Indoor TV Antennas Compared: Cheap vs Expensive 

Great video! Thanks for actually testing out these antennas. I can't stand when websites (or RU-vidrs) claim certain antennas are the best with no data to back it up.

Thanks! You mentioned that a signal amplifier can cause worse reception. I live 26 miles from my tv broadcast tower. By unplugging the amplifier I went from 34 stations to 72 and the quality of the picture improved immensely!

Remember those monster cable ads, where they tried to convince you that you needed their $200 hdmi cables, rather than the regular $6 ones?

Your reaction to the antenna falling from the window was priceless! Perfect timing! I laughed out loud!! Keep up the good work buddy.

Why did I spend 20 mins watching this, I don't Even need an antenna

You shouldn’t use the amplifier to scan for channels, but you can use it once the scan is complete to boost the signal. That will increase your “usable channels” metric. Good video.

15:57 the movie is called "Solarbabies" and it's from 1986. Classic cheesy 80s movie.

Great review James! I really got a kick out of the interaction between you 3 when watching all the channels. Funny stuff, lol.

I heard james got married to a antenna installer, the wedding was average, but the reception was excellent !

It's awesome seeing a family doing stuff together and enjoying each other's company. No to mention the good info/review. Job well done guys! ^_^

We have used the amplified antenna from amazon. The antenna was placed directly behind the TV so to keep it hidden and not in a window. Without the amplifier it did not work well, but with it on we were able to pickup all of the local channels with excellent clarity. Very satisfied.

You work your butt off on these reviews. Lots of time and effort. Good job!

This was such a pleasure to watch. Your kids are great. This was so fun to and giggle along with you and your family! Thanks, James! And Noah and Brandon!!

First time watching your channel. Really enjoyed the dialogue between you and the kids. Good content

Nice video. I had the same experience with amplified attenaes and those plug in amplifiers. They made reception worse. Went through about 8 attenaes. The flat ones do need a window otherwise they are crap. I wasnt going to relocate my tv by a window. The only attenae that actually worked very well in my situation was the Clearstream 2 max indoor outdoor attenae. Its rather big and its $70 but it works. The higher the better. Using it inside gives me 36 channels and the one in the attic 48. The flat ones gave me 5 to 7 channels. Rabbit ear type just as bad. It's all about where you can mount it in your tv space.

Hi James, I just wanted to say you and your daughter pair so well together in videos she has such a great personality and your humor is always welcome.

Hey that movie was Solar Babies....from 1986 Jamie Gertz,Jason Patric,Lukas Haas,Peter DeLuise (yes Dom's son)

The dessert Tron movie is called "Solarbabies" from 1986. It's freaky weird, you should watch it as a family to show your kids what the 80's were like.

The Star Trek episode was "Balance of Terror" with Mark Leonard who later became Spocks father in next generation. Great episode.

I've been cable free since 2010, and I have both a rooftop OTA antenna for the main living room TV, and a powered indoor one similar to the Amazon one you guys tested for a bedroom TV (I wasn't able to connect it to my main rooftop antenna for various reasons). My rooftop antenna (which is an un-powered Channel Master 4221) kills it when it comes to the amount of channels in can pick up, but then again, it doesn't have to deal with thick walls, and it's pointed in the general direction of TV transmission towers I wanted to catch. It's also placed high on the roof, which is at least 15' higher than the inside powered antenna. In the OTA (over the air) TV channel world, height and line of sight is your friend.

My antenna works better on the wall, not in a window. That's the best place to get the clearest reception here. Also we looked up where most of the stations near us broadcast from and tried pointing it in the direction of those signals using our phone compass, but that actually wasn't overly helpful. It was mostly trial and error to figure out the best spot in the room.

I only get 18 channels in my backwood area. But luckily one of them plays that 70s show every night from beginning to end then it starts over

The movie is "Solarbabies"! I didn't have many channels growing up and this was in the approved movie list for the house.

