Electronics

[isaboo]

HSN has a TSV today for an antenna and it sounds good - getting rid of cable but I don't know enough about how well they work.  Any information would be appreciated.

[Pook]

@isaboo  I would think that if you are in larger area closer to where the signals were you could get fairly good reception and a variety of channels but if you are isolated or in an area surrounded by mountains - forget it!  We have a vacation cottage in an area surrounded by mountains and we inquired about antennas for tv and this is what all the companies we cotacted told us.

[CrazyDaisy]

They work great if you live in a place that gets good reception.  Can even depend on where you put it in your house.  At my place everything faces south, all the towers are northso it can get a little spotty. That said, I did order that one.  Will see if I can get better reception with the "new technology".  If not I can easily return it.

[gardenman]

Antennas are great, but (there's always a but) you only get whatever programming is aired over the air. I have all three sources (an antenna, cable, and streaming) and can watch pretty much anything at any time. My TVs that just use the antenna get about 88 channels locally (on a good day.) However, some of those are duplicates (I get channels from both the Baltimore and Philly markets.) Getting the right antenna is important also. Locally channel 6 (WPVI) decided to stay on channel 6 (VHF Low) rather than move their signal to one of the UHF bands that was availabe. That means that to get reliable reception on channel 6 you need a bigger, old style antenna with the long dipoles instead of just a smaller UHF only antenna.

The good news is you get really good pictures with an antenna on the all digital channels. All of the snow, fuzziness, static and stuff you used to get with analog signals is now gone.

There are sites that let you plug in where you live and shows you the channels available and recommends the right antenna for your location. Antennaweb.org is one such source. (I find they under estimate the channels availabe to me however.)

[Johnnyeager]

I have this exact brand, but an earlier model.

I don't have cable so have always used an indoor antenna like this one.

I live in the back of a brick apartment in New York City and still scan in about 25 channels.  All local broadcast ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, ION TV which carries QVC and HSN....more than enough for me since I don't watch that much TV.  I don't even have the antenna near a window and am quite pleased about not having to pay a cable bill.

Of course, you need a newer model TV which can get digital signals, otherwise you would need the analog to digital converter box.  

[2blonde]

@isaboo  I live near a metropolitan area, but I'm in a condo with buildings on either side of me, as well as tall trees to the SW and W.  I can't use either an antenna or a dish here.  I can only use cable or, in my case, AT&T U-Verse (both are expensive and increase in price every year).  I'm too lazy to bother with internet TV.

[deeva]

I bought an over the air antenna last year because Directv refuses to offer some of the channels I want. 

I was concerned because of the mountains, but it works great. 

Shopped around, paid $16, has a 50 mile radius and I get 66 channels.

[Kachina624]

I cut the cord and started using an antenna over a year ago and have never looked back.  There's a lot of information on antennas here on the electronics forum if you do a search on the subject.  There are cheaper, effective antennas to be had than the one HSN is selling.  You need one for  every TV.

[SilleeMee]

I use rabbit-ears on my TVs. But reception here is very limited because  the hills and mountains block the waves.

[software]

I agree with all the of the above.

There are many variables but if you think you are in a favorable location, it might be worth it.

The 30 day return policy is your friend.