Customer Reviews

Philips SDV2210/17 UHF/VHF/FM/HDTV Indoor Antenna

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I will preface my remarks with something that probably does not need to be said. Indoor antennas perform differently in various locations, so my experience may mirror yours or not. Having said that, I feel I have earned the right to comment and the obligation to share my experience in attempting to find the best antenna.

General background: I have a 37" Toshiba LCD TV and I live on the 7th floor of a high rise apartment building in downtown Nashville. Nashville is in a basin surrounded by hills with TV towers in several locations in the metro area. I do not live far from any of them, probably less than 15 miles from the farthest. However, I do live in the middle of skyscrapers ... and of course those Middle Tennessee hills.

I recently decided that I couldn't totally trust Comcast to deliver programming since on the night of the final presidential debate of 2008 they, for reasons that are still not totally clear to me, decided to disconnect my service to connect someone else in the building. I'm sure it was all just a mistake; but during the last ten years, it has happened a couple of other times, so let's just say I was not happy that evening. I was forced to drink a six pack of Miller Lite in a bar a few blocks away with people that I am sure have many virtues but did not share my political opinions. BUT a guy has to do what he has to do to watch history in the making.

Comcast had my service restored early the next morning; but I had already decided to get an antenna for the next time one of their installers made a mistake. I ordered the following antennas from Amazon over a period of several days. (I hope my friends like my rejects as Christmas presents ... just kidding.)

1) Philips PHDTV1 Silver Sensor UHF/HDTV Digital Indoor TV Antenna
2) GE 24775 Quantum Indoor HDTV Antenna
3) Terk HDTVa Indoor Amplified High-Definition Antenna
4) Philips High Performance Amplified Indoor Uhf/Vhf/Fm/HDTV Antenna
5) Philips SDV2210/17 UHF/VHF/FM/HDTV Indoor Antenna

Here are my results:

1) The Phillips PHDTV1 Silver Sensor was not the antenna I needed; but that's my fault. It's a purely UHF antenna; and four of the stations I must have are VHF stations: ABC, NBC, CBS & PBS. It works fine for the others; but obviously I should not have ordered this one.

2) The GE 24775 Quantum worked well actually. I would have settled on this one because it picked up all stations well (except the ABC station sometimes). However, it requires electricity and has the brightest little blue light on it's front that I've ever seen in my life. BUT it works well; and it is stylish. I kept looking.

3) The Terk was a monster. It did not work well; and it looked like a rooftop antenna sitting in my living room. HORRIBLE.

4) The Phillips amplified antenna didn't perform well either ... not half as well as the GE Quantum.

5) Imagine my shock when I found that the Philips SDV2210/17 was the best of the bunch! Not only does it pick up every single station with the best signal of any of them, it is also the cheapest and requires no electricity. It has a low profile, so even though it does look like exactly what it is, it's not obtrusive at all. The price has gone up a little since I got mine earlier this week; but THIS IS THE BEST ... at least for me. Considering that it is half or less of some of the others, it's definitely worth a try.

The Philips antenna first caught my eye by its unique "handle", sleek, glossy design. I've been using old-school rabbit ear antennas that pick up both VHF and UHF(HD signal) channels. Realistically, this is all you need. However, if your HDTV is located in an area that is not in direct line of UHF signal, you may be looking for other "HDTV" antennas.

First of all, you can check local Antenna towers near you by going to www.antennaweb.org to find out how far the nearest towers are, what kind of signal they are broadcasting and in what direction. If you want a somewhat unbiased review on all HDTV antennas, go to www.hdtvantennalabs.com.

Now, as far as the Philips SDV2210/17, it is exactly as the box describes: compact with powerful performance. It comes with a 6 foot coax cable and does not require a power source, which is great! What is surprising is that the fine tuning knob actually helps a little. The signal reception in the corner of the house is terrible even with the old antenna. But the Philips was able to get crisp signal quality right away while rarely being interrupted. I definitely recommend this antenna. Don't be fooled by the other high priced flashy antennas.

I previously tried using the Philips MANT-410 Amplified Indoor Antenna and it didn't even work as well as my rabbit ear antenna and it cost nearly $30! The UHF amplifier and "fine tuning" knobs did nothing for the signal. In addition, i have been rigorously researching other antennas and have read several reviews. Although it seems like the review are everywhere from 1 to 5 on most antennas! So without the luxury of buying from the store and taking it home to test it, I do not want to waste more time and money shipping it back and forth. Luckily I stumbled on this nice antenna.

In summary, a great antenna, a great value and very practical. It can also be found in any retail stores if you wanted to give it a test drive to see if it works for you. But mind as well take advantage of the tax free benefits with free shipping from amazon.com.

First off I borrowed RCA's cheapest model ant. (with the round hoop for UHF) from a friend and used it for about 1 week hooked up to my new HDTV.It worked fairly well but I sometimes had to make slight adjustments for different channels because of dropouts.
I purchased the Philips SDV2210/17 and placed it in the same spot and position as I had the RCA ant. and I got up 1 time to click the switch 1 position to the right and I have not had to touch it since to get all my favorite channels.I am about 25 miles from most of the ant. sites with lot of obstuctions in the way I am very pleased with this ant.performance.
There does indeed to be something to this flat UHF ant.design and for 9 bucks and change I am smiling with this antennaes performance.

