High Definition Antenna

[amateurfishing]

wife came home from work saying more of her co-workers are dumping cable & doing the hulu thing and im all for it. since cable is our HD TV antenna do i need to get one, if so what is recommended?

[loosegoose]

Hulu is streaming video so you don't need an antenna, just a high speed internet connection and a tv or other device that is Hulu compatible.

[shizzy]

if you are dumping cable, then yes, you will need a set of rabbit ears. I dropped cable about 2 years ago. Got the $8 a month Netflix account and never looked back.

[hydro]

In Elk River you will get a good signal for broadcast TV and all you need is a good UHF antenna. Check out Winegard for a manufacturer. I live in Buffalo and have a Winegard antenna on my roof and get excellent reception of the network HD channels.

You can also check out "antennaweb" (google it) for information on antenna selections.

[amateurfishing]

yes, gonna test out the HULU/Netflix thing but also wanna get local stations as well, do smart tv's have built in antennas? i did do a quick online search last night and winegard reviews do seem to be excellent for most part.

.......and can i get by win an indoor or do i need outdoor?

[LMITOUT]

In Elk River you will get a good signal for broadcast TV and all you need is a good UHF antenna.

You'll need VHF as well to pick up FOX9 and KARE11.

A simple UHF/VHF combo antenna aimed towards Shoreview will do the trick.

[OnAFly]

I got an omnidirectional antenna (don't have to aim) and it works pretty good. I'm in C'ville instead of ER, but I don't know how much of a difference that makes.

I was going to get the streaming stuff but from what I saw on their websites, it looked kind of worthless for me. I"m fine with the locals only. Sports is the only thing I miss.

[shizzy]

I was going to get the streaming stuff but from what I saw on their websites, it looked kind of worthless for me. I"m fine with the locals only. Sports is the only thing I miss.

I've got the $8 a month Netflix and I'd say its worth it. loads of documentaries, bunch of stand up comedian stuff and quite a few shows.

I also have Amazon prime. It was $79 for the year, but it gives you free shipping from Amazon for the year on top of the streaming. If you order stuff from Amazon on a semi regular basis, that pays for itself. Wife and I had a new bed frame shipped from Amazon and didn't pay a dime to get it shipped.

[hitthebricks]

How much of a difference is there between a digital antenna and the old style one you put on the roof. I have the old style and it work fine for network tv and picks up a great HD signal that was better than Com casts HD signal.

Another thing is,how important is the direction, my antenna points west towards the Shoreview towers and my neighbors points north and is HD.

[LMITOUT]

There really isn't a difference between a "digital" antenna and the old style that have been on rooftops and in attics for decades. They say the ones sold as a digital antenna are "tuned" for digital TV but I wouldn't sweat it and save a few bucks.

The "digital" signal is either UHF or VHF (what the "old style" antennas are made for) depending on what the TV station decided to broadcast with. KARE and FOX chose to stay with VHF.

If you are relatively close to the broadcast site the direction isn't as critical, but I'm an hour away from Shoreview so I had to aim my UHF antenna pretty close to get all of the stations, minus KARE and FOX. The toughest one to get was KSTP. If you can adjust your antenna to get that one the rest should be a lock.

[hitthebricks]

I get a great signal on a 52" LCD and the daughters 55 LCD. I dropped com cast at $80/mo., kept Netflix at 8/mo. We use the Wii for the Netflix and Hulu. The only thing I don't have that I want is the Golf channel and Fox sports. So all is good!

Now I just need to get rid of Com casts 80/mo. for internet.