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ligera
24-Jul-2012, 7:02 PM
TVfool report link:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id%3d99007ea2caa337
Only need the first 6 stations: 49, 19, 44, 28, 23, 10.

I am looking for comparisons, recommendations, and/or advice on which 32" HDTV's are better at receiving OTA signals.

My mom just got a RCA LED32B30RQ HDTV to replace the 19" Sharp CRT TV with Zenith DTT901 converter box in her bedroom. She was previously able to get all the above stations perfectly with just rabbit ears and UHF loop connnected to the converter box. However, when I hooked up that antenna to the new set, not one was detected with multiple auto channel scans nor manually entering the channels. I tried moving the set all over her house: she gets ABC in the living room, PBS in the guest room, and finally the set found all but channel 10 (VHF) when placed in the middle of her dining room table.
Since all I did initially was unplug the balun from the converter box and plug it into the new TV, (going from full coverage to nothing) I am assuming that the new set just doesn't pick up digital OTA signals as well. When the converter boxes first appeared, she tried an RCA box which only detected three channels at her house, while the Zenith pulls in ten.
She flat out refuses to get a rooftop antenna. I have been looking at the homemade designs on Youtube, etc., but they won't help with the VHF channel. There aren't any tree or terrain issues.
Thanks for reading all this.

GroundUrMast
24-Jul-2012, 7:13 PM
Before you give up on the indoor antenna that worked, double check the set up instructions, in particular, beginning on page 20 of the manual. http://intra.oncorpus.com/UM%20LED32B30RQ%20%282012%29.pdf

Be sure to select 'Air', not cable.

ligera
24-Jul-2012, 7:21 PM
I already did that. (Select "Air") I read and re-read the entire manual before beginning, and re-tried the initial set-up and scan in each room. The set can get all but the VHF channel OTA, but only in the one room.

GroundUrMast
4-Aug-2012, 7:21 AM
Would your mom be willing to try a Terk HDTVi? http://forum.tvfool.com/showthread.php?t=2828

Or, better yet, an outdoor antenna in the attic? An Antennacraft HBU-33 or Winegard HD7694P for example.

ligera
4-Aug-2012, 10:31 PM
Today we got a Toshiba 32C120U and it gets all 10 channels perfectly (in the right room!). The local VHF station, KOLR 10, sent out a free FM filter that enabled the RCA to receive the signal. Very nice of them, I thought. The RCA, however, has been returned; I guess their tuners just don't function as well in mom's locale.

I appreciate the suggestions I received, and thank you again for taking the time to read my stuff.