[jaychoi]

I am a complete newbie in HDTV OTA reception but I have an interesting news for those who are looking for a decent HDTV (UHF only) indoor antenna.

"Some company in Korea (Astone Technology) recently developed the slim vertical design HDTV (UHF only) indoor antenna and they claimed that their new antenna has scored slightly better reception than the world best selling Antiference's Silver Sensor (Zenith) based on LG electronics lab's field test."

Dimension(W X H X D) : 130 x 400 x 3 mm (antenna portion)

This antenna can also receive the signal from both front and back by the nature of the design.

They have an English web site(http://www.astone.co.kr/en_index.html) but unfortunately the information of the new antenna is only available in Korean web site (http://www.astone.co.kr/products02.html#a) at the moment.

They said that they are frequently contacting to "Best Buy" and "http://www.buy.com" for sales in North American market and it might be available in February 2004.

No price listed so far.

 

[shawguy]

Indoor & Unconventional OTA Antennas

Yeah I have always wanted to post something on old fashioned antennas too but have not known what forum to put it in, so;

How do you set up an antenna for maximum reception and the difference between indoor and outdorr antennas. and also if you are stuck to an indoor antenna, amplify it or not? and can anyone suggest a good one to buy (the reason is I want to pick up KNRR - somewhere in ND, and I am in Winnipeg)

Thanks

Shawguy

 

[Viro]

the big antenna isn't the problem ... my neighbor let me hook up to his

just getting a feel for those in the area who may be getting HDTV

His antenna picks up lots of stations....detroit, toledo, flint, dearborn are coming (although not clear) and he's picking up a few of the canadian channels as well

so it's not really the fact that I need to get a big antenna, it's what I may need to get to just get the OTA HDTV channels

I've got satellite right now, but why pay an extra 10 bucks a month to get something that you could get for free

given the area we live in, I was hoping that someone was getting HDTV using a wineguard squareshooter (small, compact) or those saucer/omnidirectional type antennas to get it (which actually, i do notice a few of them around here)

 

[Viro]

I have an antenna....my neighbors

I just notice that the digital channels aren't really on a long distance type signal...yellow-uhf on the sites i have visited to gain information is indicated as short range or distances under 40 miles for decent reception.

I pick up Detroit 62 very clear which is in that range....

I know I need a tuner, I knew that all along....it's just how to get the HDTV to come in

Sure some of the omni directional ones suck but maybe someone in this area is using something simply (like a zenith silver sensor or something) or the Terk TVHDTVi or something and is having some success

Why go big if I don't need it, I have satellite....just not HDTV

 

[supergenius]

The antenna I got bundled with my ATI HDTV card is a "clone" of the Zenith Silver Sensor (ie - same configuration). I have had good success with it but I do live quite close to the border (several blocks from the river). Your location is likely too far away to use a cheaper indoor antenna.

 

[Viro]

i was just using the silver sensor as an example

i got a cheap pair of rabbit ears that work pretty good when adjusted right but i don't need 'em anymore now that i'm hooked up with the neighbor

hopefully somebody is getting HDTV around here to offer some tips/suggestions

http://www.winegard.com/offair/s2shooter/WC-811.pdf

it says up to 50 miles????for uhf......how come something like this wouldn't work?

if i knew someone with a tuner i could check out his antenna for reception quality....just lookin at my backup options

and by the way, what are the preferred STB's to get these days? I'd like to get the proper hookups going on my HDTV tv.....I've got component video and the DVi card slot...

 

[buritto]

I would not get that antenna I'm not a pro or anything but there's a reason why people have antenna's in our area like the one I showed you in my earlier post and it's because they work very well

A few of us have given you tips. Get a used STB off of ebay with either component or DVI. I went to LiveWIre on Tecemseh and Lesperance and they wanted $800 for the sammy 151. Way over priced, use ebay. Also get a proper antenna, check the Windsor Star for any used ones and off you go..you WILL get a ton of digital OTA channels and with that HDTV.

 

[videobruce]

The Silver Sensor (or it's clones) is the only good choice for a indoor antenna. After all it actually is an antenna, not some gimmick!
BUT, as was stated, an attic (or crawlspace) antenna is far better if you have access to it.

