best rooftop TV antenna?

[ShadowsPapa]

Anyone here like millions of the rest of us - can't get cable, hate satellite for price and other reasons, using a roof mounted TV antenna?
We've always had "antenna TV" for a list of reasons, so this isn't new but for some reason the issues with our current setup are rather new.
The lower channels (5 dot whatever) and sometimes a couple of others, get lost. We live in a low area between hills and are surrounded by trees. So it's possible the growth of the trees over years and the age of our antenna, cable and amp, splitters and so on are contributing factors.
My wife is getting impatient with the reception and I told her I was also tired of it and would look into a better antenna and this time have it professionally installed with whatever we needed for an amp and splitters to get the signal to all of the TVs and our DVR.
But then the question becomes - what antenna will get all channels, in our area, 5 up through 39, how to take that signal and amplify it so it can be split to get to any of 5 TVs in the house (and even the 2 in my shop)
The bulk of the cable dates back to the 90s at least, some likely into the 80s. (now there's a possible issues right there). It's through outside walls so not one bit easy to replace.
And I have an amp in the ceiling of our finished basement that takes the signal and sends it to 4 of the TVs but I have used passive splitters to get to the others.

I've looked up "best roof top antenna" and see a couple that look really great - with the caveat - "not good for lower VHF" which is exactly where we have the most issues - 5 dot whatever.
I can't remember the name or model of the amp - will have to look at it.

And do the radio and TV experts here agree or disagree that older cable installs can be a problem, or is it that the coax will outlive me and I shouldn't worry about it?

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[Bobchadwickga]

Look into the Tablo DVR's. With this unit you plug the antenna into it, it attaches to your WIFI (maybe directly via your router but we don't use it this way) and any smart TV in the house can receive the signal. No running wires, boosters, etc. It has a DVR capability if you so desire. We use it with an in-attic antenna with good luck.

 

[Alfonz]

I got rid of cable 2 years ago and the monthly $180 fee. It included a $24 charge for local channels.

I bought inside tv antennas for each of my smart tvs. Has a range of 55 miles (not sure what range you are needing). These are what I bought:
Walmart indoor tv antenna

Its funny that I get more channel reception in my man cave than our ground floor.

Not sure if this helps in your situation.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Look into the Tablo DVR's. With this unit you plug the antenna into it, it attaches to your WIFI (maybe directly via your router but we don't use it this way) and any smart TV in the house can receive the signal. No running wires, boosters, etc. It has a DVR capability if you so desire. We use it with an in-attic antenna with good luck.

We have a Tablo. I have one of the very first quad tuner versions and when they updated their firmware moved from a 1T drive to a 2T drive.
The problem is reception for everything, including the TVs and Tablo.
I have to get reception to the tablo device before anything else can view.

The Tablo DVR keeps dropping recordings because of "lack of signal" and the TVs are doing the same thing - signal is pixelating, dropping out and so on. And they use really very good tuner chips. If it can't get a signal, nothing can.
So the issue is that we can't get signal to anything at times.

For a TV to watch from a Tablo tuner, you have to have a webTV running the Tablo app, or you need to use a Chromecast or rooted Firestick with the android version of the tablo app, OR, launch the Tablo app on a computer and cast from a computer to the TV, etc. so that's not going to work. (and wow, the complexity for my wife!)
Not any smart TV can get the tablo signal unless it is a later model you can run the app or a dongle on.
Our main tv is able to run the Tablo app (which they rarely ever update - they are aimed at apple devices) and thus use the TV's own control to view anything from the Tablo, including recordings or live TV.

Anyway, the need is to get signal as we can't even do trickery through Tablo since it also drops the reception now and then.

I got rid of cable 2 years ago and the monthly $180 fee. It included a $24 charge for local channels.

I bought inside tv antennas for each of my smart tvs. Has a range of 55 miles (not sure what range you are needing). These are what I bought:
Walmart indoor tv antenna

Its funny that I get more channel reception in my man cave than our ground floor.

Not sure if this helps in your situation.

Indoor antennas won't work here - even the rooftop antenna can't get reception of some channels so that lets out any indoor antenna. I wish it was a matter of being that simple.

