, Netflix, and internet tv there is plenty for me to watch.
Since analog television went extinct and we are left with digital television, aka DTV, I was frustrated with the reception of the signal I was receiving with DTV. Between not getting local stations and then the few I was getting constantly digitizing and me having to do everything I could think of to get reception back... I decided I was fed up and there had to be a better antenna than the one I had with the big huge rods sticking to the sky and the stupid round pointless thing in the middle. I had enough of cutting the power off to things and turning it back on, adjusting rods and changing channels. I was spending more time just trying to keep a signal than I was watching the show. Despite over the past year what I was experiencing with DTV, I still wasn't so frustrated that I was willing to pay huge bills every month to watch tv!!!So began my reading of reviews, and more reviews, and even more reviews. I wasn't sure how much I was going to be willing to pay for an antenna but I was seriously looking at reviews for everything from the cheap stuff to the ones into hundreds of dollars. It had to be an indoor antenna since I live in an apartment. I finally found it on Amazon.com
, yes I know I refer to Amazon a lot but I am an avid shopper of Amazon and I find my best deals there and I wouldn't recommend it if I didn't shop there myself! So what did I find on Amazon? It's called the Leaf HDTV Antenna made by Mohu
. It is a paper thin indoor antenna and it is made in the USA. It also has a black side or a white side so you can fit it in with your color scheme, or you can put in a window or behind some furniture, or I saw pictures where people just taped it to the back of the tv. There is a super thin ring of plastic around it that they have provided if you'd like to secure it with push pins instead of tape.I read dozens and dozens of reviews about it on and off of Amazon. There are over 700 customer reviews on Amazon
, actually that is what caught my attention because I believe it had the most reviews of any of them that I saw there. It of course had mixed reviews as expected. Some people live in areas where they really just aren't going to have much luck no matter what they use. However in over 700 reviews less than 100 were 2 stars and under, 5 stars being max.So I decided to give it a try! I ordered it on Sunday and it arrived today on Friday via USPS mail. The I opened it up and it resembled not much more than a piece of laminated paper with a wire attached. I had it delivered to my office and had said to my coworker as I was showing her my new technology discovery, she has a love of technology like I do, that I was going to be pissed if I got home and it ended up just being a piece of plastic that didn't do anything!
I get home I take it out of the packaging, take the old crazy bulky antenna and toss it to the ground triumphantly now that I wouldn't have to look at the eyesore anymore, and hoping that this Leaf actually worked! Oh no did I break the eyesore? Well if I did it doesn't matter because the Leaf works beautifully! When I first hooked it up there was no change in the channels and everything was still digitizing and I was like dang it! Noooo! Then I thought to go into my tv menu and have it re-tune the channels doing an auto-scan and my tv who is much smarter than I automatically tells me as soon as it starts the scan that it detects a new antenna and will be rewriting all the previous saved channels. Why do I love technology? That's why I love technology! I'm thinking maybe this is why others had issues with the Leaf is because they didn't take the time to go into the menu and have it reset and wait on the tv to re-auto-tune the channels.
I checked with TV Guide online and looked at what the actual local broadcast area channels were for me and I now receive all but one with the Leaf! From what I understand some areas have lots more channels available to them, and some people assume that since it was so widely broadcasted when the switch was made that it was going to be better because there would be so many more channels now, however that does not mean that they are all actually broadcasted in your area. I suggest going to TV Guide putting in your zip and seeing what available to you. Also the other exciting part, besides more channels, is the tv has been on for 7 hours and not once has it digitized! I'm so excited over this more than anything because the digitizing was bad. It would do it every few minutes before and sometimes I'd fully lose service for hours at a time. I would get so frustrated with the digitizing I'd just switch to watching a movie or tv show on Amazon Prime or Netflix! I know I've only had this thing for a few hours and it's working beautifully now and maybe I'm jumping the gun on writing this this long review, however I just couldn't wait to share this new discovery of mine with you. And since I had read so many reviews where people had them for several months or over a year and they worked great I feel confident in telling you about this now! But I promise if I have a problem in the near future I'll definitely make an update and let you know.
If you are frugal like me and prefer to not pay some corporation your hard earned dollars just to subscribe their overpriced service to watch television and are sick of only having 3 channels that you can barely watch anyways then I suggest try out the Leaf!
