Things to understand and mistakes to avoid when buying an HDTV antenna

Here is the list of what I believe is the important stuff you should know before buing an HDTV antenna. It looks pretty basic, but believe me, it could help many people to avoid wasting money buying useless junk and then spending hours trying to get HD signal out of it. Here we go.

There is no such thing as an HDTV antenna!
The first thing to know is that there is no such thing as an HDTV antenna. Your antenna has no idea whether your signal is high definition or not, pretty much as it doesn't care whether you are watching Fox News or NBC chanel. Antenna is just a piece of metal resonating at some particular frequency and having desirable electrical properties and radiation pattern. You may have Ultra High Frequency (UHF) antenna or Very High Frequency (VHF) antenna, but Fox News antenna or HDTV antenna is pretty much nonsense. To be fair, there are some antenna properties that are important for HD signal reception. Without going into a technical discussion, the bottom line is that the only reason you see HDTV antennas in the market is 'cause it sells better. HDTV is a fancy buzzword. As a rule of thumb, HDTV optimization is the less important feature to look at when buying an antenna for HDTV.

Outdoor HDTV antennas: directional vs. omni-directional (or multi-directional)
Directional antenna can certainly pick up hd signals from a more distant towers. However, as the name implies, a directional antenna should be aimed in a particular direction. Directional antennas are perfect for you if the transmitting towers of all networks you want to watch are located more or less in the same direction from your location. Otherwise, you may end up with the powefull antenna receiving only one TV station. Of course, if you are really far from the towers you have no choice but to use a directional antenna and sometimes several directional antennas if you want to receive broadcasts from different sites.

Directional indoor HDTV antennas
There are few very popular indoor HDTV antenna models. Many of them are pretty good if you are close to the transmitting towers, but prepare to "play" with the antenna and move it around every time you change the channel. That may be really annoying.

Outdoor is better than indoor
Yes, even better than the amplified indoor antenna in most cases. Sometimes, people tell me they bought an amplified indoor HDTV antenna because the performance of their old directional outdoor antenna was poor. Somehow they thought that the indoor antenna will do better 'cause it is amplified, it is HDTV antenna and it is new (!?). Please, don't do that. If your old outdoor antenna does not work, check the cables, aim the antenna in right direction, and if it still doesn't work, buy an outdoor antenna with a higher directivity/gain or if you are in the violet/pink zone consider buying pre-amplifier (yes, for the outdoor antenna).

You get what you pay for
HDTV antenna is the cheapest component of your HDTV system, but its impact on the HD signal reception is huge. That's why I am not a big fan of low budget antennas. After you have already spent a fortune on your plasma HDTV monitor, you want to get the most out of it. When the difference between a mediocre antenna and a star performer is atmost $50, it hardly make sense to go for a second rate antenna.

HD Antenna Reviews & Guide

As the popularity of over-the-air (OTA) HDTV grows, HD antenna becomes an essential component of your home entertainment system. Off-air TV antennas have been put aside for many years in favor of modern satellite and cable television technology. The comeback of off-air HD antennas has to do with an amazing quality of HDTV broadcasts. Forget about noisy analog pictures; snow, ghosts, all that belongs to the past. HDTV broadcasts quality is often superior to the quality of the same HD programs received through a paid satellite subscription. Not only the quality is better, OTA HDTV is free of charge. To pick up HD signals you will need a HD antenna.

To choose the best HD antenna follow our step-by-step HDTV antenna selection guide. After you figure out what type of TV antenna you need to pick up HDTV broadcasts in your area, use our HD antenna search engine to find the specific antenna models of the required type and read customer reviews.

What is HD antenna?

Also frequently referred as HDTV antenna, HD antenna is a regular TV antenna used for HDTV reception. There is nothing special about HD antenna. Associating high definition term with a TV antenna is just a marketing spin that takes advantage of the fancy buzzword to increase the old-fashioned device sales.

 

How much to spend on HD antenna?

By the time the subject of HD antennas ever rolls around, most individuals find themselves over a previously established budget. High definition compatible televisions can easily run into the thousands of dollars, with the cords and cables taking another bite out of the budget. The good news are that HD antennas are much easier on the budget. Typically, a high quality outdoor directional antenna can be found in $50-$100 range. And when the differences between the superb antenna and the junk are that small, go for the best! After you have already spent a lot of money on the HDTV set, you want to get the most out of it.

 

Indoor vs. Outdoor

If at all possible, outdoor antennas are recommended, especially if you live in an area that may be remote in regards to broadcast towers. However, if you live in an urban area or one that is greatly saturated with broadcast signals, then an indoor HD antenna may work perfectly well. Indoor television antennas are also encouraged for anyone who may not feel comfortable with accessing their roof and installing the actual antenna. Furthermore, indoor HD antennas do not take the environmental punishments that outdoor antennas take, so the indoor versions generally last longer.
Some housing developments and neighborhoods have gone so far as to ban outdoor HD antennas. If the homeowners association doesn't let you put an outdoor antenna on the roof, you have two choices: 1) Show them the FCC ruling that prohibits restrictions on outdoor antennas installation; 2) Go for an indoor HD antenna.

 

Outdoor UHF vs. VHF antennas

Over 90% of HDTV broadcasts are on the UHF band. Unless there are HDTV broadcasts on the VHF band in your area, don't bother with VHF antennas. These antennas are typically of much bigger size, more expensive and more difficult to install. In principle, you can buy a VHF/UHF antenna to cover both bands, but keep in mind that such an antenna is always a compromise. There is no free lunch. By designing the HD antenna to cover a large bandwidth, performance is sacrificed on each one of the bands, especially on the VHF band. There are also VHF/UHF antennas that are built of two separate UHF and VHF antennas stacked together. The major drawbacks are again: price, size and installation hassle.

 

Directional vs. Omni-Directional

Directional HD antenna is a must in remote areas where a signal is weak. If you want to pick up signals coming from different directions you need either two directional antennas or an antenna rotator. Omni-directional HD antenna should be preferred when the reception conditions are good and the signal is strong. With an omni-directional antenna you don't care which direction the signal comes from.