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 enlarge | Brand: Terk
Category: CE
List Price: $60.30
Buy New: $29.99
You Save: $30.31 (50%)
New (34) from $29.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  523 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 6
Dimensions (in): 15 x 4 x 13
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: HDTVA
Model: HDTVA
UPC: 034405002222
EAN: 0034405002222
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
It Works! October 21, 2006
23 out of 23 found this review helpful
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... October 5, 2006
20 out of 22 found this review helpful
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 February 19, 2007
18 out of 34 found this review helpful
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 March 8, 2006
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
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 October 2, 2007
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
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.
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