TV Antenna instead of cable/dish

[lakngulf]

Anyone using one of the new-fangled TV Antennas? Lot of hype on the internet about coverage and reception. I know they will not get the espn's and fox's/cnn's of the world but I have about decided these are not needed. I am looking at options for my Mother's house out in the country, with no hills or trees to impede reception.

One that interests me is LAVA HD8008 Ultra 4K Omni-Directional Amplified Outdoor HDTV Antenna

 

[uglyboywith11fingers]

I live in a rural area, have used a roof-top Digiwave 8 bay antenna for about 5 years. I get all stations from Buffalo & Rochester NY... about 60mi as the crow flies, with some trees in the neighbors yard in the way. I have an amplified splitter feeding 4 TVs in the house.
Reception does get spotty if there is bad weather between here & there. Toronto & Hamilton stations (25 miles) are rock solid.

Pete

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Use one at my remote cabin, not that specific brand. Got the antenna at Lowes. Added a booster to help with reception. About 80 miles to tv towers in the city. Not a flat sight line. Reception is pretty good. Gets a little pixelly somtimes but I'm not there long periods of time. Works for me given the price, free.

By the way this isn't "new-fangled" technology. Been around for awhile.

 

[PILOON]

Just remember TV is VHF or UHF and as such that is 'line of sight' with the analogue getting more range with quality that degrades over distance.
Digital TV is always sharp until it drops and distances are shorter than analogue.

Some designs are very directional giving better results but with poorer reception 'off to the sides'.
With directional designs some folks will actually install more than one to get best reception by aiming at the stations.
Then again some antennas are channel specific.

More than a few things to consider.

 

[drssg]

Check out antennaweb.org. You can enter your location, and it will tell you what stations to expect, with different types of antennas.

I also bought a Channel Master DVR. In addition to automatically recording the shows I want, it provides on-screen channel listing for live TV viewing.

I'm not familiar with the specific antenna you mentioned, so I can't provide any feedback on it.

 

[mapper]

Our digital UHF antenna is an eight bay with an amplifier, mounted on a rotator. It works well at night and during the day when the weather is cloudy, clear blue sky during daylight hours forget it. We are about sixty miles from the transmitters. When the army and air force get busy at JBLM just north of us we will cause short signal drop outs as aircraft block line of sight. I think if you are within 40 miles of the transmitters you will have no problems, 60 seems to be the practical limit around here.
We did find that when the local network stations switched to digital that they added 3-4 subchannels as well, so now instead of just channel 5, there is now 5-1, 5-2, 5-3. But it's kind of like most cable offerings, one good channel to four or five you never watch:confused3:

 

[deere36]

Sobetter HDTV Antenna Outdoor 150 Mile Long Range Amplified Digital Outdoor TV Antenna with Signals UHF/VHF/FM/Radio - 360°Rotation - High Performance Outdoor Antenna for TV with 33-Feet Coax Cable
by Sobetter
Link: http://a.co/dmlhSRK

This one works well in rural Mississippi

 

[lakngulf]

By the way this isn't "new-fangled" technology. Been around for awhile.

Point well made. The post where I will install one still has the remains of the antenna we used when I was a kid. By "new-fangled" I meant that I hope they work better.

 

[randy41]

i made one out of scrap lumber, wire hangers, screws and some electrical stuff.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/319069-tv-antenna.html
i can get fox nbc and cbs.

 

[hawkeye08]

Check out antennaweb.org. You can enter your location, and it will tell you what stations to expect, with different types of antennas.

I also bought a Channel Master DVR. In addition to automatically recording the shows I want, it provides on-screen channel listing for live TV viewing.

I'm not familiar with the specific antenna you mentioned, so I can't provide any feedback on it.

X2

Never had cable or dish, always had OTA with antennae. Channel Master lets me record and play back, skipping commercials. It also has some internet channels.