&gt;DTV reception even over a good antenna within 10 miles of the broadcast towers can be spotty.<p>It ends up being about more than distance. TV is just radio. If there are hills blocking the signal then even close transmitters can be a problem. If both you and the transmitters are on high places then the distance can be ridiculous.<p>In general indoor TV reception tends to be flaky. If the signal has to go through and refract around a whole lot of objects close to the ground then you end up with so much mush. There are reasons that people back in the day had an antenna on the roof and those reasons have not gone away. If someone is suggesting that their indoor antenna design is somehow better that what existed in the past they are pretty much selling snake oil.<p>There are sites that model TV reception. TVFool.com is the best one right at the moment.