TV Answer Man Is
There An Indoor TV Antenna For Rural Residents?
By Swanni Follow @SwanniOnTV
Washington, D.C. (March 17, 2013) -
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Q. I would like to
get a TV antenna for my local stations because I keep reading
you can get a better HD picture. But here's the problem. I live
about 35-40 miles away from my closest local station AND I there
really isn't a good place outside my home for an outdoor
antenna. Is there any indoor antenna that could receive signals
from my locals? -- Robert, Deale, Maryland.
For starters, you are right, Robert.
your local channels can deliver a
better HD picture via a TV antenna. Cable and satellite (and
telco) TV services compress the signals of local channels, which
tends to dilute the picture quality. The TV providers do this
for several reasons, including creating more system room to
deliver more channels. The signal your antenna receives directly
from the local channel is purer (layman's term, folks) and
therefore a better one.
But your situation is a difficult one -- and one shared by
millions of people who live more than 30 miles from local
station towers which transmit the signals. The towers are often
situated near urban centers so rural residents are particularly
affected by this problem. The closer you are to a local station
tower, the better your signal. But if you live in a rural area,
or a distant suburb, you might not be able to get any signal
with an antenna.
The problem gets trickier if you can't install an outdoor
antenna.
But Winegard recently launched a new indoor antenna that just
might be the answer for many rural folks. It's called the
Winegard
FlatWave Amped Razor Thin HDTV
Indoor Antenna. You can see the Amazon page for the antenna
here:
Winegard
The antenna itself is paper-thin and it comes with an embedded
ultra-low noise amplifier that effectively boosts the signals
from your local channels. Winegard says the antenna can receive
local high-def channels from up to 50 miles.
Now, I can't guarantee the antenna will work for you, or others;
every home is different and comes with a different set of
obstacles. But this is the first time I've seen an indoor
antenna promise to deliver signals from so far away.
