Opinions on a new tv for me

niel
niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
i thought i'd get opinions from you guys on a new 32 inch lcd tv i am considering for my bedroom. the sizing is right and i'm not a millionaire. i am considering an lg model 32lh20 from best buy at $430. i haven't ruled out the lg 32lh40ua either at $600, but hesitate spending that much for a tv. reviews seem good on both of them and i'd like to hear opinions regardless if you have these models or any other that you think may be better for the $.
some specs here,
lg 32lh20
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9244631&type=product&id=1218066284734
lg 32lh40ua
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9244668&type=product&id=1218066285003
i'm tempted to get one tomorrow so i suppose i should've asked earlier. i'm not sure how long these prices are for either. even though i am soliciting opinions on this, i put it here because it is not solar based and is an energy use.
comments?
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Comments

  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    Niel;

    This is what i bought last December:
    http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10121906&catid=23244
    (Yes, Canadian version of Best Buy!)

    Picture & sound are excellent in my opinion. BUT the source input switching is a bit 'erratic'; sometimes the remote appears to have changed it but the set doesn't 'keep up'. Mildly annoying. Otherwise perfectly happy with it. Uses less power than the 27" CRT Zenith it replaced!

    Up here, LG's are a bit 'pricey' for what your getting.
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    that tv is listed for $400 here. i have somewhat narrowed to certain manufacturers for various reasons and they go roughly lg, samsung, sony, and panasonic. i feel the best are the first 2 with sony close behind, but far overpriced for what you get as you pay more for the sony name, even though good, imho. i'm trying to weigh many things and not just the energy usage of them. i feel they use way too much power anyway, even if energy star listed. the specs on those 2 are very good and an improvement jumps the price up significantly as is seen by adding 1080p or 120hz for example.
    there is an lg inbetween these 2, but there is a lack of composite connectivity on it that i need or it would've won hands down and the next step is adding 120hz and more connections for much bigger money. lg 32lh30
    these and other tvs i look at the comments on them starting at the worst to get an idea if there's trouble. for instance, the remotes' ir frequencies were reworked for rca stuff and you can't even get a universal to work on it, not even rca's. that scrubbed them from my list as otherwise i might have bought one.
  • RCinFLA
    RCinFLA Solar Expert Posts: 1,484 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    Samsung, LG, and Sharp are the best.

    Sharp you have to check on power consumption as some are not the best.

    A lot of the 'third party' suppliers are going out of business.
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    i saw some sharps at sears and they looked bad comparatively. i was impressed comparing detail from 1080p as opposed to 720p. they were showing some indoor concert and the lights showed rather than a blurred color display masking the lights and in a passing shot they went past sheet music that was readable under 1080p and not with 720p. that was one of the first times i saw they displayed something across the tvs that actually gave something to compare with. from what i saw wally world shows all one color backgrounds with stars and dumb stuff you can't make a good comparison with.
    i guess you noticed i am leaning lg, but i'm still not 100% decided.
    rc, what scuttlebut did you hear on who may go out?
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    When I was looking I thought the Panasonics had the best picture. But they were quite pricey (like Sony).
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    I just went thru this for my 85 year young mother. Do not buy anything smaller than a 42 inch wide screen. When going from the old 4/3 aspect ratio 32" to a 16/9 you will be worse off on reading subtitles/credits/ect. Just a humble opinion..... She loves the 42 inch Samsung! Can't get the remote from her!
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    42 inch for a bedroom!:confused: wow, that would be overkill and far more in costs.
    well, i bit the bullet. after yacking with a salesman for awhile i bought the 32lh20 and couldn't see the justification for another $170 for the 32lh40ua even though at one point i said i wanted it. it seems, as it turned out, they sold out of the high priced model anyway and the salesman confided that he's not seen any returns in my model, but there was one last week in the 32lh40ua. he wasn't sure of its problem though.
    now that i have it i've got to figure out some wiring dilemmas as even that high priced one wouldn't accommodate all i need to connect.:cry:
    thanks for your input and if you guys would want to make this thread for talking more on tvs, then by all means feel free to do so.
    i also am going to see how energy efficient this thing actually is if i remember to connect my killawatt meter to it.
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    i just thought i'd update everybody on my purchase. i found the picture nice and side visibility not as good as i expected, but i don't think it to be any worse than most others out there. the set after i tweaked it for viewing as i like drew a whopping 54w and i didn't have the energy saver on. when i put that on the only one of 3 settings that was better was the maximum setting which gave it a 32w rating. the others actually drew more than leaving the energy saver off. this is quite acceptable to me on power as it is just a bit more than my 20in crt drew.
    there is a down side to my purchase and i have to take this one back for it. it seems this stumped the engineers at a local tv station and lg. on one and only one over the air hd channel the national feeds are the only ones to give a picture and sound with local news and programming being wiped with no picture or sound. this is not a case of signal loss as the signal is there and it is strong and goes out exactly on cue for the local programming. on the advice of lg i am going to return the set for another of the same model if it does not do the same thing. i want to do the return (to best buy geek squad) at a time to prove to them there is a problem and i don't know if the problem lies in the model, the station, or just my set is goofy.
    i did find that there is not a way to reset the tv as no advice from lg, the station engineers, or the net gave anything that worked. also, i asked lg how i could know what firmware version is in it as it may need updated and their instructions to reveal it never worked either. maybe the geek squad could shed some light on these aspects for there's nothing like seeing it done to know for sure if i had done it right.
    the set is nice and i wish i didn't have to take it back. it will be interesting to see if the next one does the same thing for if it does, not only will i be upset, but i'll have to inform the engineers of a possible major problem whose origin and fault is unknown.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    I had problems--but it seemed mostly due to antennas being rebuilt for new station frequency assignments (the backup antenna's worked great for me for a few years--the ones during the remodel--not very well at all--and reception changed when they were working on the Sutro Tower--de-energizing antenna arrays under construction).

