Zenith ZHDTV1 HDTV-UHF Digital Indoor Antenna (Silver and Black)
by Gemini Industries, Inc.
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Zenith ZHDTV1 HDTV-UHF Digital Indoor Antenna (Silver and Black)
Customer Review: FREE HI-DEF TV
Summary: 5 Stars
*HERE'S A LITTLE TIP THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THESE ANTENNAS:
*You can get some Digital Hi-Def Channels "FREE" & it's perfectly legal. Even on regular TVS, you can show a much better picture
*Hook this up to your TV. Then scan your channels AGAIN like you were setting up your TV for the first time. I not only pulled in Sharp digital Hi-DEF channels with BUDGET cable ($10.47 a month versus digital), but I can switch from Antenna 1 that I use for analog stations to Antenna 2 & pull in digital Hi-Def Quality on the VHF channels that are running Hi-Def. It's great if you want to watch football or sports in Crystal Clear.
*Even if you don't have a TV that incorporates Hi-Def, your overall picture will come in Much Sharper after your TV has been Tuned through this antenna. Much, like a regular TV has a sharper picture when it runs through the VCR, because it goes through the VCR'S antenna.
*I have a 52" widesreen, so the Better Picture was such a Huge Advantage, that I decided NOT to go digital. The stations Pulled in So Much Sharper with this anyway.
*I do understand why some people give it a bad rating. I purchased one & could not see any difference in the picture. Took it back & got my money back. Then I remembered another tech telling me that you could pull in Much Sharper Pictures with this type of antenna. Went Back to the store & repurchased it. I'm so GLAD I did. If the people with regular outside antennas had tried this trick, their picture would have been better too.
*Here's another little Tidbit: After you've scanned your stations, you can disconnect the antenna & take it to every TV in your house for a better picture even on plain old TVS. If you've ever priced the costs of having a TV tech come out & Custom Tune your TV Sound & Picture, you'll know how Great this is! Do it Yourself & SAVE a Bundle.
*Remember, just set up your TV again after hooking up this antenna & SCAN through your Channels. If you don't know how to get into the TV Menu to scan, either get out your owners manual or go to the TV manufacturers website & see how to scan the channels.
*Two other ways to pull in sharper pictures are to buy a GOOD Quality Surge Protector. These are usually about $100 Plus. By stablizing the current, they do bring in a sharper picture. It sounds like a lot, but not whan you consider that it's also protecting all your valuable equipment. Second, get Good TV Cables, not the Cheap Crap that comes with most TVS. It makes TV alot more fun when the Picture Is Great.
*It is kind of cheaply made. There are more Hi-Tech looking ones out there. They'll all do the job, though.
Customer Review: Best Indoor HDTV Antenna available.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have tried 5 or 6 indoor HDTV antennas before I finally purchased the Zenith ZHDTV1 HDTV-UHF Digital Indoor Antenna 5 months ago. The other antennas I purchased (and eventually returned) were manufactured by TERK, Samsung, and RCA to name a few, each costing between $50 and $100. All of these antennas are designed to look good, but to extent that they compromised the ability to work well for appearance. This is not the case with the ZHDTV1, as compared to all of those antennas it was by far the best indoor HDTV antenna I have owned. (Note that I only tried indoor antennas.)
I live in the metro St. Louis area. In St. Louis there are seven Digital Stations that are available over the air. The seven include FOX, CBS, ABC, WB, NBC, PBS, and UPN. All of their broadcast towers are located between 12 to 20 miles away from my house [FOX (12 mi), CBS (14 mi), ABC (11 mi), WB (11 mi), NBC (11 mi), PBS (14 mi), and UPN (20 mi)]. (You can find the location of you local digital stations at http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx). Furthermore my house is surrounded by tall trees that easily stand some 40 feet, and my house is located in valley that is roughly 75 feet lower than surrounding hills.
To actually be able to view a digital off-air channel you need a signal strength of at least 60. All of the previous indoor HDTV antennas I tried were able to receive between 3 to 5 channels with a signal strength around 70. The ZHDTV1 on the other hand receives all 7 of the digital stations that are available. And every station has a higher signal strength as well. FOX, CBS, NBC, WB, and ABC I get a signal strength between 80 to 85! PBS I get around 72-75, and UPN between 60 and 65. And I use the antenna unamplified!
I must warn people who are considering purchasing this antenna about several things. First it is a UHF (digital) antenna, so don't complain if you don't get VHF (analog) signals. Second it is a highly directional antenna. This works well for me because all seven of the digital stations are located in the same direction (Southwest). It is not an omni-directional antenna, so if you live in an area where digital stations are scattered around your location this antenna may not work as well. Finally I had to spend considerable time adjusting the antenna to a direction where I was able to receive every channel. Every antenna requires some kind of adjustment to find digital signals, and sometimes it is a meticulous process. Finally this is the best INDOOR antenna I have tried. There are some better outdoor antennas, such as the DB8 Multidirectional HD Antenna available at www.antennadirect.com, although the ZHDTV1 is on par with many commercially available outdoor antennas, and actually outperforms several outdoor antennas. Overall i am very pleased with my purchase of the ZHDTV antenna, and it is truely a bargain at $20.
Customer Review: With patience, worked great to me...
Summary: 5 Stars
After some experimentation, I was able to pickup nearly all of the UHF stations (that I care about), while leaving the SS(Silver Sensor Antenna) in a single position. Lucky for me, all of my station's towers are within 1 degree of each other. If yours are spread around, you'll likely need to move the antenna around every time you change the channel... not something most people are willing to do, me included!
