I recently cut my tv cable due to rising costs and frequent reception issues. I still have internet and subscribe to some of the streaming services but I also wanted to be able to receive local channels.

I chose this antenna based on a You tube review by Antenna Man. It's definitely not the cheapest antenna I could have ordered but I felt it was a good value based on the antenna quality. I also prefer the look of the antenna compared to the old style big metal rooftop antennas. The antenna was easy to assemble and install. I first mounted it to a piece of plywood and moved it around until I received the strongest signals from the stations I wanted to receive..

I live about 38 miles southwest of Seattle. A big part of that distance is the Puget Sound that doesn't create any signal barriers but on land, there are lots of hills, trees, homes and other structures between my home and the transmission towers. I wanted an antenna that would be strong enough to pick up signals in a challenging environment.

The back of my home faces a few degrees to the north of east. I was able to mount the antenna on the back of my two-story home at about 15' above ground level. I swung the antenna on its mount to face it more northward to be in line with Seattle. The antenna is functioning well. It pulls in 70 channels with 65 channels being perfectly clear I read on a couple of forums that people claimed to be receiving channels as clear and in as high of resolution as with cable. I didn't believe it until I saw it for myself. A couple of the local stations also have apps that are installed on my tv so I can switch back and forth to compare them. The picture from the antenna and the cable look the same!

I like the design and size of this antenna. It sits on the side of the house without looking too obtrusive. I'll never know if another antenna would work better, potentially at a lower cost but I'm happy with this purchase and believe it's a good value for the cost.

In my previous review of the Mohu Leaf Ultimate Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna, I commented on how I was located in a complete dead zone for signal (sitting in a valley surrounded by acres of trees in the middle of a woods). The Mohu Leaf brought in two digital channels which demonstrated the promise of getting more signal if I went with an outdoor antenna.

I considered purchasing the Mohu Sky, but had my doubts as to its range. Plus the folks at Mohu told me it had to be placed as high as possible. The highest I can set an outdoor antenna, right now, is approximately 20 feet.

I decided to go with the Clearstream 2V. I set this up on the roof of a ranch house on a mast strapped to the chimney. This gives me the 20 foot height.

Using TVFool.com, I pointed the antenna towards Youngstown, Ohio towers (40 miles SSE). My initial scan brought in 14 digital channels. Amazing reception for an antenna this small! Ten channels are from Youngstown, while 4 channels originate in Cleveland. I'm receiving CBS, Fox, ABC, and PBS out of Youngstown. The fringe channel out of Cleveland is WVIZ (PBS). It's spotty and not at all as rock solid as I'd like (That tower is located SSW). In addition, for some reason, Youngstown's closest transmission tower (38.5 miles) to my location (WFMJ NBC), is nowhere to be found.

Since installing, I've been adjusting the antenna's direction trying to find the sweet spot. Again, even though I can't get WFMJ, WFXP out of Erie, PA registers. It's 55.5 miles in the opposite direction!

Pointing the antenna SSW, I was able to bring in WVIZ rock solid. I was also able to keep WKBN (SSE) out of Youngstown and, lo and behold, WFMJ finally registered. But, much like the Erie PA staton, I only received WFMJ as a still picture with a short burst of audio.

I'm doing most of my testing on quite a windy autumn day. This means trees are blowing in the wind and all that movement is probably disrupting signal.

Youngstown stations register an 84% signal strength as does WVIZ out of Cleveland. Again, for an antenna this small, in a valley surrounded by trees, this is amazing performance!

I'm thinking once the atmosphere settles down, I should get rock solid steady reception on all 14 channels. And perhaps I'll also get WFMJ.:)

All in all, an amazing antenna.

EDIT -- I forgot to mention in my review...because I'm located in a fringe reception area (40 miles or more), I'm using an amplifier with this antenna. Radio Shack #1500321. It boosts signals by up to 33dB and has an FM trap.

