I am in the process of "cutting the cord". Sling TV has been working out good enough for me. So, today I pulled my dish of and replaced it with an HD OTA Antenna for my Local channels.

It pulls in about 33 channels but I am having sporadic pix-elation issues. On most of the channels it will be crystal clear and then every 10-25 seconds I get pix-elation and it goes back to being clear.

This cycle continues on and on. Yes, before anyone asks I have tried adjusting the antenna. I am generally pretty good with this stuff as I installed my D-Tv dish myself.

I am just wondering how the signal goes from good to normal to bad, back to good when I view it on my tv menu. I originally thought there was some sort of interference and I eliminated any possibilities that I could think of.


I'm not sure if it's the antenna because if you have ever read reviews on these things they vary. One antenna could have hundreds of good reviews.

Then for some reason it didn't work for 5 people and they had great results with different ones.

I was thinking that it could be a locational issue and maybe my house is blocking or interfering.

Why then would the signal fluctuate? I would think if it was location or the house it would be a consistently bad signal.

Also the antenna can be installed in an attic so why would the side of my home interfere with the signal if the attic will not?

So, I figured I would see if anyone here has any advice. I hate to go buy a different antenna to try if it's not the antenna.

Antenna, is rated for 85 miles and all major local networks are 40 and under.

I believe Cabinetman installed an HDTV antenna a year or two ago. Hit him up for his experience.

With what cable charges and the minimal amount of programming I am interested in I cut the cord 7 years ago. Best thing I ever did.

Oddly enough I switched between inputs and went over to Sling TV. When I switched back to the antenna input everything was beautiful??

I don't know if it's better at night or if switching between inputs cleared something up.

I will check it out in the morning and I hope I get the same result because it's perfect now.

You should, if you haven't already, head over to Antennaweb.org and or TVFool.com and input your address/info to see what antenna is recommended for your location and which way the antenna should be pointed.

Just because someone rates one antenna great for their location doesn't mean it will be good for your location. And the whole "HD Antenna" is a marketing myth. Old school analog antennas people used for 50 years will work fine. For some they may be able to get away building their own antenna out of spare parts.

When running the antenna wire, use as few splitters/couplers as possible. Each split or coupler will slightly reduce the signal strength/level. Also make sure to properly ground the antenna/cable line as well.

Placement of the antenna is also key. Getting it above the roof line and free of any nearby obstructions or interference elements like trees/buildings is key. Also if you have any mountains/hills in the way will also affect signal reception. Any antenna placed inside will typically and generally suffer from signal degradation due to the construction materials used in the home/building.

In certain cases using a booster/preamp may work to improve poor signals, but in the end if the signal level is crappy when the antenna receives it, then boosting/amplifying it may not work no matter how much you boost the signal.

And for some, no matter how much money they throw at the antenna setup it just will not bring in a whole lot of channels. In my location, because I have a big hill about a mile away directly in like with the antenna farm up outside of Hartford my antenna reception sucks balls. Basically just PBS, WTNH, and a few independent channels.

I've been using OTA HD + Streaming for years. Ditto on everything posted right above me.

On top of the roof is best - in the attic is second best.  I'm up by the MA border so I get more Springfield stations than Hartford stations.  

Back when I had the antenna inside the house I used to get interference when cars would drive by.   It drove me nuts because I couldn't correlate it to anything - and then one time my wife says "Why does the TV get wonky every time a car drives by?" and I was like "Holy shit."   Getting the antenna up higher helped in my case.

I've kicked the idea around.
If you guys can post your rigs, that would be great.

Fire box, HD antenna?

Running an NAS to store media and stream it to my devices; PC's, cellphone/tablets, Kodi and Plex both on an old PC testing platform, and my Roku's. Have an antenna but as previously stated get poor reception. Have experimented with a number of antennas from uber cheap to $100+ to no avail. Currently using an Antennacraft U8000 antenna with a preamp amplifier (Channelmaster I think).

Stream content from various online websites (offshore). Using Kodi and Plex from time to time but not that much these days. Have a Silicondust tuner as well to stream/record the few over the air channels I do get to my PC's and mobile devices. Also have an old ATI PCI TV tuner but rarely use that one these days, use the Silicondust tuner as it gets a little better reception.

Dropped Comcast many years go.

Like the Roku and NAS drive since I take them on vacation with me (or when I visit family) to stream content while there.

My current Antenna (28"W x 36"H)



No, I don't use it from inside of my garage
In the process of making new mounts for chimney.
I'm currently using a WinTV 995Q, for viewing over laptop.
Surfing eBay for a used Tivo OTA Roamio. It is designed for OTA use and allows recording of shows with a full guide. (gotta buy one that has a lifetime subscription) Also streaming services over the Roamio are gtg

ETA: A jailbroken Amazon Firestick (using Kodi) will allow you to view some to all local stations.
Firesticks are about the same as a commercially purchased OTA antenna, cheaper than a Tivo, and can be jailbroken w/ an internet download. Yes, you need internet.

RCA antenna I'm using.  I mounted the antenna in my attic, facing New Haven.  I ran the wiring down to the basement so I can tap into the existing cable wiring.  Right now, I'm split to three TVs.

I also live on the CT/MA line.  My antenna pulls in all hartford channels, a few channels from springfield and New Haven channels 95% of the time.

I dropped cable but kept the interwebs a few years ago. I use one of those omni directional antennas in my attic. Being way out where I am my signal is sketchy at best. I can get CBS, nbc, and fox in the winter when the leaves come down. In the spring and summer only fox and nbc. I stream mostly and rarely use the antenna except for football which goes nicely with the leaves coming down.

Liar!  Alien!  Alien!

It's in your garage until the time comes to call the mothership.

ET phone home.

HI Guys

As Edge said, I've been OTA for over 2 years, now, and I do NOT miss cable in any way, period.  There is plenty of content for us to watch especially on the PBS side which, between Hartford and Springfield, offers seven different channels to watch.  I made a $10 donation and can also stream any content from the past couple of weeks at my leisure using a laptop or tablet with an HDMI output.  

The antenna I purchased (after much experimentation and research) was this:

https://www.antennasdirect.com/store/DB8_ultra-long-range-dtv-Antenna.html

I happen to be well situated between Springfield and Hartford so I get all the channels from them.  I also get New Haven, Ch 8, which surprises me.  Then add Cozy TV and a handful of other independents and you've got enough to keep you happy.   We also have Netflix for movies and other binge watching if we feel like it and Amazon for the occasional movie. Finally, with my buddy's consent, I have streamed cable content from one of the larger providers using his account.  We get two logons from Netflix so we gave him and his wife one.  He shared his access to the cable so if there's something I really want to watch, I hook up the Chromebook and off we go.  So, there are plenty of options out there that cost essentially nothing.   My antenna is located in my attic, btw, with is about 40' in the air in our old Victorian home.  Took all of about 5 minutes to find the sweet spot.  And, to help the signal along, when I disconnected my cable from the street, I simply reconnected my antenna to the input of the amplifier for cable.  That way I am able to use the antenna on ever spot in the house, even my office using the pre-existing cable lines.  The signals are clear and strong and really pop at 1080i.  

Rome

I forsee a men in black visit to your home soon