HDTV Antenna Review

A digital antenna acts as an arm for your house – it can reach out and grab signals that would otherwise be too weak or far away to reach your home. With an HDTV antenna on top of your house or hidden in your attic, you can access the wonderful world of high-definition television.

Besides a vividly enhanced picture, antennas can strengthen signals from local (or not-so local) radio stations in your home. Many HDTV antenna customers also report saving hundreds of dollars per year after canceling their cable subscriptions because of the upturn of channel quality and quantity. TopTenREVIEWS provides the best HDTV antenna comparisons and reviews to help you find the perfect antenna.

Buying the right HDTV antenna can be very difficult if you don’t know what’s best for you. There are many variables to consider when shopping for outdoor digital antennas, such as the environment you live in, distance from your local stations, which channels you want to receive and so forth. Our top pick is RCA's ANT751, which is a great antenna that suits most living situations. However, someone who lives in the middle of New York City might want consider a multi-directional antenna such as RCA’s ANT800, while someone who lives in a suburban area 50 miles from Denver will require a larger, uni-directional model such as Channel Master's CM-3020 Deep Fringe Advantage. For additional information, check out our other helpful articles on HDTV antennas.

HDTV Antennas: What to Look For

As previously mentioned, the only challenge you have when looking for a digital antenna is finding the right one for your living situation. Luckily, TopTenREVIEWS has done all the research in order to find the best HDTV antennas for every environment. Here are some factors to consider before buying your digital antenna:

Signal Pickup Quality
There’s no point in having an HDTV antenna if it has problems getting a high-definition signal. HDTV is broadcast on one of two frequencies: VHF (Very High Frequency) or UHF (Ultra High Frequency) Most HDTV broadcasts are in UHF, so it’s best to choose an antenna that receives UHF, though many digital antennas can receive both frequencies.

Signal Pickup Range
In terms of pickup range, there are two types of HDTV antennas. While directional antennas point in one direction and secure signals at a greater distance, multi-directional antennas pick up signals in all directions, but often have poorer reception and interference problems. Most quality outdoor HDTV antennas have a pickup distance of 30+ miles, though few exceed a distance of 65 miles. It is important to consider the terrain between your house and broadcasting stations, whether it is city buildings, mountains or flat land.

Ease of Use
When your new antenna arrives at your doorstep, it will likely be a pile of metal rods in a box that you will have the pleasure of assembling. We rate antennas based on manual setup instructions as well as other features such as rotaries and free cables.

Help & Support
You can never know how well an HDTV antenna will work in your area until you try it. In case an antenna does not receive a good signal in your neighborhood, be sure to purchase from a vendor with a no-hassle return policy and reasonable warranty.

At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don’t Have To. ™