Does anyone know of an indoor antenna that works best for HD?

Now that a large # of TV's we sell have HD tuners in them, it would be nice to offer a cheap antenna to go with it.

Does reception improve if the antenna is located in the attic? most I've seen are designed for top of TV.

thanks

I bought a Radio shack HD indoor-antenna ($50 , on top of tv style ) and it worked ok when I had it by the tv but I would lose reception alot so I put it in my attic spread the ears out completely (shared my FAU plug for power) and BAM it works great , I get all my locals in HD and haven't lost reception once . Every situation is different though , I have a pretty clear path to the skys , some people dont .
I don't think the smaller indoor antennas will work very efficiently unless your fairly close to the HD broadcast with a clear site .

My mantra that I tell customers:

"Dear Mr./Mrs. customer, my experience is that the bigger and uglier the antenna is, the better it works."

Antennas are another great way to lose your pants on a job. Whatever you use, make sure that you tell them that you've given your best scientific guess, but still can't vouge for how well the antenna will perform.

Good advice. Which antenna do you use?

I like the matra, but their are devices that will give you off air HD signal strength, and if you do not have that device, you can use www.antennaweb.org and a topo map to give you a best guess as to the quality of the signal. but I too hate HD of air antenna's they are harder to deal w/ than DSS.

Winegard PR-4400 I install 'em every day and get outstanding results outside and in the attic too. It's not even that big or ugly or expensive!

Are you installing the antenna in the room or can you put it in the attic? If the attic then go for the big ugly sucker! We have pretty good luck with the big channel master antennas. But as said before I always tell the customer that there is no garuantee as to signal quality until we get it installed!

Zenith makes a little table top unit that I have used in many occassions with amazing results. It is called the Silver Sensor - something like $18. I think DBL Dist has them (or Petra). I believe UHF only - but they work well.

Like Freddy, I'm also quite fond of the Winegard PR-4400. That's assuming that you live in an area where there's no VHF stations.

Do you know of any handheld devices for measuring off-air digital signal?

There's a Sencore, but I forget the model #...

For the attic try Channel Master's Stealhtenna Part number is CMA3010 and you can add the amplifier CMA3038. I used this on every install with great results.

What are everyone's thoughts about amplifiers? Would it make sense to add one with every antenna purchase since we are only talking $20 - $50 for the antenna.

Can the signal get overdriven if the amp is two powerful?

Yes. Amps should be sized and added only as needed, and it's not difficult to size an amp based on splits and cable footages.

We use Channelmaster 4228 UHF 8 bay antennas in attics all the time. Like real estate it's location, location, location.