Top 5 HD Antennas vs Metal Spoon | U Must Have, Model V8, Amplified & Vansky | Which works best?
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- What do the top 5 best selling indoor HD antennas on Amazon have in common with a metal spoon? More than you might think!
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Today we're talking about the top 5 best selling HD antennas on Amazon, in order. We've been talking a lot about streaming services lately, and these fit in nicely if you're looking to cut the cord.
I plugged each of these antennas into the same TV, in the same location, by the same window, at the same time of day- for a true apples to apples comparison. One caveat here- the results we got were based on our location- about 10 miles from the nearest broadcast tower and near a downtown location. Your results may be better or worse depending on where you live.
Just a heads up- the top 2 antennas on Amazon are actually the same, just in different colors! Congrats U Must Have- you must have great SEO practices.
1. U Must Have Amplified Digital Indoor HDTV Antenna- Ultra Black- amzn.to/2VY1lfU
Comes in at a price of $27.96 on Amazon and got us 51 channels. When we opened this antenna after it arrived, the USB plug was broken. Be wary of flimsy construction on the plug!
2. U Must Have Amplified Digital Indoor HDTV Antenna- White- amzn.to/2YqAaIh
Same price as the Ultra Black model, $27.96 and performed the exact same. We didn't see any issues with poor construction on this model.
On both of these you'll get pretty great picture quality. I was pretty impressed with these (other than poor construction).
3. Digital HDTV Antenna (Model V8) tabletop unit- amzn.to/2HedIMA
You can also find it by its picture since its so different. The plastic feels cheap on this one, but I do love the matte black finish. You also get a built-in amplifier with the Model V8 that you can adjust between short-or-long-range. Don't assume long-range will be better, it could actually distort your amplifier if you're close to a broadcast tower. This antenna retails for $39.99 on Amazon, and got us 44 channels in short-range mode, and 50 channels in long-range mode. You'll want to play around with the amplifier a little to see what gets you the most channels.
4.1 by One Amplified Digital Indoor HDTV Antenna- amzn.to/30doIkE
This one was probably the most disappointing! Nothing special here. It has a built-in amplifier, but there's no switch to change between short-and-long range. This could cause a problem for some of you, depending on your location. We paid $22.99 and got 42 channels with the 1 by One. This is the lowest channel count so far, but you also pay less.
5. Vansky Digital HDTV Antenna (#1 in my heart!)- amzn.to/2YmY7jk
This one has the same price tag as the 1 by One ($22.99), but you're getting a little bit more for that price. Nothing different aesthetically here, but you do get a 20-foot coaxal cable- you can decide if that's good or not!
We got 57 channels with the Vansky! If you're keeping track, that's more than any of the previous four best sellers. The Vansky had the best performance as far as channel count and picture quality.
Now the question is... how do these all stack up against a DIY metal spoon antenna? It was shocking to me! I took 60 seconds and grabbed anything metal I could find in my desk- and found a spoon, allen wrench, a headphone jack and a paperclip. Taped all this together and hung it in the coax jack in the back of the TV. AND I GOT 39 CHANNELS, just with this thing!
So is it worth it to buy any of the top 5 antennas on Amazon? They'd be more reliable (and you don't have to give up a spoon from your kitchen)! You'll get better performance from an antenna, but if you want a little hack just to get a few channels for free, the spoon wasn't a bad option.
When I took the spoon out of the coax jack, we got 0 channels, so it definitely worked! How about that?
What's your favorite hack to get around using an antenna? - Věda a technologie
![TOP 5 Best Indoor TV Antenna [ 2024 Buyer's Guide ]](/img/n.gif)
I was pretty surprised to see how well the spoon worked as an antenna! Anyone else have any good antenna hacks I should try?
Run the coax to the rod that holds up the drapes.
Cut about 6 feet of coax off the end. Connect center to shield and shield to center at the joint hang on the wall.
Wind a few turns of "hookup wire" around the power cable of the lamp near the TV and run that to the antenna input.
A fork?
Just stick a paperclip in the coax. Sometimes that's enough, depending on location
Made with 4 or 6 Whisks.
On the internet type in Egg beater or Whisk antenna and find a website that has example a guy has made.
