Indoor Antenna for HD in Germantown

[greg_brady]

I live in the bottom level of a two story (42 unit) condo complex in Germantown.  My unit faces the North and does not have S,E or W access.  Condo regulations restrict me only to an indoor antenna.  

I have a Dell W2600 LCD (HD Ready) that I won (yes, sometimes being lucky is better than being good) that i would like to use to view HD Channels in my bedroom.   I have TW HD service in my living room but there isn't a cable jack in the master bedroom (don't ask).  I figure i should try recieving OTA channels with my Dell.  

When i first got the set, i hooked up a pair of old rabbit ears and recieved very weak signals.  None of the channels came in clearly.  Even after moving the antenna right next to the bedroom windows, the signal was not watchable.

I'm thinking about picking up a HDTV video card for my computer and using an antenna to try to pull the HD channels.  This is as far as I've gotten, i have little experience going forward.

Can anyone offer suggestions for hardware?  Also, is there anyone in the area that has had success doing something similar?

TIA,

Greg

[kevbeck122]

I'm using an Antenna's Direct DB2.  It's meant for outdoors, but it's small enough that they classify it as an indoor/outdoor antenna.  Right now I'm in Waukesha on the 2nd floor of an apartment complex facing opposite the towers.  I actually have the antenna in my closet because that's the closest point to the other side of the complex and it picks up things fairly well.  When I was in Menomonee Falls (other side of highway Q, very close to Germantown) I could get every station no problem with that antenna.  I could also get everything with rabbit ears, but sometimes I'd have to move them around to get a good enough signal for some stations.  Maybe you'd need a small amp to get a decent signal.. but I'm not sure since I've never dealt with amps.

Here is the antenna: http://www.antennasdirect.com/DB2_Indoor_antenna.html  
I bought mine for $30 brand new on ebay.. but I think prices have gone up since, or mine was just a price mistake.

[greg_brady]

That is great feedback.  Thank you.  I'm a little concered about the lack of analog signal i recieved with my rabbit ears but for $50 or so its worth a shot.  I found it online for $35 + Shipping.

Now i need an HD Tuner or HD Card for my PC!!!

[techboy]

Anybody using this PC based receiver?  I'd like to know your experience.

http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr/eng/Products/HDTV5usb.aspx.

Tod

[greg_brady]

I helped a friend buy a Panny 42" plasma today at best buy (can't believe how fast prices have fallen) and spent some time with the Panasonic Rep (actually was very good - BB in Menomonee Falls).

I talked to him and he pushed me towards an RCA Aplified Antenna (45db)
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7367896&st=rca+amplified+antenna&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1122653825071

Seems to work pretty well - at least better than my old rabbit ears.  He said that if I can get a 1/2 decent picture over analog that I should be able to receive an OTA HD signal.

Next step for me is to pick up a HD Tuner for my computer.
http://www.provantage.com/ati-100-703205~7ATIT42L.htm

Gets good reviews, I'll take the chance.

Thanks for your help.

Greg

[waterhead]

I hear that the ATI TV Wonder Elite is a good card. But, I don't believe that it is a HDTV tuner.

Two cards that I will be trying out soon are :

VBOX Cat's Eye DTA-150 ATSC Terrestrial HDTV Receiver, PCI (DTA-150) = $69.00

AVerMedia AverTVHD MCE A180 HDTV Tuner, White Box (A180) = $69.00

I just got one of each from pcalchemy.com.

The VBOX is recommended for use, for ATSC, with the Media Portal PVR application (free!)
The AverMedia is suppose to be compatible with the Linux PVR application MythTV (also free!) and Media Portal.

There are lots of others. The DVICO Fusion line always gets high marks when reviewed.

Paul

[kevbeck122]

The DVICO has an LG tuner, suposedly the best tuner out there.  It gets the best reception and eliminates the most multipath from what I hear.

The Avermedia A180 is what I have now, and it works fine for the most part... does what it's supposed to.

[greg_brady]

It appears that the DVI output of my video card has died so I might be in the market for a new video card.  Has anyone had any good or bad experiences with any of the cards listed in this thread?

[techboy]

None of the Janus chip set hardware decoder cards from Macro Image Technology will decode the statistical multiplex currently being used by WTMJ-DT.  They work great on the other channels.  The advantage of the hardware based PCI cards ( MIT and DVICO ) is that they use very little CPU overhead.  The "boxes" which plug into the USB port look interesting, but use software decoding and thus rely heavily on your CPU and video card.  Of course if you have enough CPU cycles and the latest AGP x16, it's not an issue.

[waterhead]

It appears that the DVI output of my video card has died so I might be in the market for a new video card.  Has anyone had any good or bad experiences with any of the cards listed in this thread?

I think that you may be confused between video cards and HDTV tuner/capture cards. While there may be some that can do both, most people have seperate ATSC capture cards. You will need a good video card and processor to view HDTV, but just recording it is not taxing to a system.

What good is recording it if you can't watch it?

So, you'll probably need the good hardware mentioned above. If you're a gamer, you may already have a good enough system.

Paul