Help! Cutting the Cord is so confusing!
 

Hi -- first of all, here's my report: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...1ddaba401c9679

I'm trying to get away from paying for DirecTV and want a good antenna that will allow me to get my local channels in HD. I've researched antennas and the more I do, the more confused I get and I'm scared because of all of the comments I've seen about bad quality antennas. I live in a rural area north of Houston (outside Conroe) and we get our share of rain/wind here. In addition, I live in a forest area, if any of this helps!

Can you please help me determine what type of set up I need to get good TV?

Your TV Fool report suggests that you should have an easy time receiving far more signals than most folks have access to. You did mention being surrounded by trees though. What type and how tall are they? Of greatest interest are the trees south of your intended antenna mounting location.

Thanks for the quick response. The trees are mainly tall pines and mostly to the East of me. There's not a heavy concentration of them to the South (in fact, its the least amount).

With that said, another concern is that it seems most of the stations are 50 - 60 miles away. Is that a concern? Hearing a lot of negatives about Lava and Orca antennas, what are some good quality options and what would I need?

That is a very impressive TVF. All in one big cluster, too.

I'd have to recommend the Winegard 7698P.

I would avoid the Lava, or any antenna that claims 125-150 mile range.
I also do not like indoor, or attic antennae.

Stereocraig,

Thanks - do I need any kind of a pre-amp or just the antenna?

Mileage is a tangential factor. Signal quality from 2 miles blocked by terrain can be far worse than a 70 mile line of site. This is what make the TV Fool report so helpful, you can see signal levels and path characteristics. Quite simply, the information in your TVFR provides a far more accurate means of understanding your reception than a secondary factor such as mileage. Basically, mileage estimates can be ignored in favor of better engineering data.

The added gain of the HD7698P would likely provide more than enough signal power... I would try this with no amp. This would be a premium solution.

The only other consideration would be, do you want to be able to receive real CH-4, KAHO-LD if and when it comes on the air? If so, consider using an all channel antenna such as the HD7080.

You could very likely use smaller versions of the antennas suggested thus far. But going larger allows you the signal power to split to several TV's without need of an amplifier.

You can always add an amp later, if you have an excessively long run, or have multiple TVs drawing down your signal.

Start w/ only one set hooked up, so you know that your connections and coax are OK.

And yes, think about how important that ch4 will be to you.

Thank you both for all of your input! I've ordered the Winegard antenna and I'm looking forward to getting it going. You've really helped me get through all of the advertising hype and feel like you've helped me make a much more informed and factual decision!!!!! :)

Post back your reception results.

Hey there!!! Got the Winegard 7698P today and got it installed -- IMPRESSIVE reception and we get a LOT of channels!!!! I don't know why I waited so long to cut the cord!!!! I have 2 TV's hooked up and the picture quality is awesome!! I do not have any amplifier added, just the antenna.

Thank you to those that provided recommendations and guidance!