We have a cheap flat (indoor) antenna similar to the larger one mounted on the outside of our house with push pins and hooked up to our old coax cable line into the house that feeds all 5 of our TV’s with crystal clear pictures on each tv! One cheap antenna = 5 TV’s 👍🏼

I have a set of 1977 rabbit ears sitting on a 5 foot pole outside my house about 40 miles north of Minneapolis. It powers 2 TVs and gets 34 channels. Good enough for me.

Next comparison video should be package openers.

Another great review, thank you. Loved the interaction between all of you, so fun to watch.

When you said “twins” I for some reason thought you had brothers that looked like you. I’m disappointed. Lol

James always love your reviews, and love the fact your good family life spills into the videos . Keep up the good work good sir

Great review just have to comment I'm in Las Vegas, I'm using a set of .99 cents rabbit ears, indoors I was getting 67 channels, I then just set it outside, on top off my roof laying down, and it picks up 100 channels, and my TV has TV plus on it, connected to WiFi it gives me 110 channels so I have 210 free channels to watch

Even though others have said it, I'll say it again, sound levels come from the studios level it was recorded at. Not your antennas quality.

Oh Lord 😂, the $3 antenna hanged with the UMH antenna so closely while Clear TV is clearly not what's advertised. IMO, the $3 antenna is the winner for bargain hunters.

This was pretty interesting. Of course, as they say, "your results may vary". I live in a suburb of Oklahoma City. We have cable TV, but when a construction crew cut the cable to our house, I hooked up the old antenna that was still in the attic. I got WAY more channels than I expected. I think it was something like 33 to 35 channels, with about 28 or so of those watchable. I had no idea we even had that many broadcast TV channels in this area. Of course about 6-8 of those were full-time advertising channels. Now I have never tried an indoor antenna. For one thing, there are NO windows near the TV that face the direction of the broadcast antennas in our area. Second, there is a large 2-story house directly behind our house that would tend to somewhat attenuate those UHF signals. However, I'm pretty sure a good indoor antenna would still pick up at least the 5-6 major stations in the area with acceptable quality. The thing that shocked me the most about your review was that the results with the higher-priced antenna were WORSE with the amplifier. What's up with that? That says to me the their amplifier is trash. A good amplifier should ALWAYS improve the reception on weaker channels. If not properly designed, it might cause stronger channels to be "over driven" (signal too strong), but really good antenna design would prevent that. So, very interesting.

Something to keep in mind regarding the more expensive amplified antenna - Just as a television signal may be unusable because the signal is too weak, so, too, can a television signal be unusable if it is too strong. I don't know how close you are to the TV transmitters in your area, but it is possible that some of the signals were overboosted by the amplified antenna. Consider re-testing the most expensive antenna without the amplifier installed. You might receive more usable signals that way, maybe not. But it would be worth testing to find out.

That was fun! I've got to disconnect from cable - we are paying about $100 for the channels and HBO. And we don't watch much tv! Thanks for this!

Hi James, I use to work for a big TV company (Zenith Electronics) from 1984 to 1992, but every since I was born I've helped my Dad in his TV & VCR repair shop. So I've used about every antenna out there. The best ones that we used in the repair shop was just straight rabbit ears that use to come w/every TV sold. It's just a shame we have to buy an antenna these days. Still to this day I use rabbit ears on every TV I have. Around 7 including the camper. There the type that sets on the TV. Nothing fancy @ all. Good video. Thanks to you & the twins, Chris from Missouri

Do I need an antenna? No. Do I need a watermelon slicer? No. But I will watch every video you post. 💙

