How to Purchase the Best Outdoor TV Aerial

Yes, buying an outdoor TV aerial isn’t really a biggie, but the thing is there is more to it than you think. The fact is you may even end up buying the wrong one if you don’t know what to look for in a TV aerial in the first place. It’s very true that other than the price, there are so many other things you should be considering.

In the job of choosing the right television aerials, you have to first acknowledge the importance of two initial factors – the proximity of your home to the transmitter and the terrain to where your home sits. In the most generic sense, if your home is far from a transmitter, it only means you need to buy a larger aerial because it will provide more gain. Anyway, there also are some pricey TV aerials that can have the same capabilities as larger counterparts, although the price makes the difference.

Now the most obvious question you must ask yourself is this: how do I figure out which TV aerial is best used for my specific situation?

Signal Gain

The simplest and quickest way to understand what size of aerial you need is by looking around your neighborhood and seeing what your neighbors are using. If you see that they are using practically the same size of aerial, it strongly suggests that it also must be the one you should be using.

Next, you want to know as well if the aerials are facing or pointing to the same direction. Truth be told, it’s actually a good sign, indicating that you live in an area where there’s good signal. But if the television aerials are facing different directions, it means there could be reception issues in your area. But don’t easily get discouraged because you have the option of looking for a TV aerial company that offers a signal amplifier or booster.

Type of Signal

Aerials, at least for the most part, receive two kinds of signals – UHF and VHF, but there also are times when both are received. Furthermore, it’s also very inaccurate to make the presumption that all digital channels are located in the UHF bandwidth. It’s true that majority of high definition signals are found on UHF, but there also are some located within the VHF band.

Distinguishing Outdoor from Indoor

But if you’re still aren’t sure what sort of TV aerial you need, then it’s important that you should also learn what the differences are between outdoor and indoor varieties. For example, outdoor aerials are more challenging installation wise and some homeowners will most likely hire a professional. The indoor type meanwhile is the quicker and easier solution, but don’t expect it to have the same signal pickup quality to that of an outdoor type.