antennas

RCA ANT1650 Flat Digital Amplified Indoor TV Antenna
$79.99
I live 38 miles from my tower, within 2 miles of an airport, and am HUNDREDS of feet lower than the tower.
I live in an apartment that does not allow external structures, except satellite dishes :(

My previous antenna was the TERK HDTVa, and it was boasted as the best indoor antenna on it I could get about 62 channels, except I could not get enough signal for windows media center to work with my Happuage 2250. My whole goal was to do the impossible, get > -20SNR on some of the core channels 2, 4, 5 for use in my DVR computer (think tivo). I have almost EVERY possible worst case, yet with the RCA 1650ANT I am getting my core stations and over 70 channels now on the TV.

I tried the TERK HDTVa, with a pre-amp, with a cable booster, NOTHING helped.
The RCA is on a amplified splitter, and its aimed to the millimeter at the tower. Even with that aforementioned my signal will still get NOTICEABLY worse if even the window shades are blocking it. YES it is sitting on a table aimed out the window. But it works, and that is really what matters.

Not perfect, but as indoor antennas go this might be the most practical. I did not say the best, because I think it is largely dependent on position in house. Places where the TERK worked, the RCA gets NOTHING at all.

Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified High-Definition Antenna for Off-Air HDTV Reception
$69.99
The wooded area makes reception here tough at times, even on a hill. The nearest broadcast station is about 15 miles away. This antenna picks up stations well up to about 40 miles away in my area. Setup was very simple and the instructions were clear. A little adjustment of placement and it was down to business. A pet caused the unit to drop several feet and that didn't seem to cause a problem with reception. If not for this item I would be forced to use an outdoor antenna with all the hassle that implies. You only need a couple of square feet for this compact radio wave catcher. It gets very high ratings on the technology review sites in comparison to other similar products. A good value!

Antennas Direct DB2 Multi Directional HDTV Antenna
$49.99
I just had this installed, and it picked up a few extra channels the other antenna, a flat stick type antenna like TERK and radio shack sold for a cpl years, did not. I used a j-mount on the side of the house, following the contour/shape of the angle of the roof just below the peak with a primed and painted base to be attached to the fascia, the j-mount rises just above the roof and gives a clear line of sight towards where the signal comes from. Previously the antenna was sitting on a shelf in a closet upstairs facing east and did ok, but outside is much better. It was easy to put together. I recommend using blue locktite or a dab of paint on the threads so the hardware won't slowly come loose. I'm about 10 miles from where most signals originate and am pleased with the signal quality. Apartment users could attach to the window frame by getting a kit, or see what's available on the roof to attach to and run your own line down to apt.

Antennas Direct DB4 Multi Directional HDTV Antenna
$69.99
Works good, had 3 HD channels over the air, now have 8, south central Minnesota.