I love your family participating! Keep up the great work! 😁God bless y'all!❤

Hi James... I just love your reviews!! You've got class, dude. 🤗 ★My Experience: I personally have tried 3 different antennas on my lil flat screen TV (not a smart TV BTW), and my results are as follows: 1. Paid $30 @ Fam Dollar for a black, flat, hard plastic antenna that sits on a countertop surface... Claims to bring nice quality tuning to all broadcast channels. • Horrible picture quality on most of my 69 channels with broken pixels everywhere. Always having to readjust the placement. 😫 2. Standard Rabbit Ears antenna from Goodwill for $10... •Not so good; had to constantly go & adjust ears & placement for many different channels! One channel is good, the next NO SIGNAL, the next Broken Pixels... No fun. 😵 3. The $3 Flat Antenna from 99¢ Only Store... •The suction cup DOES SUCK! Doesn't stay where you stick it... JUST LIKE YOURS! *However; I was able to lay it wherever, its small & flat, & it literally gives me clear channels on all 69 channels I get {In the other desert 🌵🌴... Phx}. 😉 So in this case, for me, the cheapest was the BEST. The $3 !! 💜 BTW, Fam Dollar will not refund for their electronics, even with receipt... I boycott places like this. Bad mgmt. Who treats their customers like that?! Family Dollar does... → So I have 2 extra antennas ($40) on standby I'll prolly never use! ••• Hope this review helps others! 😘 Understanding, of course, that everyone has variables to consider...

Over the last ten years, we've tried at least 4 digital antennas. We've struggled with all of them. Even though most of the stations in the area are 15 to 25 miles away to the southeast, the window closest to our TV faces southwest, so we have difficulty pointing the antenna in the best direction. For our location, we must use the amplifier and we need to relocate the antenna for half the stations we watch. Sometimes we lose what seemed to be a strong signal in the middle of a program (especially when it's windy outside) and need to relocate the antenna to watch the remainder of the show.

James your so cool. Thank you for these videos. I love getting your notifications. I hope you never run out of products to review.

I was actually looking to get one of these. Thank you for the freakin' review!

I love the interaction between your kids; it's so fluid and natural. I hope they show up more often!

I noticed, the Shopping Channels, always come through clearly.. Bc they want you to, "BUY STUFF".. Yes I have, and since I hardly watch Television, the channels: NBC 4, ABC, CourtTV, PIX 11, Old Classics TV, Bravo, Grit, ION, COZI TV, AntennaTV, and my favorite was New Detective.. Also different versions of channel 2, 2.1, 2.3.. It wasn't bad, like I said for someone who didn't watch much television.. Some times your best signals were not near the windows, but against some walls for me..😂😁🤣 Thank you for the laughs, this was fun!

When the US abandoned analog TV, I made an antenna out of a wire coat hanger as well as ordered a $50 antenna. They both gave me the same signal strengths. Elevating and orientating the antenna makes a bigger difference so get an antenna with a long cord and preferably some kind of wall mount that still allows you to tilt the antenna rather than just lie flat on the wall, that is not just a sticky strip or picture hanger.

You and your kids should start a channel where you rip on bad movies.🤣

The "Desert version of Tron" is actually a movie called Solar Babies. I grew up watching that movie. Definitely brings back memories. Great review as always.

With digital TV: The picture is either breaking up or it's not. There is no subjective quality.

Enjoy this video and your ratings. I have a ClearStream 2Max (UHF-VHF elements) and use it indoors-also use an amplifier. Being in the Chicago area I get 58 channels. Reception WILL VARY depending on weather and windy days. Antenna is aimed out the patio window towards Chicago and is on a movable cart to adjust how OTA antenna is aimed (makes a reception difference sometimes). Allot of the time, all the channels come in great and then on bad weather days, certain channel bands either pixelate or off completely. All in all though, I like the Clearstream Antenna. This could be used as an outdoor antenna, but chose to use in indoors. No matter which indoor antenna you use, just keeping it in one aimed position all the time does not work. you will have to re-position the antenna to get certain channels locked in. Also depends on if any structures are blocking your antenna receptions. Certain Amplifiers do work to boost the weaker channel signals, at least mine worked good. TV ad antennas that claim 4k channel reception is a bunch of nonsense. All TV channels now are all digital reception, not 4k. Thanks for your video and take care.

For each antenna, you should've scanned two or three times towards different directions each scan. Each scan, for that particular antenna would have given you a higher or lower number of channels. I did that (scanned four times, four different directions) on an RCA amplified antenna, and got four different number of channels each time. Total number of channels I got first was 57. Then, 49. Third time, 81. Last fourth direction placement got 78 total number of channels. So, I placed the antenna again towards the direction I get 81 channels. Several of those channels are blank. There's no broadcasting signal at all, but the "call letters" are there. Also, some garbage channels too. By-the-way, it was a $20.00 antenna! Think it was a sale price.

