Omni Directional vs. Directional TV Antennas - Which Works Better?

[@AntennaMan]

📡 Do you have reception problems? Consider an antenna recommendation from me below: 👉 www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html

[@appalachiafishingclub]

We own a farm in the mountains of Tennessee. When I was a kid our antenna picked up three channels (ABC, NBC and PBS). To change channels I would go outside and rotate the antenna until my mom shouted "right there". Funny how life changes...

[@ClassicGuy57]

Thank you Tyler for making my day! I was getting really bored and checked my email for the heck of it. My face lit up when I saw these words “Antenna Man has uploaded a new video”. Thank you for all you do and keep it up!

[@ClassicGuy57]

0:33 Tyler’s subscriber count in this video says 79.4K. That was a while ago. I’m glad Tyler’s subscriber count is increasing and I hope he makes it to 100K. Also, another sponsor? Good for you, Tyler!

[@joelchoquette5674]

Very helpful Tyler. Good to hear you dispel the thinking that an omnidirectional would be better then directional, which you would assume would be the case.

[@thadgiannetti790]

You’re 💯 right about getting stations clearly from the backside, i have great reception on the stations that are close to 180°, but I have a few at 270° that don’t work, I’ve been trying a second antenna aimed at those but it knocks out the others if I combine all the signals so now I’m looking at switches.... it’s a work in progress 🤞

[@jeffreyd399]

My antennas, the Clearstream 4v, and Danny Hodges ultimate antenna are 'directional antennas' but they pick up stations from the back.

[@TEA-fj3ut]

Does one preform better than the other or you do use them in unison?

[@jeffreyd399]

@@TEA-fj3ut They work together in different directions.

[@wesmckean1443]

@@TEA-fj3ut I can tell you hands down that the ultimate antenna has beaten out every other antenna I tried, and I tried a bunch....

[@patrickmartin4996]

The Antenna Direct 91XG is probably the most directional UHF antenna I have ever used. Fortunately all of the translators I receive all come from the same direction. There are two towers spaced 1/10th of a degree apart, so the 91XG works very well.

[@Nicholas_Chris]

Great explanation Tyler. Yes for VAN omni directional antennas are best. But for people who live at home I recommend an directional antenna (preferably YAGI) with a rotor or a triplexer to get the best reception.

[@aaronsmith2054]

What an in depth and awesome explanation. Thanks!

[@bricknboxer]

For people with RVs who like to play with OTA TV, the Clearstream 2RV is a great upgrade to the Winegard batwing. It comes with hardware to mount it to the lift boom on most older RVs. Unfortunately newer RVs with omni directional fixed mounted antennas would require installation of the Winegard rotating boom. The kit also includes a PA-18 low noise preamp and uses the existing pre amp power inserter located in the wall of your RV. While aimed at and receiving a UHF rf23 station 70 miles away, I was also able to pick up UHF rf39, 90 degrees to the side. The VHF elements require 14 inches clearance to the side of the antenna in the stowed position. Antennas Direct said it was OK to move the VHF elements over a few inches to clear an obstacle like a roof air conditioner.

[@kensmith5694]

You can also use two antennas and a switch. You end up having to manually add channels and remembering to flip the switch but is is a good option for those with two groups of stations both at some distance.

[@raymondmartin6737]

Years ago I tried an omnidirectional antenna on the roof of my apartment, somewhat like for an RV. Being near NYC stations, but receiving some CT stations such as analog Ch 8 from New Haven, WTNH, and Ch 49, PBS from Bridgeport, WEDW, which are pretty strong NE of NYC, I did not need to rotate a directional antenna for these and other CT, and sometimes Rhode Island and Massachusetts stations when conditions allowed it. I think some omnidirectional TV style antennas have amplifiers too.

[@writerpatrick]

Just noticed today some local channels changed to their new frequencies ahead of the deadline this Friday and they have nice strong signals. I hope that will be standard. I'm also waiting to see what US channels get stronger.

[@druliefw]

Thank you. I've been looking for a good video converter program. I downloaded the trial version of Wondershare UniConverter Video Converter Software. After verifying that it would work on my computer I purchased the full version. One real plus is that I can now convert the files on my $30 OTA DVR to MP4 for general use with either my TV or computer.

[@wildwestunlimited]

Thanks Tyler! Another great educational video!

