Any recs on a TV antenna?

fadingathedges · December 2010

I have a wall mounted flat screen and no cable. Here is the model. I'd like an antenna that ideally snugs behind the TV or something or is otherwise less conspicuous than massive bunny ears.

Advise please! Thanks in advance.

Falken · January 2011

Don't most people have them mounted to the roof?

I guess phone a guy who fits them.

Donovan Puppyfucker · January 2011

Internal (as in, not outside your house) television antennas are, by and large, utter bullshit. Worthless pieces of crap you just shouldn't bother with.

The antenna at my apartment building is shared by 6 different units, and if you have tried to share an analogue antenna across multiple devices before, you'll know why we tried once with that and gave up.

So we bought an internal antenna, had mediocre at best results with that. Tried two other types of internal antenna, picked the best of the three, and bought a signal amplifier/filter to go with it.

We got reasonable reception on two (public access and SBS, which is in foreign languages approx. 50% of the time...) out of six channels, and unwatchable results on the other four channels.

So now we have satellite.

Improvolone · January 2011

Location of antenna also makes a huge difference, you may need to hide it 300 ft east of your TV to get a clearer signal.

DHS Odium · January 2011

Internal antennas are not bullshit, it just depends on if you're close enough to the towers or near a larger city. I've lived in and around Orlando for a few years, at least 2 of those years we've used regular rabbit ears since we didn't have cable. We had all the networks: FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS and probably one or two I'm missing in HD, we also had about 4 PBS channels, and a few other ones here and there, all told we could get over 20 channels since several were broadcasting multiple signals (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, etc.).

Kipling · January 2011

What do you need according when you search here? http://www.antennaweb.org/

If you have VHF channels still, you are going to have more problems getting them all in than just UHF channels.

If you need an indoor one, I use the the Monoprice antenna. It's pretty good, and as a bonus it is compact and you could install it outside without worry.

Jollus · January 2011

I know a few people who use home made antennas made from old coat hangers.

It isn't as ghetto as you might expect. You can google it and find some good plans.

Donovan Puppyfucker · January 2011

DHS Odium wrote: »

Internal antennas are not bullshit, it just depends on if you're close enough to the towers or near a larger city. I've lived in and around Orlando for a few years, at least 2 of those years we've used regular rabbit ears since we didn't have cable. We had all the networks: FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS and probably one or two I'm missing in HD, we also had about 4 PBS channels, and a few other ones here and there, all told we could get over 20 channels since several were broadcasting multiple signals (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, etc.).

I'm about a mile from the CBD of the state capital. I have clear line of sight out my apartment back door to two transmission dishes...

Basically, you got lucky.

KalTorak · January 2011

chrishallett83 wrote: »

DHS Odium wrote: »

Internal antennas are not bullshit, it just depends on if you're close enough to the towers or near a larger city. I've lived in and around Orlando for a few years, at least 2 of those years we've used regular rabbit ears since we didn't have cable. We had all the networks: FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS and probably one or two I'm missing in HD, we also had about 4 PBS channels, and a few other ones here and there, all told we could get over 20 channels since several were broadcasting multiple signals (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, etc.).

I'm about a mile from the CBD of the state capital. I have clear line of sight out my apartment back door to two transmission dishes...

Basically, you got lucky.

Or basically you got unlucky?

That_Guy · January 2011

KalTorak wrote: »

chrishallett83 wrote: »

DHS Odium wrote: »

Internal antennas are not bullshit, it just depends on if you're close enough to the towers or near a larger city. I've lived in and around Orlando for a few years, at least 2 of those years we've used regular rabbit ears since we didn't have cable. We had all the networks: FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS and probably one or two I'm missing in HD, we also had about 4 PBS channels, and a few other ones here and there, all told we could get over 20 channels since several were broadcasting multiple signals (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, etc.).

I'm about a mile from the CBD of the state capital. I have clear line of sight out my apartment back door to two transmission dishes...

Basically, you got lucky.

Or basically you got unlucky?

I can speak from personal experience that outdoor antennas mounted to a roof are going to function orders of magnitude better than any indoor antenna. You can buy them in kit form from a hardware store or online. It takes about an hour to assemble and another hour to mount. We just mounted ours on the chimney because they never used the fireplace (being that it was Florida). My friend had spent over $100 on this fancy indoor antenna that was supposed to be the best of the best, but we still saw a huge boost in signal quality from a $50 outdoor kit and some odds and ends from the hardware store.

