Re: Indoor Set Top Antenna

TheMachineRNC wrote:
How far from the broadcast towers can this be effective? I live in Leesburg, VA about 30 miles from Washington, DC. I'm going to upgrade my Dish to HD in February, but want to try HDTV with Rabbit ears for now rather than put up an antenna outside.

I just want to know if I'm blowing $50 by going out and buying an amplified indoor antenna or not. All I really care about is picking up network signals. If a set top antenna won't do the trick, I'll just wait and upgrade Dish to HD.

I live in Sterling, VA and have a Channel Master 4221 (aka 3021) 4 Bay Bowtie UHF antenna to pick up the digital/HD stations in DC and Baltimore. The antenna is mounted in my attic crawlspace. All of the digital stations in DC and Baltimore are currently broadcasting in UHF, so a UHF antenna is critical.

At 30 miles, you might get a couple of the DC stations with an indoor antenna mounted high up in the room, provided your house does not have metal screens inside the walls, vent ducts, or siding that blocks the broadcast signals.

DirecTV is now offering the 4 major locals (NBC, Fox, ABC, CBS) in DC in HD on their new satellite with MPEG-4 Local on Local service. But the DirecTV subscribers have to get a new dish and receiver for this. Dish has not done this yet, so with Dish, as I understand it, to get the broadcast networks in HD, you either have to qualify for waivers or get the local stations over the air.

I use Adelphia in Loudoun county which offers a decent selection of HD channels, but is not cheap and lacks the local WB (ch 50) and UPN (ch 20) HD stations among others. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will see Verizon FiOS-TV offered in at least parts of Loudoun sometime in the next year or two.

I personally think that if you either have a TV with a built-in ATSC tuner or have a STB with a ATSC over the air option and live within the reception range of local digital broadcast stations, that one should put up an antenna to get the stations even if you have cable or satellite. That means that you are not totally dependent on the cable or satellite company for TV and have a backup in there is a prolonged outage. Also, you can get all the digital sub-channels and PBS & smaller network stations that the satellite company will never offer and the local cable will likely not anytime soon.

 Alan F
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Relevant Pages

  • Re: direct TV/ OTA local
    ...  I can pick up the local analog stations, ... that...or maybe he thought I already had an outdoor antenna. ... many cable companies do not yet carry all the locals as the ... RG-6 co-axial cables. ...
    (alt.tv.tech.hdtv)
  • Re: direct TV/ OTA local
    ... I can pick up the local analog stations, ... that...or maybe he thought I already had an outdoor antenna. ... locals as the ... RG-6 co-axial cables. ...
    (alt.tv.tech.hdtv)
  • Re: HD Signal Level Needed ??
    ... of the house, on the roof, and just barely high enough to clear the ... an attic antenna WILL work in my situation. ... those weaker stations at 43 miles, my antenna is looking lengthwise down ... Many cable companies do not provide all the HD locals, ...
    (alt.tv.tech.hdtv)
  • Re: HD Signal Level Needed ??
    ... an attic antenna WILL work in my situation. ... way or the construction materials used in the house & roof cut the ... those weaker stations at 43 miles, my antenna is looking lengthwise down ... Many cable companies do not provide all the HD locals, ...
    (alt.tv.tech.hdtv)
  • Re: Direct TV DVR
    ... ABC and FOX is via antenna - ... I can't even watch ABC & FOX in HD without ... feed you the national feed with a waiver from the locals. ... I only get ABC over the Dish because it's the only network-owned ...
    (rec.video.satellite.dbs)
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