Re: Need digital TV antenna
As a person who works at a tv station dealing with the digital transition we get this question all the time... Here's a couple of things to keep in mind...
First off, there is no such thing as a "digital antenna"... Digital signals need no special antenna to pick them up. They use the same frequencies (though less of them) as the old analog signals...
Any time you see a "Digital TV Antenna" it's nothing more than a marketing gimmick so they can charge more for the antenna...
Now a quick word about indoor antennas... Because of the way digital signals work, indoor antennas are kinda hit and miss... We find that MOST places they do not work very well for digital signals... The signal fluxuates enough that it will frequently drop below the minimum level which means the signal will cut out.. Digital signals are fantastic in that you have no "noise" in the signal... You get it or you don't... But on the flip side, if the signal is right on the edge it'll "bounce" between getting it and not getting it... That leads to breakup and or cutting in or out (whereas on an analog set it would just be really snowy...) Anyway, point is, it's best to avoid an indoor antenna if possible...
As for outdoor antenna, as mentioned above channel master makes some good ones and my personal favorite winegard...
However... Here's the thing you have to keep in mind... None of us (unless we happen to live in the same area) can tell you what antenna will work good. Every area is very different... In my area a simple UHF winegard unamplified antenna is the best you can do, and it works fantastic. Throw an amp on it and you'll get nothing... Other types of antennas are patchy... Again it just all depends on your area and what the lay of the land is...
The good news is, there's a great spot to find out more information about what others have had success with in your area...
http://www.antennaweb.org
You can choose your location and it'll show you all the channels in your area as well as what antennas will work best... (they catagorize each "type" of antenna into color categories...) Perhaps most importantly they give you a compass heading for all the towers of the stations... Because of that you can choose a direction to mount the antenna facing if it's fixed, or what points to set on your rotor if you go that route. Yes you can get an omni, but often times they are not the best choice. They lose a lot of gain and if you are far from the tower you might have problems getting a good reception, especially in certain weather conditions... You can amp the signal (as I think someone suggested above) but again it all depends on your area... Amplification does some strange things to digital signals... If ALL your station towers are far away then amps work great. If you have some that are fairly close that amp can cause problems with those signals... Again it all just depends on your area.
Also, just a quick note... As stated above digital doesn't have anything to do with HD... With one exception... You can ONLY carry HD (over the air) on a digital signal.