Your reviews are always so entertaining, hope you keep doing them.

Your attention to detail and the depths you go to , to provide honest and accurate reviews is godlike

You should compare to a wire bent coat hanger too 😆

I am glad you adjust the amount of channels. For me I would rather have no channel than to have a channel that freezes or fuzzies up even if it just lasts a second and only happens a few times. It would drive me nuts because I have to hear and see everything from beginning to end when I’m watching something. Thanks for the reviews. I think I live too far from the city to get any channels.

I have an indoor digital antenna (Clear TV) I bought from Walgreens for around $20. It occasionally glitches on some channels, but it beats having a cable bill by a long run.

the frank Sinatra movie was "Suddenly" great movie on a assassination attempt on the president. and awesome team review . best of luck sir. side note the second Duke movie was " McLintock"

That was Solarbabies. Dystopian future movie with competitive rollerblading.

A $27 antenna isn't expensive for an antenna. A quick look at indoor antennas on Amazon shows $27 to be quite low. It's also important to remember that the amplifier shouldn't be used for stations that have a strong signal. It will actually have the opposite effect and cause a poor signal. It's best to use an antenna with an amplifier that's easily turned off or unplugged as you switch between towers of varying distances. Also, when placing an antenna I suggest Googling "over the air antenna direction". There are several sites that use your location to show the directions of the local towers for each station. It's not uncommon for local channels to have towers in one direction while others will be in the opposite direction. I live in the city limits of St. Louis, but I have city channels that actually broadcast from outside the city to the south and to the north. Don't forget that different types of antennas, for example multi-directional "leaf" antennas vs directional antennas require different placement and orientation. No matter what type is used don't be surprised if you have to play around with height and direction before finding the sweet spot.

The best unspoken review here is the one that shows how well you've raised your kids! Well done, great dad in = great kids out.

digital either works or doesnt work. if it doesnt work there will be tearing and anomalies if it isnt 100%. the picture and sound will always be the same, unlike analog signals

I tried a lot of em from $60 to a Walmart GE $10 one. Guess which one was the best. Yup, you guessed it the GE Walmart won out. All the other expensive ones were retuned.

I always watched forensic files before sleeping. Dunno why I stopped

I love James’s energy when he’s with his kids

Interesting as I've also tried similar flat indoor antenna. I found that quite small adjustments to the position and orientation of the antenna would produce dramatic changes in the signal strength and therefore the number of channels found when rescanned. The positioning of the antenna for Digital TV is more difficult than Analogue TV as you really have to rescan to know if one position is better or worst unless you use a Signal Meter to find best position before rescanning for channels. Fortunately, you should find in the TV settings a signal strength indicator and using this on one or two of the weaker channels should help get the best performance from any of theses test antenna. The poor performance of the Clear TV antenna could be down to the variability of the fine adjustment of the "rabbit ears" which for the reasons above would be really difficult to get right. Comments on the sound levels in the tests is unfortunately quite erroneous as the signal strength and performance of the antenna will affect the signal to noise ratio and hence error rate which shows up as broken up and blocky picture along with sound dropping in and out but NOT the sound level. Sound level is set by the broadcaster and adverts are generally set at a higher level (volume) than the shows they are inserted into so as to grab attention.

Cable producing crap like reality tv have me going back to watch free TV. Saves money.

Here in the middle of nowhere (AZ) we get 38 usable channels using just a rabbit ear antenna, which I'm delighted with. No complaints.

