Help with OTA reception in San Jose, CA

[Aguitarist]

Greetings,

I kindly request for antenna(s) & Pre-amp advice based one the following information:

Zip code: 95127
2 storied single family home.
Number of TV's : 2. I currently have a dish network dish antenna that does the wire splitting to the 2 TVs
Terrain- mostly 2 stroried houses with a couple of trees in my neighbors backyard, but not heavily forested. (I'm in Alum Rock park foothills about 3-4 miles away from the actual Alum rock hills)
TV: Sony NSX-46GT1 @ 1080p & my second TV is a samsung digital TV @ 1080p (both with built in TV Tuner)

Also, as requested here's my TV Fool link
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...ec1208554fa81f

I can roof mount my antenna, about 15/20 ft high. From the looks of it most of my stations are UHF, some VHF. I recon most of the channels are available from the Sutra Station in SF. SF is about 60 miles from me driving on the 101.

I have seen other discussions talking about the Antennacraft HBU33 or the HBU44. These seem really big though and not sure if need all this fire power?
Also, it was zip code and wanted to confirm this would work from where I am, slightly elevated or would an amplified indoor antenna do?

- Also, for 2-3 tv's would I need a Channel Master CM3414 distribution amp/splitter ?

- Where would I need to aim my antenna ? Seems like I get most of my channels on the 288 deg to 293 deg.

Thanks a lot (in advance) for your help with this setup.
Regards

[GroundUrMast]

You may find an amplifier unnecessary, even a source of trouble. You have plenty of signal power to work with. Antenna gain is always better than amplifier gain. (Amplifiers add noise and distortion, antennas don't.)

If your home construction does not include metal (such as stucco reinforced with wire, metal siding or foil faced insulation) a simple non-amplified indoor antenna (example: Terk HDTVi not HDTVa, or the RCA ANT-111) should be capable options.

A more reliable option would be an outdoor antenna. Some viewers in the Bay area have had trouble with multipath and have had to opt for a more directional antenna. The HBU-33 is a good choice, so is the Winegard HD7694P. Either antenna has more than enough gain to drive 100' of RG-6 and a 2, 3 or 4-way splitter with no amplifier.

[Aguitarist]

Thanks for the reply back.

Looks like I'm going to try the Winegard HD7694P. Seems like it has a smaller foot print than the HBU-33 & also has a better frequency rating.

I currently have a Dish antenna roof top that I plan to disconnect >- It already splits my signal 2 ways, so I wouldn't need to change the coaxial cabling.

Just a clarifications:

Also, based on my TVFool report:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...ec1208554fa81f

1. At what angle do you think I should point the antenna/ what compass reading I should best point it at?

2. This might be a silly question, but I just take the output from the antenna and connect it directly to my TV right? on set top box?