I have Sylvania HDTV 12" or 14" trying to use HD Digital antenna for free TV. Have a broadcasting tower less than 10 miles from my home..

Yes. One at just 2KM away. "Hitlers' channel"

I recently went through a whole song & dance about HDTV antennas for my RV. I bought two different directional high-gain antennas, only to find that they wouldn't even receive signals at my home! When I'd reorient the antenna and initiate another channel search, I would sometimes get ONE or TWO channels... then I'd lose them when I'd try to reorient the antenna.
What I figured out is that DIRECTIONAL HDTV ANTENNAS ARE, ESSENTIALLY, WORTHLESS. There is really no way of knowing precisely which direction the broadcast towers are and, even if you knew, they will not all usually be clustered in one small area... they may be scattered here & there around your area.
What I eventually did is bought an OMNIDIRECTIONAL HIGH GAIN ANTENNA, which was no more expensive than the DIRECTIONAL antennas I tried. Did a channel search, and got almost all of the channels in my area!
Any omnidirectional HDTV antenna will work with your television, but I'd recommend buying the one with the highest GAIN (expressed in "dB" or "dBi" with the highest number being best). Try to find a POWERED antenna with an internal SIGNAL AMPLIFIER.
Also, if you live far away from broadcast towers as I do, you may wish to consider adding an additional SIGNAL AMPLIFIER as well.

Is the antenna mounted on an inside wall?
Or, is it mounted on an outside wall, and cabled through an exterior wall, and connected to your TV?
Where do you live -- maybe, there are only 3 over-the-air stations near you?
There are web-sites that show the location of the stations' broadcast-towers. If your TV is on the "opposite" side of your home from those towers, your home is blocking the signals. Move the TV, and try again.

You will need a digital antenna to connect to your television. Sometimes they are referred to as HDTV antennas. Depending how close you are to the broadcasting tower, you may need to get a powered digital antenna (plugs into the wall as well as your television). This will pull in all the broadcast television channels in your area.

Hello - Sure can, You do NOT need a converter box. The TV has digital tuners built in and all TV broadcasts are digital now.

You need to purchase and install an antenna based on how far you are from the actual broadcast towers and what kind of geography lies in between . Obviously I don't know where you live but for example; if you reside in a city where you are located within a few miles of the broadcast towers you could get by with an indoor rabbit ear antenna. Say you live in the suburbs of that city 10-20 miles away you could probably use a small attic or roof antenna. However, as in my case where I live approximately 35 miles away with some hills and buildings between me and the broadcast source I need to use a large roof antenna mounted on a tall mast.

The simplest way to find out what kind of antenna you need is to visit this LINK and use the "See Which TV Stations You Can Get on a Map" tool. This will give you a very good estimate of the antenna you need. Until then don't buy any more antennas.

When you get it setup right you will be very pleased. OTA (over the air) HD broadcasts are better in quaility than cable or satellite.

Enjoy and thanks for using Fix Ya

Mikeywaf

The Insignia NS-PDP42 Plasma HDTV has a built in ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuner.

In short, yes, it does have a digital converter built in, but you will need a antenna capable of receiving digital broadcasts. You can find these at Walmart for $15 to $60.

HD tv is picky about the signal. You either get a signal or you don't get a signal (no static or snow). It really depends on your location as to where you live. There are ways that you can find out how close you are to a transmitter by checking on Wikipedia for each channel in your market. It will give you precise position as to where it is. It will also tell you if they will broadcast in 1080i or 720i. Check the antenna specs to see what the range is on the rca.com website.

There are many variables here that could cause the problem. I can receive a few local HD channels ( within about 60 miles ) on my 57H94. I am not aware of any "HD specific" settings- it's all part of the receiving circuits in the TV. The first thing I would look at is to be sure you have a secure antenna connection. Then be sure you have selected the correct antenna input on the TV (there are two). HD channels, as an example will show up as 10-1, 10-2, etc. Most TVs have different sensitivity thresholds, regardless of size. Usually digital signals, including HD, are either there or not. In most cases if a TV picks up a decent analogue signal, a digital set should receive the digital signal, including available HD channels, as well. If you are going to use an antenna, rather than cable or satellite, try to get the best antenna you can afford, that will meet your physical requirements ( indoor / outdoor,etc.). Keep in mind that not all digital TV signal are HD. All of our local stations in this area transmit a digital signal, but true HD broadcasts remain variable. I hope this has helped in some way-Good Luck!

Have you tried http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx? This will show you the location of the HD broadcast towers for your local stations and my recommendation would be to use an outdoor antenna if you can. Picking up the reception is definitely about pointing the antenna in the direction of the towers.

Hi splhcb,

Your television is already an HDTV, meaning it is set up for receiving digital broadcasts. In this case, you should not need a separate converter box for over-the-air reception. You will need an antenna, but the type you purchase depends on things like how far you live from broadcast towers, landscapes, buildings, and where it will be located in your home. Although many antennas are being marketed as HDTV compatible, if you already own an antenna you likely can continue using it. Otherwise, it is best to speak with someone at the store who can weigh the factors in your situation to recommend the best antenna.

Thank you,
Jason,
Go Ahead. Use Us.