The egg beater antenna is a interesting antenna to make and it receives fairly well.
Type egg beater antenna in the internet.
The egg beater is a whisk.
@@RichardWeeks00 I got 40 Channels doing that LOL!
I opted for the ClearStream 2Max for the better high VHF reception. Still small enough to be used indoors.
As others have commented already, there is no such thing as a HD TV antenna. It's just a rip-off selling practice from companies to trick people on thinking they must have a "HD TV antenna" to pickup HD channels.
A TV antenna is a TV antenna, it just includes how well built it is and how big it is. You can pickup HD channels on any old tv antenna from the 70's.
But it's nice to have a modern connection though, like HDMI or whatever
FOR THE RECORD: There is no such thing as an "HD" antenna. ANY antenna picks up ANY broadcast signal. Just saying...
@Michael Grant Rabbit ears do not cut it. These flat antennas in my house depend on location. Great in a bedroom though after 1 month several channels at 26.1 to 26.9 went off. Moved it to living room where tv was moved to and I got horrible reception. So need something else or to figure this out. First fix the antenna or get something else. Then look at ota dvrs.
What he said. They are antennas that pull in frequencies for TV's. VHS and UHF. The best one that have seen tested for indoors is the flat Mohu indoor unit which pulled in a crazy 70 miles away in ideal conditions . Head over to Tyler the antenna man.
Touche' In fact the transmission itself is analog. Rf is rf.
Touche' It is just marketing. Marketing works. How well? Remember half of America voted for Hillary. That says it all. Barnum and Bailey’s said it. Suckers are born every minute.
@@mikewhite9818 Yeah but all the idiots voted for trump! You're right lots of suckers out there!
From my experience you also need to put the antenna somewhere high at a certain angle and you need to extend the cable for best reception away from any in home interference. For example I put my flat antenna in the attic and I get all major local networks and more like classic tv channels. I live near the city so that helps too...lol
You can use a paper clip for an antenna in a jam. The larger size paper clips are better because they're thicker and they fit more snugly into the 750 antenna jack on your TV or FM stereo.
Your vid saved the day setting up our device and the supernatural mid season finale- 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
You should do a short video on how you put the spoon antennae together. Spoon, alum wrench, headphone jack, and paper clip. How are you connecting the headphone jack? Looks like everything else is just taped together?
Can't wait for next week's review. Thanks for the no-frills reviews!
Thanks Keith! And you're welcome
With the Vansky, the long coax cable was probably acting as more of an antenna than the "antenna" itself!
Just like old fashioned rabbit ears I found that putting a piece of aluminum foil flat over the back side the flat antennas increases the number of channels you receive. Give it a try and let me know let me know if it helped you.
Thank you for channel count
I’m looking to cut the cord with cable and getting one of these. Only kicker is that my window is pretty far away. Can I hook up coax extenders to extend the reach or will it impact the signal ?
I actually made my own antenna using some small aluminum tubing, a little bit of wire and some little plastic connectors. It looked like an outdoor TV antenna, just Barbie dream house sized.. It worked remarkably well for what it was.. I think I ended up getting 14 or 15 channels and a commercially bought antenna performed the same.
Mike N I used a paper clip and got about the same amount of channels
Where are you located?
@@joeym.6822 I am in SW Missouri. I even was getting a NW arkansas station.
Will they work in doors from 50 miles away? I tried them 10 years ago and they didn't work at all. Thank's
Just ordered the u must have model. Hope it works.
Awesome thank you
I purchased the U Must Have from Amazon. Inside the box was a card that said if I post an honest review of the product on Amazon they would send me another for free. I followed their instructions and YES, they sent me another one for free. So I got 2 for about $28 and they work just fine. Win-Win
Sales rep? U have nothing posted on your page..
@@fattiestube69 Nope. Not a rep. I have lots of videos of my kids but they are all private.
Did you say you just hung the spoon/Allen Wrench/what was the other piece from the coaxial connector?
paper clip
headphone jack
The #3 antenna is $10. Even though there’s different ones at different prices, there’s a listing for $10 and it’s the same thing as the $40 one shown.
