It seems a bit odd that your signal would suddenly just go altogether. Are you sure that your aerial hasn't come loose and ended up pointing in the wrong direction?
I've seen aerials hanging down and pointing at the ground. A good aerial is very directional to pick up the maximum wanted signal and minimum unwanted signal so it is important that it points straight at the transmitter mast. You can't necessarily go by where neighbours' aerials are pointing. When I looked out of my parents' house I could see their various opposite neighbours' aerials pointing over a 180 degree arc!
Find out what transmitter you are getting your signal from. If you are in a valley you might be getting your signal from a local repeater station. Make sure that your aerial points at it. Here in Hebden Bridge, for example, most properties can't see the Yorkshire TV mast at Emley Moor so we get our signals from a repeater on the local hillside. Unfortunately, that doesn't yet transmit Channel 5 or Freeview.
Another possibility is that your coaxial cable is faulty or not attached to the aerial properly. I heard of one case where a cable had filled with water and shorted the signal out!
Of course it could be that your current aerial genuinely is no good and perhaps the loss of signal is due to a new building going up between it and the transmitter or something like that, in which case you might need the best aerial you can buy.
In answer to your question - no, Freeview aerials are
not much of a muchness - there are good ones and there are bad ones. There is lots of information online - try reading
this.