    Also, I was thinking that my (now old) Digital Receiver was messing up--I had holes in my broadcast list (mainly the local major PBS station--I should get 5 channels and I was only getting three--the others just "did not exist" in my tuner)--turned out that the station website and one of the online station guides had bogus information...

    Very confusing and frustrating at times.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    For a moment I thought Bill was talking about our "wonderful" Shaw Cable - "Very confusing and frustrating at times." Yep, that's them all right! Sent us an e-mail saying they were changing things and 'click here' to find out what changes would occur in our service area. Clicked, it said "none". Wow! That's good of them to tell me that, eh? And you know that changes were made anyway!

    My Toshiba wouldn't receive the digital channels until the coax was changed - something about choked signal on the old line. And it has that glitch in the remote. Most everyone I know who has bought a new set has had some little quirk with it.

    Ah for the days when you needed a different antenna for each station - and it took the valves (vacuum tubes, Yanks) 5 minutes to warm up. But at least you could watch the little "eye" wink off when you shut the set down.

    Did I mention there were only 3 channels, most programs were in B&W, and broadcast went off at 1:00 AM not to return until 4:00 or 5:00?
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    i remember those days marc.
    i don't consider this to be a quark, but it is hard to say where the fault lies as it is only on one station that local programming isn't displayed even though the signal is good. commercials and national feeds came through that channel fine and on cue. how can it be just the tv's fault when it only happens with one station, but on the other hand other tvs don't seem to have this problem as this was the first such report the engineer indicated he has heard of?
    it is not a fault with the antenna or short run of cable for if it was the national feeds would not have shown up from the station and the signal strength indicator would've shown low signal, which it did not show it to be low. do not confuse this with the low signal digitizing seen on weak or fading signals. this is a strong signal, but when the news came on it went blank with no picture or sound until the time of a national commercial or the news ended and a network show came on and showed the same strong signal during this loss of programming. this was not a one time fluke either as it was repeatable 100% of the time. i would've loved it if it only lost the commercials on that station, but that's not the case.;):D
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    now the plot thickens as upon complaining to best buy about the lack of local programming coming through on that channel the guy replied that his does the same thing. neither of us realized that others had this little problem and it isn't confined to my model as every lg in the store did not display the local programming from that channel in spite of receiving enough signal. this is now an engineering dilemma between lg and the local channel. i hope somebody can resolve it before my 30 days of being able to get my money back is up. anybody else have an lg that they have had over the air problems with local program info being wiped and commercials and national feeds allowed to display? for the record, it is an nbc affiliated station.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    I don't know if this is the issue--but with DRM (Digital Rights Managment) there is a "do not copy" status bit to prevent the new HDMI/HiDef Digital Recorders from making unauthorized digital copies...