OH WAIT!! I forgot one of the best parts! This miracle antenna only cost me $37.59 and it was free shipping! What what! Yep that's right!
Ok Balue is sick of me giving you guys so much attention and is now laying here pawing at me and would love for me to spend some time snuggled up with him watching our perfectly clear awesome television picture.
Much Love! Have a wonderful weekend!
UPDATE: 5/1/12 - Antenna still works awesome! No digitizing in months. LOVE IT!
What a cute dog! I had a flat indoor antenna very similar to the Leaf antenna. It worked ok, for giving free access, but all was not perfect. Here in the Denver area I had access to 30 or 40 channels, unfortunately the majority were religious, Spanish, or Spanish and religious! For the channels I did watch, signal was a problem. The picture was very clear and crisp, but as soon as a big truck rolled by, I would loose signal and my show would be interrupted. That grew aggravating very quickly. I did some research with an eye out for cost, selection and picture quality. These requirements lead me to get service from DISH, my employer. I got a great package for under $30 per month with the HD channels Free for Life. The receiver I got is awesome, the picture is crystal clear and it has DVR functions built in! Being frugal doesn’t mean you have to suffer with poor quality or selection, it just means doing a little extra investigating instead of giving up.
ReplyDeleteA DISH employee giving a positive review about DISH. Please look up "conflict of interest."
DeleteThank you for your input and the comment about the dog Adam. I have had Dish in the past, I find it a waste of money. I do not find watching tv so important that I should pay even $30 a month, which adds up to $360 a year. I have much better things to spend my money on. I did not give up, I intentionally terminated my paid service, I do not find it a necessity to pay a monthly fee for television. When I truly want something I have no problem investigating, as I did when it came to finding an antenna that that actually works. I haven’t had a single problem with it since I installed it, and not once has it digitized. It has been very cloudy and thunderstorms the past 2 days and still no problems. My experience with dish is when the wind blows a certain way or if there is a cloud in the sky my dish service would be gone for sometimes hours at a time. I feel everyone has their own idea of necessity and frugal, and for me having lots of channels or “selection” that I do not watch the bulk of anyways is not something that I personally need. However since you obviously feel that it is necessary kudos to you for the deal that you found that is available to you in your area and getting an obvious employee discount, or perhaps you should have done a little extra investigating on an antenna that worked instead of giving up and you would have an extra $360 a year in your pocket. Btw - Leaving condescending comments trying to sell the company you work for on my blog is not the best marketing tactic.
ReplyDeleteI too have recently cut the dish/cable cord in large part thanks to a Mohu Leaf antenna. For those of you who live in fairly close proximity to broadcast towers(and there are millions. I live just north of Los Angeles) the Leaf is an excellent choice. I purchased two, one for each TV in my home. Setup is quick and easy. Once you find the "sweet" spot you'll get excellent HD signals. I am able to receive all the network channels (plus MANY more). But I have also become "addicted" to being able to pause, FF, RW live TV so my "fix" came in the form of a Tivo Premiere. It has an antenna receiver so I can record all the FREE OTA signals and it gives you access to streaming content including Amazon(but not the Prime content for free), Blockbuster, Netflix, Hulu Plus and Youtube. The service is $20 a month (which is over 3 times less than my FORMER dish bill) but given the convenience and all the features of the DVR, well worth it for me.
ReplyDeleteThat is great! I purchased a Roku box but do not even use it much anymore, however it's nice to have handy. I have Netflix, Youtube and Amazon Prime myself. I personally do not see anything on Hulu Plus I'm missing but if they ever get more cable shows I'd definately sign up for that as well. I love saving money =)
DeleteBlondie, I followed the exact same procedure you did and got the same results. I love the leaf and do not miss my cable bill. The HD is actually clearer than with cable which I am still in shock about. This company just put out a new device to amplify a wireless router. Not sure if you have dead spots in your house or ever want to sit outside with your laptop, but the thing works as well as the Leaf, check it out: http://www.gomohu.com/the-mohu-bounce-wifi-enhancer/
ReplyDeletePs you do need a router with external antennas, I believe-
I installed a similar product, the Winegard FlatWave indoor antenna, and picked up a few extra channels over my old Yagi thats been on the roof for decades. Seems to be a little better built and always try to buy products made in the U.S. if possible.
ReplyDelete