[@anthonykiszka4976]

Tyler, great info on your channel. I have an 22 year old Radio Shack 24' omni which is mounted in the attic on a truss cross tie a few feet from the peak, 30' off the ground, wood and vinyl siding walls. The antenna has worked fine for decades, the RG6 comes down to a powered Channel Plus distribution block with eight rooms connected all with RG6 cables. This omni got decent reception for the major markets surrounding my home in rural 49201 zip code. I had no trouble getting all the major stations, FOX, PBS, NBC, CBS, ABC. Over the last month my reception has gone down hill, now I can only receive the strongest station. Stations that were clear now have a lot of digital noise. My newer TV will display the noisy picture with no sound, my older TV display nothing, both TV's detect them as channels. I know that 5G has just been rolled out in my area. Have you seen 5G cause any issues like this? I will be bypassing the distribution block tonight and going direct to one TV. If this helps I plan unplugging and capping all the unused coax runs next. I would be grateful for any ideas or comments. Thanks.

[@robertogalvez3865]

Tyler, one of these days you should do a video on some of the tools and techniques you use to analyze OTA reception in an area. I see you now are using the signal meter from a small portable TV, but there many more useful techniques out there. Maybe someday I will share the ones I use with the OTA community. It is all about LOS! Cheers!

[@thadgiannetti790]

Fresh trim. Just in time for summer ! 💪💪

[@gamemaster8251]

We have an indoor directional. My room is on the second floor and put the antenna in my window and hooked it up to both my moms and my tv using the old satellite cable that got left behind. We get every station offered to us in this area clear as a bell.

[@Jack-gu7rr]

As always great video! Thank you Tyler!

[@jjcoolaus]

Great video. The link to the 40% off sale from your sponsor has expired :(

[@unclefester6033]

Something else is that if you have channels outside your local market is to point the antenna in that general direction & your local stations if strong enough should come in but no low powered signals!

[@Carman1744]

CBS in my area is in a different direction then the other networks and with my indoor antenna I can’t get ABC.

[@letsgomicroliving_1993_]

Do a video on how to combine 2 directional antennas

[@davidburton4582]

He did: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqDIi4qMas6ZoKM

[@Nicholas_Chris]

@@davidburton4582 That is the best method

[@letsgomicroliving_1993_]

@@davidburton4582 thank you

[@danbasta3677]

Just use a two way splitter reversed. One peg pointed toward the tv antenna, the other peg to the other tv antenna, which goes into the one output line, thus combining two tv antennas in two different directions going down to a ground block, then into a signal amplifier.

[@MrMichael48]

🤔Now is a Flywing RC helicopter H1 V2 with omnidirectional GPS connection and tracking really good?

[@danpete6623]

Right now I pick up channels from 3 bigger towns. And someone I know that has satellite thy charge $5 extra a month for other markets

[@Madness832]

2:03 looks like a flip-of-the-bird! :D

[@daveb8898]

Hey Tyler, I recently moved to house that sits in a valley about 9 miles from the broadcast towers which are obscured by hills. I attic mounted a directional antenna and pointed it toward the tower at a slight upward angle (like it would be pointed toward the top of the hills, if that makes sense) All of the major broadcasts are coming from the same direction and cluster of towers, but for some reason all broadcasts are crystal clear except NBC. Could this be an issue with the tuner? I’ve double checked all the recommended websites and have confirmed that all broadcast are the same distance and same direction, so I’m at a loss as to why only one channel is not being received. Any advice?

[@psa110]

Tyler, do you ever use a relief map when assessing signal strength/loss?

[@rjonzun5828]

Good question

[@bricknboxer]

@@rjonzun5828 If you dig into tvfool.com and input your address you'll find maps for the signal path between the broadcast tower and your location. Line of sight, one or two edge paths will be shown. Also maps showing signal strength over topography will show how a signal is lost on the back side of a large hill or ridge.

[@markurbanetti6195]

I have a clear stream 2max and receive stations from 227 degrees and stations from 332 degrees

[@chickenboy101]

Thank you for that video, it was very informative. You mentioned in the video it might be a better idea to combine antennas. Where can I find information on how to combine antennas?

[@AntennaMan]

I have a video on this topic. Check out my KZbin channel.

[@Resist4]

I like your videos but hate the pushing of products on it now and won't be subscribe anymore because of it, but I will still watch them and recommend them to friends. I hate commercials on TV, had them even more on KZbin. For my area there are two basic directions to get all my channels and for me, an omni directional indoor antenna has proved best. The downside is that this antenna only gets all those channels in one location, directly on top of my TV pointing straight ahead. So I guess I lucked out there. lol

[@domcizek]

GOOD INFO, THANK YOU

[@monstrok]

Great discussion! Would it be worth considering another situation where someone is between two major markets? For instance, Seattle-Vancouver/Victoria (like me), Fort Worth-Dallas, Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Jose-Oakland/San Francisco and others? In my case, I need a bi-directional antenna which I've solved with both the Clearstream 2MAX and two directional antennas pointing in opposite directions.