    NBC DRM Bit Issues ( May 2008 ):
    A number of Windows Vista Media Center users noticed this week that a copy-protection flag from NBC was preventing them from recording a couple of shows. Although the incident appears to be an isolated accident, it serves as a reminder that content owners want to use DRM to control every aspect of our media consumption.
    ...
    Handfuls of Windows Vista Media Center users found themselves blocked from making recordings of their favorite TV shows this week when a broadcast flag triggered the software's built-in copy protection measures. The flag affected users trying to record prime-time NBC shows on Monday evening, using both over-the-air broadcasts and cable. Although the problem is being "looked into" by both NBC and Microsoft, the incident serves as another reminder that DRM gives content providers full control, even if by accident.
    ????

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    nice digging bill and i'll be sure to mention the possibility to him. it still is a peculiarity with the lg brand. that is what those guys get paid to do in solving these kinds of situations. i just show them the general direction.;):D
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    Niel,

    One long shot to look into... Does your TV have an HDMI (or other HighDef digital output)? Such as for a DVR or something similar...

    If so--see if you can turn off/reconfigure the HDMI output. There is a small chance the TV is disabling the HDMI output (no copy bit)--and disabling the screen itself...

    -Bill :confused:
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    i'm not sure what it is you are speaking of in relation to this tv so maybe you can review the manual for the 32lh20.
    http://tv.manualsonline.com/ex/thread/view/idThread/776072
    i am only using the tv with an over the air antenna and 1 composite input at this time. no hdmi accessories or any other hi def sources are connected.
  • RCinFLA
    RCinFLA Solar Expert Posts: 1,484 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    The digital TV migration has caused a lot of confusion. Most of the VHF channels had temporary UHF assignments for last few years. To make things more confusing most receivers mask the actual received channel frequency from the 'virtual' channel number which is the parent station original channel number.

    When the conversion happened many of the VHF channels pulled their analog transmission off the air and switch from their temporary UHF transmission to transmitting the digital ATSC on their original VHF frequency.

    Many digital TV's that trained themselves during initial channel scan kept the UHF temporary channel assignment. You had to know to invoke a new channel scan search on your set to straighten out the mess.

    Because 90%+ of the digital transmissions were on UHF many folks bought small UHF antennas and things were fine. Now with some stations switching to their original VHF channel assignment the UHF antenna are no good and folks are complaining about not receiving the station anymore. Some stations have requested to go back to their temporary UHF channel. Problem is many of these channels (above ch 51) are due to be turned over to other fire/EMS and cellular services.

    ATSC digital tranmitters take much less power then old AM analog to cover the same area. The ATSC digital reception is more picky about multipath reflections (known as 'ghosts' in analog TV). Problem is on the digital TV it is either perfect or nothing so it is hard to know what is wrong. You need to make sure the antenna is pointed toward the station to minimize picking up reflections from things in the area.
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    rc,
    that's good general info for some to know who are going to make that leap, but i suspect the majority already know most of it by already getting a tv or converter as the transition has been in place for some time now. the problem here is not one for a lack of familiarity with the dtv, but is one for electrical engineering. people are quite confused by the new technology though for i was amazed that i was the 1st to complain for the lack of seeing that channel's local programming. it seems that many thought it to be much like the temporary loss of signal that can occur from a phase shift or temporary blocking of the signal that i like to call digitizing. that's where it freezes or skips with blocks of misplaced or odd areas of picture info. to clarify this, this is not what has been happening here in the loss of the local programming from this channel, but it seems others thought it to be and that even includes the guy at best buy or i wouldn't have been the first to complain. he admitted he bought a signal amp to try and alleviate it whereas his previous tv of another make had no trouble on that channel without an amplifier. he said the problem is still there and that day proved it to be all lg tvs with that station's local programming.
    although i have a strong signal i did not know if a very strong signal (full scale) would've made any difference like that of being in the vicinity of the transmitter might have made. as i said to the engineer it may be a component of the info transmitted more weakly that this brand of tv is not as good at picking up that causes the tv not to recognize the aural or audio components at all. the engineer was thinking a component of the signal was missing and i don't think that to be the case or other tvs would experience the same dilemma.
    i anxiously await to hear from the engineer on his findings and a possible solution.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    Digital TV (and the HDMI component to component) interfaces were created with DRM as their "major feature" to protect "the copyright holders' rights" to their product.

    The fear being that if people could make 100% perfect digital copies--then anyone and everyone would copy and distribute the product for free...

    The problem with DRM is that it introduces lots of potential problems with miss-interpreted specifications and miss-designed hardware and software that does things that nobody planned on...

    Long way around of saying that this is not a signal strength problem (as you well know)... This is a digital signal processing problem and will need a fix from either the vendor or the broadcaster to make it work.

    Hold their feet to the fire and return the TV if they do not fix it SOON (don't lose your rights to a return for a defective product).

