Philips PHDTV1 Silver Sensor UHF/HDTV Digital Indoor TV Antenna

by Philips

• Receives all available local digital broadcasts in full 1080i or 780p resolution
• Highly directional design with high front to back ratio
• Ensures densely populated urban areas receive clear DVB broadcasting signals
• Flat forward gain slope delivers balanced reception ensuring all channels are received evenly
• Weighted base stabilizes antenna at any position

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2 x 13.2 x 13 inches ; 1.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0007XDI54
• Item model number: PHDTV1
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (210 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com

Enjoy sparkling high-definition programming without forking over monthly digital cable or satellite fees with this Philips indoor HDTV/UHF antenna. The device is specially designed to receive HD broadcast signals from the major free networks in all primary reception areas. If the affiliate broadcasts in HD, the PHDTV1 will receive it, provided the user also owns an HD-compatible television. The highly directional antenna features a high front-to-back ratio that helps reject unwanted signal corruption, ensuring that your picture comes in clear and true. This feature is especially valuable in dense urban areas with crowded broadcast airwaves, where reflected signals can interfere with HDTV transmission. The antenna also offers a flat front gain slope that balances the reception throughout the UHF frequencies. The result is a consistently high-resolution picture regardless of which channel you choose. The PHDTV1--which also connects to PCs anywhere datacasting is available--has been endorsed by several HDTV-testing committees.

Product Description

The PHILIPS PHDTV1 Silver Sensor indoor HDTV antenna is a HDTV/UHF antenna for use with high definition compatible TVs. It receives free high definition programming in its primary reception areas. The highly directional antenna, with high front-to-back ration, rejects signal corruption. The flat front gain slope balances the UHF reception for a consistent picture. This easy-to-install antenna receives all available local digital broadcasts in full 1080i or 780p resolution. It ensures densely populated urban areas receive clear DVB broadcasting signals and its weighted base stabilizes the antenna at any position.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

628 of 646 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Antennas Compared May 31, 2007

By YSC

Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm a first timer at getting OTA HDTV. This has been an experiment in progress for the past 5 weeks. I have gone through four antennas (they are all here as I write this) before finding something that's satisfactory (rather than tolerable).

I live around 25 miles from Manhattan, where the towers of most TV stations are located. I am also aware of the directional information from [...], and have experimented accordingly with its effects on reception. My apartment's windows all face north, while the signals all comes from southwest. I cannot get signals from where it comes from, and thus needed to get signals from deflections perhaps off nearby buildings and trees. It's a very poor circumstance for over-the-air reception, maybe just slightly better than being underground. Signals are weak, and are affected by weather. Stormy and windy days have shown effects at disrupting signal reception.

With this said, and without going into much detail, let's talk about the antennas. Now all these antenna have been tested with the same equipment, setup, directional adjustments, location, etc. etc. and have been tested through good an foul weather, day and night, to observe differences.

1.Terk HDTVa Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified High-Definition Antenna for Off-Air HDTV Reception- After reading some rave reviews and high ratings at [...], log periodic types (looks like a fishbone) seems to be the way to go. I got the Terk HDTVa first, thinking that the amplification and VHF antenna should nail my reception problems at the start. However, after more than two weeks of fidgeting around ad nauseam (directions, locations, amplifications, different devices, etc....), I only managed to pick up two ATSC channels' signals, and even those don't have strong enough signals to display anything. I thought maybe it's just my poor location, and that I should probably give up on the attempt. The included in-line amplifier dongle doesn't work at all. Powering it on makes no difference in signal strength readings, which hovered around 5-10%.

It is well built, looks nice, good concepts, but it just didn't work.

2.Phlips PHDTV1 Philips PHDTV1 Digital HDTV-UHF Indoor Antenna- The venerated "silver sensor" which was previously sold under the Zenith brand also had great ratings and reviews. It's in fact nearly legendary. I decided, in desperation, to try it out, even if it doesn't have amplification. It seems all my local HD channels are in UHF anyway, so I won't miss the VHF dipoles.

The unit has startlingly poorer build quality compared to the Terk. It has paint bubbles, hairs and dusts trappings in the paint, sharp edged cheap plastics and much thinner metal blades that's covered in oil and has some dings and bendings. I wasn't impressed with the quality, and didn't expect much from it as I set it up.

