Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Good reception of most native channels
- Inline amplifier to spice up reception
- Attractive industrial design for indoor use
Cons
- The antenna’s large base provides it a big footprint (the stand might be eliminated should you favor to hold the antenna)
- Poor reception of low-power and distant channels
Our Verdict
The RCA ANTD8E Multi-Directional Amplified TV Antenna delivers good reception of robust native channels, and it has a novel design that received’t look misplaced inside your private home. It’s finest for areas with good or robust native TV indicators.
Price When Reviewed
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Best Pricing Today
Price When Reviewed
$59.99
Best Prices Today: RCA Multi-Directional TV Antenna (mannequin ANTD8E)
The RCA Multi-Directional Amplified indoor TV antenna (mannequin ANTD8E) is an unusual-looking indoor TV antenna that’s finest for areas with robust to good sign reception. Its trendy design—it resembles an upside-down house plate lined in a charcoal-covered woven material—distinguishes it from different indoor antennas. The sign reception it delivers is at the very least on-par with different good indoor antennas we’ve examined.
If you’re on the lookout for straightforward reception of main native channels, and you reside in or close to a metro space, this could possibly be a very good decide. If your private home is in a extra rural location or a far-flung suburb, and also you need to pull in distant stations, you must think about an out of doors antenna you may mount on a mast—or at the very least one you may set up in your attic. Those kinds of antennas will all the time ship a greater sign than any indoor mannequin.
Specifications
The RCA ANTD8E is designed for reception of VHF excessive band and UHF TV stations, that are broadcasting on channels 7 to 36.
Since the change to digital broadcasting, the channel numbers within the names of TV stations usually not match the channels they broadcast on, so examine a web site like Rabbit Ears to see the channels utilized in your space. Click on the “Market Listings” web page to seek out your TV market and have a look at the “physical channel” column.
The RCA ANTD8E indoor TV antenna is agreeable to have a look at, wrapped in a woven material the place most rivals use simply bland plastic.
As its identify suggests, the RCA Multi-Directional TV Antenna comes with a small sign amplifier to help reception. This is constructed right into a small field that may be linked to the antenna cable close to the tv, and it requires USB energy. I linked it to one of many unused USB ports on my tv. Needless to say, your TV will even must have an onboard TV tuner, both ATSC 1.0 or ATSC 3.0 for NextGen TV. The antenna has a 9-foot cable that you simply’ll hook up with the TV tuner’s coaxial enter.
The RCA ANTD8E’s sculpted design and woven material wrapping lend it an interesting visible aptitude.
Martyn Williams/Foundry
Before we go a lot additional, let’s deal with all of the irrelevant slogans you’ll encounter within the antenna’s promoting. The first is its “65-mile range.” As we’ve mentioned earlier than (and as RCA acknowledges in tiny sort on the underside of the field), there are such a lot of components that go into broadcast reception {that a} declare like that is meaningless; so, don’t depend on it.
This assessment is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the best TV antennas.
The field additionally advertises compatibility with NextGen TV, the brand new TV broadcasting format slowly rolling out within the U.S. with the capability to ship content material in 4K and even 8K decision. I’ll allow you to in on a commerce secret: an antenna doesn’t care about broadcasting codecs. If the sign is there, even your 1960s rabbit ears will pull in NextGen TV. The similar goes for 4K and 8K decision, and it’s price noting that such broadcasts don’t even exist at current.
Design
One of the principle variations between the RCA antenna and different indoor antennas–together with the Winegard—is its industrial design. While the Winegard and loads of different antennas are flat or very skinny, RCA makes a bit extra of an announcement. The ANTD8E is formed like a three-dimensional pentagon with six raised panels on its face.
The antenna is wrapped in woven material on the entrance, the place most competing indoor antennas are simply naked plastic. That makes this antenna extra pleasing to have a look at than a lot of the competitors, which could be one thing to contemplate as it will likely be sitting inside your home, ideally close to a window (if its 9-foot cable received’t attain, you might think about extending it with a barrel connector and a second cable if it doesn’t compromise its efficiency).
The antenna sits on a stand that enables a small diploma of motion, or it may be wall mounted utilizing nails or screws.
The RCA ANTD8E might be mounted on a stand or held on a wall. It comes with a hard and fast 9-foot coaxial cable.
Martyn Williams/Foundry
RCA has additionally considered cable administration and there’s a clip close to the bottom of the antenna to maintain the cable tidy and a gap within the base via which it may be fed to make for a neater association than a lot of its rivals.
Performance
So, with all that out of the way in which, how did RCA’s mannequin ANTD8E TV antenna carry out?
One of RCA’s boldest claims is “worry-free antenna placement” because of “360-degree reception.” Antennas often must be oriented in direction of a broadcast transmitter, so it is a daring declare. I often place no matter antenna I’m testing in entrance of a window, going through the course of the transmitter. But I began with this one by putting it on a shelf subsequent to my TV close to the window. It did OK there, however the variety of channels I acquired—and the sign energy of every—elevated after I moved it in entrance of the window.
The antenna comes with an inline sign amplifier that has an built-in 4G/5G/LTE sign filter. You can energy it by plugging it into one among your TV’s USB ports or a USB energy adapter.
Martyn Williams/Foundry
In use, the RCA ANTD8E carried out moderately properly for an indoor TV antenna. It delivered secure, break-up-free reception of a lot of the native high-power TV stations in my space, however a few them did undergo from occasional break up. It wasn’t fixed, however frequent sufficient that it could most likely be annoying if I attempted to look at a present on the affected channel.
Those channels often are available properly, so I in contrast RCA’s providing to the Winegard Flatwave Amped, which is one among our favourite indoor TV antennas, and it carried out about the identical, so it most likely isn’t a problem with the antenna.
The RCA ANTD8E didn’t do properly with any of the native low-power TV stations, and it didn’t handle to tug in any stations from the neighboring market. But that is about what you may count on from an indoor antenna.
Should you purchase an RCA ANTD8E Multi-Directional TV Antenna?
If you’re solely involved with the reception of the native main community associates, and you reside comparatively near their transmitters, this antenna will most likely give you the results you want. Ignore the vary on the field and examine the Rabbit Ears web site to find out what channels you would possibly obtain.
If you’re involved about how an antenna will look in your house, it is a robust candidate for one of many least visibly intrusive.