Hi can you please specified the model or link for the vansky antenna I find multiples on amazon and I’m not sure which one pick . Thank you
THINGS TO CLARIFY:
1. there is no such thing as digital or HDTV or 4k antenna, anolog tv was shut down years ago leaving digital only and 4k or HD broadcasts do not currently exist and you should be looking for things like vhf/uhf.
2. those hair thin coax cables will kill your signal, you need a realy thick one with a copper middle, this depends on how close you live to a tv station.
3. flat antennas don't typically work as good since antennas need to be designed a certain way, not by flat sheets of metal, vhf needs longer rods and uhf needs shorter rods, look at rabbit ear antennas and how they are designed along with outdoor antennas.
There is alot more than i can say here so i suggest you look at sevral sources. Antenna man on youtube is a great channel for this.
I tried numerous indoor antenas, the thing is when a channel has no signal, it makes the other channels stop working and when I switch to netflix or prime tv or CZcams, those apps don't work in the TV, so I have to disconnect the TV so I can have the signal back.
Do you know why that happens?
Sincerely,
Reina
Brooklyn, NYC
Did U consider comparing the Mohu Leaf Antennas; they cost more, I think I think they are
made better and do a slightly better job.. There new Mohu Leaf Glide which is wider
to accommodate some VHF Elements is a better idea.. W.G.
Thanks awesome 👍😄
Please make a video on how you connected the spoon!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼😂
I wanna see
Electrical tape
I would to see that ... Also how you put it together. :)
Frontier vs Spoon
Seeing how I will never go back to Frontier, Spoon wins hands down.
😂😂😂 The spoon was a delightful shocker, for sure.
I bought the flat antenna and it was a waste of money. I ended up buying $10 RCA antenna and works great! Gets all local channels.
What's it called? And where u buy it at
Do they pick up local channels ? Any cable channels or just generic channels that you can't understand or foreign cartoons?
If the spoon is performing comparable to the antennas you tested out - it's a good indication that those antennas are junk. FYI there's no such thing as an HD antenna. That's just a keyword foreign antenna companies use to confuse people into thinking they're getting a special "HD antenna" when they are likely getting a piece of junk.
THE GIGACHAD HAS ARRIVED!!!
10 miles lol. I wish you could you have tested it a bit farther away to make it more useful
Is was very good to me I am completely new with antenna and streaming I always have cable and nobody told me that things has been changing in tv world I have to learn and become a little bit tech I am 74 years old learning new skills on things so new but I have never closed my mind I need to learn to feel how the world has change. The antenna I bought no for cheaper more no knowledge at all I don’t get 50 channels now I am taking in consideration what you said and looking for a better antenna
I am looking for an antenna I cannuse on my patio in the mountains at 6600 ft. Got any ideas?
I like the clear stream 4 max
But what channels do they pick up ?
Please explain the difference between HD and regular antenna?
Nothing. It's just marketing.
What channels do you get?
Does they work in Jamaica
You got more free than what i got on my junk
This shows that Amazon is becoming BangGood.
Why aren't you letting people know signals are either uhf or vhf NOT HD?
It works in Southamerica any antena?.
These are basically coat hangers that are covered with plastic ,
As some have mentioned there is no such thing as an HD antenna. There is also no such thing as a digital antenna. It's a piece of metal and it doesn't care what the signal is, analog, digital, Morse code, whatever. There are better and worse antennas. Indoor antennas suck, always. Signals are dramatically attenuated indoors by the building. The stuff inside causes reflections. It is always a challenge indoors.
4K antennas are now being marketed. Guess what, not only is there no such thing as a 4K antenna, broadcast stations in the U.S. DO NOT broadcast in 4K and likely will not for many years. The system in use does not support it. The modulation method is called 8VSB. The video specification is called ATSC. As is, it does not support CODECs required for 4K in the allotted bandwidth. The system supports a maximum of 720p @ 60fps or 1080i @ 30fps. Most stations today are squeezing several channels (streams) on to their signal.
In some markets a UHF only antenna is sufficient. In others however one will need VHF. The VHF TV spectrum is divided into Low, physical channels 2 through 6; and High, physical channels 7 through 13. None of the small indoor models perform well on VHF. A proper half wavelength (which is ideal for basic designs) for VHF channel 2 is almost 9 feet long. The lower the frequency the longer the antenna. Compromises can be made, performance suffers.
