Going from Cable to TV Antenna. Need Help!

[KatieNK]

Does anyone have a TV antenna instead of cable? I know most people don't, but I am considering getting one and the concept is new to me so I need help!

Right now we have very basic cable because all we want are the major networks (ABC, NBC, etc), I don't care about all the cable channels. I think I can get all the network channels through an antenna. If you have an antenna, how many and what channels do you get?

I have been looking at antennas at Walmart.com and saw some small flat ones that can be mounted indoors or out, and I like that. I don't want a big tower and probably don't need one as I am not out in the sticks.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an antenna?

Also, I have seen all the ads on tv about stations going digital and how you need a digital converter box. If I buy a digital antenna, will I still need the box thing? I think I read a review where someone had a digital antenna but still hooked up the converter box and it boosted their signal. Could that be true?

I have read where people got the digital antennas and then they got like 30 channels, but surely that must be just several ABC stations, several NBC stations, etc etc. Right? Sorry if that is a dumb question but I just have no idea how antenna tv works!

We have 2 tvs in the house, Will I need 2 antennas? (one for each)?

Will the stations going digital cause the signal strength to be better? DH is really worried about not getting any channels. But I am willing to at least try it and if it works then we can cancell the cable!


Any advice or info you have would be great!
Thank you!

[Denvergirlie]

http : / / www . dtvanswers . com

Check out this site for all the answers you have. You will have to remove the spaces up above.

[disneysteve]

We have an antenna but did switch to limited basic cable a couple of years ago. We are in the Philadelphia area and got NBC, ABC, CBS, 2 PBS stations, Fox, WB (CW now), UPN (not sure what that is now) and a couple of others.

My cousin lives in Philly and recently got his converter box. He now gets extra stations. For example, ABC is channel 6. He also gets 6.1, 6.2, 6.3. One of them is Accu-Weather 24/7, so it is from the ABC affiliate but it is an entirely different feed.

[segmond]

the biggest difference maker from what i have noticed is the location of the TV and your proximity to the stations, all the antehnnas are pretty much the same, so go with the cheapest one.

[mom-from-missouri]

We keep our antenna in the attic. It is safe from wind and icestorms.

We have dish and the antenna both hooked up. We are "too cheap" to buy the local channels from dish, so we use the antenna and we receive about 7 channels. That is enough to get the local news, local NASCAR events and the weather during tornado season.

When the clouds & heavy snow or rain knock out the dish, the antenna keeps on going.

[Hot dog]

We use bunny ears. I have an amplified antenna. I think it was like $40 and I have used it for 2 1/2 years. So it is well worth the cost. I get all the major stations. It is not a big antenna that you mount on the roof or anything. You just plug it in to the wall and into your TV. You could go to radio shack or wherever I also bought one from rite aide and try it just take the cable line out and put in the antenna. If it doesn't work take it back. Radio shack said you have a month and if you don't like it for any reason you can bring it back. You probably will need a convertor box unless you have a high def integrated TV. It takes some gettin used to but the kids don't even miss cable any more. I do miss home and garden though

[disneysteve]

You probably will need a convertor box unless you have a high def integrated TV

This is not correct. High def has nothing to do with the digital conversion. You need a converter if your TV isn't digital. All TVs sold today are but those sold years ago were not.

[safari]

Any antenna can receive digital signals, even the bunny ears. Get the cheapest antenna and try it out. If you don't get a good reception, you will need to try a directional or an amplified antenna. Check if your TV has a digital tuner. Most new TV's come with it built-in. If you have an older TV, you will need to get a digital-to-analog converter. They cost around $60, but make sure to order a government coupon from this website, which will give you $40 off. You can order 2 coupons per household. Since you have 2 TV's, you will need to get 2 converter boxes. You can use a single antenna with a splitter to run the cables to each TV, but personally I'd just get 2 antennas, since they are cheap and you won't have to run cables. You will be amazed by the quality of the picture that you will get over the air, even after it gets converted to analog signal. It's so much better than the picture you currently get through your cable provider. Depending on your location and how far you are from the closest transmitter, you should get from 10 to 40 digital channels. Hope this helps.