I've got one (external, USB), but don't use it often because I don't get good reception where I usually have my laptop and also don't watch a lot of TV. When I went someplace that had better reception, it got a decent picture. The screen size isn't an issue because I usually watch while sitting at the computer or not far from it, rather than from across the room as with a TV. The device I have has an antenna, but I didn't notice any difference in reception with vs without the antenna. If HD is important, I'd check to make sure the device you buy supports it, since there are probably many that don't. There are also probably some available for very little money that won't do the digital signals. They could still be used with cable, but they'd be useless after February for over the air broadcasts.