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,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Zenith ZHDTV1 HDTV-UHF Digital Indoor Antenna (Silver and Black)
Customer Review: Excellent, do your research before you give this product a lower rating
Summary: 5 Stars
First off I would like to say HDTV is awesome! Its totally worth buying an LCD TV of whatever size just to watch 720p and 1080i programming off the air. I tried three different antennas before this one. First one were the Philips rabbit ears, which werent powered. They did a decent job, but no NBC. Strangest thing being NBC tower is the same distance as the others, and more or less same direction. So I decided to give the powered version a shot. With lots of tweaking around and moving around, I managed to get NBC, but now no ABC. Damn!
So I decided to return that as well and go to Radioshack. The guy there gave me their own powered rabbit ear antenna, and assured me that they were the fastest moving antenna and they work wonders in the Folsom area. Well they did work, but then again, I lost My58, and NBC and ABC would start skipping ocassionally. Thats it, I had had enough, based on other reviews I gave the Zenith ZHDTV1 a shot, I was very skeptical about the whole thing, and wasnt expecting much.
First off, I should say it looks really awesome, more like a cool looking school science project than a consumer product. Secondly, its super easy to install and setup, Fix the antenna to the stand, fix the stand to the base, connect the wire. Done! (Not that the others were tough or anything, I was expecting this to be a lot tougher than it turned out)
Next, I had a fair idea on which direction to point this thing, so I just set it pointing that way, set auto tune on my TV. Thats it, I managed to get every single HD channel, all in proper quality, no skipping, no artifacts, nothing! I am extremely impressed and happy with this product, and I can safely say that if this doesnt work for you, no other indoor antenna will (the Terk ones mite, i dunno abt those). Do your research on antennaweb.org, check the tower distance and directions, and then set it up. If you are 40 miles away with tons of buildings in the way, indoor antennas are not gonna work for you at all.
Customer Review: Bargain price with outstanding performance!
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading many of the reviews here on Amazon, I decided to give this antenna a try. I upgraded a while back to HD satellite and, while the picture is amazing, the number of channels is still lacking. There are 7 channels where I live that broadcast over-the-air digital HD signals, however. I figured, for this price (and the reviews of others), it was worth a try, even if I only got 1 or 2. I really wasn't interested in climbing on my roof, installing another antenna, and running another cable through the hot, and insulation-filled attic. This unit goes together quite easily, too, with no tools needed!
Well, I set my receiver to scan for over-the-air digital signals. I watched as it picked up all seven signals and this got me hoping. Now was the test, though.....was the picture any good?
Well, in a word: WOW! I couldn't believe the clarity of the picture on 3 of the channels! The others were spotty, so I followed the instructions and set the unit up horizontally, instead of vertically (the wings go side-to-side versus up-and-down) to see if the pictures came in any better. Now, 6 of the seven came in beautifully and the seventh did when I moved the base of the unit a little.
Will this unit work for you? Well, as I said, I decided to try it for the convenience of not running a cable from the roof, the price, and the excellent reviews here by others. Mine's just sitting on top of a tower speaker next to the TV set in a family room and does a great job. If you live within range of any digital HD over-the-air broadcast signals, I don't think you will be disappointed. This unit is, IMHO, a bargain, and it delivers as advertised.
I appreciate the reviews of other users here on Amazon and always take into account what they say during my purchasing decisions. They were dead on here. Thank-you, all, for taking your time to share your opinions. You helped me make a good decision in purchasing this antenna and I, too, highly recommend it.
Customer Review: Don't Blame the Antenna If It Doesn't Work for You
Summary: 5 Stars
Do your research before buying this antenna. It works very well for what it is designed to do. This is a 'directional' antenna which means you need to aim it at the broadcast stations. If your stations are spread out (i.e., one at 45 degrees, and one at 245 degrees), then this is not the right antenna for you. If you are more than 20 miles from the broadcast stations, then this is not the right antenna for you. If you do not know how far away you are from the broadcast stations or in which direction they are located from your window, then you may have answered your own question about why this antenna works for other people but not for you. ;) Go to antennaweb.org to get this information.
You do not need a clear line of sight for this antenna to work (but the fewer obstacles, the better). Mine has to travel through 2 walls and several buildings to reach the broadcast station that is 8 miles away. If you get signals that come in and out, you may have multipath issues because of signals bouncing off of buildings. If your signal strength is weak, you could try adding a signal booster to the antenna.