Before even attaching this thing, be sure to visit antennaweb dot com to see where your towers are relative to your home. Then PLAY with your SS: Put it high; put it low; turn it on its side... even moving an inch makes a shocking difference in my living room. No matter where you stick it though, always point directly toward the towers.
I'm 23-25 miles from the signals I want most, and although my tuner (Dish 942) reports pretty low strength, low 60's to high 70's, it locks 12 UHF subs perfectly. I know UHF antennas are supposed to be placed as high as possible, and away from obstructive materials... Yet strangely, my SS works best tucked up against my entertainment column, which has a lot of metal. I guess the column is blocking reflected signals that mess up the tuner otherwise(?). It's on the first floor of a two story townhouse, with two walls separating it from the towers.
Since the SS is useless for the 4 VHF subs I want, I coupled it to some cheap rabbit ears using a Radio Shack UHF/VHF combiner (combines two antennas into a single coax feed to your tuner). The rabbit ears are touchy about location and position too, but with some patience wound up working fine for the VHF channels. Being able to place the two antennas in different places is a must for me, as the rabbit ears don't work well tucked away where the silver sensor likes to hide.
Before this, I tried the cheap rabbit ears with UHF loop and tried a powered Radio Shack HDTV antenna (15-1880... expected much more from it, perhaps it's just my location?). The rabbit ears beat the Radio Shack antenna for VHF, and the Silver Sensor just plain stomped all over it for UHF.
Considering I could barely tune 4 analog stations(had no HDTV tuner when first moved in) using the rabbit ears w/loop, I didn't think I'd be able to get away with an indoor antenna. The Silver Sensor was a pleasant surprise, and saved me MUCH time, money, and no doubt aggravation over the alternative of installing a gynormous attic antenna.
Good luck with yours!
Customer Review: Powerful Punch in a Small Package
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok first of all, I don't really submit reviews all that often but I know how much I went through to find a good antenna so I will fill you in on my story.First off, I bought Rat Shacks top of the line HDTV Amplified Antenna. I am aware that there is no such thing as an HDTV antenna and any UHF antenna will do but I decided to try theirs anyway. The Radio Shack antenna was OK. I was able to pickup about 5 channels or so with it, so I was mildly satisfied. I decided that I wanted to experiment with a few other models so I could see if there were better products.
I returned the Rat Shack antenna and purchased the top of the line Jensen Amplified antenna, since it had a higher dB rating on its amplifier and I thought I would get better reception with it. Wrong again. I picked up 2 channels with the Jensen Antenna.
After these two experiences I was really thinking that I would need to get an external antenna, which meant that I would have to have a big ol' ugly thing on top of my house, which isn't going to happen. :)
I took back the Jensen antenna and decided to try the non-amplified UHF only Silver Sensor. Once I got it home and plugged it in, it detected 18 channels! This is an amazing antenna and I havent even received my HDTV tuner yet. I get good signal on my standard tuner. I cannot wait to see how well I receive Digital/HDTV once I plug this into my DISH Network 811 (2/8/04.) If you are seriously looking for a good performance indoor antenna, your best bet is the Silver Sensor. This is an amazing antenna. My local channels are broadcast from about 20-30 miles away. On Antennaweb.org the channels I receive were rated in the yellow -> Green section and I would imagine this antenna wouldn't pick up anything outside of that range without an amplifier. You can find a Zenith Amplifier for this antenna online, I have ordered one and I am waiting for it to arrive so I can test it out.
So far I am VERY pleased with this antenna. For its low price and ease of installation you simply cannot pass up on it. Buy it locally if you want to verify it works for you. Once you do, you will be amazed with how well this simple antenna picks up the channels OTA for you, at no further cost!
Good luck!!!
Customer Review: Absolutely stunning
Summary: 5 Stars
I rarely write reviews of products, but for this item, I simply had to. I've bought a lot of electronics equipment throughout the years and this is, by far, one of the best purchases I've ever made. If you own an HDTV you simply MUST buy this antenna.
Despite the 100+ positive reviews for this product my expectations were realistic. It's cheap, and looks flimsy, so I didn't expect much. Once I hooked this beauty up to my Sony 42" Wega LCD HDTV I was floored. Easily the best picture I've ever seen, on any TV.
Installation will take 2 minutes tops.
1. Unpack the antenna, stand and coaxial cable.
2. Put the three together.
3. Connect to your HDTV.
4. Run auto program on your HDTV.
5. Watch the glory unfold.
You may need to move your antenna a few inches to the left or right to get all the channels in your area. Make sure to go to antennaweb dot org to see what digital channels you can receive. After connecting this antenna I immediately received eight digital channels, all in glorious 1080i and (most of the time) featuring Dolby Digital 5.1. If your TV has a digital audio output (either digital coaxial audio or fiber optical) simply connect that to your home theatre receiver and prepare to be blown away.
That's right, you will receive the Super Bowl in HD with 5.1 surround sound. Free. You will get 24 in HD with 5.1. Free. You will get Smallville in HD with 5.1 for free. The list goes on and on and on.
Possibly the best channel to watch in HD is, believe it or not, PBS. The footage they showcase on their adventures from Alaska to Croatia will leave your jaw on the floor. Both my fiancée and I commented that we felt like we were really there.
Unbelievable.
You may worry you won't receive good reception indoors. Fear not. I tried the antenna both indoors and out (on my balcony) and the best reception came from the inside. This little antenna is amazing.
My highest recommendation.