Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified High-Definition Antenna for Off-Air HDTV Reception
by Terk
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified High-Definition Antenna for Off-Air HDTV Reception
Customer Review: Bye Bye Cable - Hello Savings!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am more than happy with the antenna. I did quite a bit of researching and reading reviews before making this purchase. I think it's vital to know where the reviewer lives because this will make all the difference.
I live 20 miles north of downtown Austin, Texas. Hill country but not a lot of hills where I'm at. I'm in an apartment on the first floor and my tv is set up close to the windows. My place is surrounded by the other buildings in the complex (three stories tall).
I get full, non-compressed HD (unlike the cable and satellite providers and U verse. People, this is pure HD. It looks brilliant.
I get Fox in 720p HD, three outstanding PBS channels (man they've come a long way)with one in 1080i and two in 480 SD, as well as ABC, CBS, NBC and CW in 1080i HD. I also get the Pentagon channel (sort of like CSPAN), the weather channel in SD and a music video station called Cool TV (not sure if this is just an Austin channel).
The SD (standard definition) channels look great too.
I know, not a lot of channels but I don't care because there are a thousand channels and nothing on anyway. I also have Netflix and Hulu+ so no complaints.
To find out what channels you'll get in your area, check out the antenna guide that I found through Terk:
[...]
Lastly, the antenna itself is quick and easy to setup, looks great and has plenty of chord to move closer to a window if needed.
So if you check your area with the locator and you get a decent number of channels, buy the antenna and say so long to having a million channels with nothing on - oh and that ever increasing cable bill.
Customer Review: As expected
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this antenna with amplifier for my girlfriend who lives in a first floor apartment near Hollywood. First we tried regular rabbit ear antenna but that only brought in a few channels and we would have to keep readjusting it to get a sustained digital signal. Also, there were many channels which would be too annoying to watch because the signal would come in and out.
Next I bought the Terk TV5 antenna (again, no amplification) which actually worked a lot better than the rabbit ears. I was pleasantly surprised that the channels that almost came in or came in and out with the rabbit ears were now okay with the TV5 antenna. There were still plenty of channels however, that did not come in with the TV5 but came in slightly better than with the rabbit ears. One problem with the TV5 was that for certain channels, we would have to readjust the antenna. It was alright as long as we remembered what the configuration was for the channel we were watching, but sometimes it got confusing.
Finally, I decided to get an antenna with an amplifier to see if we could get some of these channels that came in moderately well to have a more stable signal. It pretty much worked as advertised. I don't think its the strongest antenna/amplifier ever, but it again worked better than what we had before, and there's no need to keep changing the direction of the antenna every time we changed the channel. Also nice is that since the amplifier works on power, there is a convenient power button so you don't have to waste your energy leaving it on all the time. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the purchase and definitely think it was worth the money.
Customer Review: Fixed my issues
Summary: 5 Stars
If I'd had to review my new antenna in a single sentence it would be "wow! I finally found a working one".
After going through several bundled small antennas, one Philips PHDTV1, another Philips High Performance Amplified Antenna, after those one from a OEM overseas manufacturer, I finally found an antenna that works in my house.
But there are several things to note here. First of all not every antenna is suitable for every environment. For example I had good reception with Philips PHDTV1 in my previous house, yes the amplified one actually decreased the signal. However my new house is completely reverse, and this new Terk antenna works better only if I enable amplification (the small box that comes in the package). Thus the bottom line is: you have to try different alternatives.
Second thing is the absolute sensitivity of antennas to their location and slightest orientation changes. Be sure to use the "HTDV Strength" function of your system (TV or media center PC). A small nudge makes 80% reception 100% for me, allowing to be able to finally record House HD on Fox!
And one final word, not related directly to this antenna though: An outdoor one will always work better in dire situations. So, after going 4-5 indoor antennas like me, if you're still unable receive good signal, be prepared to install an external one.
Customer Review: Excellent Indoor Directional Antenna
Summary: 5 Stars
I have tested several indoor and outdoor antennas over the past two years and this one produced the best results.
Before this antenna, I had a Zenith Silver Sensor which is an unamplified version of this model. The Zenith was very picky. I had to adjust and find the perfect direction for each channel. Also, the signal would drop out because of airplanes, wind, and rain (which happens a lot in Vancouver). Dropouts are a thing of the past with this antenna!
I am able to pick up the major Vancouver affiliates perfectly with no adjusting. Even our CTV affiliate Ch. 32 is received at 90% just in time for the Winter Olympics!!! This is the most difficult station to catch due to the weak signal, yet they have the most HD content an local news.
For the people that are having problems with this antenna, it's important to note that this is a DIRECTIONAL antenna which means it receives signals from one specific direction. All of the Vancouver locals are north of me in the same general direction. If I point my antenna NORTH, I receive these stations with no problem. If I point the antenna SOUTH towards the USA, I receive stations from Bellingham, WA but no longer receive the Vancouver stations. I don't care about receiving the Bellingham stations since they hardly ever show anything in HD. But if I did, I would probably be complaining about having to adjust this antenna. For these situations, an OMNIDIRECTIONAL antenna would work better.
Go to antennaweb.org to find the locations of the stations that you are interested in. This will help you determine if this antenna will meet your needs. Good luck!
Customer Review: Works Great In DFW Area !!
Summary: 5 Stars
Im Located In an Area About 4 Miles From Cowboy Stadium ( aka Jerry World ) and situated off the I-30 Freeway . Im an Apartment dweller , and have saved my cost by losing the Cable Bill since its mandated and controlled by the Complex with no external antenna for those who want Freedom.
So I got a Hauppauge 1196 WinTV HVR-1250 PCI Express Hybrid High Definition TV Tuner Card for my computer with Windows 7 , and added this Antenna to compliment it . First Offi tried to use the Tuner card without any antenna at all and got nothing ....zilch ! Then i plugged in the antenna and tried it without the electronic amplification boost plug ......still no signal ...because thats the way it is designed .
So i plugged in the electronic amplification plug turned it on and whalla ! It recieves all the Channels in my area ...and the HD Channels too . This Antenna works Super and is Highly Recomended.
Further Helpful Info :
I must stress that if you have a Tuner as mine or like mine to do the following first ....Once your tuner is installed .....Let Windows 7 install the drivers when it finds them .
Then Get the Install Disc ....put it in the cd drive ......and ONLY install the WINTV Software.....not the drivers( Windows 7 drivers are newer and updated ).
Reboot the system if you want ( not required ) and refrag your drive( i prefer the free auslogics defag ). Open your Windows Media Center , click on Live tv....and then look at the bottom of the page to see the ( playlist ) next to the red button . Click on it twice to view all you avaliable Channels.