Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified High-Definition Antenna for Off-Air HDTV Reception Reviews

• Incredibly Good Indoor Antenna

  
  By A2FBN7PSS38ZDG on 2005-07-28
  Having spent a bundle acquiring a Sony LCD HDTV and upgrading our Dish service to include its limited set of HDTV channels, we were anxious to see what an Over-the-Air Antenna might add.
  
  In all, we tested 5, including the highly rated Zenith log periodic (about $40 at Sears), an amplified Samsung (about $99 at Best Buy), an outdoor Terk 32 (about $80 at Circuit City), our old roof mounted VHF/UHF antenna (circa 1985), and the amplified Terk HDTVa (about $50 at Radio Shack). The Terk HDTVa won hands down; no contest, blowing away the much touted Zenith.
  
  We live in the sparsely populated, low hill countryside of Western Massachuetts. The THDTVa effortlessly brings in between 20 and 30 analogue and digital (incl hdtv) channels broadcast most from 12 to 45 miles away, and some as far as 65+ miles away in Connecticut. Some digital OTA channels actually come in more sharply than some of the (Dish) satellite digital channels.
  
  This is definitely a keeper: a great value, gem of an antenna. So good, in fact, we are debating giving up our $50/month Dish service, putting $15 of that to Netflix to replace HBO, and banking the remaining $35.
  
  

• Antennas Compared

  
  By A108XABRHAA9E7 on 2007-06-01
  I'm a first timer at getting OTA HDTV. This has been an experiment in progress for the past 5 weeks. I have gone through four antennas (they are all here as I write this) before finding something that's satisfactory (rather than tolerable).
  
  I live around 25 miles from Manhattan, where the towers of most TV stations are located. I am also aware of the directional information from [...], and have experimented accordingly with its effects on reception. My apartment's windows all face north, while the signals all comes from southwest. I cannot get signals from where it comes from, and thus needed to get signals from deflections perhaps off nearby buildings and trees. It's a very poor circumstance for over-the-air reception, maybe just slightly better than being underground. Signals are weak, and are affected by weather. Stormy and windy days have shown effects at disrupting signal reception.
  
  With this said, and without going into much detail, let's talk about the antennas. Now all these antenna have been tested with the same equipment, setup, directional adjustments, location, etc. etc. and have been tested through good an foul weather, day and night, to observe differences.
  
  1.Terk HDTVa Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified High-Definition Antenna for Off-Air HDTV Reception- After reading some rave reviews and high ratings at [...], log periodic types (looks like a fishbone) seems to be the way to go. I got the Terk HDTVa first, thinking that the amplification and VHF antenna should nail my reception problems at the start. However, after more than two weeks of fidgeting around ad nauseam (directions, locations, amplifications, different devices, etc.), I only managed to pick up two ATSC channels' signals, and even those don't have strong enough signals to display anything. I thought maybe it's just my poor location, and that I should probably give up on the attempt. The included in-line amplifier dongle doesn't work at all. Powering it on makes no difference in signal strength readings, which hovered around 5-10%.
  
  It is well built, looks nice, good concepts, but it just didn't work.
  
  2.Phlips PHDTV1 Philips PHDTV1 Digital HDTV-UHF Indoor Antenna- The venerated "silver sensor" which was previously sold under the Zenith brand also had great ratings and reviews. It's in fact nearly legendary. I decided, in desperation, to try it out, even if it doesn't have amplification. It seems all my local HD channels are in UHF anyway, so I won't miss the VHF dipoles.
  
  The unit has startlingly poorer build quality compared to the Terk. It has paint bubbles, hairs and dusts trappings in the paint, sharp edged cheap plastics and much thinner metal blades that's covered in oil and has some dings and bendings. I wasn't impressed with the quality, and didn't expect much from it as I set it up.
  
  To my surprise, it picked up 9 working channels (note: the terk got two channels' signals, but they didn't work) from the start, even if it's randomly placed. It's thrilling as it was the first time I saw OTA HDTV. After some adjustment and location experiments, I was able to receive 19 channels. However, not all of these channels work well given the same direction.
  
  The directionally sensitive antenna needs to be adjusted as I switch channels. e.g. NBC and CBS seems to work well in one direction, while ABC has its own favorite direction, which works also with FOX. I tried as best as possible to find a compromise point where everything works. I couldn't. It just needs to be adjusted constantly.
  
