2024 the best antenna for tv review


Price: $159.99 - $122.68
(as of Oct 19, 2024 12:32:15 UTC - Details)

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The Antennas Direct ClearStream 4V indoor / outdoor HDTV antenna uses four of our patented loops to receive TV signals 70+ miles away from broadcast towers. This TV antenna offers enhanced reception of free broadcast television channels thanks to reflectors which add forward gain and focus the antenna's power to protect the incoming TV signal from interference that causes pixelation or a complete loss of picture. Dedicated UHF and Hi-VHF elements offer maximum performance and more TV channels. Ideal for rural or suburban areas where heavy foliage or roofing materials between your antenna and the TV towers can interfere with reception. Includes a 20-inch mast with pivoting base for installation on vertical or horizontal surfaces indoors, in an attic, or outdoors. If you had cable or satellite installed before, the coaxial cable needed to distribute signal throughout your home may already be installed – simply connect the ClearStream 4V to the existing coaxial cable and you’ve got free local TV in crystal-clear HD straight from the networks. Find your TV channels and towers on our website or using our free Antenna Point app on android or iOS devices. Coaxial cable sold separately. Details: Range: 70+ Miles; Location: Indoor / Attic / Outdoor; Style: Multi-Directional; Frequency: Hi-VHF 174 – 216 MHz / UHF 470 – 608 MHz; Peak Gain: UHF: 12.25 dBi / Hi-VHF: 3.99 dBi; Beam Angle: 43 Degree Horizontal Reception Pattern; Antenna Dimensions: 17.4"H x 27.8"W x 6"D; Weight: 4.1 lbs.; Color: Black; Includes: Reflectors, Hi-VHF kit, 20-inch mast with pivoting base, all-weather mounting hardware, adjustable mast clamp. Lifetime manufacturer antenna warranty. 90-day accessory warranty. Antennas Direct has helped millions of people cut the cord since 2003. As the pioneers who reinvented the digital TV antenna industry, we believe that high-quality TV antennas can and should deliver performance and reliable reception of your free broadcast TV at an affordable price.
Antennas Direct ClearStream 4V - TV antenna uses four patented loops to receive HDTV signals 70+ miles away from broadcast towers for free TV channels straight from the networks
Powerful TV antenna measures 17.4" H x 27.8" W x 6" D; premium durable materials ideal for installation indoors, in an attic, or outdoors in suburban and rural areas
Compatibility - NEXTGEN TV, 4K, 8K UHD, Full HD 1080p, no Internet required
Each market has TV towers located in different areas; Distance to the towers and obstructions like trees and your home’s building materials will affect reception
Reflectors add forward gain and focus antenna's power to protect incoming TV signal from interference that causes pixelation or complete loss of picture; 20-inch mast’s pivoting base allows installation on vertical or horizontal surfaces
Includes ClearStream 4V antenna, 2 reflectors, 20" mast with pivoting base, all-weather mounting hardware, adjustable mast clamp, instructions; Lifetime manufacturer antenna warranty, 90-day accessory warranty
Based in St. Louis, MO., Antennas Direct is dedicated to providing superior digital antennas and accessories engineered in the USA
Reviewer: S. TURNER
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great antenna, but make sure it is great for you first.
Review: This antenna worked great for my location, and I was able to pick up 70 channels. I was able to mount in my attic and pick up the expected stations. In my area, the UHF channels are primarily in single direction, while the VHF stations are spread out. I was also lucky that the stations are located so I can point out the side of my house instead of through the roof. Rather than mounting the VHF antenna on the grid, I used some spare PVC pipe and zip ties to point it in a direction that worked best for the VHF stations. As you can see in the photo, I mounted the antenna upside down to get the more length out of the included coax between the the UHF and VHF antennas (I would not do this outside).All that said, this may not work in your situation. First check on the rabbitears.info website to see what stations and what power levels you have at your location. As noted, most of the UHF transmitters are in the same direction about 35 miles away, so it worked really well for me. The major stations have very strong signal strength/quality according to my TV tuner, and I do not see any drop outs. The website tells you the signal margin for the stations -- the lower the number, the less likely you are to pick it up. The lowest power station I picked up was 5dB signal margin, with the antenna pointed at it. There was another station listed in the same direction with the same signal margin, but I could not pick it up -- the rabbitears site, may be slightly out of date (but not as bad as TVfool). I may have been able to do better with a roof mount. If your area has poor signal margin and stations spread out in multiple directions, this may not be for you. If the signal margin is good, then you can use the direction on the website to help point the antenna towards the transmitters. (Note: I was looking at TVFool, but as of Sept 2022, the information in my area is out of date, with many stations listed on the wrong RF channel).With the stations, you'll want to note the difference between VHF (RF channel 2-13) and UHF (RF channel 14+), and the difference between RF channel (what the frequency the channel actually on) and display channel (what shows up on your TV). Your local NBC 8, might really be transmitting on RF channel 25. This is important for pointing your antennas and figuring out if this will work for you. The UHF channels use the round antennas with the grid, and the VHF antenna is the separate part with two horizontal elements. You can attach the VHF antenna to the grid behind the UHF antennas, or you can mount in separately. The VHF antenna will give the best reception perpendicular to the elements (both in front and out back). Depending on your location, you may need to point it between two transmitters to pick up both, or you may only be able to pick up one or the other.As far as stations go, you'll see a lot of reviews of people who get dozens of channels -- I picked up 70. However, you'll want to be realistic about what you are really getting. The major networks will typically transmit in HD and may look even better than the compressed version you get on cable. They will also have some extra sub-channels that are in standard definition. These can be hit or miss. Some of them look pretty good/sharp, while others are overly compressed and look like a blurry old VHS tape. This is on the TV station, not the transmitter -- with digital TV you either pick up the station or you don't (with a small part in between where it is blocky/jumpy). Beyond quality, there is content. Out of the 70 stations I pick up, many of them don't interest me personally -- I don't watch the 5 shopping channels I pick up. I also have several duplicate sub-channels, so those don't really count. So if you are thinking about cutting the cable cord, take a look through the websites of the channels you are likely to pick up and see if they are really of interest. You might really be left with PBS (plus a couple of subchannels), the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX), then a bunch of things you may or may not watch depending on interest (ION, CW, ME-TV, GRIT, Bounce, Defy, COMET, LAFF, QVC, HSN).

