Quote:
Originally Posted by shemmy /forum/post/18178853
Hi, I'm looking to buy a cheap LCD panel for a relative who has no TV, and has no cable hookup. This is not a scenario I'm familiar with, so I assume I need something with a decent tuner and antenna (I can give him a hand-me-down DVD player). I'm not looking for anything fancy, just something that will be useable and useful at a cheap price point. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Regarding OTA reception--I'd strongly advise you to go to antennaweb.org. You can punch in your relative's zip code and they will tell you what type of antenna will work best and which way to point it.
When choosing an antenna don't pay more for one that is promoted as being especially suitable for HD or digital--there's no such animal in reality. An antenna that worked the best for the old analog signals will also work the best for digital.
Indoor antennas, depending on the construction of the home, don't usually work very well if you're more than 15-20 miles from the broadcast towers.
Masonry walls, including stucco, foil-backed insulation, and tile roofs all block signals.
Back in the day when you had to buy the tuner separately the brand to go for was LG, primarily because they bought Zenith. Zenith did most of the R&D on the ATSC digital OTA broadcast standard that was adopted by the FCC, went broke in the process, and LG bought then out along with all their patents.