New Antenna?

[steelhead]

I'm a newbie to this forum and my question has probably been asked and answered many times so please bear with me.

I recently changed to Direct TV HD and purchased a new Sony Bravia HD capable TV to replace an older Sony that was shot. I have two older sets that have converters; we were ready for the digital conversion by the original deadline. Direct TV assured me I could pull my local TV and would no longer need the tower. They were right! I get 6 local stations; a far cry from the 15-20 we receive over the antenna which is still hooked to the system. I have a 40' tower and an OLD single beam antenna with an amplifier. What I experience is flutter on the analog and pixilation and stutter on the digital signal. I realize an antenna may not correct these issues; neither the station nor Direct TV know what to do since neither one will claim the problem. In any case, I've noticed I've lost a lot of my fringe stations from Grand Rapids, Toledo, Saginaw and Detroit. Would a new antenna improve the receptio? Which one would you recommend? Why do I want to watch fringe TV? Some of my sporting events are blacked out because my local stations are too close; also some of the other cities have sporting events that we chose to watch as well.

I've tried several ideas to include the TVFool information to no avail. My zip code is 49201, Jackson, MI. Thank you.

M