I spent the day hooking up my H10. I've been using a round dish for about 5 years now and finally took the plunge into the world of HD. It was a struggle to find the satellite signal, but finally I was able to pick it up. I gotta say, I learned alot of how these satellites work today.

Comment
It turns out I didn't quite do as much research as I should have ahead of time. I didn't realize that direct tv only carried so few HD channels. The direct tv tech told me they hoped to have it completely converted by the end of next year, but $11 a month for ESPN and Discovery seems kind of steep. I hope they work the new ones in as they go because my first three months are free. Who knows, maybe by the beginning of April when I first start paying, there will be more. I am an HBO Subscriber and I will get to see next week's NFL Games on HD which should be good.

My Question
I can't seem to get HD local channels in my area (see zip code to the left) but the tech guy told me they would try for a waiver. In the meantime, I did some searching here and some people have said to look for their own antenna. So the question is, what kind of antenna am I looking for? Is it something like this Clip-On Amplified VHF/UHF/HD Antenna for Multi-Satellite Dish? If so, how does the tivo react with it (It's a stand alone that I use with cable and Direct Tv). I know the tivo doesn't record HD which isn't a problem, but I want to make sure I can at least setup my channels in the channels I receive so I can record. Right now, I have basic time warner for my locals and I use Direct TV for everything else. Could I completely bail on Time Warner use the antenna for HD locals? How does something like this connect to the dish or the reciever or both?

Also, I hooked up the H10 two ways. One goes through the Tivo and then plugs into the TV. I've also bypassed the tivo and went right to the TV. I did this because I'm assuming if I go through the Tivo, I'm not really watching HD (because the tivo doesn't record HD). When I want to watch HD, I just switch inputs on the TV and go the H10 that doesn't go through the tivo. Is this true? Does that make sense?

Thanks for any help.

You need to go to www.antennaweb.org to find out the direction and distance to your local towers. It will also tell you what frequency is assigned for the digital broadcast. You will also get a suggestion on what antenna to use.

If the H10 is like my HTL-HD DirecTV/OTA receiver, there are separate RF inptus for the OTA and the cable lines (no cable box). When you set it up there are sections where you give it your zipcode so the guide can integrate your local station in the guide.

If you have a cable box, you'll need to run that separately to the TV.

BTW, that clip antenna doesn't work that well unless you are close to and in direct line to the towers.

I actually went to antennaweb.org before I posted and typed my info in. I was a bit puzzled as to what it told me (besides what channels were available and where they were.)

It gave me the color coded choices. Red offered me NBC, CBS (still awaiting permit) and ABC. But to get WB and Fox and I had to move out to violet. To get all of them, I'm assuming I need violet. Kind of like, you're only as fast as your slowest member.

When I choose violet, it tells me I need a large directional antenna. I was hoping for some specific brands with links, but no problem, google is my friend. I spend some time at the avsForum and alot of people were saying bad things about Terk. Is there a specific antenna I should look for?

How does this connect to my TV to get the HD? Is it coax from the antenna to somewhere else? Where is that somewhere else? Does it go directly to the TV (through the Tivo of course) or does it go into my H10 first? I would like to go ahead and get this thing since I'm assuming my HD waiver request will be denied, but I need to make sure I buy the right thing.

Edited to ask to more question: According to antennaweb.org, WB out of Akron is 39.6 miles away, so when I look for an antenna, I'm assuming I need one that goes at least that far and probably a little farther to be safe. Is that correct?

Thanks again for any help.

You'll find great antenna advice in the "Local HDTV Reception Forum" at http://www.avsforum.com. Look for the Akron thread in the index post at the top of that forum. There you can see and ask what antennas work well for folks in your area.

As far as where to connect the antenna ....
Most likely you would connect it to the Over-the-air ATSC antenna input on the H10. You could also connect it to your TV if it has a built-in ATSC digital over-the-air tuner.