What is a good indoor antenna to use with a digital converter box?
I live in a downstairs apt. & I have a RCA Digital TV converter. Which indoor antenna would someone recommend? Preferably an inexpensive one.
The sad news is, you have almost everything going against you:
1. Indoor antenna.
2. Apartment (can’t install large, outside antenna)
3. Downstairs
4. Low budget
Assuming you’re in the U.S., all of your local over-the-air (OTA) stations are transmitting digital signals, and digital TV reception works very poorly with weak signals. Unfortunately, for someone in your circumstances, weak signals are a given.
I have only one recommendation for an indoor antenna, one that has been extensively tested by some genuine experts on this subject. I’ve included a link for it below. it’s not very cheap, but for indoor antennas, it’s as good as you can get and better than just about anything else.
One thing about this antenna: it’s a UHF design, so you can’t expect much from a station transmitting on VHF. But in your very difficult circumstances, it’s going to be really, really tough for you to receive a VHF stations anyway. You may have to be content with what few channels you can get.
You actually may be better off subscribing to basic analog cable, if your apartment has a cable jack on the wall. For that you won’t need your converter, and the cost should be somewhere around $15 to $20 a month. That will get you a good signal on all of your local stations, whereas the best indoor antenna in the world most likely can’t do that where you are now. Good luck.
March 17th, 2010 at 4:28 am
The sad news is, you have almost everything going against you:
1. Indoor antenna.
2. Apartment (can’t install large, outside antenna)
3. Downstairs
4. Low budget
Assuming you’re in the U.S., all of your local over-the-air (OTA) stations are transmitting digital signals, and digital TV reception works very poorly with weak signals. Unfortunately, for someone in your circumstances, weak signals are a given.
I have only one recommendation for an indoor antenna, one that has been extensively tested by some genuine experts on this subject. I’ve included a link for it below. it’s not very cheap, but for indoor antennas, it’s as good as you can get and better than just about anything else.
One thing about this antenna: it’s a UHF design, so you can’t expect much from a station transmitting on VHF. But in your very difficult circumstances, it’s going to be really, really tough for you to receive a VHF stations anyway. You may have to be content with what few channels you can get.
You actually may be better off subscribing to basic analog cable, if your apartment has a cable jack on the wall. For that you won’t need your converter, and the cost should be somewhere around $15 to $20 a month. That will get you a good signal on all of your local stations, whereas the best indoor antenna in the world most likely can’t do that where you are now. Good luck.
References :
http://www.amazon.com/Winegard-SS-3000-Amplified-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B001DFZ5II