  The transmission is often dogged by reception fluctuations. Signal quality tend to fluctuate quite a bit, especially affected by weather. That means the TV playback would get choppy at times, with its severity dependent on the direction I point the antenna at. I didn't think fluctuating signals was a characteristic until I tried the latter two antennas later. I also found that I had to constantly play with the directional positioning to get a stable signal from each of the stations.
  
  It works, and I was impressed, but then in retrospect it could only be best described as a "tolerable" HDTV experience as I struggled for a smooth signal delivery.
  
  3.RCA ANT111 Basic Indoor Antenna- While shopping in stores, I saw this basic and classic RCA loop/dipole antenna for less than $[...]. I couldn't resist the temptation to try it out, just for the heck of it. It is also a different type of antenna than the previous two.
  
  Again, I was surprised. This cheap antenna worked well, especially considering how it's only a fraction of the price of the two I'd tried. I ended up getting 17 channels, a few less than the PHDTV1, with the same location and setup. Some channels also don't work, even if signals were detected. The quality of the signals seems to be the key.
  
  So what's so special about it? It strangely had better signal delivery for the channels that worked. It's not as choppy, and quality level is very steady. It is also not as affected by directional positioning. I was for the first time able to view FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC without adjusting the antenna. However, the lack of directionality also makes it ambiguous when I lost the signal. It seems that there's no "favorite direction" for the channels, which also means I can't pull in stronger signals at my choosing. It is also quite susceptible to weather changes, particularly wind (which probably affected signals reflected by trees?)
  
  The signal strength also seems to be a little weaker, though the signal quality tend to be higher in general. That probably contributed to the smoother video delivery. It also tempted me to get a similar design that has amplification.
  
  4.Philips MANT510 Philips High Performance Amplified Indoor Uhf/ Vhf/ Fm Antenna- This unit has a "digital TV optimized, patent pending UHF panel array". I thought I'd try it out just for the slightly different antenna design, if not just for the adjustable amplification.
  
  Well, it works, and works quite well. The antenna doesn't work without power, and with amplification turned off it works a little less than unpowered PHDTV1 and ANT111. Yet with the amplification turned on, I get 24 channels, with strength up to 81% (compared to 3-10% unamplified, and quality consistently above 60 and usually in the 70-90%+. That generates the most reliable video delivery of all the ones tried.
  
  While thunderstorms still managed to distrupt signals, it's much less often and only momentarily. I also don't have to worry about hunting for signals as I just point it in one general direction and I get everything but three NJN channels (they are even further from here.. maybe a good 50 miles).
  
  I finally can just set the antenna and forget it. It lets me focus on the programming rather than antenna adjustment. While it needs to be powered, it gives me the confidence to finally enjoy HDTV, rather than tweaking and tolerating it. It's good enough that I can probably stop searching. I hope it'll be helpful to you who may be going through the same purchasing decision nausea as I have.
  
  

• Decent Indoor HDTV Antenna

  
  By A3CMO216CWOF5N on 2006-03-28
  I live about 12 miles from the TV towers, and this antenna gets most of the HDTV channels most of the time. The odd thing about off-the-air HDTV is that it is nearly an all or nothing situation. If you get enough signal, picture quality is perfect...on the edge of enough signal, you get some drop outs...a little less signal and you get no picture at all! At my location, rain and wind cause drop outs on several channels (wet, blowing trees are not good for UHF reception!). Also, some adjustment is required when I change channels.
  
  

• Decent Antenna

  
  By A3HFGRQJ52Q313 on 2006-06-17
  The problem with antennas is:
  1. people misuse them
  2. They are advertised to do more than what they do.
  
  How to solve both problems:
  1. Go to www.antennaweb.org to pick your antenna and where you should point it
  2. Borrow a similar antenna from your friend before buying.
  
  With that in mind, I'll specify what this antenna can do.
  I live in Costa Mesa, CA, on the 2nd floor. The northern skyline is mostly open, another 2 story apartment and a tree is basically the only obstruction. Antennaweb reports that the stations are 42 miles away, orientation 333 deg. It also states that if I have no obstructions, I should be able to use a small directional antenna (yeah right?!). If there are buildings near by, then I would need a medium amplified or some BS, basically, forget it.
  
