How to find the best indoor TV antenna for your over-the-air needs
(Image credit: cnet)
Without needing to put a big outside antenna on your home’s roof, you can receive free over-the-air broadcast TV channels with the best indoor TV antennas. The ability of each model to receive signals from stations at different distances is what essentially distinguishes them from one another, and our guide will show you how closely each model adheres to its distance specification.
The majority of indoor antennas are small and designed to be mounted on a wall behind your TV or on a level area close to it. We’ll also talk about the antenna’s appearance, which may or may not influence your purchase depending on how particular you are about interior design.
QUICK LIST
- BEST OVERALL : Antennas Direct ClearStream Flex
- BEST BUGDET : Mohu Arc
- BEST FOR INSTALLATION : Winegard FlatWave Amped Pro TH-3000
- BEST FOR LONG DISTANCE : Antop HD Smart Bar AT-500SBS
- BEST FOR DESING : Mohu Vibe
The best indoor TV antennas in 2024
Why you can trust trusty Picked
We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best.
Complete reviews of each of the top indoor antennas on our list can be found below. You can trust that our recommendations are reliable because we’ve thoroughly examined every one of them.
(Image credit: techradar)
1. Antennas Direct ClearStream Flex
The best indoor antenna overall
SPECIFICATIONS
Range: 50 miles
Amplified: Yes
Dimensions: 12 x 16 inches
Cable length: 12ft
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Your hunt for a mid-range antenna that provides reliable HD channels within a 50-mile radius ends here. It’s not exactly a compact unit—that large, thin panel could cover much of a window—but if that’s not a deal breaker, this indoor antenna is excellent value and our choice for the best overall.
It brought in 48 channels during our testing, while more costly and potent antennas could only manage to pick up 54 channels. However, many of the HD channels it did receive had picture quality and stability that was on par with or better than that of more powerful options.
The in-line amplifier, which you may turn on and off as you like, helps with that in part. Although some other solutions come with a bit longer out of the box, the 12-foot coaxial cable is a respectable length that should work for most individuals.
Antenna Point is a free tool that helps you identify cable stations so you can point your antenna in the appropriate direction to receive the most stations. This makes setup simple.
(Image credit: techradar)
2. Mohu Arc
A budget indoor antenna with strong reception
SPECIFICATIONS
Range: 40 miles
Amplified: No
Dimensions: 12 x 8 inches
Cable length: 10ft
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
The Arc indoor antenna from Mohu is quite small, simple to install, and attractive enough to go with a variety of interior design styles. It can be used on a tabletop or wall, however the latter configuration is a little unstable due to the clip-on bracket.
The Arc’s clip-in installation may be improved, and its construction could be strengthened more. Its passive, unamplified construction and small size belied its remarkable signal-pulling capabilities, nevertheless.
Because the Arc is not amplified, an amplified model—such as Mohu’s own Arc Pro—is probably a better option if you need to extend its feed to a TV set that is farther away. However, the Arc should be a good option for a straightforward installation in an urban or suburban area with appropriate terrain and elevation and needed signals in several directions – within, say, 40 miles or even a bit more.
(Image credit: lifehacker)
3. Winegard FlatWave Amped Pro TH-3000
A premium antenna with good range and a useful installation app
SPECIFICATIONS
Range: 60+ miles
Amplified: Yes
Dimensions: 15 x 13.6 inches
Cable length: 18.5ft
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
The FlatWave Amped Pro TH-3000 antenna from Winegard performs well and may be initially configured with an efficient app that displays the antenna’s real-world reception potential before installation.
The decor-conscious will find the TH-3000’s completely flat, zero-footprint on-window/on-wall design appealing, and it can be counted on to pick up digital TV channels from up to 60 miles away. Although there are less expensive antennas available with comparable capabilities, they will probably be larger and harder to conceal from view.
(Image credit: disablemycable)
4. Antop HD Smart Bar AT-500SBS
Huge and pricey, but plenty powerful
SPECIFICATIONS
Range: 80 miles
Amplified: Yes
Dimensions: 30 x 8.1 x 3.9 inches
Cable length: 5ft
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
The Antop HD Smart Bar (AT-500SBS) might be the answer for you if you’ve had problems with previous antennas and live far from a broadcast source—that is, if you can accept its enormous size and pay a hefty price.
The 2.5-foot-wide Antop HD Smart Bar is a hard-plastic antenna that can be vertically supported by the base stand that comes with it or placed on your wall like a soundbar. Either way, the trade-off is a considerably longer promised range of 80 miles, but it’s much more visible than almost any other indoor antenna on the market. In addition, it features an FM tuner, a 4G signal filter, and the capacity to connect to an additional TV. Our tests revealed that the reception was very good. Nevertheless, considering that it costs $119, we advise experimenting with less expensive options first to see whether they satisfy your needs.
(Image credit: inkl)
5. Mohu Vibe
Compact, powerful, and good-looking
SPECIFICATIONS
Range: 50 miles
Amplified: Yes
Dimensions: 3.6 x 0.5 x 11.7 inches
Cable length: 12ft
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
The majority of interior TV antennas aren’t very attractive, and others are downright ugly. On the other hand, the Mohu Vibe is a small, rectangular panel that complements the style of practically any room. It has a gray fabric finish. In addition, it’s the smallest indoor TV antenna we’ve ever tested, which makes it the ideal choice for anyone looking for the least noticeable antenna imaginable.
