Directional antennas must point toward the transmission tower to receive the signal while multi-directional antennas can receive signals when not pointing toward the transmission tower. This is a point to remember when selecting an antenna because if you choose a directional antenna and need multi-directional then you will not receive some stations.
Outdoor Antenna Rating System
Antenna Web rates outdoor antennas with a 6-color rating system. These ratings should appear on the outside of a CEA-approved product:
- Yellow – Small Multi-directional
- Green – Medium Multi-directional
- Light green – Large Multi-directional or Small Multi-directional with pre-amp
- Red - Medium Directional
- Blue - Medium Directional with pre-amp
- Purple - Large Directional with pre-amp
The colors are designed to help select an antenna without having to compare specifications between models. In other words, yellow-coded antennas should perform consistently with each other. The same holds true for green, blue, etc.
Choosing an Outdoor Antenna
My advice is to go to AntennaWeb.org to see which type of antenna they recommend for your specific address. The site is designed to help people locate the best antenna for their area based on their United States address and/or zip code.
Antenna Web will only recommend outdoor antennas for your area.
