# Directv user looking for Antenna advice for local HD



## Nightfall (Sep 1, 2003)

This is probably a nub question, but I have read up on my situation and am looking for some affirmation to what I have found.

There is only one local channel I don't get in HD here, and that is WOOD-TV. Its on channel 8 here, and its one of those wonderful LIN-TV stations. Anyway, so I have been looking into what I need to get my NBC on HD.

I went to tvfool.com, and typed in my address, and got a readout. It is saying WOOD-TV is about 18 miles from me, which puts it in range for a set-top antenna. I have a pair of Directv HR20, so I want to get 2 set-top antennas. I will just use the antenna connector on the back of the HR20 and do the setup of the system to enable it.

What I don't know is...

1. What antenna should I get? Is there a difference on certain antennas over others? This is 18 miles away, so I can only assume that I am close enough that just about any antenna will do fine, but I have to ask. It will probably be something that I just stop off at Best Buy or Menards and pick up on my way home.

2. What should I do to set this up the right way? Obviously, I want to be able to record off my HR20 if possible. However, I already get locals through directv. Will I have to remove the channel 8 that I have now that is SD to get the one that is HD? I am just trying to figure out what the setup is going to be like.


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

Your antenna will be the most important portion of this equation. One with a frequency for WOOD-DT is best used to tune it in. 18 miles is only significant in that your LOS (Line of Sight) determines obstruction to which the signal has to go through, bounce off of, and/or defract to get to you. This station is 30 kW, and based on the graphic your receive over-the-air direct LOS is -50 dBm. This means you have about 50 dB to play with for the rest of your equation. Your antenna will provide gain at a particular frequency such that it will virtually increase (not really, but for this discussion it does) the signal so you can have depending on the type of antenna a 3 to 5 dB increase, giving you about 55 dB to play with, if the assumed receiver sensitivity is -100 dBm. The 55 dB goes into the calculation for your obstructions, bounce, and defractions. Based on this I agree with your assessment that just about any set top antenna should suffice unless you have a lot of obstructions. If you do, then you need to place your antenna higher to remove obstructions.

As for setting up the HR20, you just need to walk through the Antenna Setup from the System Setup menu.


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## Nightfall (Sep 1, 2003)

Is there a brand of antenna you would recommend over another? There aren't a lot of obstructions between me and the broadcast station I don't think. I live in an open area on a hill in the city. We do have some trees, but it should be smooth sailing.

Part of the reason I am going to buy an antenna locally is that I want to make sure that the antenna I buy is going to work. I would buy off ebay to save a few bucks, but I want something that will work.


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## EXTACAMO (Apr 7, 2007)

Nightfall said:


> Is there a brand of antenna you would recommend over another? There aren't a lot of obstructions between me and the broadcast station I don't think. I live in an open area on a hill in the city. We do have some trees, but it should be smooth sailing.
> 
> Part of the reason I am going to buy an antenna locally is that I want to make sure that the antenna I buy is going to work. I would buy off ebay to save a few bucks, but I want something that will work.


Try this site. Lots of good info. http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

1) Any VHF/UHF antenna will work. I assume there are no mountains in the way (I'm pretty sure Grand Rapids is flat), and I assume there are no tall buildings in the way. I would recommend getting the cheapest pair of rabbit ears you can find (you may already have a pair in the back of a closet). If they work, you are in business, and you can always shop around for something a little more stylish later. Don't let the salespeople make you believe that you need to get a $50 HD antenna. 

2) You probably want to ask on the HR20 forum to find out how to set up the unit.


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## russ9 (Jan 28, 2004)

Yeah, just try the rabbit ears, if you want to go with a UHF outdoor, and want to buy locally, Radio Shack has a great model for $30:
Antenna


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## Nightfall (Sep 1, 2003)

russ9 said:


> Yeah, just try the rabbit ears, if you want to go with a UHF outdoor, and want to buy locally, Radio Shack has a great model for $30:
> Antenna


At this point I want to avoid mounting that antenna on my house. I would prefer an indoor model.


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## EXTACAMO (Apr 7, 2007)

Okay, Try this site for some stylish indoor antennas. http://www.antennasdirect.com


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## Tower Guy (Jul 27, 2005)

russ9 said:


> Yeah, just try the rabbit ears, if you want to go with a UHF outdoor, and want to buy locally, Radio Shack has a great model for $30:
> Antenna


That link is for is a UHF only antenna that will suck on WOOD's VHF channel 7.


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

Nightfall -- to receive WOOD-TV, you need a VHF antenna. That means the UHF antenna recommended by Russ, and the UHF picture-frame antenna in the link from Extacamo won't work for you.

Your indoor antenna options will be rabbit ears, or some variety of rabbit ears. You might as well get rabbit ears with a UHF loop, so you can receive both VHF and UHF.


