HDTV Antennas

[MikeVic]

I'm looking around on monoprice.com for an optical switcher, and came across this:

For only $14.88 each when QTY 50+ purchased - HDTV Indoor Antenna | Indoor HD Antenna (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10901&cs_id=1090101&p_id=4729&seq=1&format=2)

Anyone used one of these? I'm thinking getting free HD channels using this is too good to be true, and even more so in Canada...

[lordscarlet]

I do not have this exact one, but I have an indoor HD antenna that works fantastically.

[MikeVic]

I'm looking for more info on this, and everything I find is for U.S. residents only... some site called Antenna Web is apparently really good for finding out what type of antenna to buy for your local channels, but it's for the U.S. only.

Any Canadians on the board have experience with this?

[Fidatelo]

What does an HD antenna do? I'm assuming it allows you to accept over-the-air HD feeds, but do we even have OTA channels in HD in Canada?

[timmynausea]

TVFool.com is way way way better than antennaweb, and there are some great threads about this on avsforum.com. If TVFool doesn't handle Canadian info, avsforum becomes your best bet.

Obviously what you need will vary based on your location in terms of distance from the towers, whether the towers are mostly in one direction or spread around you, and whether most locals are in VHF or UHF. In any case, here are my general tips:

1. There is really no such thing as an "HDTV antenna". It's marketing hype. Any antenna can pick up an HD signal including aluminum foil and/or a coat hanger.

2. If your TV doesn't have an atsc tuner, you'll need to buy one to be able to pick up a digital signal. There are a bunch of cheap ones on the market because of the government's $40 coupon program. Everything else I could find was expensive, though. I have the Channel Master 7000 (about $65), which is an awesome tuner - I get 19 locals whereas I only got about 10 on a USB tuner. The only problem is that the CM is only a 480i output. You'll probably have to spend quite a bit more to get a true HD output, and I don't have a huge screen, so it wasn't a problem for me.

3. Different antennas are good at different things. One of the main things you need to look at is whether UHF or VHF is more prevalent at your location and find an antenna that excels at that. This is a big issue in America where everything will switch to digital in February. A lot of channels will be making the switch from UHF to VHF (where a channel 3 CBS in Kalamazoo may be broadcasting on 20 right now on their analog equipment, many are choosing to switch to 3 when they make the change to digital equipment) and some people may need to change antennas to keep their local HD.

[Tasan]

What timmynausea said. I currently fly an old school channel master antenna and get HD signal just fine. Find out how far the towers are, and then find an antenna rated for that distance and set it up. The antenna does NOT have to say HD ready or HD compatable or any nonsense like that.

[MikeVic]

What does an HD antenna do? I'm assuming it allows you to accept over-the-air HD feeds, but do we even have OTA channels in HD in Canada?

That's what I want to know too. Do we even have any?

[Fidatelo]

That's what I want to know too. Do we even have any?

I have no idea, but my gut feeling is 'no'.

[MikeVic]

According to avsforum ( International THREAD INDEX - find your local discussion thread HERE. - AVS Forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=599384)), nothing yet for certain areas... including mine. :(

[timmynausea]

I did a search from Toronto on TVfool.com and a bunch of digital channels came up. Not sure which are or aren't HD, but it does look like the TVfool signal locator works for Canadian addresses.

TV Fool - TV Signal Locater (http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29)

[MikeVic]

You're right, Winnipeg is showing stuff.

[lordscarlet]

1. There is really no such thing as an "HDTV antenna". It's marketing hype. Any antenna can pick up an HD signal including aluminum foil and/or a coat hanger.


My Dad is using the antenna that was installed on his roof in the late 70s or early 80s to receive his flawless HD signals.

[stevew]

I'm becoming more and more tempted to go with a rooftop setup. Although TVFool seems to think it's extremely unlikely that I can get Pittsburgh from my current location. So I'd hate to hook this shit up, and then have it not even work.