side of Columbia Missouri, most of the networks were down in Jefferson City around 30-40 miles away. The only network that didn't come through was CBS but then, no one could get CBS in the area due to issues with their system. If I could have opted for an outdoor or attic antennae I certainly would have but this fit the bill just fine for me. WOW that is funny because Channel 2(CBS affiliate)here in Chicago has the same problem hardest station to pickup. My wife is not happy with how the Terk looks but it does the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 In my area several stations are broadcasting HD on VHF channels so beware that you get an antenna that handles both UHF/VHF. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Actually, the problems that I have with reception are with channels 8.x and 4.x. IIRC, channel 8.1 is actually the lowest frequency that is broadcast. The higher frequencies are much easier to get. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I talked to a guy from CBS, apparently it's an issue with a lot of their stations. CBS needs to put in an FCC request to increase the power of their antennae. Not sure why CBS seems to have this issue more than others though, probably related to budget? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
space_cowboy Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 Thanks for all the replies, I have to go to the office tomorrow......will check out these suggestions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10901&cs_id=1090102&p_id=4730&seq=1&format=2#description Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I just got one of those big-ol roof ariels. I can pull channels in from BALTIMORE with that thing! To bad it is not on a rotory as I could also get channels from Richmond if I could point it the other way. Although my TV has a built-in digital tuner, I have an add-on module for my DirecTV recieverthat allow me to pick up the OTA channels (and they are included in the on-screen guide, plus I can also record shows from them via the DVR just like the ones I get off the satellite). It was funny when I had to call in the DirecTV guys to repoint my dish after we remounted it on the new deck. The guy had no idea what this box was (the AM21 OTA tuner module) I guess he's never seen one or never had anybody request one. I bet nobody knows they even existed as DirecTV would just rather sell you thier local channel package. Also what was funny was when I had all this exterior work done on my house, the guy I was contracting the work out made the suggestion that I should take the roof antenna down. I told "No way in hell I am taking that down! I still use the thing to get the local High-Def channels!" He was like "You could get High-Def over the air like that?" So, I took him into the house and flipped to one of the channels. There happened to be football game on in full high-def and he could not believe how awesome it looked! When remounting the antenna after redoing all the siding, he told me that must've been on of the first one of those things he's put back up in years. Most people take them down as they get cable or eveything through satellite. This particular antenna is probably over 30 years old (I think it went up with the house - it was there when I bought the place some 15 years ago, so I know it is at least as old as that) and I get plenty of high-def channels just fine with it. There is nothing "magical" about the OTA high-def channels and any decent TV antenna should work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 my house is situated accidentally in a great area for OTA viewing and I just use rabbit ears connected to my plasma set. All the top channels here are within about 20degrees of each other so I don't even rotate it. But considering getting one of those fancy attic bar antennas, wonder how well they work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 I have a small Terk upstairs that works pretty well with a built in amp. For 30 bucks I cannot complain. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Rabbit ears on top of the TV. A 1 inch movement of the antenna can ruin the signals, but that "just right" position lets me get all of the stations in my area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Rabbit ears with amplifier here. Works good. Don's miss cable a bit. Cable sucks. You might try internet TV. It's getting pretty good, I think. I don't do it, but if your signal came across the net, reception ought not to be an issue. You'd need fast net, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonzp Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I built this antenna for less than 7 dollars and it works awesome! http://www.tvantennaplans.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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