I'd like to see the Original ClearTV go up against the new and improved to see if it's really "improved" in comparison, when tested "scientifically" ;) Fantastic (family inclusive) review, as always~! :)

You did a fine job. I'm glad you didn't fall for the advertisements of HD or Digital antenna that everybody seems to use when searching for an antenna. Those things don't mean anything when it comes to antennas as you are picking up frequencies on three bands, which is probably why each antenna provided different results. The three bands are VHF, High VHF and UHF - just like the old days before cable. One thing to note, what the frequency a TV station broadcasts on may be different than what it shows on your TV. To pickup VHF you need longer antenna elements while UHF needs shorter elements. There are usually more channels broadcasting in UHF, that's why I think the Clear TV did so poorly. I think it's only picking up VHF better because it doesn't have shorter elements. The $3 antenna seems to pick up the UHF channels really well and probably has the shortest elements. The "must have" probably has the most long and short elements and that is why it picks up a few more over the $3 antenna. Another thing people should not fall for is when they advertise that they can pick up stations from 150 miles away. It would be impossible to do so because of the curvature of the earth. Most people would be limited to about 70 miles max. For anybody interested in seeing other reviews of antennas, check out the antenna Man on RU-vid. He is extremely knowledgeable and he is the reason why I know what I just said.

love your children seem like fun and well brought up also really like Noah's hair really great video

I just bought an antenna I needed this video like a week ago lol

What a wonderful family. A family that laughs together....stays together.

Yeah, you should review the litter box! 😸

I think your review and comparisons were very accurate. I have a 12" x 12" RCA (UMH similar) antenna on one TV and an old fashion rabbit ears on the other. The rabbit ears are the winner.

Forensic Files is like a lullaby to me. Peter Thomas' voice was so soothing. :)

Doing this test in a small media market (say, Alpena, MI and being 50 miles from the stations) it'll be a more fair comparison for the chap vs expensive.

16:00 Solarbabies (1986)

These reviews are awesome! Love your channel and especially this video because it's super fun too just watch you and your kids make fun off stuff on TV

First of all I'd like to thank you for this whole review piece in general, because in beginning to investigate all of this stuff within the last week (my cable bill had finally become untenable) my initial assumption was getting an HD antenna would be a much more expensive part of the process. It was from watching this that I decided getting like a $12 one from Amazon (as opposed to 50 or more) was well worth a try. But one question I have -- is it supposed to matter which SIDE of the antenna is used? The one I got has no plastic mount device, it's meant to just stick with adhesives onto the window, but I wasn't sure if there's a right and wrong answer on which side I literally attach it to the window. The only difference at all between the two sides (the whole thing is extremely thin and plain/full black) is the little plastic part at the bottom out of which the cord comes from has the "Antan" logo (the version I wound up choosing) printed on it, the other side has nothing. I wasn't sure if the product logo is meant to be facing toward outside or at me inside. thank you!

I live in a rural area with the closest broadcast station over 50 miles away and I ran similar tests on 8 (so far) of these antennas ranging from $9.95 to $149.00 my results were much the same. I did notice that after the first test run my expectations were lower and I started giving higher numbers to similar performances on the later reviewed antennas.

Some TVs have a signal strength meter. This can be helpful when adjusting an antenna for best reception.

Can I just say, Noah's hair is AMAZING!

I just purchased the clear tv. But I’ve found that moving the rabbit ears and placing it higher had a significant different result

Trippy, insightful and keeps the family together! Good review....Kudos !

I’m gonna try to be brief. There are two other major factors here that must be taken into account. This a BASIC reason for the results you got. 1. Transmitter power. Some stations may only put out 5,000 watts. Others transmit 1,000,000 or more. This makes a massive difference in the quality of reception. It’s like you can see a brighter flashlight from farther away. 2. Transmitting frequency. It used to be, say channel 5 transmitted on channel 5. You have three bands: Lo-VHF, ch 2-6. In this range, you need a wide antenna to pick up that huge radio wave. (As frequency goes up, the narrower the antenna needed) Next is the entire FM radio band. We now get to the Hi-VHF BAND. Ch 7-13. Higher frequency a bit, so smaller antenna needed. Next up is the UHF channels. In the old day, that was for Ch 14-83. The FCC killed those channels above ch 51. So what? Nearly 90% of the tv stations were moved to the UHF (channels). Why, so people can use a smaller antenna to pick them up. The FCC sold off many of the low and high channels so they could be used for other communications. These small antennas are going to suck at receiving the the VHF Hi and Lo bands. That showed up precisely in the results. The small “mousepad” antenna has so much area to present to the transmitted signal. The seen on tv only presents the area of those skinny rods to the signal. Result, worse reception. The big “mousepad” presented the largest surface of all. Good results and they will be noticeably better during bad weather. So what do you need? Many Home Owners Associations restrict the size of the antenna you can use. The entire antenna must fit within a 1 meter circle. That’s why satellite antennas are small today, higher frequencies. They used to be 10-12 feet across. Considering your location and ability to see the transmitters, I can recommend a compact antenna that will blow those away. RCA ANT-751 It will pick up Hi-VHF and UHF signals with ease . I’ve installed tons of them. Finally, how do you know what frequencies are being used in your area? Simple, go to www.tvfool.com. Type in your address and all local stations will be listed from most likely to receive to worst. The old channel, is listed as the Virtual channel. The new frequency will be listed as real. It even shows you what direction the transmitter is from you. With your transmitters clustered together. Aim for the middle direction. I write this so you can take into account these important factors. Sorry so long