In the end, the Vibe’s design wouldn’t matter if it couldn’t successfully stream broadcast TV channels, but during our testing, it successfully picked up a large variety of stations over a 17–70 mile range. It comprises a 12-foot wire, which should be plenty for most installations, and a “Jolt” amplifier module that gets power from the USB connection on your TV.
In addition to having excellent performance and design, the Mohu Vibe is a terrific deal. Although it lists for $49, you can usually find it for half that amount. The Vibe is a great option if you live in an urban or suburban region and are searching for an indoor antenna that is small, blends in with your decor, and can receive all the channels from nearby stations.
How to choose an indoor TV antenna
The distance specification of an indoor antenna should be your first concern when selecting one. Depending on the model, indoor antennas have a range of up to 80 miles. Living in a rural area means that your home is probably farther away from broadcast TV stations than a home in an urban or suburban area. As a result, you will need a more powerful antenna with a range of at least 60 miles. However, you can typically get away with utilizing a simple, low-cost antenna with a 20–40 mile range specification if your house is in or close to a city.
You can choose the ideal antenna option for your area with the aid of internet tools like AntennaWeb, which is supported by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). By entering your zip code into AntennaWeb’s search engine, you may get a list of local broadcast TV stations along with their distance and color code, which will assist you choose the best kind of antenna to get those stations.
When selecting an indoor antenna, design is an additional consideration. Certain versions can be hidden behind a TV due to their small size. Some are made to be mounted straight on a window and are easily concealed by curtains. You should also think about how indoor antennas appear because, in all honesty, most of them are ugly, especially the larger ones made for reception ranges of more than sixty miles.
What is ATSC 3.0?
In the US, the next-generation digital broadcast TV standard is called ATSC 3.0, or “NextGenTV”. Eighty percent of American viewers are reached by ATSC 3.0 stations as of February 2024. You may find them on this interactive map made by US broadcasting business association Pearl TV. A search engine is also included on Pearl TV’s map to help you find ATSC 3.0 TV channels nearby.
The earlier digital TV standard only supported 5.1-channel audio and HD resolution; in contrast, ATSC 3.0 supports 4K resolution with high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos audio. This is one of the main differences between the two standards.
Your TV must have an integrated ATSC 3.0 tuner in order to receive ATSC 3.0 broadcasts. Some sets that were sold in the United States prior to 2020 have this capability. These sets included models from LG, Samsung, Sony, and Hisense. TCL will follow those manufacturers in 2024 by equipping new TVs with ATSC 3.0 capability. There are external ATSC 3.0 tuners that link to a TV via HDMI if yours doesn’t have one built in. The Pearl TV website, which was previously mentioned, also lists those devices along with the current TV models that have tuners compatible with ATSC 3.0.
There is no such thing as a “ATSC 3.0 antenna,” which is good news for anyone looking to purchase an indoor TV antenna. All versions are compatible with the new standard. However, only a small number of newer models of TVs include an ATSC 3.0 tuner, so if yours does not, it will receive signals using the outdated ATSC 1.0 broadcast protocol. For the time being, stations making the switch to ATSC 3.0 must simulcast in ATSC 1.0. Though there isn’t already a deadline set by the government to end ATSC 1.0, things will soon change.
How to position an indoor antenna
Your TV may not be able to tune in to every station within the specified range only because your indoor antenna has a distance specification. Reception can be impacted by a number of things, including as the topography between your house and neighboring broadcast towers and, if you reside in an urban area, the nearby buildings. Because of this, the antenna’s configuration and placement are very important and will help your TV receive as many digital channels and subchannels as possible.
The first step is to locate the channels you wish to tune in and then orient the antenna in that direction (the interactive maps provided by AntennaWeb and Pearl TV can be helpful in this regard). It’s also advised to put the antenna in a window, however depending on where your TV is located or other architectural factors, that may not always be feasible. A coaxial cable is included with every antenna to connect it to the RF input on your TV. Since this is usually only 2 meters, if not shorter, you might wish to swap it out for a longer cable to provide for more freedom in positioning.
The auto-channel scan option in your TV’s configuration menu should be used before tuning in local broadcast TV channels. Once the scan is finished, it will display the number of channels received along with the station names and channel numbers. Adjust the antenna and perform another auto-channel scan if you aren’t seeing the whole list of your local stations. Using this method, it could take a few trials to identify the best site for the antenna; the one that receives the greatest number of channels with the strongest signal wins.
You might want to think about utilizing an external antenna if, despite your best efforts, you are still unable to tune in a sufficient number of channels. Usually installed on the roof of your house, this is a more expensive choice, but it will be able to receive TV signals better than an interior antenna.
How we test indoor TV antennas
At a semi-rural hilltop location with good elevation and approximately 360 degrees of unobstructed line-of-sight to TV transmitters distributed in all directions, ranging from around 15 to about 70 miles, we test indoor TV antennas. Since an external rooftop antenna is usually the best option for reception beyond 70 miles, this testing environment allows us to examine models that meet a wide range of interior antenna needs.
In order to test the antenna, we position it high in a window facing southward (the greatest results come from placing an antenna as high as possible), and we tune the TV using an ATSC 3.0 “next-gen TV” tuner. Next, we note the total number of sub-channels and the number of carriers that are tuned. Additionally, a strong rooftop-style antenna located inside the attic is utilized as a point of comparison.
An antenna must pass our design and usability guidelines as well as test at the specified distance in order to be listed on this list.