  Another place you can go is www.hdtvprimer.com. Read the section on Antennas. It will tell you that you need a different antenna for each different situation. In a city, the Sharpshooter, is probably better than this type. You also see the GAIN depending on frequency. Antenna web will tell you what frequencies you need, this help you with what gain on what frequencies. Also read the section on amplifiers. You don't want to amplify noise, introduce noise, or reflections.
  
  With all that in mind, lets try small directional. I borrowed a Terk HDTVi, plugged it into a settop box in the bedroom. At first nothing. Then I pointed it north out the window. Amazingly, I received 60% of the digital channels. Then with the signal strength indicator on, I adjusted the positioning. Ended up NNW being the best, just as Antennaweb recommended, receiving most of the HD digital channels (I didn't count).
  
  At this point, my Samsung TX-S3082WH was delivered, and I set it in the living room (note, different room, different window). My Terk HDTVa was also delivered. I purposely plugged it in without the amplifier. Again, I was able to receive some of the signals. I re-adjusted but still, somehow the signal was weaker. The settop box tuning seemed better than my TV. Then I plugged in and installed the inline amplifier. Very strong signal strength, probably ALL the channels. I am not sure about the quality of the Terk amplifier, since at rare occasions, I get macroblocks. However, it seems to be better than the HDTVi The weather also has not been a factor yet.
  
  Conclusion:
  The antenna works as advertised. It works because I am using it in the correct way. There are many factors in receiving the HDTV signal, be aware of all of them. I would give it 5 stars but it isn't hot or sexy in any way.
  
  

• Works for me

  
  By A3SNY9Y13LT3D8 on 2006-08-17
  I'm in SF Bay Area, about 30 miles from Sutro Tower. This was my first antenna and it worked out of the box for me. It is not perfect and I'm holding between 70 and 90% signal strength on all the majors with better reception than satellite. I can't compare it to any others but to say "it doesn't work" is insane. You won't know until you try it. This is not an all or nothing deal. It will work great for some, not at all for others and anywhere in between.
  
  To check your specific situation, I recommend you try www.antennaweb.org. Click button on first page, enter your full address and you will get a report unique to your home about how/where your channels are broadcast, including a map showing exactly how you should point your antenna. In my case, all my required channels were "yellow" and all in the same compass direction. If you are very far from broadcast source or channels are coming from many different directions, it may not work. However, with good return policy, it can't hurt to try.
  
  
• It Works!
  By APOS50KYBMEK1 on 2006-10-21
  Before committing to a monthly fee for HD programming from your cable/satellite provider try an indoor antenna. I learned 3 things from my extensive research on these antennas, (1) Most HD programming is available for free over the air, (2) Indoor HD antennas do a great job at receiving the transmissions, and (3) the type of antenna that you need depends on where you live. I live on the southside of chicago on the first floor of a three story apartment building with a number of taller buildings around me, and the TERK HDTVa antenna works wonderfully. It was as easy as 1-2-3 to set up, and the pictures are crystal clear (on my samsung plasma). I am able to pick up over 10 true HD stations. The only issue is that when there is movement in front of the antenna (like someone walking in front of it), the picture may get a bit distorted for a second (not 20 seconds or 5 seconds, but only for about a second or two).
  
  Be careful when purchasing this antenna, because there are basically two models, the "a" and the "i". I have the "a" which means amplified (the i" sells for approx $10 less, and I have no idea how it performs).
  
  Until the cable and satellite providers offer more content to justify the extra monthly expense, use an indoor HD antenna. They work great.
  
  
• Your results may vary...
  By A1TV5620JELC88 on 2006-10-05
  The bottom line is that antennas, no matter how good, only give you as good reception as your local environment allows. This is particularly true with indoor antennas.
  
  I live in a major city, less than a mile from the transmitter tower, but this city is notorious for bad over-the-air reception because of all the buildings. The Terk HDTVa pulls in most analog (non-HDTV) channels with decent reception, but nobody would be fooled into thinking I have cable, and I have to reposition and reconfigure the dipoles when I switch from a low VHF channel to a high VHF channel -- as you'd expect because of the differing frequencies.
  
  As for HDTV, I pick up one channel almost perfectly, another channel only if I stick the antenna outside on top of my air conditioner (where it can't really stay), a third channel on and off, and the other half-dozen available channels not at all no matter which way I point the antenna -- even though they're all being transmitted from the same tower. As expected, when a digital channel comes through, it comes through absolutely perfectly -- indeed, better than non-HDTV cable -- but when the signal drops below a certain threshhold, the picture first pixelates, then freezes, then drops completely.
  