Whatever we do must be up in the air, outside of the house. What you can't get from the roof certainly won't do well in the house. I gave away and threw away all indoors antennas. My parents had a couple of decent ones I got after they died - didn't work here.
One of our TVs is in our finished basement making such antenna virtually impossible.

As the crow flies we're probably 35 miles from the towers but we're down in a valley surrounded by trees and hills.
It takes a really good outside antenna to get reception.

I'm really limited to some sort of outdoor antenna roof mounted, then split to the TVs (and Tablo so we can finally record some things reliably)

 

[SpeedNeed]

Just to clarify, how and at what quality do you get internet? That’s long been the source of all my television signal.

 

[Bobchadwickga]

@ShadowsPapa You really have a poor situation with the reception. I'm 35 miles outside of Atlanta and get a ton of channels.

We have had good luck with the Tablo. All of our TV''s are Roku and the APP adds directly so no complexity. Turn on the TV, select Tablo and select your channel.

We still use YouTube TV but I keep telling my wife if it goes up much more we'll be going to the antenna with a couple of $10 streaming services.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Just to clarify, how and at what quality do you get internet? That’s long been the source of all my television signal.

Cellular data. Not cheap.
And although we have little trouble with basic internet, it's not 100% reliable and it's not good enough for streaming.
But then - you're talking streaming costs, too.

We still use YouTube TV but I keep telling my wife if it goes up much more we'll be going to the antenna with a couple of $10 streaming services.

We've got to leave internet out of it because again - we can't get cable or broadband out here. Tried satellite internet and that sucked and was slow and spotty and worthless in our storms.

All we want is to be able to reliably get the stations we can get over the air, an antenna.

So back to - rooftop antenna, etc.

 

[Gatorized]

We use a Clearstream 4 outdoor antenna - in our attic facing out a window. it is hooked to. FireTV Recast. Probably similar to your tablo… it connects via Wi-Fi to All the tvs in the house. The recast has dvr.
this is an old house so must have miles of coax running through the basement from every owner prior to our moving in. With the Recast it was nice not having to figure out which cables were still active or dead.
we are. In a tough location for signal as well. In my last place we got great reception until my wife pulled out of the driveway which must have impacted the ‘bounce’ of the signal off her car fender or something! LOL!
perhaps your current antenna has been knocked out of alignment with the signal by some of your storms.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

We use a Clearstream 4 outdoor antenna - in our attic facing out a window. it is hooked to. FireTV Recast. Probably similar to your tablo… it connects via Wi-Fi to All the tvs in the house. The recast has dvr.
this is an old house so must have miles of coax running through the basement from every owner prior to our moving in. With the Recast it was nice not having to figure out which cables were still active or dead.
we are. In a tough location for signal as well. In my last place we got great reception until my wife pulled out of the driveway which must have impacted the ‘bounce’ of the signal off her car fender or something! LOL!
perhaps your current antenna has been knocked out of alignment with the signal by some of your storms.

It's possible some of the issue is alignment, but I tightened the bolts so tight in the tripod stand that 's bolted to the roof - that I squeezed the pipe the antenna sits on. To rotate it at all I have to screw the bolts way out and turn the pipe - then make new dents. So it would have had to have twisted the stand or the pipe LOL. I gorilla'd it years ago knowing 50 mph winds aren't out of the ordinary.
Some of the coax cable is original to the house, some is newer. It's also not all one piece in some areas with two cables joined so things can come loose if they weren't made wrench-tight during the install. The cable from the attic down the outside wall on the east is run through insulation, and getting to it on the basement end is an exercise even for a chimp with skinny flexible arms.

Want to avoid that wifi stuff for multiple reasons.
1 - I'd have to have a device for every TV and not all have a free HDMI port. I would have to buy devices or update TVs. Multiple devices to deal with on wifi, updating TVs that otherwise work perfectly, adding complexity - can't just turn on TV and watch it (pissing off my wife)
2 - I'd have to buy a wifi repeater for the TV in the lower level as it's at the opposite end of the house down there.
3 - won't work for my TVs in my shop - underground coax runs from the house to my shop. So still need to feed them from an antenna and coax.
4 - I'd be depending on the Tablo receivers to supply every TV - STILL need to get reception to that device to start with meaning I still need to take care of that and it requires something on the TV end to receive the signal (back to #1)
So - why not just feed every TV and be done with it - that way if the Tablo ever dies, we can still watch TV.