UPDATE - 5/15/2014. I've had the antenna now for six months. It's still mounted on the roof, strapped to the chimney. That puts it about 20 feet up. Reception has been pretty much the same as when I first posted this review. But, I was still scratching my head as to why WFMJ out of Youngstown still wasn't coming in. At 38 miles, their tower is the closest to my location. In contrast, the tower for Cleveland WVIZ is 48 miles away! And, as I mentioned, I'm not even pointing directly at WVIZ's tower. As one reviewer mentioned, "This is a directional antenna, but with a wide beam (around 70 degrees)." Yes, the CS2V has a wide enough reception area that WVIZ comes in quite well. This allows me to get this one Cleveland station and three out of the four from the Youngstown area.

So, why am I able to receive a Cleveland station 48 miles away but can't get a Youngstown station 38 miles away? The other Youngstown transmission towers are 40-44 miles away and the CS2 pulls in these stations in with no problems.

Well, I did some research and sent a few emails. The answer came back from WFMJ themselves. They wrote, "I'm sorry you're having reception issues with WFMJ. Unfortunately you're probably the victim of our requirement to cut back on signal strength to the north to protect a station in Canada. We've had that issue since we first got our DTV license in 2002."

In a followup, they mentioned, "We have to protect a digital allotment Canada never built on St Thomas and CBLFT in Toronto, both on ch. 20. That was the agreement between the US and Canada back in 1999 and still stands. I don't think CBLFT is on 20 anymore and moved back to 25 but with the repack around the corner we can't change anything here."

So the solution for me then is to go higher. Since I'm in a valley and WFMJ had to back off on transmitting their signal, I need to go higher. That's pretty much the standard solution in order to grab a distant/weaker signal. Get the CS2V as high as possible. If WFMJ was pumping out more signal, I wouldn't have to go higher.

But, "repack"? What exactly is this repack? As they explained to me, "The upcoming spectrum auction will give space in the TV broadcast band to wireless carriers - cellphone companies - and TV stations will be repacked into channels in the lower part of the band."

(I had information linked, but Amazon won't allow external links to be posted in my review. No matter. Just Google "FCC," "Repacking," etc. and you'll get loads of info.)

Bottom line, It appears that the repacking could result in many TV viewers losing their free, local TV service.

It might be time to contact your Congressman/Senator/legislator and tell them to keep free Over the Air Broadcast signals available.

For the time being, until I can get this antenna hoisted a bit higher, and now that I can get on the roof (Wow! What a tough winter!), I'm going to turn the CS2V, once again, due WSW and see if more Cleveland stations are received (they are all less than 50 miles away). Now that it's Spring, atmospheric changes may have helped reception.

I only hope that, regardless the direction the CS2V is pointed, free antenna T.V. will continue to be in the air for many years to come!

Update: 6/22/2014. Well, it's the start of summer and I don't know if atmospheric changes have taken place or if broadcasters have changed the way their transmitters send out signal. Maybe both?

But last night, after the sun finally went down, I decided to do a little television scanning to see what signals I could bring in. As mentioned earlier, I can grab Erie, Pa channels on the back end of the antenna. This happens mostly at night which is why I was scanning the T.V.'s tuner. I wanted to see what programs were on the two Erie, PA stations that usually come in. The antenna is pointed directly south.

While the tuner scanned, I noticed that it grabbed a few more channels than usual.

When the picture came back on, I was watching Channel 2, KDKA out of Pittsburgh! I clicked up one channel and there was WPXI, Channel 11. Again, a Pittsburgh station!

AntennaPoint.com tells me that the transmission towers for these two stations are SSE 90 and 88 miles away, respectively.

Morning found the two stations still coming in rock solid. As the morning progresses, however, it appears the signals for these stations are starting to break up a bit.

But, more than ever, I want to get this antenna up another 10-15 feet. Once elevated, and with a rotor, these stations should be received more consistently. With the antenna higher, I'm thinking I'll be getting more channels from Youngstown, Cleveland, Erie, and Pittsburgh.

I'm just amazed at how well this antenna performs.