[@lseddiki]

would u plz make videos about the 4G LTE best antenna, tnx

[@tomcop668]

Do you ever talk about putting antennas on a rotator?

[@cleorobinson9266]

Information needed

[@hidyturl1839]

Why dont we group 8 directional antenna into 1 superb directional antenna that pointing to all direction, does this make sense?

[@owlpoodle355]

I put up an RCA Directional, Indoor/outdoor antenna. Aimed it at the best signals and right off I got over 70+ channels. Some were vhf too. After going through all of the channels, I determined all of the stations transmitting are crap. These channels must be for those that prefer not to pay for what they watch. They get what they pay for too. I think that I'll stay with the internet for my viewing.

[@Bamaoutdoors]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@FursaFarfasha]

Do you have a spreadsheet of all of your testing results?

[@AntennaMan]

I do not. If you'd like to see how the results of the antennas I tested out you'll have to watch the videos. If you still aren't sure which one would work best for you consider a custom antenna recommendation at the following link: www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html

[@gmackinnon648]

Great info Tyler, as a sub and FB follower can you please do a review of the eagle star pro antenna. Thanks m8😊✌️

[@jeffkardosjr.3825]

I'm getting better reception from WNEP since their frequency change.

[@edwardlatz8524]

my father had A rotary Antenna on his house , I think that is the best was to go for getting stations from different directions .

[@danbasta3677]

It is to a point. However if your TVs are connected to not just one, however three other TVs, someone on the other end or opposite end of the house could me watching a tv station. When turning the antenna to recoeve, a different station from the opposite end, you've just messed up the other individuals viewing of the station they were watching before you turned the antenna to a totally different tv station in another direction. To avoid this, best to put tv antennas in different locations Locke onto their friguencies, then using a splitter weather a two way or three way splitter, sometimes four way splitter depending upon how many stations you wish to receive and what locations they are at. Running the one line down to a ground block into the cellar of your home, grounded on a cold water line, to a signal 4 way amplifier to the individual TVs you have in your home. Best route.

[@thadgiannetti790]

Edward Latz I think they used to make really good rotors, but the three different ones I’ve had were junk. They would continuously lose their directional orientation and require constant re-synch’ing. I gave up.

[@lonniewilliamson2569]

Haircut tells me PA went green.

[@thadgiannetti790]

I can give myself that haircut in less than 4 mins 🍻

[@AntennaMan]

I actually cut my own hair.

[@lonniewilliamson2569]

@@AntennaMan You did a good job, looks nice.

[@thadgiannetti790]

It’s not that hard to cut and Feels great

[@SIVASHANMUGAVADIVEL]

Hey #Antenna_Men, I am from India, i have a problem in signal strength is around 120dbi which is poor, for 4G LTE around 90dbi is excellent, my nearest Cell tower is around 6 Kilometers (6,000 Meters) the area is some want trees around but not a hills. In thui situation which antenna should i want preferred weather directional or Omni directional antenna?

[@ceciljowers3795]

I have an antenna with a tenna rotor. My problem is I live approximately equal distance from 3 tv markets here in Northern South Carolina. Those markets are Florence, SC and Columbia, SC and Charlotte North Carolina. I can get those stations but my problem is my tv (Samsung Qled)does not allow manual tuning. I can scan for Charlotte and sometimes get some Columbia channels but not always. The Florence channels don't come in unless antenna is aimed for them. Auto tuning does not pick up those other markets. Do you have any ideas other than adding a separate tuner?

[@AntennaMan]

If your Samsung tv doesn't have manual tuning there's no way around it - you'll need an external tuner

[@tron3entertainment]

Wait a minute. Is the haircut future Tyler or past Tyler? Now I am confused.

[@bigdogtom55]

I HOPE it's future Tyler...GREAT haircut for sure...

[@KameraShy]

Flowbee went wild.

[@AntennaMan]

I did get a hair cut. Been 90 degrees daily here in eastern PA

[@tron3entertainment]

@@AntennaMan - I sing this with all due respect... *"G. I. Joeeeeeeeeee!"*

[@bigdogtom55]

@@AntennaMan Those are the BEST haircuts....ALWAYS keep mine cut close...