Ego · January 2011

That_Guy wrote: »

KalTorak wrote: »

chrishallett83 wrote: »

DHS Odium wrote: »

Internal antennas are not bullshit, it just depends on if you're close enough to the towers or near a larger city. I've lived in and around Orlando for a few years, at least 2 of those years we've used regular rabbit ears since we didn't have cable. We had all the networks: FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS and probably one or two I'm missing in HD, we also had about 4 PBS channels, and a few other ones here and there, all told we could get over 20 channels since several were broadcasting multiple signals (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, etc.).

I'm about a mile from the CBD of the state capital. I have clear line of sight out my apartment back door to two transmission dishes...

Basically, you got lucky.

Or basically you got unlucky?

I can speak from personal experience that outdoor antennas mounted to a roof are going to function orders of magnitude better than any indoor antenna. You can buy them in kit form from a hardware store or online. It takes about an hour to assemble and another hour to mount. We just mounted ours on the chimney because they never used the fireplace (being that it was Florida). My friend had spent over $100 on this fancy indoor antenna that was supposed to be the best of the best, but we still saw a huge boost in signal quality from a $50 outdoor kit and some odds and ends from the hardware store.

Tested in the same location, out of curiosity?

That_Guy · January 2011

Ego wrote: »

That_Guy wrote: »

KalTorak wrote: »

chrishallett83 wrote: »

DHS Odium wrote: »

Internal antennas are not bullshit, it just depends on if you're close enough to the towers or near a larger city. I've lived in and around Orlando for a few years, at least 2 of those years we've used regular rabbit ears since we didn't have cable. We had all the networks: FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS and probably one or two I'm missing in HD, we also had about 4 PBS channels, and a few other ones here and there, all told we could get over 20 channels since several were broadcasting multiple signals (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, etc.).

I'm about a mile from the CBD of the state capital. I have clear line of sight out my apartment back door to two transmission dishes...

Basically, you got lucky.

Or basically you got unlucky?

I can speak from personal experience that outdoor antennas mounted to a roof are going to function orders of magnitude better than any indoor antenna. You can buy them in kit form from a hardware store or online. It takes about an hour to assemble and another hour to mount. We just mounted ours on the chimney because they never used the fireplace (being that it was Florida). My friend had spent over $100 on this fancy indoor antenna that was supposed to be the best of the best, but we still saw a huge boost in signal quality from a $50 outdoor kit and some odds and ends from the hardware store.

Tested in the same location, out of curiosity?

Yup. Same exact place. These results will not be as dramatic in other states as they are in Florida due to the flat terrain. If you live in a very mountainous area they tend to use smaller but more numerousness transmitters, where as in Florida they use larger, but more sparse transmitters. You want to get the antenna up as high as you can get it.

DHS Odium · January 2011

chrishallett83 wrote: »

DHS Odium wrote: »

Internal antennas are not bullshit, it just depends on if you're close enough to the towers or near a larger city. I've lived in and around Orlando for a few years, at least 2 of those years we've used regular rabbit ears since we didn't have cable. We had all the networks: FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS and probably one or two I'm missing in HD, we also had about 4 PBS channels, and a few other ones here and there, all told we could get over 20 channels since several were broadcasting multiple signals (4.1, 4.2, 4.3, etc.).

I'm about a mile from the CBD of the state capital. I have clear line of sight out my apartment back door to two transmission dishes...

Basically, you got lucky.

We did this over the course of 3 years, at 3 different apartments, with a $10 antenna I got at Radioshack over 5 years ago. Wasn't luck.

KalTorak · January 2011

Considering I get about a dozen good-quality channels with an indoor antenna and... zero channels without one, I'd be hard-pressed to call indoor antennas "utter bullshit."

Quantux · January 2011

Indoor is tricky, especially in an apartment. My best experience was with this one, mounted outside on my balcony, with the flat side facing into direct line of sight to the towers ~30miles away. My current place doesn't have the same line of sight, so I had to go indoor. After trying a few, I settled on this one. basically half the stations I have to turn it 90 degrees to the right to get, but all the important ones (the 7 english PBS channels) come in with it sitting the same way.

Esh · January 2011

This will show you what channels you should get at your location.

And for an indoor antenna, this is what I used to great effect.

saltiness · January 2011

I use one of these. I get every OTA channel available. Indoor antennas do work.

firewaterword · January 2011

I've got a Terk powered model, and it's rad. Gets everything I want to watch. The prongy antenna bits are pretty big when fully extended, but hey, free TV.

Akilae729 · January 2011

I just bought this and it works really well.

It's also EXTRA cheap

Penny Arcade

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Any recs on a TV antenna?

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