So this is something we have bitten our lip on for a long time, but just recently the spate of calls we have received following mis-selling by certain retailers, we feel it is time to share the truth.

Indoor aerials are NOT a good, cheap, reliable alternative to a traditional, outdoor aerial. There, we said it.

Our question is: why spend a lot of money on that shiny new TV, with great definition and lots of choices to watch it via Freeview, Sky, Streaming, Apps and more to then basically power it with a piece of plastic plugged into the back?

You certainly will not get the most out of your new investment, the picture will never do it justice and you will also have an indoor aerial as an ornament with unsightly wires on show, as it will need to be positioned in a way where it can get some signal. And trust us when we say they aren't pretty to look at.

Then there is the overriding fact that Indoor aerials only really work well in good signal areas. Basically unless the signal from the transmitter is strong where you are, an indoor aerial is not likely to give good results. That  doesn't include North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Northumberland, Newcastle, Sunderland or less so, Durham.

They are actually hampered by a number of factors such as that the signal is broken up by all the walls it has to pass through to get to the aerial, and any reinforced steel joists will make it almost impossible to rely on a good signal.  An indoor aerial also services only one TV so you may need to invest in more than one, which will be even more frustrating when none of them work well.

It truly makes much more sense to ensure you have an up to date aerial on your roof, with good quality cabling that can be fed to any room, ensuring multiple TVs will be working to their best ability. And if you already have a suitable aerial it doesn't have to be an expensive or messy job to extend your existing system into new rooms. At the end of the day, a good TV isn't cheap and deserves to be treated with respect!

If you want to make the most out of your TV's resolution and give it some love, then call Jayne in the office on 0191 2524308.