Outdoor HD antenna options?

Question

I currently have an amplified Phillips indoor antenna which I can place just outside the door and get good reception from the towers in my area (40 mi away). If I get an outdoor mid-range antenna (as suggested by antennaweb, w/ a pre-amp) do I really need the pre-amp you think? I'm looking at this one: http://www.antennasdirect.com/42XG_television_antenna.html

Also, how does the signal strength affect the actual reception? Regardless of if I'm 70 on the scale or 90, I really can't tell a big difference.

Answer 1

A preamp should not be necessary unless you expect a long run of cable from your antenna to your receiver. Be sure to use high quality coax (RG-6) for your lead in. In general, if the signal is above a minimum level, you will not see any difference in picture quality, but if the signal gets too weak, the picture will break up or disappear. The advantage of getting a high reading on your receiver signal strength meter is to allow for occasional reductions in signal strength due to weather conditions.

Answer 2

I live over 40 miles from where my local transmitters are located and I have an antenna mounted in my attic (1 story). My HDTV came with both NTSC (Analog) and ASTC (Digital) tuners. When i tune into a analog HD signal it looks like crap, however when i tune over to a Digital signal, it could not look better.

I would suggest going without the amplifier if your set is ASTC and see what happens, you can always connect your existing amp to the feed if you need to. For goodness sake, do not let some sales flunky sell you a digital amp for your new antenna. You do no need it.