So I work for Best Buy and we just got in these new antennas by RCA. They are flat square panels and are indoor smart antennas. The idea behind them is very neat. The only issue I found after picking one up since I could find nothing on the web at all about them, was that I do not have a smart antenna capable TV, and from what I can tell an RCA converter box that does will only give me 480i analog signal and be utterly pointless. I have a Samsung LN40A650 and definatly no CEA909 port on it.

I tried scouring the web for something that would be a stand alone component that would let me use this antenna and I can't find anything!!! At this point I don't understand the release of such a neat idea and no way for someone like me to use it.

I looked at target and noticed a GE 24775 antenna with three sides and it looked like something worth trying.

I picked up a Terk TV5 the other day which my buddy back there said was the best we sold, and due to the cable being perma attached to the antenna i need a small male to male adapter to extend the cable from my window to my tv. The antenna sitting on my floor didn't impress me.

I am not looking at using an outdoor antenna at this time, as the indoor cheap RCA amplified antenna i bought 4 months ago works okayish in my window.

and while I am at it, does aluminum window frames cause a decrease in how good the signal is?

i know i am asking a lot but thanks for any help you can provide!!!

Smart antenna is a bit of a catch 22 - not many are made since few devices are equipped for it. As of now only a few CECBs have that feature. I assume this unit is the update/upgrade of the previous 1000 model.

As for your antenna issue, I'd go to tvfool or antennaweb and see what kind of antenna type they recommend and which way to point it.

I have the RCA ANT2000 for an RCA DTA800b & a DTA809 converter boxes and they work great for those of us holding out till HDTV become even more reasonable in price. Rock steady with no need to adjust between stations, and tolerate people moving around the room.
Now for the BEST indoor antenna I find the Radio Shack 15-1892 (looks like a StarShip with Rabbit ears instead of Enterprise nacelles). It has an RF remote and the ability to individually tune in stations and change additional amplification if needed. I have found the Philip's Silver Sensor worked great for my parent Aquos HDTV, but need to get up and move it occasionally. Last for my father-in-law I hooked up a Philips ANT940 to his existing antenna wiring for 3 TVs one HDTV and two RCA DTA800 boxes and that worked best if laying down and was slightly positional as well.
Best advise to see what is in budget, buy several, try them all and see what works best!

... does aluminum window frames cause a decrease in how good the signal is?

They won't help matters, but they're not signal killers by themselves. Aluminum window screens, OTOH, will cut into TV broadcasts. Ditto low-e window glass, which has a metallic-oxide coating that blocks UV, infrared, heat conduction... and radio signals.

Smart antenna is a bit of a catch 22 - not many are made since few devices are equipped for it. As of now only a few CECBs have that feature. I assume this unit is the update/upgrade of the previous 1000 model.

As for your antenna issue, I'd go to tvfool or antennaweb and see what kind of antenna type they recommend and which way to point it.


And they are expensive! You're better off with a UHF/VHF antenna.

And they are expensive! You're better off with a UHF/VHF antenna.
I'd only recommend a Smart Antenna if you don't want to move your antenna, by remote or physically; and if you suffer from mild multi-path interference (mine was just people moving around the room); or if you live in close proximity to TV towers that are in different directions. I personally love them as I don't have to adjust a thing. My wife loves our RCA ANT2000 as it no where near as unsightly as my other favorite Radio Shack 15-1892 (Star Ship).

Use to be able to buy RCA ANT2000 at Walmart.com and Buy.com but currently on back order only at http://www.buy.com and http://www.ambientweather.com in 1-2 days of order reportedly. I know Wal-mart sold a lot of the RCA DTA800B and DTA809 at Target, can't believe that didn't get this antenna out sooner to take advantage of the initial surge of these boxes.:mad:

Yup, darn it! I've been researching Smart Antenna choices, now that my converter box coupons came in from the Feds, and when out and picked up an APEX DT502, which has a Smart Antenna interface. I really need the multi-directional, multi-gain capabilities of a Smart Antenna in order to pull in as clean a signal as possible (I live in canyon country, with rough topology). I found out about the RCA ANT2000, and said "That's it!" But, wouldn'tcha know it...it's just not available anywhere. I don't think RCAs vendors anticipated this, and now we're probably just waiting for the exports to get here. Maybe soon. Oh well...

At 70-miles SE from Mt Wilson (L.A.), I didn't see any difference wrt UHF performance
between RCA ANT-2000 and DX Antenna DTA-5000. Can't test VHF until 13June.

I would expect DTA-5000 will have BETTER VHF performance due to the much larger
crossed dipoles:
http://www.summitsource.com/dx-antenna-dta5000-tv-smart-antenna-multidirectional-hdtv-digital-uhf-vhf-outdoor-offair-high-definition-local-hd-sylvania-television-reception-aerial-green-zone-part-dta5000-p-6320.html

At 70-miles SE from Mt Wilson (L.A.), I didn't see any difference wrt UHF performance
between RCA ANT-2000 and DX Antenna DTA-5000. Can't test VHF until 13June. I would expect DTA-5000 will have BETTER VHF performance due to the much larger crossed dipoles:
http://www.summitsource.com/dx-antenna-dta5000-tv-smart-antenna-multidirectional-hdtv-digital-uhf-vhf-outdoor-offair-high-definition-local-hd-sylvania-television-reception-aerial-green-zone-part-dta5000-p-6320.html
Interestingly, my RCA ANT2000 does a good job with ANALOG Ch. 11 and Ch.9 when the RCA DTA809 box is off, and obviously that would be with it acting as a 'Dumb' Antennae since the control box is not getting any power from the controller for amplification nor fine tuning. So I am kinda looking forward to when our switch over finally occurs.
:)
I am not sure you would want to use a ANT2000 inside for stations 70miles away, I can't imagine how you are getting any signal unless they are beaming a boatload of energy your way!

I was summarizing what I had posted earlier:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14996150

The ANT2000 and DTA5000 were laid on top of an outdoor wood pergola at
about 10-ft height, with the patio floor being about 15-ft above local terrain,
so it's roughly equivalent to mast-mounted antennas.

Indoors, there were almost no signals from 6000-ft Mt. Wilson (4800-ft higher).
The regular antenna is a CM4228 in the attic (CM4221 wasn't enough).

Unlike the RCA DTA809 box, the Apex CECB does NOT memorize best antenna settings for the antenna, after running the initial scan you can individually 'fine tune' the channel by going to configuration, smart antenna, and click Auto, at which point it will search for best setting. Problem is when you switch channels, it will keep last antenna setting even though that now may make that channel un-viewable. So using tests on CECB's will currently only be valuable with the RCA DTA809 box (or an older 800B).

So using tests on CECB's will currently only be valuable with the RCA DTA809 box (or an older 800B).
The ANT2000 works well here with a Tivax STB-T8; in fact, due to strong multipath caused by the leaves of a giant spreading tree on our neighbors' property, the ANT 2000 works better than a much larger two-bay Eagle-Aspen that is mounted in the attic, ten feet higher in the house.

The ANT2000 works well here with a Tivax STB-T8; in fact, due to strong multipath caused by the leaves of a giant spreading tree on our neighbors' property, the ANT 2000 works better than a much larger two-bay Eagle-Aspen that is mounted in the attic, ten feet higher in the house.
So does that mean that when the Tivax is scanning for channels it tries all permutations and selects and memorizes the best? Cause if it does then it is head and shoulders above the Apex 502.