Top 5 HD Antennas vs Metal Spoon | U Must Have, Model V8, Amplified & Vansky | Which works best?

What do the top 5 best selling indoor HD antennas on Amazon have in common with a metal spoon? More than you might think!

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See our favorite HD antennas here:
https://www.reviews.org/tv-service/be...

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Today we're talking about the top 5 best selling HD antennas on Amazon, in order. We've been talking a lot about streaming services lately, and these fit in nicely if you're looking to cut the cord.

I plugged each of these antennas into the same TV, in the same location, by the same window, at the same time of day- for a true apples to apples comparison. One caveat here- the results we got were based on our location- about 10 miles from the nearest broadcast tower and near a downtown location. Your results may be better or worse depending on where you live.

Just a heads up- the top 2 antennas on Amazon are actually the same, just in different colors! Congrats U Must Have- you must have great SEO practices.

1. U Must Have Amplified Digital Indoor HDTV Antenna- Ultra Black- https://amzn.to/2VY1lfU
Comes in at a price of $27.96 on Amazon and got us 51 channels. When we opened this antenna after it arrived, the USB plug was broken. Be wary of flimsy construction on the plug!


2. U Must Have Amplified Digital Indoor HDTV Antenna- White- https://amzn.to/2YqAaIh
Same price as the Ultra Black model, $27.96 and performed the exact same. We didn't see any issues with poor construction on this model.

On both of these you'll get pretty great picture quality. I was pretty impressed with these (other than poor construction).

3. Digital HDTV Antenna (Model V8) tabletop unit- https://amzn.to/2HedIMA
You can also find it by its picture since its so different. The plastic feels cheap on this one, but I do love the matte black finish. You also get a built-in amplifier with the Model V8 that you can adjust between short-or-long-range. Don't assume long-range will be better, it could actually distort your amplifier if you're close to a broadcast tower. This antenna retails for $39.99 on Amazon, and got us 44 channels in short-range mode, and 50 channels in long-range mode. You'll want to play around with the amplifier a little to see what gets you the most channels.

4.1 by One Amplified Digital Indoor HDTV Antenna- https://amzn.to/30doIkE
This one was probably the most disappointing! Nothing special here. It has a built-in amplifier, but there's no switch to change between short-and-long range. This could cause a problem for some of you, depending on your location. We paid $22.99 and got 42 channels with the 1 by One. This is the lowest channel count so far, but you also pay less.

5. Vansky Digital HDTV Antenna (#1 in my heart!)- https://amzn.to/2YmY7jk
This one has the same price tag as the 1 by One ($22.99), but you're getting a little bit more for that price. Nothing different aesthetically here, but you do get a 20-foot coaxal cable- you can decide if that's good or not!
We got 57 channels with the Vansky! If you're keeping track, that's more than any of the previous four best sellers. The Vansky had the best performance as far as channel count and picture quality.

Now the question is... how do these all stack up against a DIY metal spoon antenna? It was shocking to me! I took 60 seconds and grabbed anything metal I could find in my desk- and found a spoon, allen wrench, a headphone jack and a paperclip. Taped all this together and hung it in the coax jack in the back of the TV. AND I GOT 39 CHANNELS, just with this thing!

So is it worth it to buy any of the top 5 antennas on Amazon? They'd be more reliable (and you don't have to give up a spoon from your kitchen)! You'll get better performance from an antenna, but if you want a little hack just to get a few channels for free, the spoon wasn't a bad option.

When I took the spoon out of the coax jack, we got 0 channels, so it definitely worked! How about that?

What's your favorite hack to get around using an antenna?