Terk Technology HDTVi VHF/UHF HDTV Indoor Antenna
by Terk
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Terk Technology HDTVi VHF/UHF HDTV Indoor Antenna
Customer Review: Does what it's supposed to, but can't work miracles
Summary: 5 Stars
This antenna is made for people who are within 35 miles (or have a very clear shot) of the TV station transmitters. If you could not receive standard definition stations well with a rabbit ear anntenna before, then using this Terk antenna won't help you much for off the air HDTV.
Further, it is not going to pull in signals that are obstructed by large buildings or mountains. The best way to tell if this antenna will work for you is to goto the antennaweb dot org website and input your address. If the results come back showing you are within 35 miles of your local TV station transmitters it should work well.
For me, I can get almost all my local TV stations with this antenna because I am next to the San Francisco Bay and have a clear line of site to the transmitters. I wouldn't expect this antenna to work as well if I was in a more remote area or in the middle of a city with skyscrapers all around me.
I am quite happy with this Terk antenna since it does what it's supposed to do as long as you understand if you are a candidate for it in the first place. I do not feel the more expensive amplified versions are worth the money because in my experience, you will see little gain with them. If you want something a bit better, I would instead look to an outdoor (preferrably rooftop mounted) antenna.
Note that this Terk antenna is larger than it looks in the pictures, which could be a deciding factor for some. In my case, it's worth it even though it's a bit unsightly. But when I have guests over and won't be watching off the air HDTV, I put the antenna away so my living room looks a bit neater.
Customer Review: No such thing as an HDTV antenna
Summary: 1 Stars
Here is what I didn't know from reading the material here: there is no such thing as an HDTV antenna. Most HDTV stations broadcast over the UHF band, a few over VHF. So if you already have good VHF/UHF reception, you're all set for HDTV. I bought an HDTVi with my new HD set but the Terk antenna was worthless to me. I had a pre-existing (pre-HDTV) attic antenna, which was better than the Terk. Neither worked all that well. However, there are resources to debug antenna problems.
The starting point for anyone is http://antennaweb.org. This site is run by the consumer electronics association and will tell you which stations in your area broadcast on which frequencies (HDTV included), in which direction to point your antenna, and what kind of antenna you need.
In my case, I learned was that almost every station was equidistant from my house, but that all the stations I was having trouble receiving were broadcasting in the same part of the UHF band: WPWR (50, 51), WTTW-digital (47), and WLS-digital (52). With this information, I realized I had an antenna problem! I raised the pre-existing antenna to clear the UHF portions of the antenna from some metal objects, and my HD reception on the problematic channels improved from poor to good.
The HDTVi was inferior to the attic antenna I was already using, particularly once I raised it. I switched back and forth between them multiple times to be sure.
The moral is: be wary if a salesman or a product pitch implies that you need something special for HDTV.
This antenna is not worthless, but it's nothing special.
Customer Review: Tried 4 Antennas, this is the keeper for my urban indoor use.
Summary: 4 Stars
Was happy to pick up my Digital television "Tv converter box" for my 4 year old JVC as I don't watch enough television to pay for it, yet wanted to see those "new" digital, higher quality channels that we are being "forced" to transition to. I live 10 miles (foothills valley) from the TV towers up on a mountain and am nearly line of sight, in the city with all the many other reflecting signals which can interfere with reception, and have found the process of getting ALL (VHF AND UHF) the channels to lock in and be reliable to be trial and error. This is my 4th antenna. (amplified, not amplified, with rabbit ears and UHF only directionals) I did a direct swap with my Phillips Silver Sensor which didn't pick up the 2 channels in the VHF realm (RF CH 10 and 13,,,not their corresponding "virtual" digital channel TV designations of # 9.1 and 12.1)(CW and Fox in my case) and all channels were of a higher signal strength and less varying without any adjustments yet. This is the one for me if it passes the prime time test. (signals in the DTV world though clear and bright,, tend to have their own type of digital noise/interference problem that causes them to drop out in sound or image, depending on signal strength, weather conditions, and how "the planets are aligned" it seems, a bit of a trade off in my opinion compared to analog TV which though not clear, WAS consistent at least) Good luck as you search for the right antenna for your location and situation.Customer Review: Good performer for UHF reception
Summary: 4 Stars
This antenna works very well for indoor reception of digital UHF (channels 14 and up) television broadcasts. My standard for comparison is a classic: the old Radio Shack 2-Bay Bowtie antenna, and the Terk actually beats the performance of that antenna. This is the first indoor UHF antenna that I've ever found was able to outperform that 2-Bay Bowtie.
The Terk also has a pair of VHF rabbit ears built into the base, which means that this antenna can be used to receive all channels unlike most antennas that are marketed for digital or "HDTV" reception. However, indoor reception of digital VHF stations is generally more difficult than for digital UHF - that's because of the laws of physics that require a larger antenna for lower frequencies, and is not the fault of the antenna. That said, this antenna does not beat out the laws of physics, and the result is that the VHF performance won't match the outstanding results on UHF channels. But that will be just as true for any other indoor antenna you can buy.
So who should buy this model? Anyone that needs an indoor antenna for digital TV reception, lives in an area where most of the digital broadcasts are on UHF channels (which is most of the country), and lives in an area with at least moderately decent TV reception. If you don't meet those criteria, the Terk may not work well for you -- but, truthfully, no other indoor antenna will, either.
Customer Review: A decent option for combined VHF/UHF reception
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this antenna to use in my apartment complex. I had been using an el-cheapo VHF antenna (which was able to pull in several digital stations.) Looking at reception from the VHF (analog) side, this antenna is no better than a $7 unit at Walmart. I don't receive analog stations any better than I used to. If most of the stations you watch of in the VHF spectrum, you might be better off with a cheaper antenna.
However, on the UHF side, this antenna is pretty effective. I am able to pull in many HD digital stations here in Denver with excellent clarity....even living in an apartment complex with no line of sight. The antenna is VERY sensitive to placement though. Moving the unit one foot in either direction would result in good reception to a near loss of signal. You will have to experiment to get the best reception. I would recommend investing in a longer cable so you can get the antenna exactly where it needs to be. For a non-amplified unit (with no line of sight,) I couldn't have expected any better performance. For UHF reception, this antenna is pretty darn good.
The antenna is somewhat large, so you will need a dedicated spot for it. It appears to be well constructed. While the VHF reception of this unit is no better than the cheapest antennas, the ability to receive both VHF and UHF well makes this a good buy.