Currently in the U.S., TV channels are being repacked. That is they are moving around to free up spectrum for mobile broadband. When laid out the UHF band went to channel 83 and was 420MHz wide. It's very difficult to make an antenna to cover the whole band well. In 1983 the band was shortened to channel 69, 336MHz wide. In 2009 with analog TV ending the band was limited to channel 51, 228MHz wide. Today with the repack the band will end at channel 36, 138MHz wide. That's a much easier antenna to build. These are the physical channels, not virtual.
You will often find antennas marketed by their distance, 50 miles, 70 miles, whatever. Again, there are better and worse antennas. That distance however is a function of the transmitter height. Both VHF and UHF are line of sight. That is, the signal will only go as far as the transmitter height will allow until the signal reaches the horizon. Signals tend to bend a little beyond that, a few miles. A TV (or FM radio) station transmitting from a 1000 foot tower or building can reach about 44 miles. From 2000 feet (rare but there's a few towers that tall) it'll go about 62 miles. Buying a 150 mile antenna won't change that. You cannot change the laws of physics and you cannot change the size of the Earth. Moving your receiving antenna higher can measurably improve that distance.
Coax cable has loss. High quality cable has a little. Cheap, small, rotten cable has a lot. Very small, cheap coax can have so much loss at UHF that there's almost no signal left on a long run. Typical RG59 (the smaller common TV stuff) at TV channel 35 will lose half of the signal strength at 41 feet long. High quality RG6 is better. The tiny stuff some indoor antennas come with is worse.
the good antennas have at least 10 hd channels even being 200 miles away from any towers. I'm looking for a better one. I agree that indoor antennas loose alot of reception. I'm curious about that 4k antenna, because hd antennas do exist.
LOS is not the only way that VHF and UHF propagates. Highly dependent on atmospheric (weather/meteorological, solar/geomagnetic) conditions, but ducted/reflected and multipathed signals can extend signals over hundreds, if not thousands of miles, especially over long, flat atmospherically stable stretches of earth or water.
The propagation of radio signals is actually quite a bit more complicated than the simple matter you make it out to be.
@@MP-vf8qz @M P Unless you live/view where specific phenomena regularly exist you simply cannot get reliable reception beyond the radio horizon, period. Antennas marketed as HD exist. But there's nothing about them that's makes them work for HD any differently than any other antenna.
@@ryhk3293 yes, it is more complicated. VHF & up are indeed dependant on metrological and other conditions. But, aside from a few places where propagation modes such as tropospheric ducting regularly occur VHF & up is line of sight. You cannot rely of meteor scatter or E-skip to watch TV. These modes are very random & far too rare for regular viewing.
Ionospheric propagation is very rare at VHF. (Granted, the low TV channels start at 54 MHz & can propagate thus from time to time) But even if it did happen analog & digital both are difficult to receive due to phase & frequency shifts.
None of that matters. In these conditions the atmosphere is doing the work, not the antenna. A tropo ducting signal can travel hundreds and even thousands of miles. But nobody is marketing a 1000 mile antenna. A 10 mile antenna can receive a tropo signal from any possible distance.
It's all marketing drivel, plain & simple.
I just purchased a very expensive like over 100.00 indoor tv antenna. If that fails.. I will be getting electric tape, a genetic spoon, and a paper clip! cable & sattlelight isn't an option for me.
Thx
Truth and Quality.
Practical and Useful Information.
Another way to do the experimenting is to have the Best Reliable Reception First and then do experiments.
The information I have provided in this post has to do with Reliable Reception.
I LOVE THE SPOON.......LOL........I got an antenna just like the 57 channel one on Ebay from a company with tax & free shipping $ 6.47 and I've been able to pick up 60 channel super clear with no problems were I live Miami
I live in Miami as well, I just bought the "U MUST HAVE" let's see how it goes! 60 channels!?
I heard a paper clip worked as well and even better as any product on this video.
You should try a 50 mile range. We live 45 miles from orlando fl. Please supply answer. Thank you.