UPDATE 09/04/2014

Last week, I raised this antenna up another ten feet. It's now 30 feet above the ground. I raised the height because, being in the middle of a woods, the trees really filled in during August and cut signal to the point where I lost the ABC affiliate.

Once raised, I was able to get ABC back. But, WKBN, the CBS affiliate, is a bit spotty. It has always been a rock solid signal. But now, the signal drops out. So, recpetion swings from being rock solid to not being there at all to being rock solid. I'll try adjusting and tweaking the antenna position and report later.

In addition, WFMJ still does not register. Cleveland is still to far or the terrain not conducive for reception. Erie continues to come up on the back end in the evening and, once again, Pittsburgh popped up one night.

Given that increasing the height of this antenna only helped marginally, I'm beginning to think I should try the RCA ANT751R Durable Compact Outdoor Antenna or Denny's EZ HD Antenna.

UPDATE 09/06/2014 Last night, I turned on the television and did a re-scan of channels. I was surprised when 17 channels registered. Finally! WFMJ channel 21, the NBC affiliate, is being received. Last night, it was still spotty, but this morning it's rock solid. I'm not sure what has changed. Have they pumped up their signal? Have temperatures and terrain changed in some way making propagation of the signal better? Did someone, off in the distance, tear down a building or take down a tree that may have been blocking signal? I don't know. I tweaked and turned the antenna several days ago and maybe I hit the sweet spot.

Then again, let's see how long this lasts. I was considering switching antennas and installing the RCA ANT751R Durable Compact Outdoor Antenna. But now that I have this outstanding performance, I'll hold off and see if reception continues. What was a marginal increase in reception last week has now become a major and significant boost!

UPDATE 09/05/15. Well, one year later and I'm still using this antenna. In July, I grabbed 30 digital channels. Youngstown (including channel 21), Akron, Canton, and Erie PA stations came in. I even received Pittsburgh Channel 2 KDKA! Their broadcast tower is nearly 100 miles away. I realize this is due to atmospheric conditions, but still impressed by this performance. As the trees filled in, I lost channel 21 out of Youngstown. I suspect that, when the leaves fall, channel 21 will return. Again, this is due to their meager signal. Last night (9/4/2015), Pittsburgh KDKA returned. But this reception is spotty. Consistent reception comes from Youngstown channels 27, 33, and 45. More often than not, channel 25 (Cleveland) and 66 (Erie, PA) are received in the evenings. Again, channel 66 is received on the back end of the antenna. The valley, trees, distance, atmosphere, etc. all contribute obstacles for reception. So, it's pretty amazing that, with this antenna, I receive any stations at all.:)

Working great so far. It took a while for the tv to recognize it, but that was a tv issue. Setup was fast. I don’t need the rabbit ears so I removed them. The antenna is on the floor behind my tv cabinet (not pointed at anything in particular) and I am getting a good strong signal the only reason for not radiant at five stars yes because it did not come with the coax cable. That’s just a detail that cost me extra time and money. I remember the days with antenna came with the cable with no other purchases necessary. Other than that, it’s working great.

I was directed to this antenna by an expert (one of many he recommended, and affordable). Just Google it, you don't want to just guess your way into one of these antennas. You might spend more for a quality antenna, but probably not less.

The assembly instructions confused me so I went looking for a video. Okay, actually pretty simple to assemble once you see how.

Mounted it at a high point on the side of my house, using the provided J pole (screwed into the soffit because the fascia didn't allow enough room for 4 screws). It looks askew at this point, but you can rotate both the J pole and the antenna to get it pointed where you need it. Actually I do have it somewhat sideways, with the horizontal poles at the top of the antenna pointing up and down. In any case, reception is good and there is nothing between the antenna and the source, so even on windy days with trees moving, etc., should be good.

This antenna is lightweight and should not "catch" a lot of wind. I expect it to stay secure for many years to come, but in any case it's right there on the side of the house where I can get to it with a ladder.

