Need to get an OTA antenna. Recommendations?

[fit2btide]

Can anyone suggest an antenna for me?

I am finally moving to HD reception with my Mitsubishi 65511 TV (I've had it for 2 years). Just bought new Samsung HD receiver and new dish and had it installed. Have had DirecTV for several years. New dish needed to go mount in a different location than the original one. Installer suggested getting a Square Shooter to mount on the old dish mount for OTA HD reception. I don't want one of the old-style antenna on the roof.

Here are some HD reception specs for my location:

* yellow - uhf WVTM-DT 13.1 NBC BIRMINGHAM AL 266° 6.6-miles 52
* yellow - uhf WTTO-DT 21.1 WB HOMEWOOD AL 263° 7.3-miles 28
* yellow - uhf WIAT-DT 42.1 CBS BIRMINGHAM AL 263° 7.3-miles 30
* yellow - uhf WABM-DT 68.1 UPN BIRMINGHAM AL 263° 7.3-miles 36
* yellow - uhf WBIQ-DT 10.1 PBS BIRMINGHAM AL 263° 7.3-miles 53
* yellow - uhf WBRC-DT 6.1 FOX BIRMINGHAM AL 265° 6.8-miles 50

[Ratman]

You're close enough where an indoor will probably work.

You might consider this:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=ELEC&pid=05768514000

[RonInBigEasy]

Seeing that you are < 10 miles from all your stations and all within 3 degress of each other, you can get away with virtually any antenna you'd like. There are too many possiblities to list here, it's basically up to personal preference with what you are more comfortable with.

[fit2btide]

I went to Sears for the Zenith Silver Sensor antenna. I plugged the cable into the ANT-DTV input on the back of my TV. I'm not getting anything when I go to the ANT-DTV device. Is it that the local stations are only broadcasting HD in primetime (it's early afternoon now).

[mjones73]

Hook the antenna up to your Samsung receiver and scan for channels, your TV doesn't have a digital tuner built in, you need to use the one in your Directv receiver.

[Ratman]

... and make sure your scanning/searching
with the antenna input set to "AIR" and not "CABLE".

[fit2btide]

My TV does have a built-in HDTV tuner. Is that not what you meant? But, anyway, I did plug the antenna into the DirecTV receiver and scanned for channels. The channels show up on the guide now, but I only get picture on one (CBS) and it was breaking up a bit. Maybe it's the antenna, maybe it's me not knowing squat about this.

[mjones73]

Your not getting enough signal, try moving the antenna around, get it to a window pointing in the direction of your towers. The Silver Sensor is highly directional.

[tigerbangs]

You appear to have a couple of issues here: first of all, if your TV set has a DTV tuner in it, then you are probably better off using that tuner rather than the satellite receiver for HDTV reception. Connect the antenna up to the DTV antenna input of the TV, go into the menu on the TV, and have the set scan for digital stations.

You should also orient your antenna towards the transmitters in your area, which appear to be west of you. If you have no window access to the west, consider extending the cable of the antenna so that it will reach a west-facing window. If that doesn't work, the you probably ought to consider a small outdoor antenna, like a Channel Master 4221 mounted on the roof. You probably won't believe how much better an outdoor antenna is at pulling stations reliably.

[mjones73]

You appear to have a couple of issues here: first of all, if your TV set has a DTV tuner in it, then you are probably better off using that tuner rather than the satellite receiver for HDTV reception.

Why? Using the sat receiver let's him integrate the guide information and keep everything on one input source... At his distance he should have no problem getting a signal with the right antenna that the Samsung 360 can use just fine... I don't see the tuner in his two year old TV being that much better then the Samsungs...

[tigerbangs]

I have found that many satellite receivers become a pain to use when attempting to integrate local analog and digital stations: Samsung receivers, for example, can show 4 or 5 different listings for the same channel, and figuring out which one is HDTV and which one is analog is unnecessarily confusing. The tuner built into the TV can make that process easier, and also eliminates whatever quality losses may occur from the addition of cabling from the satellite receiver to the TV set.

Just a personal opinion, but it does make me wonder why this fellow waited 2 years to gofor OTA HD...LOL

[mjones73]

Ahh, I do see that on my HTL-HD but I've just blocked the channels I don't get off the guide so I don't see them. It's easier then telling the wife she needs to switch inputs to watch the locals. :)

[tigerbangs]

That's why you get a good home theater remote control! Now that I got my Harmony H659, my wife can actually figure out how to use everything: it even has a help mode to prompt you when things go wrong!

[mjones73]

Or I can just use the functionality built into the equipment I own, they give you those user manuals for a reason :)

[tigerbangs]

Or I can just use the functionality built into the equipment I own, they give you those user manuals for a reason :)

What??? do you mean actually READING AN MANUAL? Heresy! Communism!

[hd4me2]

Manual's? We don't need no stinking manual's!

[fit2btide]

Not having a west-facing window in the TV room, I did get a longer RG6 cable to test it in another room. I scanned for channels and then was able to get all channels (see first post above) except the FOX and NBC stations (the ABC folks are supposed to have another tower closer to us sometime in February). Don't know why I can't get those...their towers are right near the others (is it because they are VHF – channels 6 and 13 – and the Silver Sensor is UHF only?). I'm sure you're right about getting better reception with an outdoor antenna on the roof. Just didn't want to if I didn't have to.

As for not doing this before...I don't know...guess I thought what I was getting was good enough, and there wasn't so much discussion about it back then. Heck, I was thrilled just making the jump from a plain 20" TV to this giant 65" home theater! I love to hear people when they come in for the first time and say, "Wow that's a big TV!" Then I go over to my friend's house and see his drop-down wall screen, projector in the ceiling and sound from all over...that's what I call a home theater.

[tigerbangs]

Let me tell you, there is nothing as satisfying as getting FREE OTA reception from a good antenna: No satellite or cable TV HDTV feed can match it, but to be able to fully enjoy what OTA HDTV has to offer, get yourself a good outdoor antenna and mount and aim it properly at the transmitters. When you do, you should be free of pixellization and other nasty stuff, and you can sit back and enjoy, knowing that you aren't paying anyone a monthly fee for something that you can GET FOR FREE! YEE HA!

You can be up and operating with a Channel Master 4221 mounted on your roof for about $65-70, including the cable and mounting equipment. You can pay a lot more for an indoor antenna that won't do half as well.