Reviewer: Alex D
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Well worth the asking price!
Review: I recently cut the cord and was about to pay a monthly fee just to be able to watch NFL football on my local networks but decided to at least try an over the air antenna first, specially since I would’ve had to pay at least $900 yearly just to watch football. Initially I was really intrigued by the claims from many antenna vendors claiming incredible long reception distances but the more I researched those antennas and really looked into the reviews I realized that most if not all were exaggerating their claims and reviews. I wanted at least a decent antenna since I live over 41 miles from the nearest TV Towers and I have never lived without cable because I believed good reception to my location was going to be almost impossible. Clearstream by Antennas Direct kept coming up on my search for well reviewed antennas time and time again so I decided to pay more once for a quality antenna than try my luck with a cheap antenna. I wanted to make sure I gave it a good try before possibly giving up and paying to receive my local network channels. I’m glad and actually pretty surprised that this antenna actually works as good as advertised. It quickly picked up 57 channels and they all come over even more clear than what I was getting from my $175 monthly cable service. I really I’m floored that this relatively small antenna works so incredibly well. The entire thing is solidly made and was easy to put together and install. I honestly can’t believe I spent so much money year after year for cable just to be able to watch my local professional teams. If you’re on the fence I suggest to at least give this antenna a try, I honestly didn’t expect it to actually work but now I’m so happy I did since it actually ended up costing me about half of a single monthly cable bill.

Reviewer: Sibelius
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Works Pretty Well in a Brick Apartment Building
Review: I'm located in a second-floor, brick apartment building, a little less than 25 miles southwest of Chicago. In regards to aiming the antenna, my apartment has no window that faces Chicago's broadcast towers, and my apartment is at the back of the building, with one other apartment between me and the towers.After opening the box and checking the contents, it was pretty easy to see that I'd received an antenna that was not brand new. The Loop Element Base had been re-mounted incorrectly on the Reflector. The screws that held it in place were covered with scratches, as if someone had used a steak knife instead of a Phillips screwdriver to tighten them.The four Roof Sealing Pads (used in mounting the J Mount Mast to a roof) were completely fused together into a useless clump. It appeared as though they had been melted together. They were fused into such a sticky mess that I couldn't even remove them from their plastic packaging (the whole mess was stuck to the inside of the bag). As this is Chicago, and it's mid-winter, it's very unlikely that this fusion happened at my end. Fortunately, I am using this antenna indoors, so the Sealing Pads are not needed.Assembly of the antenna was pretty easy and straightforward using the instruction sheet, once I'd re-positioned the Loop Element Base. The only issue I had was attaching the J Mount Mast for use indoors. The only instructions given are for mounting the antenna outdoors, on a roof. Anyone using the antenna indoors (like in an apartment) is strictly on their own. If you attach the mount as instructed for outdoor use, you will have an unstable installation that tips over.The base of the mount is very small. Its J shape causes the setup to be unbalanced if you try to stand it up using the supplied Mount Base, without bolting the base into something. Not a good solution for an apartment dweller. After some thought, I decided to mount the mast upside-down, with the J at the top (almost like an extended handle). That's working fine for me now, although it's still not the most stable setup. If I have any issues with toppling over, I may consider buying a broader piece of wood and screw the Mount Base onto that.After assembling the antenna and attaching the coax (not supplied) between the antenna and my iMac, I attempted to scan for channels using Elgato's EyeTV. Many attempts at scanning gave no results.Antennas Direct strongly indicates that they want you to call their Helpline before considering returning their product. They do this by putting the message, "Call To Learn. Don't Return." on several parts of the packaging: 1) on the outside of the box, there's a sticker with that message, 2) that same sticker is on the plastic bag that holds the Loop Element, 3) there's a singe-page insert included in the box that shows a big, red STOP sign and the message, "Do NOT return to store", and 4) 50% of the backside of the instructions sheet has the "Call To Learn. Don't Return." message printed with instructions for how to contact the Helpline.I called the Helpline when I was having trouble scanning. I spoke with a very disinterested woman who told me she knew nothing about EyeTV and could not help. She asked me if I could face the antenna towards a window. When I explained my apartment setup, she said that I would definitely not be able to get a signal. At that point I asked, "I should return the antenna, then?" and she was very quick to agree. The whole call took less than 5 minutes.I packaged up the antenna and requested a return from Amazon, then did a little bit of googling to look for another antenna. During that search, I found a message board entry from someone who had a similar problem to mine regarding EyeTV and scanning. He noted that he'd had to use EyeTV's "Manually Add Channel..." feature in order to get all of his channel listings.I unpacked, re-assembled, and re-connected the antenna. Sure enough, by manually adding channels, I had excellent reception on all available OTA channels with the exception of CBS 2.1 (the only VHF channel in Chicago - most Chicago area folks have trouble getting CBS via OTA signal, so I didn't fault the antenna for this in my star rating).Like an idiot, I called the Antennas Direct Helpline again to see if I could get some advice on picking up CBS. This time I spoke with a man who was as equally disinterested in my success as the first woman. He recommended I buy and FM Trap and attach it to the antenna. When I asked for instruction regarding how to attach an FM Trap to my Clearstream antenna, he said, "Put it between the antenna and the coax cable." When I asked for more specifics regarding how to do that, (i.e. at the antenna end, or the computer end?), he suggested that I buy the trap from Radio Shack and that someone at Radio Shack would be able to give me instructions. Again, the call lasted less than 5 minutes and I got bad advice from a disinterested "antenna specialist" (so-named by Antennas Direct). I did not buy an FM Trap, BTW...ADDITIONAL SIDENOTE: Although it can take nearly 24 hours to SHIP a product, returns are processed almost immediately and are completely IMPOSSIBLE to cancel through Amazon or UPS. (Again, this did not effect my star rating of the antenna.)I gave the Antennas Direct C2-V-CJM ClearStream 2-V Long Range UHF/VHF Indoor/Outdoor DTV Antenna with 20-Inch Mount 4 stars because I definitely "like" it. I get great reception most of the time (weather and time of day have an effect, but that's not the antenna's fault). I dropped a star due to the lack of instructions and appropriate mast/mounting for indoor use, the condition of the product as sent from Antennas Direct, and the really, *really* poor service from the Helpline that Antennas Direct bends over backwards to *insist* that you use.

