• 1byOne Indoor Amplified HDTV Antenna: The 1byOne is one of two antennas in this list with a nonremovable coax cable, and at only 10 feet long, it may not work in some rooms where it cannot pick up a very weak signal. The black plastic feels a little cheap compared with the others, though the HD antenna model does come with a powered gain amplifier. It was toward the bottom of the pack in terms of signal performance, but this indoor HDTV antenna was the only television antenna to pick up CBS from a TV tower at our Manhattan location (see below for details). It is a long-range antenna that receives TV signals up to 200 miles. The current price is cheaper than the others, but in our book the Channel Master Flatenna is the better bet. 
• U Must Have Amplified HD Digital TV Antenna: The U Must Have amplified antenna comes with a sticky pad on the back and a relatively long, though nonremovable, lead at 18 feet. The included amplifier gives the antenna some flexibility and the product feels more solidly made overall than the 1byOne, though they performed similarly.

How we test TV antennas

We tested seven different indoor antennas with prices ranging from $10 to $90 (all much less than the most basic cable TV). The best TV antennas were able to pull in more channels than the others and delivered stronger, clearer TV signals, even on “problem” channels. Here are the seven TV antennas we originally looked at:

• Channel Master Flatenna 35 ($20)
• AmazonBasics Ultra Thin Indoor TV Antenna ($20, discontinued)
• 1byOne Upgraded Digital Amplified Indoor HD TV Antenna ($21)
• Antennas Direct ClearStream Eclipse ($45)
• Mohu ReLeaf ($30, discontinued)
• Channel Master Smartenna Plus ($49, discontinued)
• U Must Have Amplified High Definition Digital TV Antenna ($29)

Much like real estate, how well a TV antenna works is based on location, location and location.

We tested the antennas in two main locations: in midtown Manhattan just a half-mile from the broadcast antennas on the Empire State Building — albeit obscured by other buildings — and in suburban New Jersey, 9 miles from the closest broadcast towers. Depending on your location, you might receive broadcasts from multiple antennas. Hills or large buildings in the way will have an effect on frequency range and reception of TV channels.

We situated each antenna in the same spot and connected it to the Channel Master DVR Plus, which gives signal strength data as well as a total channel count. We used two different metrics to determine which TV antenna performed best. The first was a raw measure of the number of channels it could detect, while the second involved a number of predetermined “problem channels.” For these, we consulted a list of channels culled from various forums, for both testing areas, and gauged how well the antennas pulled in each channel.

TV Antenna FAQs

The main difference between a television and a monitor is that a TV has an OTA tuner onboard, even if most people never use it. The advent of smart TV means that cord-cutters can now connect directly to the internet and get on-demand streaming, as well as live TV. Streaming usually costs a subscription fee, while an antenna can receive free signals and without an internet connection. While you don’t need an antenna to use smart TV, the two do complement each other very well.

Do indoor antennas really work?

ATSC 3.0, also known as NextGen TV, is the next evolution of OTA broadcasts, and it promises higher resolutions, enhanced audio and interactivity. While these NextGen TV features are still a ways off — in 2023 the service is in the process of rolling out — the good news is that it’s designed to be backwards compatible with the existing ATSC. So yes, your existing antenna will still work, though you will need an ATSC 3.0 compatible tuner or TV, and an active internet connection for any interactive or on-demand features.

How do you install an indoor antenna?

More cord-cutter recommendations

!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘set’, ‘autoConfig’, false, ‘789754228632403’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘789754228632403’);

Xem chi tiết và đăng kýXem chi tiết và đăng ký