So the apartment I live in is one of those ones that's half in the ground and half out - the window is at ground level. I'm too cheap to get cable, and for the most part I don't miss it, but I do kind of wish I could get the free, over-the-air TV. The past couple of times I've gone home, I found out that there's a newer TV station, MeTV, that shows old TV shows and movies, and I'd kind of like to be able to watch that channel. The problem is, since it's an apartment building, I can't exactly mount a big antenna on the roof, so I'm pretty much stuck with the smaller kind I can have physically in the room, and it takes a lot of effort to get a signal in my apartment that way. You have to point the rabbit ears at the transmitting tower for each channel, and even then you may not get a very good signal. The only thing I can think of is to try mounting the antenna in the living room window, but I'd have to get more coaxial cable to do it. Would this even work? Is there some other way I could try getting signal?
Use this http://www.antennapoint.com/ It will tell you how far and what antennas there are around you. You can then select the type of antenna you will need. Zip code should be close enough.
Ah, cool. I have a digital antenna that is shaped like a notepad, yours sounds better since it has directional capabilities. My experience has been mixed. When I find a good spot for whatever I'm watching, it looks better than cable. Unfortunately, the signal does not travel well through buildings or around trees. My best success is near a window, but even then, it doesn't always work.
um, radio waves don't care whether the content is analog or digital. Neither does the antenna. It should be tuned to the frequency being broadcast. Some antennas are better at VHF and some better at UHF. Some do both. Only your TV cares if the signal has digital or analog content. For the same reason there is no difference between an HD antenna and an SD antenna (just the label). Put one of these in your living room (mine is in the attic). You will have to point it in the direction of the tv station to get best reception. Martha Stewart recommends decorating it with pasta or macrame.
Don't really have much in way of room to mount something like that. Also I can't mount anything using anything bigger than a thumb tack, and nothing to the ceiling.
In my limited experience with digital OTA television, you either get a signal or you don't. There's no static or "snow". Just a picture or...nothing. My mom used to have a digital converter thing for her analog television. Just using a rabbit ear antenna, she could get a signal from one television market (the antenna farm is about 50 miles from her house) and, if she turned the antenna, she could get a signal from a completely different television market (antennas about 60 miles away).
Also, if you own a set of rabbit ears, they're HDTV compatible. All of them, even the 20 year old ones gathering dust in your basement. That said, I do know that if you can get Time Warner, or Cablevision, they do offer a starter cable service with just local channels and a few nice extras (TBS, Nick, and such) for about $20 a month. Just a suggestion.