    It is possible that they could fix the problem with just a firmware problem--but it will probably take months to fix and distribute--and there is no guarantee that the problem can be fixed without changing out an ASIC.

    Long way around of saying that if the local station programming is important to you (and what if other stations choose to change their broadcast signals to the same configuration)--Return it and get something else that works out of the box.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    i would return it right now if there was another set in the same price category that had similar features and capability. the 30 days is a best buy policy, but the tv itself is for a year by the manufacturer. although the lack of the reception of that channel's news is something i'm not pleased with, i can live without it as there are 2 other networks that deliver news and a 3rd that actually uses the local nbc channel's news. that transfered news comes through just fine even though originating from the same source that my tv doesn't want to pick up. i figure the local channel will be upset enough to find an answer and if it lies with the tv manufacturer the local channel will push them for a correction.
    i see this as their fight and neither will want this set of circumstances to continue as the station will miss too many viewers and thus income and lg will lose too many people buying tvs if this gets out that even 1 channel had a loss of reception that doesn't occur on other sets. you are right that it may take some time to fix depending on the nature of the problem.
    i still feel it is a nice tv with great features in its price class and aside from the problem i've indicated with it, i have been impressed overall with the tv. if anybody knows of anything that is comparable in features and price let me know.
  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,002 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me
    BB. wrote: »
    I don't know if this is the issue--but with DRM (Digital Rights Managment) there is a "do not copy" status bit to prevent the new HDMI/HiDef Digital Recorders from making unauthorized digital copies...-Bill

    It'll be interesting to see where we end up. As someone who is willing to down load movies that I own, rather than ripping them myself, it's common to see movies that are just released already ripped for down load.

    Some/most network offer many of their programs for veiwing online, some even in quasi HighDef, I say quasi as while it's 720p or 1080p it's compressed to a huge degree and somewhat degrades image quality (IMO). I much prefer watching TV on line, really only watch NCIS, I haven't had a TV in 5 years though I get to watch more than I care to at work in the winter, security. Online a show like NCIS is 43 minutes long with 4-5 30-45 sec commercials. Also some show from the past are available, kinda neat. I don't use Hulu (?) or one of the other streaming sites, rather I go to CBS for the stream.

    I'm a new owner of a TV, a visio 22" eco model that claims to run on 24-25 watts, I'll post in a few days. I've had pretty good luck with a Monoprice.com amplified HD anntena recieving 12 channels though in 2 different orientations, mounted outside. amp draws @2 watts...
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    photowhit,
    amplifiers do little unless of good quality at the antenna, but will not make up for a crappy antenna.

    general,
    i did hear from the engineer and he confirmed there's a problem, but it's more like an odd incompatibility. he mentioned something of a component of the vanc data that is being broadcast in a different place that the lg is looking in one place and only one place for it. most other tvs he said if they don't find it will search for it, but he said he found something similar before and no i didn't ask which tv or brand. he did ask me to see if a temporary maneuver he did had any effect, which it did not. i did see him playing with it earlier this afternoon as i saw it blank out twice for a few seconds total. this confirms that the station is doing something different than the other stations, but is not an omg moment as if he's done something terribly wrong unless of course it is an lg or the other tv he found to do this.
    he did buy a 22in lg to experiment with to try and rectify this compatibility issue. if it were just my tv i think i'd have been out of luck, but an entire brand of tvs not receiving them warrants their action.:D
  • RCinFLA
    RCinFLA Solar Expert Posts: 1,484 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    If you have not already done so, go to http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/tvq.html.

    Go to bottom blue section and put in your latitude and longitude along with the radius distance you want report to cover.

    This will give you the stations and directions from your location.


    Beware of amplifiers. More times then not they do more damage creating intermod interference. Use minimum amount of gain as the more gain the more IM will be created. If you have nearby stations they will overload the amp creating intermod, wiping out other further away stations. FM stations are also a problem adding to the intermod problem.

    As mentioned before, ATSC is very suseptable to reflections causing multiple time delayed versions of the signal. If you have to pick up multiple stations from different directions you can use an antenna rotor or put multiple antennas pointed in different directions and couple them together with a splitter used in reverse. Multiple combined antennas can create trouble with multipath pickup so attenuators, amplifiers and filters maybe needed to compensate the combining.
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    Niel;

    If you really love this set and also absolutely must have that channel, you might be able to do a work-around with a DVD recorder. Pain-in-the-anatomy, but the recorder might pick up the channel okay and feed in through a video input to the TV.