I pay 100 dollars for a clearstream antenna indoor l live in the 6 floor building and l get 84 channels crystal clear in new Jersey,,,, Tyler the anthenna man from CZcams was right about that.thanks
Why is so hard to buy a good a antenna lol i feel like all these are made the same Chinese factory. And its all one by joke on us.
why would you recommend something you got broken?
Funny a 30-year-old analog antenna I have gives me HD DIGITAL 1080p signals clearly
Can they work in Kenyan
Why did you show drone footage of a cell tower?
Hey Hey...you to notice that...this is far not a TV antenna.
"HD Antennas" don't exist because they merely pickup an analog carrier which has been modulated with a digital signal. "Non HD" antennas also pickup an analog carrier which has been modulated with an analog signal. So both types of TV transmission both use ANALOG modulated carriers to transmit their programming in either the VHF or UHF bands.
How about High Definition?? W.G.
So when most of the Broadcast TV Stations started to broadcast in 720p & 1080i
and moved up to the UHF portion of the Band, we can not call it HD TV?? W.G.
@@wgdavis5353 I think they mean is while with digital there are two positions (1 and 0), it is still technically an analog carrier. The voltages used for “1” and “0” in the digital signal exist in an analog signal.
You should have posted graphic to show results. Words only go so far. The written word is best when combined it audio.
Picture quality is same. With HD you either get the channel or you don't.
Just the fact that something is called an HD antenna means it's probably bad at picking up vhf signals. And the fcc repack moved more channels into vhf, rf 2-13. Unless you have something long like the rabbit ears, you probably won't pickup low vhf, 2-6. Even for 7-13 you probably need at least a stubby vhf element like on the clearstream max-v, but that can't pickup low vhf either. The models featured in this video are a ripoff. These companies are making a lot of money on the confusion.
How do you fix that? 🧐
When we had "rabbit ears" it was tin foil!
None of those will work well in rural areas. VHF wavelength varies between 1to10 meters, so they are too small to pick up signals outside of the cities where the signals originate. That's why the old-fashioned outdoor antennas are so large. They are designed to match the size of the broadcast wavelengths.
How much distance are you talking about?
@@kbanghart That really depends on the terrain. I live in Georgia, which is moderately hilly, so signals from Atlanta degrade somewhat quickly due to attenuation from obstacles like buildings and hills. I'm about 50 miles away from the point of origin of most of the broadcast towers and I can get about 40-50 channels from my outdoor dipole. It's a larger one with a 10-ft boom. I can get less than half that with the smaller antennas he is using in the review. So to answer your question, I'd say a general rule is about 20-30 miles before the signal becomes too attenuated for smaller antennas to be very effective.
@@snoopyboyblue ok I think I might get a bigger one, and mounted on a pole out in the yard with a little height, so the neighbors won't complain. I need about 30 miles, I just have to worry about one or two houses in my way.
@@kbanghart I don't think you will get much degradation b/c of a few wood-framed dwellings. It's mostly high-rises and terrain that cause weaker signal. If you live in a single-family home where you can put up a pole, then it will definitely get you the best signal though. Too bad radio Shack is no more. That used to be the best place to get the old, 10-12 ft boom dipole antennas. I got a 12-foot one from there about 10 years ago for $99, but I can't find one that big at all anymore, and the smaller ones are over $150.
@@snoopyboyblue yeah I miss the days when radio shack carried all that stuff.
Buy a 12$ One at Walmart be just as good you get the same amount of channels
BS!!!
What's it called or brand
Amazon review of antennas is just their best sellers & not the best for reception!
why is 57 channels rated 5th and not first?
It was "5th" best this is rating the best selling antennas on Amazon, and that one is the 5th best selling. From what he said, seems like that one was the one he recommended of the bunch.
Most of these will pick up all of UHF channels, the problem is picking up the VHF channels.
unless thare is good deal that they are no vhf channels in ur area which is europe
in my country it has a big circle ant port
so it disabled me to put paperclip on that it just falls
At first I thought you had a prison shank it your hand with that spoon.
Close enough. I could get an eye. With either end, I suppose!
Haha😂 you know you're wrong for that. Haha 😂 LOL.