BTW, forget about those 'amped' antennas............

 

[Angelfish]

Indoor antenna?

I have just recently installed a BEV 6100. I would like to hookup an indoor antenna and see what off air channels I can pull in. Unfortunately I can't install an antenna outside (don't want to drill another hole in the wall). And my system is located in my basement. Any suggestions as to which antenna might give me a resonable result?
TIA

 

[stampeder]

Unfortunately I can't install an antenna outside (don't want to drill another hole in the wall). And my system is located in my basement.

Ouch, you have a few strikes against you! What is your location so that we can help you with expectations?

 

[Angelfish]

Mississauga 401 Winston Churchill area

Sorry for not adding that info in the original post.
I have recently finished my basement and did not think of drilling a second
hole in the wall for an outdoor antenna. Anyways I think that in my subdivison I am not allowed to put up a large outdoor antenna. I realize that the newer breed of these antennas are small, but I don't want to go up on the roof to install one anyways. Anyhow I'm located in the 401 Winston Churchill area of Mississauga. I was just looking into picking up a few off air channels to compare compress XVu vs uncompressed off air.

 

[stampeder]

I'm located in the 401 Winston Churchill area of Mississauga. I was just looking into picking up a few off air channels to compare compress XVu vs uncompressed off air.

If you take a look in the GTA results thread you'll see lots of successes in your area with outdoor antennas, and I would say that even a set of rabbit ears should get you the Toronto DTV stations, but lets be serious. If you can hide a Winegard Square Shooter outdoors facing southeast you'll do great (its a gray square thing that is rather small as outdoor antennas go) and you'll get Buffalo too with some success.

If you must use an indoor antenna try the Zenith Silver Sensor.

 

[bsr2002]

Silver Sensor Antenna Questions

Hey, does anybody use thier SS as an outside ant? I know it's for indoors, just curious and if so what kinds of results are you having?

Thanks
Ben

 

[CTVdude]

love it... I just point it south and I get all available channels. And when I don't use it I just bring it back in...

 

[JohnnyG]

When I sold them, I spoke to a few customers that used it that way. I recommend sealing it up with silicone first though. The only issue is that it doesn't have a whole lot of gain and a long cable run won't leave you with much signal at the end of the wire.

 

[weblurker]

When I sold them, I spoke to a few customers that used it that way. I recommend sealing it up with silicone first though. The only issue is that it doesn't have a whole lot of gain and a long cable run won't leave you with much signal at the end of the wire.

Did any of your customers have any problems with weather related reception, or are smaller UHF antennas like the Silver Sensor immune to snow or rain fade?

Also, does the Silver Sensor, since it's relatively small, have any problems with dropouts?

 

[bsr2002]

When I sold them, I spoke to a few customers that used it that way. I recommend sealing it up with silicone first though. The only issue is that it doesn't have a whole lot of gain and a long cable run won't leave you with much signal at the end of the wire.

My cable run would be bout 10 feet from my bed room window. The plan is to keep it under the the eav of the roof in the garden on top of maybec a PVC pipe and maybe put a rotor.

 

[987654321]

.

Do the digital tuners pick up NTSC signals or ATSC only?

Depends on the model

I was thinking of adding a UHF antenna to the tower and adding a trap on the ministate to isolate the VHF and combining the signal for the digital tuner

won't work - the line from the house is carrying power to your UFO. As others have stated, this is NOT a real antenna. However, it you absolutely must use it for VHF: run a separate line down from the UHF antenna and join them in the house (after the UFO power supply) with a UHF/VHF splitter.

 

[stampeder]

Is there a significant quality or reception difference between the T451 and T151? I've got 30 days to return the T451 if I can find a good deal on a T151.

You need to ask that in the Samsung ATSC Tuners thread. I'm sure you'll get good info there. I'm an LG owner so I'm biased.

 

[stampeder]

Lets be clear that one person's success with an indoor antenna of any brand is, well, just one person's success. Conditions vary so widely between even two houses on the same block in the same city, let alone different locations on the continent. Use an indoor antenna only if you have exhausted all possibilities of using an outdoor one.