I've had an OTA HDTV card for around a year now, and as of late, it's been unused and disabled because of a move to the basement, and unsatisfactory reception.
I've tried half a dozen antennas - amplified and unamplified rabbit ears, and the Zenith HDTV1, which is a clone of the antenna sold by SnapStream. While I could get reception on one or two channels, I could never get 100% coverage of all five stations, which are CBS, NBC, and PBS and it's subchannels. Even then, decent reception relied upon precise placement of the antenna (we're talking millimeters here) and perfectly sunshiny, clear weather. Once I moved to the basement, forget it...game over.
The other day while browsing through Wally World, I noticed a new Philips indoor/outdoor antenna. With the fall season looming, I figured I'd give it a try. What a happy accident!!!
Outdoor placement isn't really an option for me, so I mounted the antenna in my window, and screwed the mount down with an existing hole in the sill. It's lightweight, so one screw easily holds it in place. I've got 5x5 signal on every channel - through tornado warnings, hail, rain, etc. Mind you, this is a
basement window! Placement doesn't seem very critical - I had great signal strength while the unit was face down on my bed! The antenna is encased in a gray plastic enclosure, and measures about 5"x10". It includes an inline 18db signal amplifier, 20ft of cable, and mounting hardware for mounting on a mast.
The antenna was easily worth the $40.00 price tag.
I wish I'd known about this baby a year ago.