Anyway, back to the original question..............
Not looking for workarounds and buying more devices, updating TVs and still having to deal with a half-and-half situation for those that can't be run from the Tablo.
Just looking for a good antenna (ROOF TOP, indoors just will not work) and amp/splitter to feed the TVs.
I've been the round and round with FireTV sticks, Chromecast devices and so on - pain in the butt and only work on 2 of our TVs. Too complex for my wife who simply wants to hit the power button on a TV remote and select the channel and watch TV.

 

[jebiruph]

@ShadowsPapa, channel 5 is the most difficult signal in our area. Here's mine, pointed north towards the channel 5 broadcast antenna. No amplifier, just cheap splitters and no reception issues with any channels. Looks like I'm almost 20 mi away, mostly through metro area and it looks like you're under 25 mi away, mostly rural.

 

[Gatorized]

There are u-tube videos for building your own antenna and chances are you have already got all the components In your workshop.
Antenna. https://www.ebay.com/itm/254113184974 link for The Ultimate TV Antenna kit.


i think this guy has a tutorial to build the antenna he sells.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

@ShadowsPapa, channel 5 is the most difficult signal in our area. Here's mine, pointed north towards the channel 5 broadcast antenna. No amplifier, just cheap splitters and no reception issues with any channels. Looks like I'm almost 20 mi away, mostly through metro area and it looks like you're under 25 mi away, mostly rural.

I did a straight-line lookup and yes, as the crow flies, it's saying 24.5 miles.
The problem is the landscape - trees, hills.
Cell coverage basically ends at our property line based on maps as of 4 or 5 years ago. Literally the cell coverage maps line up exactly with the Polk County property line maps.
When I take my JT down to the area of my shop - I lose satellite radio, likely because of the trees blocking "the southern sky".
So it appears it's not just distance, but the fact that radio waves go straight line and are blocked by hills and trees.

We even lose 39.1 and so on - every few minutes the screen says "no reception" then it comes back after 2 or 3 seconds. (of course right when someone is saying something important)
I've been tempted to go with a 30' tower. TV reception has been an issue since we moved here. I'm on my 3rd antenna.

There are u-tube videos for building your own antenna and chances are you have already got all the components In your workshop.
Antenna. https://www.ebay.com/itm/254113184974 link for The Ultimate TV Antenna kit.


i think this guy has a tutorial to build the antenna he sells.

Prefer to just have a ready-made solution and not spend hours digging scraps and building one.
For the time involved, I can make the money to buy one ?
These days I avoid the roof. Meniere's doesn't mix with roofs. I CAN do it, but.......... getting away from the days of doing everything myself.
So whatever antenna is chosen, someone will be hired to put it up and run the coax. Someone has to climb up in that attic, mess with the insulation, and straddle the ceiling joists and not go crashing through the ceiling. It's just not a job for me any more. Been there, done that.
Plus - the installer must guarantee their work and product.

 

[Gatorized]

You might want to jury rig something with a purchased antenna you can return if it doesn’t work - run it up the top of an extension ladder or something to get the height and try it out. These digital channels are very finicky..

 

[ShadowsPapa]

You might want to jury rig something with a purchased antenna you can return if it doesn’t work - run it up the top of an extension ladder or something to get the height and try it out. These digital channels are very finicky..

That will be up to whoever does the install. Ain't gonna be me.

I'd have to climb a latter up against the sunroom, then cross that roof to the main roof, then walk the length of the house over to where the antenna is mounted on the west end of the house.
We'll let some young guy with good balance do that.
It frankly, would have to be mounted up on the roof first to know if it will work.
Aim is the other thing - doing some searching online to see exactly how many degrees west off north it needs to be aimed to get most of the stations we want.

I know if I carried an antenna up to the top of a ladder, it won't work. It would be below the ground all around us. We're basically in a valley.
To walk away from our property, it's up hill all directions except south and then that's all dense woods, trees and weeds (and there's nothing over there but the Des Moines River - no towers)
It's gonna take a good antenna. And someone else is going to install it all once I find the right equipment.

This is finally not going to be a DIY thing. Finally, for probably the first time ever, someone else is going to do some wiring around here besides me, someone else will be on that roof putting up an antenna - not me.
I just need to find the right - the best - stuff.

 

[Alfonz]

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