TERK TECHNOLOGY HD-TVi Indoor HDTV Antenna

Rating:
Summary: Worked with DirecTv HDtv receiver : read how
Review: At first I was frustrated, I thought this would be as simple as pluging it into my box, I was wrong. After I read my digital antenna installation instuctions for my receiver I found out what to do and boom it worked. Now not all the HD channels were perfect but 3 major networks are perfect, not ABC. With my reciever you need to go into menu setup/ installation/ make local in 1 antenna/ then scan. The Terk will find all antenna channels and then you need to add them to your fav guide. Also after scanning it will tell you if the channel is digital or analog. Takes about 30 minutes.

Rating:
Summary: Antenna is worthless
Review: At only 15 miles from a few broadcast stations, I expected this antenna would be functional. I received lock on only one station depending on where I stood in the room, for a few seconds. Then it would go out. The strength meter on my tv peaked at "15", and the minimum strength recommended for digital reception "60".

It sounds like this will work if the broadcast tower is right beside you, in which case I suspect a coat hanger would also work.

Rating:
Summary: Best that I've used...
Review: I am located in an area that has some serious blockage due to trees, so Voom and DirectHD were N/A. I tried out an amplified Philips ant ($25) and also one of the new amplified Samsung HDTV-only units from BestBuy ($100). None of these units matched the reception I gained from this UNAMPLIFIED Terk unit. Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase. I am only able to receive the big 4 networks as I am in a "gray area" for HD (1/2 way between BOS and PVD).

Rating:
Summary: Works pretty well for me
Review: I bought this antenna with some apprehension due to reviews here and elsewhere. My needs were pretty simple...

I have an ExpressVu 6100 HD receiver which has an off-the-air or cable input and a digital tuner section. The receiver can down-convert, which is important as I don't yet have an HDTV monitor but do have an older Sony 27" TV with S-Video input. I live in Rochester, NY, and the local stations broadcasting in HD have towers about 6-7 miles away. There are some buildings in the line of site, but nothing horrendous.

The digital reception I got after I set up the antenna is pretty good. I'm getting anywhere from 70-86% signal strength, and the images seem to be the equal to my satellite SD picture.

A couple of minor problems I encountered were as follows:

First, the routing channel for the RG6 cable is a bit tight, and getting the cable to stay in the channel takes some work. I have a feeling it may pop out anytime I walk by. Minor, but a bit annoying.

Second, after initial setup and success, all of a sudden ALL my tuned channels, whether OTA or satellite gave me no picture. I had to unplug the receiver, wait awhile, and then reboot the receiver. The problem was resolved, 24 hours later everything is still OK, knock on wood. Others who have had problems may have had a defective antenna, but perhaps needed to reboot their tuner/receiver.

Also, some have mentioned that for the price they would expect an amplified unit. This would be a mistake, in my opinion. At this pricepoint, an amplification section would have to be made out of really cheap components. Most amplifiers in this price range create more noise than signal. The best solution is a "straight wire with gain", which is what I think this antenna really is.

Rating:
Summary: Expensive underperforming
Review: I live in an area where three of HDTV broadcast are VHF (channels 2-13) and remaining one is in UHF (channels 14 and higher). I am less than four miles from all the stations but without a direct line-of-sight to the towers. I've tried four different indoor antennas: Terk HDTVi, RatShack budget dipole with loop ($10), RatShack amplified dipole with loop ($40), and a amplified Philips dipole with loop ($25).

All of the antenna were able to pick up at least two channels so my comparison of the antennas is based on their performance with the remaining two channels (4 and 42). The Terk HDTVi antenna was not able to pick up anything. The best was the Philips closely followed by the RatShack budget dipole and then the RatShack amplified.

The Terk HDTVi is an overpriced piece of junk. If you don't believe me, read the posts at avsforum dot com. Do your research. Anyone who has tested a range of indoor antennas will tell you that price and performance are completely uncorrelated.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty disappointed
Review: I live inside the city limits near HD transmitters for both Fox and CBS. But this antenna barely gets either signal. On good days I can watch a football game with a little jumping (like when you watch a DVD with scratches). On a bad day, I don't get any signal. I wish I had spent a little more money on a better product - it would have saved me the aggravation that I suffer with this one.

Rating:
Summary: Poor antenna
Review: I used this reading the hype on the cover of the box at Radio Shack. It picked up just PBS and nothing else. I read elsewhere that the TV5 model from Terk is much better and found one at Circuit City. It picked up 10 stations and although I am still having problems getting them all, at least I am getting Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS.

Dump this and try out the TV5 from Terk.

Rating:
Summary: Works Great With Dish Network
Review: I was aggravated when I found out that Dish Network didn't provide local channels in HD without additional equipment so I took a chance on this antennae with little hope it would work. Much to my surprise (and excitement) it worked like a charm! I now receive CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX in HD, in addition to picking up a few extra more distant "local" channels not offered through my Dish Network service. You simply have the receiver search for all digital off air channels with the antennae plugged in (see your Dish Network receiver manual for instructions on how to do this). It not only found them but also added them to my interactive channel menu for easy tuning. The channels didn't come back called HD. After tuning to them I realized that CBS-1 was HD and CBS-2 was standard. This pattern was consistent with all the channels it found. If you have existing dish service and need your locals in HD, I highly recommend this product.

Rating:
Summary: diappointed
Review: I was getting about 75% signal strength on about 4 local broadcast HD channels, and could not get two at all with my old RCA amlified antena and when I hooked this antena up It dropped me to about 45% on three channels and I could not get the other three.

Rating:
Summary: Consumate piece of crap...
Review: Was really excited at this being better than the Zenith Silver Sensor. Don't let the same design fool you. The "wand" part was very ill fitting and felt like it didn't "connect". I think that was part of the problem.

Sideways, up ways, or slant ways, this doesn't hold a candle to the Silver Sensor. Even the strong stations had diminished signal strength in comparison. It's looks nicer. That's it.

As I understand, this has been discontinued. Sad though, with the dipole VHF antenne combo, it was promising. But this thing is a broken promise.

Wasted my time, money, and return S&H. DON'T BUY IT! Amazon, send them all back!