5 Tips for Getting Better Indoor TV Antenna Reception
James K. Willcox
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Have you been thinking about cutting the cord, swapping your pricey cable service for an indoor TV antenna and free over-the-air television? Then you'll have to make sure you can get decent reception. And just like in real estate, indoor antenna reception is all about location, location, location. That goes for both where you live and where you place your antenna.
We can't help with the geography, but we do have tips on how to get the best reception possible in your home. In some ways, this is easier than it used to be. Ever since the move to all-digital HDTV signals, consumers have either been able to pull in a TV station or not—digital signals are all-or-nothing. That means the days of attaching tin foil to an antenna's rabbit ears to improve reception on marginal stations are gone.
Once you have your antenna set up correctly, the quality of the stations you receive may be better than it was with old analog TV broadcasts—and perhaps even better than cable. If you live near a major TV market, there’s a good chance you can receive many local networks—such as ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS, and Telemundo—over the air.
Outdoor antennas, especially those on a roof or mast, generally offer the best performance, particularly if you're many miles from a broadcast tower. But an indoor antenna is easier to set up, and for some people it's the only option. Getting great reception from an indoor TV antenna can be a mix of science and art, however. Here's what you need to do.
1. Play the Field
Not too long ago, we tested 10 top-selling indoor TV antennas to see how well they performed for a dozen testers spread across the New York metropolitan area.
Reception depended mainly on distance from a broadcast tower, the terrain, and the surroundings (nearby houses, buildings, trees, and so on). Some models worked better than others, but it was hard to predict which antenna would perform best in any particular location.
A number of models were directional, so they needed to be oriented toward a broadcast tower. Multidirectional antennas, which receive signals from all directions, may be better for urban locations, but they might not pull in more distant stations. One surprise was that we found little correlation between price and performance; often the cheaper antennas did as well as, or better than, the more expensive models.
So here's my advice: Try a few different antennas to see which one works best. To do that, you need to buy from a retailer that has a no-hassle return policy and reasonable warranty.
2. Go High
The height of your antenna is among the most critical factors in getting decent reception; that's one reason roof-mounted antennas typically outperform indoor models. (It's also why sticking an antenna in your basement isn't a great idea.)
If you can, try placing an indoor TV antenna in an attic or second-story location, preferably by a window. Sometimes objects in the room or roofing materials will interfere with the signals, so it pays to try a few different attic locations.
In reality, I know that most people will actually place the antenna in the same room as the TV. So try a few higher locations in the room, including the ceiling—many of the newer flat antennas, such as the Mohu Leaf, can be painted, making them a less glaring presence in the room.
3. Point It
Most antennas are directional (these are also called "unidirectional" antennas), which means they need to be oriented toward a broadcast tower.
To find out where the local broadcast towers are in your area, visit the FCC’s DTV antenna map and then click on the station's call letters to see where the signals are coming from. You'll also be able to determine how many stations you should be able to pull in, and their relative signal strength. (You can also get useful advice and information, including tips on outdoor antennas, from antennaweb.org, antennasdirect.com, and TVFool.com.)
Once you know where the towers are, you can point the antenna in that direction. If you live in the suburbs of a big city, all the major broadcast towers may lie in the same direction, but it's possible that you'll need to re-orient the antenna for different stations. A multidirectional antenna can receive signals from all directions, but as I already mentioned, you may not be able to get more distant stations that can be pulled in by a properly positioned directional antenna.
When you're trying out different antennas, be sure to scan through the channels on your TV to see which antenna location pulls in the most stations.
4. Stop Interfering
Anything that stands between an indoor TV antenna and the broadcast towers can degrade your reception. If possible, try placing the antenna in or near a window, provided you don't live in an apartment building where your "view" consists of a neighboring building's brick wall.
The second best choice is an external wall that faces the broadcast towers. If you live in a house, try to avoid large trees, sheds or garages, or other large obstructions. Try a few different windows and walls to find the best spot.
When I was testing indoor TV antennas in my home, I found it was handy to have an extra length of RG6 coaxial cable—and a female-to-female coax cable joiner—so that I could freely move the antenna to different locations. I also used some painter's tape to temporarily attach the antennas to the various locations before determining the best spot.
5. Try an Amp
Many of the models we tested had amplifiers, which can boost signal strength to help pull in more distant stations. These can also be helpful if you intend to split the signal from one antenna to feed two TVs.
But our tests showed these antennas weren't always more effective than non-amplified models—they can also amplify noise and distortion, and overload reception from closer stations. If you have an amplified antenna, we recommend that you first try it with the amplifier turned off. If reception is good, leave it off. But if that doesn't work well, turn the amp on and rescan the channels to see if reception improves.
One last tip: Rescan for channels periodically. It's possible that a station has upped the power of its transmitters or relocated a broadcast tower and you might be able to get a station or two that were previously unavailable.