Don't go too cheap on the coax (for 100' I paid closer to $30 vs. the $17/$19 stuff you'll see). Hire somebody to put the ends on whichever end you cut to length (unless you have experience with coaxial cable). I bought coax with rubber protective ends, but this antenna already protects that end of the cable, so the rubber part was simply slipped off and discarded. The other end was cut to length and got a nice connector, but not the one that came with it. So good indoor/outdoor coax is more important than the connectors.

I also had the guy put connectors on every coax run into the house (most houses have "home run" coax cable to each connector in your house, but are left with no connector unless you have something installed). Now if I move the TV or my cable modem to a different room, I can just switch to a different cable.

Yes, I have internet using one cable and my broadcast antenna using a different cable to get to my TV. No cable TV in this house at this time. I still have two unused cables going from the cable box into rooms in my house.

Great antennas that give more than they claim. I run a dual setup with these.

I live in the trees. My closest tower is 32 miles away, and the farthest is 65 miles out. And several in-between. These are to the north of me and south of me. So within a 50mi radius I have access to 14 towers.

With just the two antennas I was pulling in 22 channels, two of these were nextgen.

I added a channel master amplifier and a televes preamp and the results are amazing.

I now get 62 channels, (5 of these are nextgen) and 19 digital channels my TV says are cable TV channels. These 19 are just duplicates, but at a better quality and only show up when I turn the tuner to cable from tv. And I am not connected to cable TV.

So these Antennas are the stars of my setup for sure. Great value for the price.

I tried one of the flat antennas that stick to the wall or a window. It was one that got better than 4 stars from thousands of reviews and while it did pull in several channels most were choppy and pixelated a lot. Out of almost 3 dozen watchable channels only about 8 of them came in strong enough to watch without pixelating and chopping.

THIS antenna pulls in ALL those channels, almost 3 dozen, without issue. The HD channels look almost like cable and are rock solid. Of course, many don't broadcast in HD but even those are strong and clear and very watchable.

I live about 30 miles southwest of Houston, TX and there are about 115 channels available to me. Once I've weeded out the foreign language channels, the shopping channels and the local interest channels, I'm left with just under 3 dozen "entertainment" channels. This antenna brings them all in perfectly.

The best part, it works just fine inside. This is an indoor/outdoor antenna. I live in an apartment and cannot mount it outside, so took a chance that it would work inside. After assembly, (maybe a little more complicated than it should be), I simply connected it to my HDHomerun Extend, for my Plex system, and set it on a shelf above my desk. I didn't spend any time trying different locations, I just connected it, ran a channel scan and done. I would expect it to work just as well or better if I had it connected directly to my tv.

The money spent on the flat antenna was a waste, nearly $30.00 I’ll end up throwing away.

This antenna cost more than twice as much as the flat antenna but was money well spent.

I don’t find this antenna very aesthetically pleasing. It stands about 2 ½ feet tall on the little pole and base it comes with and wouldn’t fit anyone’s décor. But it lives on a shelf in my office not the living room, but even in the living room I think it would do just fine behind the tv.

This was a good purchase, I’m very happy with it and have already recommended it to family and friends. Now I’m recommending it here!

I bought 3 antennas from Amazon and they are all reviewed here. For two of these antennas, the problem was that both ABC and CBS [channels 7 (WJLA) and 9 (WUSA)] in my area, and I suspect many other areas as well, have moved back to High-band VHF was received intermittently if at all. In all cases, I was 30 miles from the TV stations and set the antenna on top of an 8 foot high Tall Boy facing the direction indicated by TVfool.com. Luckily, that direction faced towards an outside wall of my home.

The first antenna was the Mohu Curve 50 Designer HDTV Antenna. This small antenna actually worked well for all UHF stations and in general I would pick up about 40 stations including the two VHF channels as well. However, I had problems with VHF channels 7 and 9. I then purchased the Winegard LNA-200 Boost XT Digital HDTV Preamplifier from Amazon and installed it to see if it helped pick up VHF channels 7 and 9. I then picked up about 43 channels including the two VHF channels. This was due to the LNA or Low Noise Amplifier which set the Noise Figure (NF) for my new Sony TV at about 2 dB. The problem was that VHF channels for ABC and CBS (Channels 7 and 9 in the Washington, D.C. area) would still fade in and out and never be reliable enough to record using Viewtv or Simple.tv (both of which I purchased at Amazon). The remaining channels were very reliable since they were all UHF channels. I find it amazing this antenna actually worked so well for its rather small size.