  One tricky part for me was knowing where to connect the antenna on my TV. My TV has three inputs: "Analog," "Digital Cable," and "Digital Air." To pick up regular and HDTV channels, I need to use a splitter (not included) to connect the antenna to both the "Analog" and "Digital Air" inputs. Of course, splitting causes the signal power to drop, so I get better HDTV performance if I connect it only to the latter, but then I don't get any non-HDTV channels at all.
  
  The included amplifier doesn't seem to make much of a difference overall. It works -- I can tell from the built-in power meter on my TV that there is a small boost in the signal strength when I switch the amplifier on -- but the difference is quite minimal, especially when I split the signal.
  
  The antenna unit is also quite wobbly on its small base. It's a bit more stable when the fan-like UHF vane is positioned vertically instead of horizontally as shown in the picture, but the unit still tends to fall over whenever I reposition the dipoles. It needs a larger base.
  
  So the Terk HDTVa is okay, but at least in my urban environment, the reception with this or any other indoor antenna not quite what I had hoped for.
  
  
• poor performance than other cheaper antenna
  By A3A2MAZHMUE6O2 on 2007-02-19
  I have cheaper antenna (Zenith ZHDTV1 HDTV-UHF Digital Indoor Antenna) and this expensive one. Through comparison, this one is terrible. I get better pictures, more HD channels (11 more than Terk's 2) and better stability with Zenith antenna than this Terk antenna. This one will go to Goodwill.
  
  
• Didn't work for me
  By A1B3ZFQTFN0MSA on 2006-03-08
  I tried this antenna over a four day period, spending time each day and night to try to receive some HDTV transmissions. On one evening I was able to receive intermittent service on two local channels. I was never able to receive any transmissions during daylight hours. I live in the suburbs of Baltimore, and according to Terk's own antenna locator I am 8.6 miles from four stations (all located together on "Television Hill"), and 2.1 miles from the local PBS antenna. I tried both with the antenna booster (turned on), and with the antenna booster completely removed. I moved the antenna as much as I could (with the provided 4 feet of cable) up, down, and in all directions. I live in a single family home with no significant obstructions (of course, I have houses near me). I am glad for the people this antenna has worked for, but this antenna just didn't work for me at all.
  
  UPDATE: I purchased the Terk HDTVLP antenna, and it is night and day as compared to the HDTVa. I now receive a total of 20 Baltimore and DC stations (DC stations are over 50 miles away!).
  
  
• Dump your cable like old luggage
  By ATAJ76QAMBVVL on 2007-10-02
  I've had this antenna about a month now. I live in a concrete house in heavily wooded area, 30 miles from the digital broadcasters. On a clear day I get about 30 digital channels with no problem. It's pretty crazy when you think about receiving full HD over an antenna, but that's what you can get with this thing. Adverse weather conditions do affect reception though. I have to admit, this antenna has worked out much better than I expected. With this and Netflix or iTunes Store, I rarely use my cable and plan to drop it soon - and this antenna cost less than half of my monthly cable bill.
  
  
• Great for UHF/HD but not VHF
  By A278OQ9OSIYQCG on 2006-05-10
  The picture of the antenna is slighly misleading. The antenna is shown with the VHF dual whips down and tucked into the body.
  
  The Amp attaches as a bullit amp on the end of the attached coax.
  
  The VHF section is lack luster and will not do much for VHF-HD signals. They aren't directional just sorta dipoles with an amplifier. The laws of physics would require a LARGE antenna to be directional.
  
  
  In my area all HD is on UHF. The UHF antenna shines. A nice directional wedge (visable in picture) is about a foot long. The unit is a bit wobbly. The user must install the wedge into the base. It take considerable force to fully insert it. I did not get in fully at first and got horrible performance. All my HDTV stations are in a single tower farm which makes the aiming easy. I selected a analog UHF to aim and then switched to digital to tweak the final stages.
  
  The occasional airplane did interupt the MPEG stream enough create breakup.
  
  The antenna farm is about 25 miles out.
  
  Consider this a small or medium directional UHF antenna, but only a small multi directional VHF antenna.
  