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## Nightfall (Sep 1, 2003)

Upstream said:


> Nightfall -- to receive WOOD-TV, you need a VHF antenna. That means the UHF antenna recommended by Russ, and the UHF picture-frame antenna in the link from Extacamo won't work for you.
> 
> Your indoor antenna options will be rabbit ears, or some variety of rabbit ears. You might as well get rabbit ears with a UHF loop, so you can receive both VHF and UHF.


At least I now know what to look for. Antenna with rabbit ears and a UHF loop. I know what they look like thats for sure. I will go out and find something today on my way home.

I wish I had a set of those, but I don't. Its sad.


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## ziggy29 (Nov 18, 2004)

If you're only concerned about picking up WOOD, you should be fine with a decent set-top antenna which provides the best gain for VHF (rabbit ears, though you might as well go for one with a UHF loop as well) since they don't cost much and you should be able to pick up a few of them along with WOOD.

You would just put that antenna's output into the OTA input on the HR20. Then you can use system setup to include off-air channels. Enter your zip code and you'll see a list of channels available in that DMA. If you plan to get all other locals from D*, then you can "deselect" everything except 8-1. Then you can change your favorites list to exclude 8 (the LIN station in SD through D*) and include 8-1 (the OTA in HD). 

You may find that you like the picture quality OTA better than the compressed signal from D*, and if so you might want to also pull in some of the other HD OTA locals and use them as your primary reception as well.


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## Nightfall (Sep 1, 2003)

ziggy29 said:


> If you're only concerned about picking up WOOD, you should be fine with a decent set-top antenna which provides the best gain for VHF (rabbit ears, though you might as well go for one with a UHF loop as well) since they don't cost much and you should be able to pick up a few of them along with WOOD.
> 
> You would just put that antenna's output into the OTA input on the HR20. Then you can use system setup to include off-air channels. Enter your zip code and you'll see a list of channels available in that DMA. If you plan to get all other locals from D*, then you can "deselect" everything except 8-1. Then you can change your favorites list to exclude 8 (the LIN station in SD through D*) and include 8-1 (the OTA in HD).
> 
> You may find that you like the picture quality OTA better than the compressed signal from D*, and if so you might want to also pull in some of the other HD OTA locals and use them as your primary reception as well.


That I am very eager to see.

I am still under the misconception that the OTA antenna is inferior to my dish. Well, if my other channels come in looking good, I might just use that instead of Directv HD locals. Thats up for debate though.

Thanks for the pointers so far!


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## Kansas Zephyr (Jun 30, 2007)

Nightfall said:


> I am still under the misconception that the OTA antenna is inferior to my dish.


D* can only hope to equal the PQ of digital OTA from a local channel.

You can't have a better picture than the source. You may equal it, but can not do better.


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## Tower Guy (Jul 27, 2005)

Nightfall said:


> That I am very eager to see. I am still under the misconception that the OTA antenna is inferior to my dish.


Can you put this in your attic?

http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=Y5-7-13

$19.99 will get WOOD right now and WWMT come February '09.

The result will be better than DirecTV, especially on a larger display.


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## Kansas Zephyr (Jun 30, 2007)

Tower Guy said:


> The result will be better than DirecTV, especially on a larger display.


Maybe...I'm having a tough time, now that mpeg4 locals are here, telling the difference with OTA.

I have 40, 46, and 70" HDTVs. I still think that the PQ is better via OTA, but it's close enough that I'll concede the possibility of placebo effect.


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## Nightfall (Sep 1, 2003)

UPDATE!

I got a nice little RCA Antenna ANT501 model, and it works great. I am getting 70%-80% on all my locals for the most part. The HDTV signal is great looking, plus, I am getting additional channels I didn't get before. There is channel 8 (Wood-TV) then there is a 8-2 which is a channel 8 weather. Then there is a 8-3 which shows channel 8 weather radar. There are multiple locals in fact that I didn't know about.

Thanks for your help everyone!


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## Kenkong586 (Apr 3, 2007)

Tower Guy said:


> suck on WOOD's


I'm very sorry but I really couldn't pass that up, my apologies. :lol: :rolling: !Devil_lol


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## goldstar_media (May 9, 2008)

I've noticed the following:

NBC 4 NY is transmitting 

Analong 30kw
Digital 200kw

This is the pattern in every major city. Analog transmits using lower power except for Spanish language stations. Is this true? Are networks now transmitting analog on lower power transmitters in English, but keeping FP for Spanish since Hispanics rely so heavily on OTA(In LA, only 50% of Hispanics have cable)?


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## Scott in FL (Mar 18, 2008)

WNBC-DT transmits on UHF channel 28. WNBC's analog service transmits on low band VHF channel 4. That's why the digital station is more powerful, because the FCC assigns higher power to UHF channels. VHF low band channels are allocated the lowest power. If the analog and digital services were both assigned UHF channels, for example, the digital power would be lower than the analog.


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