To my surprise, it picked up 9 working channels (note: the terk got two channels' signals, but they didn't work) from the start, even if it's randomly placed. It's thrilling as it was the first time I saw OTA HDTV. After some adjustment and location experiments, I was able to receive 19 channels. However, not all of these channels work well given the same direction.

The directionally sensitive antenna needs to be adjusted as I switch channels. e.g. NBC and CBS seems to work well in one direction, while ABC has its own favorite direction, which works also with FOX. I tried as best as possible to find a compromise point where everything works. I couldn't. It just needs to be adjusted constantly.

The transmission is often dogged by reception fluctuations. Signal quality tend to fluctuate quite a bit, especially affected by weather. That means the TV playback would get choppy at times, with its severity dependent on the direction I point the antenna at. I didn't think fluctuating signals was a characteristic until I tried the latter two antennas later. I also found that I had to constantly play with the directional positioning to get a stable signal from each of the stations.

It works, and I was impressed, but then in retrospect it could only be best described as a "tolerable" HDTV experience as I struggled for a smooth signal delivery.

3.RCA ANT111 Basic Indoor Antenna- While shopping in stores, I saw this basic and classic RCA loop/dipole antenna for less than $[...]. I couldn't resist the temptation to try it out, just for the heck of it. It is also a different type of antenna than the previous two.

Again, I was surprised. This cheap antenna worked well, especially considering how it's only a fraction of the price of the two I'd tried. I ended up getting 17 channels, a few less than the PHDTV1, with the same location and setup. Some channels also don't work, even if signals were detected. The quality of the signals seems to be the key.

So what's so special about it? It strangely had better signal delivery for the channels that worked. It's not as choppy, and quality level is very steady. It is also not as affected by directional positioning. I was for the first time able to view FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC without adjusting the antenna. However, the lack of directionality also makes it ambiguous when I lost the signal. It seems that there's no "favorite direction" for the channels, which also means I can't pull in stronger signals at my choosing. It is also quite susceptible to weather changes, particularly wind (which probably affected signals reflected by trees?)

The signal strength also seems to be a little weaker, though the signal quality tend to be higher in general. That probably contributed to the smoother video delivery. It also tempted me to get a similar design that has amplification.

4.Philips MANT510 Philips High Performance Amplified Indoor Uhf/ Vhf/ Fm Antenna- This unit has a "digital TV optimized, patent pending UHF panel array". I thought I'd try it out just for the slightly different antenna design, if not just for the adjustable amplification.

Well, it works, and works quite well. The antenna doesn't work without power, and with amplification turned off it works a little less than unpowered PHDTV1 and ANT111. Yet with the amplification turned on, I get 24 channels, with strength up to 81% (compared to 3-10% unamplified, and quality consistently above 60 and usually in the 70-90%+. That generates the most reliable video delivery of all the ones tried.

While thunderstorms still managed to distrupt signals, it's much less often and only momentarily. I also don't have to worry about hunting for signals as I just point it in one general direction and I get everything but three NJN channels (they are even further from here.. maybe a good 50 miles).

I finally can just set the antenna and forget it. It lets me focus on the programming rather than antenna adjustment. While it needs to be powered, it gives me the confidence to finally enjoy HDTV, rather than tweaking and tolerating it. It's good enough that I can probably stop searching. I hope it'll be helpful to you who may be going through the same purchasing decision nausea as I have. Read more ›

55 of 63 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Decent reception, shoddy workmanship, not worth it. October 4, 2007

By Stephen M. Vakil

I ordered two of these less than a year ago, one for me, one for my friend. My friend was unable to get much reception with it, but that's perhaps not surprising given the distance he is from antennas.

I had previously been using a cheapo RCA rabbit eared antenna. It worked well enough. This one offered slightly better reception, 80/100 for most channels, occasionally 90 for one channel, and mid 70's for another.

The unit is somewhat directional, but doesn't require constant adjusting for me. I'm less than 10 miles from most of the local antennas. Overall I was pleased with it, until yesterday.

Yesterday, I noticed one of my recordings was somewhat pixelated. I went to adjust the antenna and couldn't get a decent signal. Some channels would register 75 or 80 but still be pixelated every 10 seconds or so, and the picture would drop for a second every few minutes. I then discovered that the antenna had become dislodged from the coaxial connector where the coaxial cable screws in. I fiddled with it on and off but was unable to get a really good reception with it anymore.