[@tomyot77]

Thanks for making it simple.

[@jalexishercav]

Hi, I need an advice, I need a recomendation, I need to buy an antena for my ranch in Mexico but I need an antena capable to receive a signal 200 km away

[@kensmith5694]

How tall is the tower and how high is the stations tower? There are distance to the horizon calculators. Do the horizon for each tower. If the sum is less than the total distance, you have line of sight (assuming no hills). The the sum is short by about 20km it is still likely to work. If the sum is short by 100km there is nearly no chance of a signal unless you can catch a bounce of a mountain or something.

[@mikeblank7165]

Tyler, Can you make a omni directional antenna from a Hula Hoop ? (They typically come in different sizes, because of the chinese imported toys).

[@AntennaMan]

You can make an antenna from anything metal. The question is how well will it work if signals are weak.

[@alanosborne1947]

As I type this I'm on hold with Spectrum trying to cancel my basic tv that I pay $154.00 a month. This price does include my internet but I am only getting like 8-10 channels and I'm tired of paying this each month. My question for you is hooking up the HD antenna I have purchased. Can I hook the antenna cable directly to the cable box my internet cable is connected to. And if so do I need a splitter to separate the antenna cable and internet cable. If this will not work I'm guessing I will need to run the antenna cable directly to the TV. I live in Apex,NC and I'm within 15 miles of Raleigh,NC. Thanks for your help.

[@AntennaMan]

No antennas cannot be connected to a cable box. They need to be connected directly to the TV set. You CANNOT combine the antenna and internet feed on a single line. You will mess things up. If you are confused I do offer setup guidance services at the following link: www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html

[@alanosborne1947]

@@AntennaMan Thank You for your reply. I will check up your setup guide!

[@alanosborne1947]

@@AntennaMan Hey Tyler, I forgot to mention in my question about hooking an antenna cable to my cable box is I'm using my TV as a computer monitor and for watching television. What would be your suggestion to continue using my tv as a computer monitor and connecting to my HD antenna so I can watch my local stations? What can I do to separate the two?

[@DyLemmaOG]

During certain times of the day I have one channel that has 40-60 strength during certain times of the day. The channel is being picked up by my VHF element but it's just barely not strong enough (extremely pixelated, image but not playing correctly). During the day the channel is generally watchable. Any ideas? Like a better signal booster or something? I have basically a super generic amplifier currently. Your channel has been amazing for me, I've learned a lot, bought a few antennas and understanding VHF and UHF, VHF low high etc lol.

[@fwingebritson]

so, ideally, we would want a big mast with a few dozen directional antennas pointed in all locations, stacked and staggered in order to get everything.

[@mikeblank7165]

No, you do not need to do that. The cable company has already done that for you, in a commercial setting ! You need to pay them for the millions of dollars that they paid out for that service.

[@EasyRiderGreg]

Where I am CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX are all on a mountain top about 30 miles away. There are no mountains blocking the signal, I'm above all the other hills between me and the transmitters. I can not get ABC or NBC at all. Sometimes Fox and CBS come in and some times they just cut in and out. I don't understand how that can be. I should be able to get them all all the time but I can't. Cable and satellite are just too expensive. What can Be the problem? Can this type of reception be made to work reliably for all the channels?

[@vollyman1962]

what antenna are you using? Where is the antenna in your house located? What you are asking - you are not saying what the environment is in your home and the antenna you have. That makes trying to figure it out very difficult.

[@skuttduck]

My dad setup a nice antenna up on a large mast with a rotor before he passed away, and I'm able to get more stations than that setup and I am 8 miles away. He did good to use RG6, but he used so much of it that I think he is losing signal due to the cable length. He also has no VHF element so he is missing a couple stations. I'm thinking about climbing up on the roof and installing a pre-amp for my mom as well as a VHF antenna to combine them. Just thought I would mention that.

[@AntennaMan]

The stations may be at reduced power. Check out my other videos for more information.

[@glenjohnsonii3198]

Do it "what is sign on and sign off?"

[@johnham9454]

Can you daisy chain antennas together

[@AntennaMan]

No - it won't work well.

[@henrytroll3439]

Honestly, what a weak system we have, and I don't think think the ATSC 3 is going to be any better. Technologies in the States don't go hand in hand with each other. Have we noticed that the electrical posts in the the street go above instead of underground? That interferes with the the frequencies. Also, there are many ways to broadcast; horizontal, vertical, elyptic...