  Please Note: Just because it is called channel 4 it's new actual frequency isn't 4 but might be 37. Check the frequency assignment on the checkhd.com site. Assignments above 14 are UHF . 13 and below are VHF
  
  In the description the term UHF and VHF are mixed up. VHF is Channels 2-13 and UHF is 14-69
  
  If you have VHF-HD this may only help slighly over a simple set of rabbit ears. For UHF it should be a great improvement
  
  
• I was 100% satisfied
  By A1H7AKFU10BIEZ on 2006-09-15
  I was really skeptical when I bought this antenna since the reception in my condo sucks a big way. My cell phones don't pick up any signal at all(TMobile) in most of my rooms(Staten Island,NY). When I plugged the antenna into my brand new Samsung(32") I was literally blown away by the quality of HD signals. It picked up 25 channels including all free HDTV channels that are available in NYC area. Although some are broadcasted in 480i, the 720p were unbelievable. 1080i ones will be be unreal :)
  
  
  
• Good Antenna, but not Magic
  By AJIP4LXMWZUON on 2006-08-27
  I live about 30 miles from the city, and even with this antenna I get a slightly fuzzy signal, but it is cleaner than any other in-house antenna I have tried. At some point I'll probably need to breakdown and install a roof-top antenna. This antenna really does work well, just find out the proper compass direction and point it that way.
  
  One little side note. This antenna is not actually amplified; it just comes with a little in-line amplifier. You may get better results if you buy the non-amplified version and buy a higher-end amplifier to boost the single.
  
  
• Excellent Reception with Power...
  By A1AFMJQZIXECN on 2006-10-02
  This antenna provides excellent reception as long as there is power to the unit. However, the included power supply died almost immediately - within the first 2 weeks. Instead of trying to return the antenna, I simply spliced a store bought 9VDC/100ma power supply into the amplifier since the one included by Terk does not offer pluggable power inserts. The power supply is hard-wired into the amplifier and once the power supply goes bad you will need to splice in a new one or replace the whole Terk power supply/amplifier...
  
  
• Best indoor HDTV antenna
  By A2UYKNZE2GSXQL on 2006-01-15
  I've tried 4 different indoor antennas. Two RCA's which were horrible and two TERK's. The TV5 and this one. The TV5 only picked up NBC and FOX where as with the HDTVa located in the upstairs of my home I'm able to get ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC in HD with minor adjustments to the antenna. If you're looking for a indoor antenna to get HD broadcasts while the satellite provider's get there act together this is a great unit.
  
  
• Great Antenna just minor exceptions...
  By A10O2ZZN8PKL9K on 2006-06-08
  This is a great antenna, don't get me wrong. Just remember this is directional meaning that if your broadcasts are all coming from one direct location, which can be found via antennaweb.org, this antenna is for you. Like the other reviewer said, the VHF dipoles are rather dull. Yes, they do work but not nearly as well as the UHF. ABC is the major player in this for me in Miami. ABC is VHF and I get interupption sometimes.
  
  In conclusion, if you live between 0-25 miles from the towers this antenna is for you. Usually if you're looking for just the digital HD channels they all come from one direction and this will work great (my instance). However, if you are looking for all the analog and digital channels you can get since you don't have cable or satellite, get a multidirectional antenna like the Terk TV5.
  
  
• Excellent Antenna for my location
  By A1NST0QQP48ZSW on 2007-05-06
  To start off, I live in West Los Angeles, approximately 26 miles from the broadcast towers on Mt. Wilson. Anyone in a similar location may find my experience useful.
  The evolution of my antenna use:
  I recently purchased an LCD HDTV, and, not having cable, I wished to achieve the best over air HD possible. I started with my good old rabbit ears, which, while decent, had to be constantly adjusted and moved around when changing channels. Channel 7.1 was prone to signal loss, and 9.1 and 13.1 were non-existent. The rest of the channels came in OK. (Of course, the great thing about digital channels is that even when the signal is OK, the picture is generally perfect, with the occasional pixellation and low signal blank screen - definitely preferable to the analog snow).
  Next, I tried the Terk TV5 - wrong choice. It was worse than the old rabbit ears. No amount of adjusting helped. Bye bye.
  After doing some research on avsforums, i found that a directional UHF antenna would work best for me, as all the broadcast towers for LA are concentrated in the same area on Mr. Wilson. So, I picked up the Phillips Silver Sensor (basically the same as the HDTVA minus the amplification), which has received great reviews on various forums. Wow, the difference from the previous antennas was night and day. All i had to do was aim the antenna in the general direction of Mt. Wilson, and the signal strength on the digital channels was much better. I even picked up a few new channels (18.1, .2, .3 and 50.1, .2 and .3. More importantly, i was able to get 9.1, and as a Dodgers fan, this was of no small importance. The signal strength was average, but at least the picture was viewable most of the time. However, still no 13.1. In perusing antenna reviews and the av forums, i'd heard that if one lives over 25 miles from a broadcast tower, then an amplified antenna was a good idea. Well, I live about 26 miles from Mt. Wilson, and that leads me to...
  the Terk HDTVA. My quest has finally ended. Basically the same as the Silver Sensor, but with a heavier base, amplification, and vhf dipoles (if you need analog vhf channels - since all digital channels are uhf, i find that i don't need vhf). The amplification is the key here - yes, i did finally get channel 13.1. Also, on every other channel, the signal strength increased by at least 10. There is hardly any signal loss. All in all an excellent choice. It may not be so useful if you live closer to the broadcast towers - in that situation it may not work any better than a cheaper unamplified antenna. But if you are in a situation similar to mine, I highly recommend this product.
  