While youve been reviewing products, I've been reviewing you, and so far 10/10

Next you should use a cable splitter and hook em all up together and see if they work better

I actually put Forensic Files on Netflix specifically for naps.

The TV antenna reviews with your children was fun to watch. 👍 I bought a $30 G.E. amplified TV anttena from walmart , it pulls in about 60 channels when the weather is good. Added Netflix, Hulu & Brit Box , this better than paying for cable or satellite tv services.

Two aerials got married. The reception was excellent 😀

The movie you guys were laughing at(modern day bladerunner) that movie was called solar babies. About a group of kids that find an alien orb in a dystopian future. Great flick

“Use Proactiv and you’ll have roast beef face!” 😂

You guys gave way too much credit to clear TV

80s kid, reminds me of the good ol days rabbit ears, aluminum foil, and stand on the side of the the tv with one arm up and don't move.

I get by fine with a piece of wire. Longer is better. Start at the cable (threaded) "F" connection on the back of the set and push it in the hole. If it falls out of the connector, just fold the end over to make it thicker. String it high, say, along the top of a curtain rod. If you string it around a corner, you double the directions it can pick up signals. Doesn't have to be heavy-duty, just has to be wire. The technical term for this is an unbalanced end fed monople antenna. Ham radio operators and SWL's (short-wave listeners) use them all the time. Thanks much for your painstaking work.

You should have readjusted the rabbit ears on the Cleartv to see if reception improved. That my only gripe with this video. Other then that, 👍

You really need to go side by side. Things can actually change your picture quite quickly such as atmospherics

The Balance of Terror, my favorite ST episode!

Some things to consider. #1) take the easy way first. Buy a $10 -$20 plastic, indoor, 8 in by 10inch appx sheet antenna. Set TV menu to antenna Run a channel scan and see what you get. #2) Every wall that the TV Signal passes thru cuts the signal by about half. Brick cuts signal more. #3) In the window, an aluminum screen cuts the signal noticeably. #3) Amplifiers can be helpful or harmful. It is hard to make a good amplifier for $10.Things are complex, example FM stations broadcast at the bottom of the VHF High frequencies so a lot FM stations near you can overload a cheap amplifier. #4) The TV Fool website will produce a map and you see how to best aim the antenna. #5) If you need VHF high in addition to UHF that will affect your choice of antenna. #6) A small outdoor antenna can be used indoors without a problem. I have several antennas. I have cheap ones and one that was imported from Italy and is mounted under my deck.

I live in the valley in Connecticut I have gone through just about every antennas there is I get four channels - TV scan at least 10 channels but I only get for the others says no signal. I wish TV antenna people would be more honest honest in their advertising . Most TV antennas will not work will not work well if you live in Valley and you and mountain should I blocking the transmission and the signal. I enjoy my four channels I refuse to hook up to cable and pay for 200 channels where 150 is just junk 😑 Thank you for making and sharing this video it was very informative I really enjoyed watching it.

The best option I think? Just watch RU-vid. Can't pick up Freakin' Reviews on an antenna (not yet, at least).