This antenna is not very sturdy, and you'll need to put something heavy on the base to keep it from tipping over. I figured the reason it wasn't designed with a heavy base/stand was because of possible complaints of it tipping over and smashing something or someone. If it tips over now because you strapped a heavy paperweight to it, you're to blame. ;) This antenna is UHF only as almost all HDTV and digital broadcasts are over UHF. The Terk has VHF too, but this is really not necessary since the local stations that you would pick up over analog signals via VHF are already being broadcast digitally (even if not in HDTV).
BTW, a pair of old-fashioned rabbit ears should work too, so you may want to try attaching an old pair lying around the house to your ATSC tuner or HDTV before buy this.
Customer Review: Wow, it really works!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my first time writing a review. I've bought a lot on Amazon and never really wrote a review on any of the products I bought. I was so happy with this product that I had to write this review about it.
I recently got into this HD craze and purchased myself a Sony 55 HDTV. I got my DishNetwork 811 hooked up to get satellite on HD. In order to get HD local broadcast I had to get an off air antenna. Like others, I didn't want to mess with intalling those big antennas on my roof to get HD and so I shopped around for indoor antenna. First, I tried the Terk HDTVa ($50) - it was okay I got the signals but I had to move it around everytime I changed the channel. It was a big hassle. Then, I tried the Jensen TV920 ($50)- it was a little better. I liked that it was low profile but then again I had to move it around and adjust the gain on the amplification when I changed channels. So it was a hassle again.
Finally, after research and reading so much good reviews, I purchased the Zenith Silver Sensor ($20). I couldn't believe, how good it works. I get about 80%-90% signal on this little thing. Mind you that this antenna is not amplified like the ones I tried previously and it performs so much better than both of them put together. Also I didn't have to move it around everytime I changed the channel. I hid it behind my HDTV pointing at the direction of the towers (per antennaweb.org), and it works so well. You can't even see it.
For $25, I recommend everyone to try it, you can't loose. Its so amazing how this little toy outperforms all of the expensive antennas out there.
The only drawback is the antenna is flimsy. Very easy to break. But who cares it works well. If you break it, just buy another one for $20.
Customer Review: Works great.
Summary: 5 Stars
This antenna can pickup most of the digital channel signals within the 30 miles range. However it is very directional. If you get your HD signal from two towers pointing in different directions you might have to adjust it back and forth.
Here are the channels it can get:
* yellow - uhf KKPX-DT 65.1 ION SAN JOSE CA 299° 31.3 41
* yellow - uhf KBCW-DT 44.1 CW SAN FRANCISCO CA 304° 35.4 45
* yellow - uhf KCNS-DT 38.1 SAH SAN FRANCISCO CA 304° 35.4 39
* yellow - uhf KCSM-DT 43.1 PBS SAN MATEO CA 304° 35.4 43
* yellow - uhf KGO-DT 7.1 ABC SAN FRANCISCO CA 304° 35.4 24
* yellow - uhf KBWB-DT 20.1 IND SAN FRANCISCO CA 304° 35.4 19
* yellow - uhf KPIX-DT 5.1 CBS SAN FRANCISCO CA 304° 35.4 29
* yellow - uhf KTSF-DT 26.1 IND SAN FRANCISCO CA 299° 31.3 27
* yellow - uhf KTVU-DT 2.1 FOX OAKLAND CA 304° 35.4 56
* yellow - uhf KFSF-DT 66.1 TFA VALLEJO CA 304° 35.4 34
* yellow - uhf KQED-DT 9.1 PBS SAN FRANCISCO CA 304° 35.4 30
* yellow - uhf KMTP-DT 33.1 IND SAN FRANCISCO CA 304° 35.4 33
* yellow - uhf KRON-DT 4.1 MNT SAN FRANCISCO CA 304° 35.4 57
* yellow - vhf KNTV-DT 11.1 NBC SAN JOSE CA 299° 31.2 12
* yellow - uhf KDTV-DT 14.1 UNI SAN FRANCISCO CA 29° 12.1 51
* yellow - uhf KSTS-DT 48.1 TEL SAN JOSE CA 29° 12.1 49
* yellow - uhf KICU-DT 36.1 IND SAN JOSE CA 32° 11.7 52
* yellow - uhf KTFK-DT 64.1 SAH STOCKTON CA 354° 35.7 62
* green - uhf KTEH-DT 54.1 PBS SAN JOSE CA 32° 11.8 50
* lt green - uhf KTLN-DT 47.1 IND NOVATO CA 315° 62.0 47
* red - uhf KSMS-DT 31.1 UNI MONTEREY CA 132° 26.6 31