If the internet would become a utility then we could just stream the channels
Amplifies don’t make a difference sometimes I do more harm than good
It includes how far you live from a tv tower if they will help you or not.
I dont want anything in my arsenal .... Thank you
WHAT THE HELL IS AN "HD" ANTENNA? YOU MEAN VHF/UHF RIGHT?
No disrespect but if the first one's plug broke like that it should be on the bottom of the list that could start a house fire we are talking about an electronic device .
You are ten miles from a tower, you do not use a booster.
I thought there was no such thing as an "HD" antenna.
There’s not. These companies are just marketing pieces of metal as “HD antennas”. A paperclip with some aluminum foil on it works better than the flat ones.
Seeing how far “TVs” have come they still can’t play live tv without a stupid device
Those antennas are all junk where I live those would only get my local NBC station 7 miles away. The rest of the stations and major networks are 25-30 miles away with some terrain to disrupt the signal. An outdoor antenna is really needed in my area. And one other thing is these antennas are very poor at hi-Vhf which most parts of the US have at least one or two stations broadcasting on the hi vhf band 7-13. These tiny antennas are not even capable of low vhf (2-6) at all because of their size. Low vhf needs a long antenna element up to 5 feet long to be efficiently recieved.
NBN on since 2018 who watches TV anymore ? 🤦♂️
No such thing...clickbait..I use rabbit ears ffs! lol
I am surely not going to subscribe before I hear your content!
THERE IS NO SUCH THINK AS AN HD ANETNNA
I used a fork and not a spoon😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
No such thing as an “HD” antenna. Marketing BS. All antennas just pick up UHF & VHF signals. The tuner in the TV sorts out issues like HD, 4K, 1080p, whatever, not the antenna.
Hi, What does HD mean?? I do not believe U get 51 Channels at least not the way I count them, meaning if get Channel 5 lets say,
now whether it has 1 sub channel or 10 sub channels I count that as one (1).. If U get 1 U get them all.. ♠W.G.
There is nothing as an HD or 4k antenna. they are all VHF-UHF
Yes, and most of them are flat out simple internally.
@@kensmith5694 and most of them are completely useless
@@andhanwer
If you put some of them on a pile of papers, they would stop the papers from blowing way. If you have a table the wobbles, you may be able to find a HD-4K antenna that fits just right under one leg.@@andhanwer
@@kensmith5694 aren't you practical...
thare is no such thing as hd antennea or digital antenna antennas are designed to pick up vhf and uhf freqs no matter low def standard def 4k
HD ?????
No such thing as HD antenna . The use of HD is nothing more than a marketing gimmick to get more money for an antenna that should not cost more than the same type of antenna that cost less. Both would work the same, so save your money and buy the cheaper ones.
There's no such thing as a HD TV antenna
The criteria of number of channels is a false criteria. The majority of viewers want the local networks - NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox - clear and without interruption from clouds or other "bad" weather. This guy didn't touch on that. He ignored the core use of an antenna in the cord cutting world.
No such thing as a HD antenatal..
Why did you NOT tell everyone that there is NO SUCH THING AS A DIGITAL OR HD ANTENNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON"T BE FOOLED BY WORDS ON A BOX... IT A PLOY BY THESE COMPANIES..!!!
No such thing as an HD antenna
There is no such thing as an HD Antenna. Stop perpetuating this marketing trick.
There is no such thing as a HD, 4K or digital antenna. No matter what they tell you the antenna is strictly UHF and VHF period
you are not going to get 4K, digital or HD from an antenna.
People need to seriously stop believing everything they are told and actually take the time to research things stop being lazy.
You do realize there is really no such thing as an HDTV antenna right
No such thing as HD antenna that is just a line used for people to purchase
there is no such thing as HD antenna . another moronic title... a tv antenna does not have "definition" neither high nor low. there is also no such thing as "digital" antenna.
No High Definition; So when most of the Broadcast TV Stations started to broadcast
in 720p & 1080i and moved up to the UHF portion of the Band, we can not call it HD TV?? W.G.
You failed when you said HD antenna.... Do your
homework
No such thing as a HD antenna.
There is no such thing as an HD antenna stop bullshitting people