Reviewer: K
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Fait ce que c'est censé faire, fil assez long, facile d'utilisation

Reviewer: em3
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I live in downtown Hamilton, Ontario. I hung it above the TV on the south west wall and where it's currently located I receive 9 channels that are crystal clear. Channels: 5 CBC, 11 CHCH, 14, 19 TVO, 25 (French), 35 CTV 2, 40 CJMT, 41 Global and 47 CFMT. The first time I scanned I got 14 channels. I was sceptical. But no longer. It actually works.

Reviewer: Paul
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: We're in Montreal and we're picking up stations from Burlington Vermont. We installed it on the roof of our three story building. It was pretty easy to assemble and install. It's sturdy and we're getting crystal clear signals, both from the nearby VHF and the distant UHF. We went from about 7 channels with 1 or 2 intermittent ones, to a whopping 29 channels (that's including the "sub-channels"). Very happy with the purchase so far. Looking forward to seeing how it holds up in the Montreal winter.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The 2V antenna was initially placed indoors next to the tv. . Even though the Mount-Royal mountain is in the pathway of certain US transmitters preventing me from getting those channels, I was able to receive 10 local channels and 3 US channels situated at a 55 mile distance to the south, and the image was crystal clear . Then I had the antenna installed on the roof combined to a Channel Master CM-7777HD TV Antenna Amplifier, on low gain, now I have a total of 15 US channels in addition to the 10 local ones and reception for the majority is excellent. After one year of use, I am quite satisfied, but decided to upgrade to the 4V in order get a more stable picture on the on the channels with a weaker signal. The 4V was installed in the exact same location as the 2V by a professional installer on the roof and it basically lost all the US channels. For some reason the 2V greatly outperformed the 4V, therefore the 2V was placed back on the roof and the 4V sent back. Even the installer had no clear explanation as to why the 4V was unable to perform as well as the 2V, either it was defective or it captured more noise from the surrounding cell towers and completely lost the weaker signals.

Reviewer: Carlos
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Agarra muchos mas canales y no hay interferencia a comparacion de mi antena que es una antena de poste afuera en intemperie en una casa de dos pisos, esta la puse adentro junto al televisor y no tuve ningun problema ni en instalar ni en usarla, que completamente contento con esta antena. Los canales se ven casi como si los estuviera haciendo stream desde internet. Imagino si la hubiera puesto afuera seria mucho mejor, pero como ya tengo experiencia con antenas de fuera que se dañan por los elementos pues decidi dejarla adentro

Customers say

Customers like the performance, reception, and ease of installation of the antenna. They mention it works great, has excellent reception on all available OTA channels, and clear instructions. Some also like the value for money and build quality. However, some customers have mixed opinions on the channel selection and size.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

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