    I was amazed at the difference in my DVD playbacks when using the various forms of input. The split video signal is the best. :D
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    rc,
    i never said i had intentions of an amplifier, but an outside antenna with 75 ohm cable will present high losses and may be degraded compared to the performance of the rabbit ears or worse. multiple antennas with multiple connections and losses through splitters would necessitate an amplifier as the signal would be severely degraded and i like it to be of 'kiss' if i go to an outside antenna arrangement. i could design for 300 ohms as twinlead poses far fewer losses, but 300 ohm combiners isn't a good idea, especially outside. i am thinking of a compromise loop antenna setting up a bidirectional pattern that will cover the majority of stations and the one major station off of the side of the antenna will be fine as it is quite strong. my biggest problem may be where and how to mount it so as not to shadow my pvs and keep leads as short as possible and go with the thicker rg6. too bad i can't readily get some rg11 nearby, but i can use hardline. i'd need to adapt these larger cables down to the f connection of course.
    i have found that analog outperforms digital in longer distances as some stations previously viewable about 50 miles away on analog are doa now. it may partially be the terrain around here contributing to this as another tv engineer/ham told me long ago it won't work here very well and he was right.

    marc,
    that means a separate receiver and a higher price for the dvd player. which one do you have?
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me
    niel wrote: »
    marc,
    that means a separate receiver and a higher price for the dvd player. which one do you have?

    Well my on-cable system is probably different from your over-the-air one but ...
    There's a digital receiver box that feeds the DVD recorder via coax and the TV via composite, so one box works for two devices. The recorder (also a Toshiba) has an antenna out as well, so that could feed the TV - but the picture is better with the composite.
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    marc,
    you are not getting hd if the composite is looking better than the other. composite is not a high definition input to the tv. you might try a splitter at the output of your cable box having one side go as you indicate to the dvd and non hd composite input to the tv and the other end of the splitter to the tv f connector. if this is how it already looks and the composite looks better then i suggest a call to the cable company and figure out what's going on.
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me
    niel wrote: »
    marc,
    you are not getting hd if the composite is looking better than the other. composite is not a high definition input to the tv. you might try a splitter at the output of your cable box having one side go as you indicate to the dvd and non hd composite input to the tv and the other end of the splitter to the tv f connector. if this is how it already looks and the composite looks better then i suggest a call to the cable company and figure out what's going on.

    Niel, that would be yet another call to the cable company to find out what is going on. It took nearly a month just for them to get it to work at all!

    Of course this same company twice tried to install cable Internet for us - before it was available at our location. They couldn't understand why it didn't work.

    Got no TV here at the cabin. Hardly notice the absence.:D
  • RCinFLA
    RCinFLA Solar Expert Posts: 1,484 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    Niel,

    Would not recommend 300 ohm twin lead. The RG-6 made now days is pretty low loss. About 2.6 db/100' at 213 MHz, 4.1 db/100' at 500 MHz, 5.1 db/100' at 750 MHz. Recommend the solid copper center lead stuff, not the copper coated steal unless you are also using it as clothes line.

    Unless you live on a mountain top the loss of radiated energy getting into your house and multiple reflections you are going to be subject to due to metal and wiring in the house will make indoor antenna worse then cable loss to outside antenna.

    I have four antennas combined through filters and couplers.

    Attached is a picture of my MATV junction in my garage. The yellow box on left is filters to get rid of the VHF locals stations 3 miles north of me so I can receive stations 45 miles away from south. I re-inject the locals from antenna in attic. The two RG-11 lines are to the VHF and UHF southbound antenna but only used it because I had it. UHF antenna to north to pick up three stations 35 miles north is fed with about 45 feet of RG-6. Nothing received on these from indoor antenna.

    not exactly KISS... but then I'm an RF engineer, just the 'hunt', and I hardly ever watch TV.
  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,002 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: Opinions on a new tv for me

    FWIW - I have a 4 bowtie antenna that worked OK the Amplified antenna does work better, It's a simple affair without a gain control. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10901&cs_id=1090102&p_id=4730&seq=1&format=2

    It works a bit better than my homemade bowtie antenna w/o a reflector. I'm likely at least 20 miles from the nearest transmiter(other than religous station), by road I'm 30+ miles from the 2 towns (Jeff City and Columbia, MO I'm south east of Fulton, MO @ 10 miles)

    The bowtie antenna worked fine for a friend between the 2 towns. I'm in the woods by design, I'll get a compass out and find a better line of site location in time. I'm lucky as I'm on tow of a hill.
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.