  
  
• Works in Rural Maine! But, so do rabbit ears..
  By A37M3FBFXZPKJ8 on 2007-06-20
  I bought the amplified Terk antenna on the chance that it would bring in a signal or two over the air at our country house about 35 miles west of Portland, ME. (I'm using an inexpensive Insignia LCD HD TV). To our surprise we are getting the Portland HD channels very clearly. On the other hand, our old set's rabbit ears also pull in the same channels. The Terk is better looking, but remarkably top heavy and unbalanced... for some reason it is designed so that the cord runs under its little base and can hardly be pushed into the groove intended for it, so the antenna rocks right over unless you prop it against something. The amplifier has to be kept plugged in, even if you are keeping it in the 'off' position, and this is unfortunate.
  
  
• Out of my expectation, great job done by this small antenna!
  By A181DVHFHDULP3 on 2005-10-05
  I live in a small town in greater Cincinnati area, 16.5-20 miles from all the TV towers. Bought SONY 50 inch LCD Grand Wega TV days ago, and planed to install an outdoor HDTV antenna in my attic to receive OTA HD signal. Considering the complexity of running cable from the attic dowm to my family room, I decided to give a try on an indoor antenna. Bought the TERK HDTVa at a local Radio Shack store for about 50 bucks, and was told I can return it if it does not work. So, two minutes after I set the auto programming function of my SONY. I began to see the perfect HD picture from the local WCET PBS station, which is the first 24/7 HDTV station in Cincy area. It works very nicely. Picked all DTV signals from the local stations (Several even from Dayton, OH), Strong signal, perfect picture! NO problem whatsoever!
  
  
• not perfect, but perhaps the best for indoor digital reception
  By A2CFJKSPXIYT16 on 2006-01-24
  In brief, this was the best of four indoor antennae I tried. It picks up every station it should with just a little effort. I may still try an outdoor unit though.
  
  Before any antenna review I should let you know the environment in which I tried it.
  tuner: built into a new Philips 42" plasma, model 42PF7320A/37
  building: tall single story on a high basement on a hill, plaster/lathe, wood siding
  location: residential neighborhood, mostly single family homes, lots of large tall trees
  terrain: Urbana, IL - flat, only a few tall buildings 1.5 miles away on campus
  transmitters: check antennaweb.org for details, but in summary I have close stations in multiple directions and the furthest reception desired was from Decatur, about 35 miles west.
  
  This was the fourth antenna I tried after buying a new television with built-in digital tuner. First I tried the passive Radio Shack I'd been using for analog. This gave me only one digital station. Online research led me to want an amplified unit. Thanks to reviews here and elsewhere I wanted to buy a Terk, but found only a Jensen at first. This was worse than the RS; I returned it and got both the TV5 and the HDTVa. I really wanted to like the 5; I liked the appearance and so many people online say it works for them. It was the first to give me all stations if I worked at it hard enough. I could not repeat the results though. I had to move it for every single station. I don't just mean rotate it; I mean find a new place in the room.
  
  In contrast, it takes only two different positions for me to get everything reliably with the HDTVa. This definitely applies to the amplified HDTVa only; I couldn't get a single digital station without the power injector. Be prepared to play around; results can be counterintuitive. One of the best and most stable results I get is with it pointing right into a south wall for a station northeast of me.
  