First off, let me state that there is no such thing as a HD antenna. There are VHF, UHF, FM, AM ect antennas, but not a specific antenna for HD. This is just marketing hype. So even though this antenna is marked as 'HD' on the box, it is an indoor VHF/UHF television antenna, period.

That being said, I found this Philips antenna to be a very good deal for me. I say for me since the type of antenna one needs depends on their location relative to the transmitters they are trying to receive and surroundings such as large buildings, terrain and distance. I live in the suburbs of Houston with almost all the transmitters I wish to receive being 20-22 miles away and within 2° of each other. This antenna allowed me to receive all the stations I wished to get with only one being a bit fuzzy when I first tried it. A minor adjustment to the antenna cleared up that one channel, so my entire setup time was around 5 minutes. As I said, a pretty good deal for $[...].

I read a lot of antenna reviews before puchasing and noticed that all antennas have both good & bad reviews. I'm convinced that this is because most people don't actually know what type of antenna they need. Please check out this site before deciding on an antenna:
[...]

This will probably save a few folks a lot of grief.

This is a great little antenna. It has a nice sleek look and installs easily.
The UHF loop can be turned in any direction or it can be folded down flat for best reception. I can get about 10 UHF channels ; all of them sharp and clear.
The VHF antennas can be moved 360 degrees for best reception, though oddly enough, they seem to work better when they are not fully extended. CH 3 and 10 come in beautifully but Channel 6 does not come in at all. I checked CH 6's web site and discovered that I was not the only person in this area with this problem..so it is not the antenna's fault. I also have trouble with the PBS channels ; the picture is sharp but sometimes the audio "skips" .. Again this is a problem with my location. However, I reposition the VHF antennas and the fine tuning knob which is a GREAT feature and I can view my PBS shows. All other channels come in fine
without making individual adjustments.
I have an old TV so I need to use a digital converter box but I'm saving tons of $$$$$ on monthly Cable bills. Hopefully , Ch 6 will adjust their broadcasting problem and then I will be as happy as a clam.

I am a happy satelite customer, and just got into a new HDTV. I live in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, which is a moderate-to-densely populated, hilly, suburban part of the Greater Pgh Area. Despite being at least 11 miles from a TV station, I had high hopes I could get something to work because we are away from power lines, tall trees, and the like. I also didn't want to mess with mounting anything outside, with respect to the weather.

I've been searching for a reputable indoor antenna to get OA HDTV, and the 4-star review on this product enticed me to try it. I paid $13 at my local Target store and hooked it up to the back of my VCR, which led into my HDTV.

Let me say that the antenna does what it's supposed to. The strongest HDTV signal definitely is crystal clear (KDKA-CBS) on my TV and it is awesome. Based on antennaweb.com , that channel should come in well. However, I should also get at least one more channel (WPXI) and at best I can muster a 35% strength signal on it. Unfortunately, that's not quite strong enough to produce any sort of image. I do want to give a disclaimer that I have virtually no experience with an antenna, so of the 14 or 15 digital signals that my TV can auto-find, maybe I can optimize the antenna's positioning to get the local NBC and FOX affiliates.

The SDV2210 on its own merits is a product that feels well-fitted and sturdy. The center antenna can spin 180' in each direction and folds forward and backwards. The rabbit ears are nice and tight.

Like a recent review, I have to suggest that if you are just getting your feet wet with OA HDTV then try a good old-fashioned set of rabbit ears, esp in West PA. It is not going to be better or worse than this SDV2210 product, IMHO.

Now, I am off to obtain a Philips MANT940 and have to mount that outside or up in the attic, at some point. Luckily, that one HDTV station is the one that carries the Steelers games, so I can live with the one HDTV channel until I can mount the better antenna.

I'll post an update to this review, if things improve.

Had very bad reception with this antenna. I have an older set of "rabbit ears" that works better than this product!! Attempted to use antenna in various locations in my house and in various positions, but did not help. Did not get reception on all channels and the channels that did come in would go in and out of reception if somebody would shift their position on the couch! Attempted to exchange for a better antenna but the big box store I purchased it from apparently has a 30 day return policy which I was not aware of when I bought the item (I used to work at this particular store and they would take ANYTHING back from anybody, even items that were not from there). I will attempt to contact Philip's but I don't know if it will get me anywhere, looks like I will be stuck with a fancy paperweight!!

I got this antenna and convertable box to replace the cable, it did not work, I would rather pay cable minimum basic than to operate this antenna with frustrations, I caught only ch 2 and 25, nothing in between, image was poor, nothing tops cable if you want pieace of mind, returned.

No great shakes - it works as well as the bunny ears that I had previously. Not sure what all the HD hype was - the old UHF ant already gets the same signal and for normal viewing their is no visible gap in the fidelity of the images.

I purchased this antenna to replace another type, this was a snap to plug up, and it does not require the adapter to use as with my other antenna. I like the feature of the middle flat panel is another way to get a better picture, not only does that add a nice look to my den, it also has great features, the channels I was only able to catch late at nite, I can catch anytime now. Great product, I ordered another for my bedroom. I am using this with that converter box and I get clear crisp pictures.