I am looking at TV antennas and I have a few questions. 1) Does it matter if it is indoor or outdoor? I assume better reception would come from an outdoor antenna. 2) If it has a 150-200 mile range, and 100 miles from me is a different TV market, will it only pick up the closest one? For instance, in my market, ABC is channel 13. In the other market it is channel 5. Would I get them on both channels? 3) I currently have Direct TV but want an antenna, because I learned this summer that Direct TV will drop channels in a heart beat. I currently don't have NBC. Can I hook it into my TV even though I have Direct TV, my blu ray disc player and my son's video game system hooked up?
Thanks for any info you might have for me.
1) Outdoor antennas will generally give you better range.
2) Antennas will pick up anything within range.
3) Yes, you can hook an antenna to your TV (assuming it's an HDTV and not an old analog set... if it was bought in the last 7-10 years, you should be fine).
So, all that being said, here's more information...
1) Any "range" statements on an antenna need to immediately be cut in 1/2 at least. The ranges they post are under perfect conditions, no terrain, no buildings, no trees, mounted high, etc.
2) As
@vacationer1954 mentioned, you want/need to know the "real" channel they're broadcasting on. What displays on the TV and what the station markets themselves as are "virtual channels". But your antenna needs to see the "real" channel. This is important, because if the real channel is 13 or below, you'll need a VHF antenna. If it's above 14, you need UHF (there are also combo antennas).
3) Adding to the confusion is we are in the middle of a broadcaster "repack". Some (but not all) TV channels are changing frequencies (channels). So a broadcaster on channel 39 right now may be on 13 next year (again, we're talking "real" channels). Go to tvanswers.org to see if your channels are affected.
4) Just know that depending on your location, picking up all the television broadcast signals you want can be an art as much as it is a science. A lot of things factor into whether you get good enough reception. The tvfool.com or antennaweb.org websites will help you pick an antenna. They'll also tell you what direction you need to point.
5) The good thing is, as long as you have a good enough signal, the picture will be perfect. If you imagine a scale of 1-10, the picture will look the same whether your reception is 5-10. If it's 3-4, you might get occasional breakups, 2 will be worse breakups, and 0-1 will be no picture.
Hope this helps.