  Quality seems decent enough - good weight to everything. The thick coaxial cable comes out the bottom so it can face forward or backward. This cable is stiff, and until it settles a bit can render the antenna a little tip-prone. It fell off a coffee table once and seems fine. I wouldn't want one to drop six feet though.
  
  
• Not as good as the other reviewers stated.
  By A1WSVBPTT305W0 on 2006-02-12
  I am at DC area. I have more than 10 DTV channels here. My ATI HDTV wonder card is connected to a RCA ant-110($10 from walmart). I can get good reception on Fox5, ABC, NBC. But my favorite WB54 sometimes is not good. I want to get better result, and try this amplified antenna, because so many reviewers give it a good reviews. But I am pretty sad about the result.
  1. The amplifier is basically useless. Just as other user said, there is nothing different to use it or not.
  2. The reception is not better than my $10 RCA ant110, if not worse.
  
  
  
• An amzaing antenna
  By A2PWI5WTI6IW97 on 2007-01-11
  This antenna is the only one, out of many other so-called "HDTV" antennas on the market, that can capture off-the-air HD signals and deliver beautiful HD images to your HDTV. Before I bought it on Amazon, I did a lots of research and found this one being the most purchased HDTV antenna so I placed an order for one. But, I have to admit that I was not very confident at the time because I live in a major metropolitan city. After my first try, I found that it just worked perfectly fine as it was advitised. It pulled in all local HD channels, many more than Comcast does with extra charges. I won't swich to cable or Dish or Direct TV for the foreseeable future because this antenna just works fine for me and it is free of monthly charge. By the way, I just bought two more of this antenna for my other annalog tvs simply because it also improves the quality of analog channels. Thanks to Terk and Amazon as well as other users who helped me found this little device.
  
  
• The best indoor antenna around!
  By AWY1ZHD28EZOS on 2007-08-01
  I picked up this antenna based on the reviews I'd read and the fact that I refuse to pay for TV. I live in a rural area of Michigan and was hoping to avoid the big bulky roof antenna, I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed. Not only does it pick up all my local stations, but I'm 100 miles from Chicago and it pulls in all of their UHF stations clearly and VHF with a little snow. Granted, weather conditions have a lot to do with an antenna's performance but this one doesn't let you down. It also takes time and patience to get the direction right. The instructions tell you to point the antenna towards the transmitter tower. Our tower is SE, but this only brought in a few stations clearly. I found if I pointed it SW, all the stations came in clearly including the Chicago stations. Really was a pleasant surprise to find something that actually could do what it claimed.
  
  
• It does What it should do
  By A1QK65UKIW4QGQ on 2007-08-25
  I was using the Terk 55 for the last three years, and decided to replace it with this antenna. So far, it has pulled every HD channel in my area, no matter how far away it is. One of them actually is over 50 miles away. It is a bargain here. Best Buy and Circuit City sell it for $65+.
  If you want a good indoor HD antenna, buy this one/
  
  I hope this helps
  
  
• Not better than model HDTVi Terk
  By A1KQLYQVTIK6DC on 2005-10-04
  First I bought model HDTVi at circuit city. This model gave me a hard time to get signal, I thought model HDTVa should do a better job because it has amplified built in but I was disappointed it didn't do any good. It is not better than model HDTVi.
  
  
  
  
  
• Excellent Antenna
  By A3FNMXUTYOJEHX on 2006-03-30
  Wonderful reception and a great bargain. I have to credit Terk for putting together a excellent antenna for HD broadcasts, although I did have one small problem, as a newbie to HDTV, that the instructions helped to clear up: I was unaware that HD broadcasts were transmitted on a different channel than my regular station.
  
  
• Ok Antenna
  By A1ELOE9U8DRWX7 on 2006-06-28
  I am not getting all the channels I expected to and it is not as compact as it looks in the picture. There are too long antennas that extend to three feet or so. I am looking in to outdoor antennas and/or amplifing the signal more.
  
  My poor reception may result from the area I am in. I have not compared the reception I get from terk with other antennas.
  
  
• I'm a Believer
  By A1JKCQ8G95NYLN on 2006-09-08
  I was frankly skeptical that this antenna could do the job, especially considering the distance our house is from the broadcasting antenna (about 20 miles) and considering we live in a city with no clear line of site to the TV broadcasting tower, but I'm now a believer of this antenna after following the set-up instructions.
  