I did some research online and found that this unit was among the recommended indoor models still, but a radio shack antenna (two of them, actually, but one was discontinued) was more highly recommended. I replaced this unit with the radio shack 15-1892 unit and now get 90's in all channels, much better than the zenith ever got. It also has a remote for rotating as well as sturdy rabbit ears. I'd definitely recommend that unit over this one.

I spoke with the friend, who had been using the other zenith. His had broken in the exact same spot within a few months. As such, shoddy workmanship prevents me from recommending this.... It did get decent reception, but having to replace two units in less than a year is pretty absurd. Read more ›

37 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Antenna December 10, 2006

By VVRAJU

I bought the antenna at Circuit City, just to give it a shot.The antenna was so good that I cancelled my basic cable service and returned the HDTV descrambler or whatever they call it,the same day.I couldn't believe all this time I paid $35 a month for something that is available free.

Antenna didn't need any pointing or directing,It picked up all the HD channels available in the area.The signal remained the same wonderful quality irrespective of the position or the angle.

I guess my location being in close proximity(6 -10 miles) to broadcast stations also helped.

Great antenna.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good reception, but directional May 4, 2008

By Susie Big Dog

..
Ok, with-out getting too technical:

Price is not an indicator of the best indoor HDTV antenna.... This Philips PHDTV1 antenna is, arguably, one of the best, if not the best (and inexpensive) indoor antenna for the UHF/HDTV type of signal, if you are with-in 15 to 25 mile of the station's broadcasting antenna. And that's the "gotcha", you have to be reasonably close to the TV towers. Other issues like elevation and obstacles along the line of sight (broadcasting antenna to receiving antenna) can also affect this and any antenna's performance. You start getting out past 20/25/30 miles; you may want to give some consideration to a passive outdoor antenna if the signal quality is poor with this Philips PHDTV1 antenna. It's safe to say that an outdoor antenna that's up high will always outperform an indoor antenna, but the Philips HDTV1 is a great inexpensive indoor antenna choice, for most locations that are with-in the 15 to 25 mile range.

This Philips HDTV1 antenna design (YAGI) pulls in a much stronger signal then the ubiquitous rabbit ears & loop antenna. However, this increase in signal strength comes at a price, the antenna is much more directional, meaning the antenna has to be properly positioned or aimed to receive the digital TV signal. If the broadcast towers in your area are not in one general direction, you may have to adjust and point this antenna in the direction of the desired broadcast tower as you change channels. Some may want to consider another type of indoor antenna that pulls in a little weaker signal but is not as directional, that would be something like the mult-stacked Bow-Tie type of antenna. One of the best small Bow-Tie antennas (great signal strength) is the DB-2, it's a small outdoor antenna that some are using as an indoor antenna.... But be aware, some may find the esthetics of the DB-2 to be objectionable inside the home, as compared to some of the other less powerful Bow-Tie antenna that blend in better with the homes décor.

For the most part, a direct feed from the Philips HDTV1 antenna to your TV should not require an amp, an indoor antenna with an amplifier is only useful (my opinion)

1) if you have a long antenna lead-line,
2) the antenna signal is feed through a transformer (IE: 300 to 75 ohm),
3) the antenna signal is run through a splitter
(looping the antenna signal through the DVD player then to the TV is
the same as a splitter and/or transformer),
4) And there are a few cases where the design of the TV's antenna input
is so poor (loads the antenna signal down) the amp may help

Thus amp feature sold with other antenna is (again my opinion) just a marketing ploy, and an added expense that is not necessary (exceptions listed above).

Line-of-sight is also a major factor, obstacles in and along the line of sight to the broadcasting tower (buildings, light poles, trees, mountains, the wall your antenna is aimed at in your TV room, etc) can all have a negative effects on the signal you receive, even if you are only a few miles away from the broadcast antenna.

The quality of construction is the down side to this Philips PHDTV1 Indoor HDTV Antenna.

NOTE: there are a few TV stations (very few nation wide) that well be broadcasting their digital or HDTV signal in the VHF band, check your area. This Philips HDTV1 antenna (same for the Bow-Tie type of antenna) will have very bad too no reception if you are trying to use it for VHF broadcasts, analog or digital. Read more ›