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: Good, not Great.
Summary: 3 Stars
Overall, the Terk HDTVa is a pretty good product, and it has generally improved reception and given me more channels, but it has some problems.
Now, I live in a concrete apartment complex that gets absolutely no phone reception (from any carrier) and could probably survive a nuclear explosion, so I wasn't expecting any miracles. I found our nearest tower online and luckily I can position the antenna to point right at it through the window. Right away I figured out that this thing is probably the most awkward shape known to man. It falls over easily and the huge rabbit ears make it cumbersome and unwieldy. Also, we had to buy a whole new rack just for the HDTVa because it needed to be at just the right height to pick up channels efficiently.
A big problem (for now) is that you essentially have to choose between good digital reception or good analog reception. A position that favors digital signal will hamper analog signal, and vice versa. Of course when the signal goes all digital in 2009 it will be a moot point, so I don't think it's a big deal. Anyways, we found the perfect position for the HDTVa, and it indeed picked up every channel I wanted. Of course, when the weather is bad (even if it's just windy) the signal starts to fade, but that's to be expected. However, my biggest concern now is that the HDTVa works best when the window is open. Now that's fine in the summer when the weather is good, but I live in Minnesota and I can't really fathom leaving the window open in February in -20 degree weather to watch The Office.
Overall, I can't fault the HDTVa too much, because really I am at mercy of my surroundings, and I don't think ANY indoor antenna could perform very well in my building. It has its problems but I do get the channels I want and I don't have to fuss with it nearly as much as I did with my old antenna. This product may work wonders for you, it may not.
Customer Review: Much Better Than Rabbit Ears, But Performed No Miracles
Summary: 4 Stars
The Terk HDTVa consists of two distinct parts: (1) The antenna, with a coaxial cable which runs from the base of the antenna at one end and into (2) a "Power Injector" or amplifier, at the other end. The output end of the amplifier connects to the "Antenna In" connection on a TV and a hard wired AC adaptor runs from the amplifier to an electrical outlet. There is an "on-off" switch on the amplifier. There was a slight, but not significant, improvement in digital signal strength with the amplifier turned "on."
I have a 32" Samsung LCD HDTV (LNT3253H) and neither rabbit ears nor a very old analogue rooftop antenna produced any programming that was watchable. I connected the Terk antenna and in a few minutes received 18 stations, including five local HD channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and CW.) The TV also received some HD broadcasts in Dolby 5.1 audio, which I was able to listen to through my home theater receiver when I connected it to the TV with a digital optical cable.
My only complaint is that all of the digital channels I received have transmitters located within two and one-half miles from my home and I was not able to pick up two additional HD channels located only 7.7 and 8.2 miles away. I expected that the Terk would pick up the nearby HD channels and, in view of the positive results reported by other reviewers, was very disappointed with the antenna's inability to pull in the more distant channels. My home is on top of a hill, but there are many large trees in the area, which may have adversely affected the antenna's performance.
However, those HD channels the Terk antenna did pull in were crystal clear. Also, the location of the Terk antenna did not seem to have any effect on digital video quality. My TV is located inside a built-in cabinet and the antenna seemed to perform equally well both outside the cabinet and inside the cabinet behind the TV.
Customer Review: Bigger than I thought
Summary: 4 Stars
Having purchased and used this product for over a month, I am pleased to report that it works as advertised. I live in the Oakland hills and have only to point the antennae in the direction of the Sutro tower across the San Francisco Bay. There is one modest residential structure and there are also a few trees, but there is not really much to block a line of site fix on the source of most of the HD broadcasting in my area. Thus, the antennae is not being used under the most trying circumstances.
There are some flaws with HDTV, but they are not really the antenna's fault. I am pairing the TV with the Samsung Slimfit 30" TV with a built in HD tuner. The TV has a feature to let me know how strong the signal is, and there have been no difficulties getting a strong signal. Yet at times, the HD picture seems to become quite pixelated and break down in ways that analog broadcasts never do. When clear, they are very clear; but when choppy, HD broadcasts can be very annoying. They seem to be less robust to error. Again, I do not fault the antenna, nor do I fault the TV. I have a feeling that the bit rates of the broadcasts are being strained so as to broadcast more content.
Why then did I take off one star? Maybe this is unfair but the antenna is really much larger than I anticipated. In order to obtain signals on channels 2 through 9 (VHF, I think) two long telescopping antenna need to be extended, and they are super long. The antenna dominates the area around the TV, and this is unfortunate. Since this isn't an outdoor antenna, I am not really sure where one could tuck it away indoors. It is partly futuristic in appearance, but there is really no way to disguise it, and I ultimately find it to be rather ugly.
I recommend it with the reservation that you would have to have sufficient space to accommodate it.
Customer Review: more notes from an oldtechno.
Summary: 5 Stars
I just got this 'terk' antenna yesterday...enough time for me to put it through a few test.
1. Pointed in the opposite direction (with a new tv tuner card already installed Pinnacle), AND THE PRE-AMP OFF, it received...
A. Six analogue tv stations
B. Four High Definition stations
C. Four Digital stations
D. 30 Radio stations (open air-not internet).
Scanning for 'best qualitly' I got four stations I could watch--one was perfect.
Pointed in the correct direction, AND THE PRE-AMP OFF, it received...
A. Eleven analogue tv stations
B. Five High Definition stations
C. Six Digital stations
D. 32 Radio stations (not internet stations).
Having scanned for best quality I could watch eight stations--two seemed to be perfect.
With the pre-amp on it received...
A. Eleven analogue stations
B. Five High definition stations
C. Six digital stations
D. 34 radio stations (not internet stations)
Having scanned for 'best quality' I could watch approximately 9 stations,
about five seemed perfect, the others could be watch barely.
Notice the different with the Pre Amp on and off? Had I a little bit faster computer I could have doubled the number of 'perfect' stations to ten.
So let's take the 'possible' ten perfect stations this antenna could receive and put it against my old rabbit ears with a Uhf loop.
I could receive one station that was watchable--at night, and three that came and went everytime a raindrop fell between the antenna and the station tower.
Case closed.
(P.S.) One of these days I'll hook up my Kil A Watt meter to the pre amp and find out how much it is costing me per month to leave it on--but not today.
BYE!
Customer Review: Works Very Well
Summary: 5 Stars
I live in the urban part of Southern California, not too far from Mt. Wilson where all the broadcast transmitters are located. This antenna was purchased to use with an HDTV converter box since we don't have cable service.
With the old antenna, we were able to get satisfactory reception of all the local stations except the signal was not real strong and for different stations we had to keep getting up to adjust the antenna. I got tired of this so after reading the reviews for the Terk and seeing that it was a Gold Box special, I ordered it.
Quality-wise it is fine except that the base is a little narrow so you have to be careful not to accidentally tip it over. It seems reasonably sturdy, everything you need is included, and the items are securely packed in the box. The instructions are clear enough, too. The only hitch is it is a little hard to fully insert the UHF part of the antenna into the base but then the instructions tell you that you need to give it a good push and also tell you how to check to make sure it is fully inserted.
Reception: I went to the website indicated in the instructions to determine how to orient the antenna. After doing this, reception is very good - the signal strength is stronger and I don't have to move the antenna at all. However, one channel (PBS) doesn't come in unless I turn the antenna in a completely different direction. Since I am uncultured I hardly watch that channel anyway, but every other channel comes in great. I also don't need to extend the rabbit ears at all, so it makes for a very neat-looking item on top of the tv (it's a CRT model so there's room to place it on top).
The product does what it says it will do so I'm happy. I'm also happy that I don't have to keep walking back and forth to adjust the antenna like I had to before with the old one.