  Unlike analog signal, digital either gives you a picture or doesn't. If the antenna isn't oriented properly, sometimes the picture will pixelate or stutter, but with some patience and a receiver with a signal indicator, you can pretty much tweak the thing to give you maximum signal strength.
  
  The picture is fantastic and in fact, better than conventional cable or satelite by a mile! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this device to anyone considering in buying an HDTV or HD cable service. You must, however, follow the instructions carefully and use their on-line tool to find proper orientation for the antenna.
  
  
• Necessary, But the Tuner Really Makes the Difference
  By A1S0TMH8HAWA1M on 2007-01-10
  I purchased a Vizio L32 TV from Costco that came with an integrated HDTV tuner to receive over-the-air (OTA) HD broadcasts. So I naturally queried the web for the best HDTV antenna at the best price. After doing my research, I decided to get the Terk HDTVa antenna mostly because of the fact that it has a powered amplifier to enhance the signal that it receives.
  
  From what I read, spending the extra $$$ to buy the amplied antenna seemed to give a more reliable picture than the non-powered Terk HDTVi. This seemed to be the concensus among the various postings that I read on the Internet. So I took the plunge and spent the money.
  
  At first, I was a little disappointed. The HDTVa seemed highly directional. I live in a DC suburb and can actually receive HDTV signals from both the DC and Baltimore markets. If I wanted to get the DC stations, I'd have to point the antenna in one direction. If I wanted the Baltimore stations, I'd have to point it in another. It was annoying at best and I must admit that the picture would become pixelated when the signals weren't at their strongest.
  
  So I ended up getting the HD package from DirectTV which solved all my local TV issues. I decided to keep the antenna as a backup, even though I figured I wouldn't get much use out it.
  
  Well about 3 months after having the TV, it started to act flaky on me so I decided to return it to Costco and get a replacement. Well wouldn't you know it, but Vizio had released a newer version of the same size TV, the Vizio VX32. I was excited because the specs for the new TV were a bit better at the same price so I was excited to take it home and test it out.
  
  Once I got it home, I set the new TV up in the exact same space (mounted on the wall in my bedroom) and attached all the cables. One of the nice features of the Vizio out of the box is the fact that it goes through an automatic setup that allows you to program the OTA channels the first time you turn on the set.
  
  Well I saw a huge difference in the number and quality of the stations that the Vizio identified. All of the DC stations came in with no pixelation and most of the Baltimore stations did, too, and I didn't have to aim the antenna.
  
  I'm going to assume that this is due to a much better and stronger HDTV tuner in the newer Vizio TV. I spoke to a coworker who had also recently purchased one of the newer Vizio TVs and he said the same thing. He owns a set-top HDTV tuner that he connected to the non-amplified Terk antenna. He lives in VA and said that he could barely get the DC stations in clear. When he bought the new Vizio TV, using the exact same antenna, he's able to get all of the DC stations very clearly without having to aim the tuner.
  
  So in conclusion, I give a thumbs up to the Terk powered antenna. But I also strongly advise getting a newer HDTV that has a newer tuner. It seems to make all of the difference.
  
  
• Good indoor antenna for St. Louis Stations
  By AQB6XHYRYITCY on 2007-05-03
  I live in illinois, about 30 miles from the broadcast towers in St. Louis which are about 232 degrees southwest of my position. This antenna is able to pick up all local HD channels really well. I have tried other types of antenna, but at the given range in this area this is the only indoor antenna that will work. I was on the fringe between buying this, the amplified model or the HDTVi, the un-amplified model. I'm glad I got this one, however, because the little bit of signal boost provided by the amp makes all the difference in receiving channels 2-1 and 30-1 without drops.
  
  The log periodic design of this antenna is very sensitive to direction. You must point it directly to the area where your signals are broadcast from for it to pull them in. If your city has towers spread all over that are more than 18 degrees or so apart then this is not the antenna for you. The advertised range is 45 miles, but I'm sure that's really pushing it and is most likely based on a direct line of sight transmission. I would guess that the 30 miles I am getting is basically the upper limit in range for an indoor antenna like this one.
  
  Plus, it looks really cool.
  
  Update:
  After using this antenna for a week or so, I have been able to tune a broadcast that is 61.2 miles away (according to antennaweb) with about 60% signal strength. This is really amazing for an indoor antenna, and it definitely reaffirms my recommendation.
  
  

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