Q. I have cut the cord! But I’m not sure how to get my local channels. The streamer I have, Sling TV, doesn’t have all my locals. I’ve been thinking about getting a rooftop antenna to get my local channels. I hear the picture is better. Is that true? Is the picture better? Should I get an antenna? — Marla, Venice, California.
Yes, your local channels can deliver a better HD picture via a TV antenna. Cable and satellite (and telco) TV services compress the signals of local channels, which tends to dilute the picture quality. The TV providers do this for several reasons, including creating more system room to deliver more channels. The signal your antenna receives directly from the local channel is purer (layman’s term, folks) and therefore a better one.
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However, before you run off to buy an antenna, you need to know that depending upon the location of your home, your antenna may not be able to pick up the signals of all your local channels. You may live too far away from the channel’s tower to get a decent signal, or you could have a major obstacle in the signal’s path, such as a high-rise office building or mountain.
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Also, since the nation’s transition to Digital TV, many antenna owners complain that it’s been more difficult to capture local signals. Unlike the old analog signal, you need a perfect connection to capture the digital signal or it will not display on your set. There is no middle ground. You either get a digital signal or you don’t.
So how can you tell if an antenna at your home will receive all your local channels?
Antennaweb.org, a web site co-sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association and the National Broadcasting Association, offers an easy-to-use guide to determining what kind of antenna you would need — and how many channels that antenna will pick up.
You type in your address, zip code and whether the antenna will be 30 feet or higher above ground level and then antennaweb.org will display a list of stations that you probably will be able to receive.
I say ‘probably’ because until you actually test it at home, you can’t be 100 percent sure. As I noted earlier, every home is different, and depending upon what surrounds your building, you may not be able to capture all or any local signals, even though antennaweb.org says you should be able to.
But the web site is a good guide and, more than times than not, it delivers an accurate reading.
Last note: In the last few years, the antenna companies have done a great job of beefing up their products, offering indoor antennas now that can pick up signals as far away as 50 miles. Yes, indoor antennas.
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Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@swanniontv
One more caveat, I live in a log cabin 15 mins from town center. The metal reinforcement bars holding the logs creates a Faraday cage making an indoor antenna even more problematic. Even my outdoor antenna can be influenced by weather and passing small planes following the landing glide slope. Just saying.
I use the UltraLava 2605 outdoor antenna. It’s small and has a range of 150 Miles. The channels I get are Crystal clear. I’ll never have cable tv again. Only drawback I have is that if you have it turned to the north and you turn it south, east or west you have to rescan your tv. Every time you move it you have to rescan. Over all it’s well worth your money.
I know I am in a bad reception area. How do I get local channels with a firestick ?
Can’t without cable or satellite.
So true! Can’t tell you how many times I’ve moved my indoor antenna(to seek the best location), did rescan on the tv to pull in channels I could care less about and not be able to get some I really do want! Not just that my led light fixtures affect my signal. At least I can watch some local channels. The other option I chose is Hulu live. That’s my go to for more channel choices and any local channels that aren’t available.
I use an he outdoor antenna, I live in oak ridge TN. I have 32 channels and I have trouble with CBS in the fall. A rotating antenna sure helps.
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I didn’t realize that you could still receive local channels through the antenna. We recently just got rid of our TV service, and I have been missing my weekly shows ever since. I will have to look into my options for getting an antenna so that I can start watching them again.