Customer Reviews

Antennas Direct PF7 Picture Frame HDTV Antenna

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I bought this with very low expectations for our 19" kitchen LCD television. We had been using a Terk HDTVa but that was too large and just did not work that well anywhere in our kitchen. (It works great now that we moved it in our home theater room) Enter the lowly HDtv Picture Frame Antenna. I put it on the wall facing the direction of my towers and presto, all the local stations tuned right in! It really works amazingly well.

One other important thing to note is that the included wooden frame is only average in quality. However, the antenna part of the frame (the back part) is completely removable and fits nicely into most 8x10 frames. So basically, you can customize it very easily to fit any room if the plain brown frame included does not match your style. I have mine in a wide silver and blue frame and it looks great.

I recently ordered (from Amazon) an HDTV for my mom and, since she doesn't subscribe to cable, direct-tv, etc., an antenna recommended by a friend (the Antennas Direct DB2 Multi Directional HDTV Antenna). After visiting Antennas Direct website, I discovered this antenna (Antennas Direct PF7 Picture Frame HDTV Antenna) and read the reviews available here, so I decided to also order this and see which one provided the best picture.

The HDTV and both antennas arrived today. Knowing that my mom would rather have her antenna be disguised as a picture frame, I opened up this antenna first. She lives on the North Western edge of Fort Worth. The DFW metroplex antenna towers are located in Cedar Hill, about 30+ miles away as the crow flies. Despite the positive reviews, my expectations were low, because earlier research I had done indicated that it was going to be difficult to pick up signals so far away with just an indoor antenna.

This antenna, on the first try, picked up every digital signal available and all at excellent strengths and without an antenna amplifier. I even added a 12' coax cable to the supplied 6' cable which somewhat weakens the signal strength before it reaches the HDTV, but that didn't make any difference. Also, the signal quality and strengths didn't vary too much with the placement and orientation of the antenna.

The analog channels in the lower VHF band looked terrible, but who cares, because they are going away and who would watch the analog channel when the digital channel is available? I never even had to open the DB2 box.

I would give this product 5-1/2 stars if allowed, but I'll have to settle for just 5.

I was hesitant to get this. I was doubting how well it works as an antenna. It may look nice but does it work? Finally took a chance and it does work. You have to play with the location to see where is the best spot to get receptions for all your local digital channels. It took about 10 minutes before I got the perfect location. The frame quality itself is decent. Nothing fancy but better looking then your typical antenna. Antenna cables hangs out though, unless if you route the cable inside your wall somehow.

Before buying the Antennas Direct PF7 picture frame antenna, I had owned the Terk HDTVa, Winegard SS-3000, and Philips MANT510. Of these four antennae, the Terk got the best reception for me, but its awkward shape didn't fit anywhere in my small apartment. I bought the Winegard and Philips antennae in hopes that their unique shapes would let them fit better in my home theater. Unfortunately, they didn't get very good reception unless I precariously balanced them in odd locations.

Finally, I discovered the Antennas Direct PF7 and it's ALMOST perfect. Unlike my three previous antennae, the PF7 does not have its own amplifier. However, because of its unique design, I'm able to mount it on a north-facing wall so it gets me almost as good of reception as the previous three amplified antennae. I believe that if I just buy a third-party amplifier, I'll get perfect reception with this thing.

The cherry wood frame looks great from a distance, but it's just made of particle board material and it feels a little flimsy. Fortunately, the actual antenna is the picture frame backing, which is held on by four pivoting pins located on the wooden frame. Most picture frames share this design so you can probably find another 8x10 frame that suits your decor and just swap the cardboard back for the PF7 antenna.

The mounting hole is a protruding plastic piece that sticks out of the back of the antenna plate. This is different than most picture frames which have the mount attached to the frame. The mount sticks out a bit to allow room for the permanently attached coaxial cable to dangle down behind the antenna. This means that the picture frame can't be mounted flush against your wall, but it's really not that noticeable.


Pros:
- Amazing reception for an unamplified antenna. It almost matches the performance of my Terk, Philips, and Winegard antennae.
- Looks great mounted above my HDTV.
- The wooden frame can be replaced with any standard 8x10 picture frame that uses pivoting pins to hold the frame backing in place.


Cons:
- The coaxial cable is permanently attached to the antenna.
- Because of the thick coaxial cable, the picture frame cannot mount flush against the wall, but it's not that noticeable.
- The wooden frame could be a little higher quality, but it's really not bad.


Overall, I'm extremely happy with this purchase because it provides an ingenious and elegant alternative to having a giant HDTV antenna in my living room. My only other complaint isn't really against the PF7. I just wish Antennas Direct offered a larger, more powerful version! A 16x10 picture frame antenna would be awesome.

This antenna works great - and looks good too. I'm located around 10 miles from the transmission sources and get a very strong signal. Plus - no ugly antenna in my family room.

I ordered three of thesse hoping to avoid using a cable box on some extra tv's. The price was good and they arrived promptly. But, that's where it all ended. The construction is cheap. The frame is held together with no more than on flat nail per corner. It fell apart while pulling out of the box. More importantly the reception was very poor. Now this is living about ten miles from the Empire State Building. I returned them all. Forunately, my money was refunded promptly.

with my old set of rabbit ears, and an automatic channel search on a new DTV set, I got over 20 analog channels and 30 or so digital channels (some of which are HD). there are a few drop-outs when the weather is stormy, but reception gets even better after the sun goes down. I bought this picture frame antenna because it looks so much nicer than the rabbit ears, and had hoped for similar if not better peformance than the old antenna ...... while the picture frame antenna worked OK, it did not receive as many channels (of either digital or analog). Kind of a high price ($39) for no significant difference ......

This item gave no reception even when pressed up against a window. The frame and stand fell apart about 5 minutes after assembly.

This indoor antenna proved to be the best of four different models which I tried. I live in central Ohio, less than one mile from the local NBC affiliate. My Toshiba Regza HDTV could not pick up a good signal using my old rabbit ears antenna, so I bought a GE 24775 Quantum amplified antenna. The local PBS station came in so poorly, that I returned it for a Phillips Mant 510 amplified model. The GE Quantum boasted a 20db gain, so I thought that the claimed 35-50db gain of the Phillips would surely do a better job. WRONG! It actually delivered more artifacts in the picture than the GE! I decided to try out the unamplified Antennas Direct PF7 Picture Frame antenna because of the better ratings from buyers, even with a claimed gain of only 6.5db, and because I knew that my wife would object less to an antenna which didn't look like an antenna, than to one which looked like the Mars Rover. The picture comes in very clearly, and the antenna can even be hidden behind our TV for some of the channels. The PBS station is still a challenge, however, and we have to bring the antenna out and place it close to a window. Big deal! If there is a moral to this story, it is "Don't be swayed by claims of high db gain."

I was pleasantly surprised at how many stations the antenna pulled in. I purchased it for my daughter who lives near the outer belt in NE Cincinnati. Most channels were within 15 miles and as expected, it pulled them in crystal clear. I was surprised to be able to pick up a PBS station in Oxford, OH some 40 miles away. She has to change the location of the picture frame from one wall to the next for some stations, but that is a small inconvenience for free TV.