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It is true that DTV is "less forgiving" of marginal signals than the old analog. Still, I would not go back to daily TV viewing OTA with analog. I lived for a time in Little Rock AR and had to deal with severe multipath in an apartment. Gave up the analog OTA and went with a "limited basic" package from the cableco.
I had moved back to rural Southeast Arkansas some years ago and knew the writing was on the wall for analog TV (I'm also a dx'er), so I built a decent OTA antenna system that would work great for DXing DTV but also provide solid "local" reception. Even when I subbed to Dish Network, I used the sat box's built-in DTV tuner for OTA locals. Last August, I cut the cord and once again became OTA only+Netflix streaming/Bluray/DVD.
The key to "fringe" DTV reception is three things: feedline/preamp, antenna, and antenna height. I don't have a tower so am limited in the height department but I do use decent RG6 feedline and a decent consumer-grade preamp (CM-7777) and separate UHF and VHF-hi antennas. It may sound like overkill, but in the long run it will pay for itself quickly (vs a $60-100+per month Sat bill).
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