[@dlmfilms1]

Should I use an Omni Directional antenna in Lords Valley?

[@AntennaMan]

No you won't get anything there

[@dlmfilms1]

@@AntennaMan Why? I get two channels with a 5 dollar antenna that looks like a bow tie?

[@goldenboy5500]

even though I have 1 television on a antenna I still stream reason is what little television are cable stations mainly MSNBC & CNN most of the time I watch Netflix yes I can live without advertising I have tried a few not all are compatible with all tv's and or add on devices like roku or Fire TV I have tried a few and I find the best service is KZbin-TV

[@davidkurzdorfer6402]

Sir in western ny big channel up date wbbz channel 67 currently has me tv on channel 67.1 and here's icon on channel 67.2 ..and me tv on channel 6.3..and day star religious on 67.4 and dbld on 67.5 ....they are adding 3 great new channels start tv on 67.6 and decades on channel 6.7 ...and movies on 67.8 ...3great new channels and in about a year day star religious channel 67.4 will be drop and better channel will replace it ....but getting 3 channels added is like yes ...lots of Canadian viewers watch channel 67....these channels will be added july 1

[@andresmsuarez5718]

i try one omni directional and sucks. at least in my area

[@thadgiannetti790]

Yeah omni’s suck where I am too, get a giant yagi directional type and you’ll pull in sooo many more stations

[@JeffreyGroves]

Did you bonk your forehead during an antenna install? Also, are you in to Ren-Faires?

[@AntennaMan]

I actually bonked it on my car door.

[@canadianmike711]

Direction

[@marioescobedo1137]

How about an antenna man red T shirt.

[@jbeav3902]

Any 4k tv atsc 3 out yet

[@gogydm]

Sony X900H

[@AntennaMan]

There's a few. Look for a future video on this topic.

[@jamesretired5979]

how about in attic verse on roof

[@alexkay1874]

Height is Might , the higher the antenna is the better

[@thadgiannetti790]

Outside on roof is always better just don’t fall off! You lose signal going through shingles and rafters.

[@AntennaMan]

I have a video on this topic. Check out my other videos.

[@vollyman1962]

I built this and I was amazed at how well it performs. i.ibb.co/zGsxW3n/antenna2.jpg I have two of them up at my house. I can get towers 70 miles away with it. Total cost to make it was about $12.

[@brianpercival1829]

I have a 19 inch diameter flying saucer omni diectional up on a 45 ft tower and tower is 8 feet above the road. It is rated at 70 miles. My station direction map looks like spokes on a wheel. Buffalo is 35 miles away SE, CN Tower is 65 miles north, CHCH Hamilton is 30 miles NW. Erie Penn is 48 miles South and getting fringe stations that breakup from Ohio. Repeats from Buffalo. It picks up reliable stations without pixelation 99% of the time. Storm days I get break up but also had breakup from TV stations on cable going through storms in their regions too. It does the job fairly well. I don't have large ridges in the way to hamper reception. I really don't need to chase fring stations as mostly content I'm not interested in. Religious bible thumpers and Non stop sales stations. I have Shack TV and get IPTV that has cable content, and today I got Cobra Hosting at $10 a month. I found it has CRAVE TV and that is a $29 a month subscription. I have more TV stations that I can watch. The only problem is with Shack TV and in Series Tv shows it has Spanish subtitles that cannoy be turned off on 75% of the series they offer. It is annoying so trying out Cobra Hosting to see how stable that is. Always good info here and great advice.

[@owlpoodle355]

Trees, trees, trees! Which antenna is best when the stations direction is blocked by trees? Tyler your videos are great but never get a haircut like that again.

[@dxtv1784]

Satellite dish is the best in your case.

[@AntennaMan]

It varies depending on the frequencies in your area. Consider a custom antenna recommendation at the following link: www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html

[@Toto4730]

👍👊

[@Peersoncasteell]

To some up for the people that dont want watch the vid Omny derectional intenas get signals from all derrections and tipicly do nto work as wel if near one market then the other If you have a derectional intena its the opasit Your welcome

[@rjonzun5828]

If you've going to be an expert then at least take the time to submit a reply that is legible. Dip$hit.

[@mikeblank7165]

@@rjonzun5828 Did you learn your vocabulary at church ?

[@thadgiannetti790]

Who would be rude enough not to watch the entire video?!?! People who subscribe to this channel are civilised!

[@Mike-gc9ih]

The Al Gore of boring