The next antenna was the Antennas Direct C2-V-CJM ClearStream 2-V Long Range UHF/VHF Indoor/Outdoor DTV Antenna with 20-Inch Mount also purchased from Amazon. The was a larger antenna that actually used a VHF Dipole as well as a UHF antenna to supposedly pick up the UHF channels as well as the VHF channels via the dipole augmentation. Of course there was only one dipole with the length matched to the high-VHF band. I was hoping this “rabbit ear” augmentation would be enough. But, no such luck. Not only did I have the same problem as the Mohu, but now via fading in and out, I was losing some UHF channels as well.

Luckily, Amazon accepted this antenna as a return for my current antenna, the “Winegard Free Vision FV-30BB HDTV Antenna”. This is an older design antenna which has at least three dipoles for VHF channels giving it a larger effective aperture. I am now pulling in channels not only from Washington, D.C. reliably (including 7 and 9), but also some from Baltimore, MD. I actually received 54 channels, many of which I simply disabled since they were either Baltimore repeats of D.C. Channels or others I was not interested in. I am completely amazed. This just goes to show that newer designs are not necessarily better designs.

This antenna (along with the single tuner version of Simple.TV and Viewtv) has allowed me to completely cut the cord. My additional purchases of two Roku 3’s allow me to put Simple.TV live or recorded video on any HDTV and this version (only this version) of Simple.TV has a no cost free guide that allows me to select just “New” recordings if I want. I can also watch TV on any popular phone or pad device via the internet at any location with free Wi-Fi. I will review these other devices separately later. Suffice it to say, I am now finally extremely happy – no more Direct-TV or Comcast Cable or ….!

am thoroughly impressed with the Antennas Direct ClearStream 2V! This double-loop TV antenna is a game-changer for anyone looking to receive free TV channels in HD broadcast straight from the networks. With a 60+ mile range, multi-directional UHF and Hi-VHF elements, and a signal reflector, the ClearStream 2V provides focused, crystal-clear reception that's unparalleled.

The antenna measures 18" H x 31.4" W x 6.5" D and comes with a 20-inch mast with a pivoting base, making it incredibly versatile for installation. Whether you're setting it up indoors, in an attic, or outdoors on vertical or horizontal surfaces, it's ideal for suburban and rural areas.

What's more, the ClearStream 2V is compatible with NEXTGEN TV, 4K, 8K UHD, Full HD 1080p, and it doesn't require an internet connection. This feature alone offers tremendous value, especially in areas where internet access may be limited.

I'm using this antenna in conjunction with the HD Homerun 4 tuner, and it's been an outstanding experience. This setup allows me to bring live TV to every room in the house, providing seamless access to high-definition channels without any lag or pixelation. The innovative wide-angle and intelligent induction control, along with the 270° wide lighting angle, ensure optimal signal strength and clarity, even in challenging environments.

Additionally, the reflector adds forward gain, protecting the incoming TV signal from interference and preventing any loss of picture. The antenna also comes with all-weather mounting hardware, an adjustable mast clamp, and clear instructions for easy setup.

The build quality is top-notch, and knowing that Antennas Direct is based in St. Louis, MO, and dedicated to providing superior digital antennas and accessories engineered in the USA, gives me peace of mind. They also offer a lifetime manufacturer antenna warranty and a 90-day accessory warranty, which further cements their commitment to quality and customer satisfaction.

Overall, the Antennas Direct ClearStream 2V has exceeded my expectations, providing excellent reception and unmatched versatility. It's a must-have for anyone looking to cut the cord and enjoy free, high-definition TV channels. Highly recommended!

Never owned a better attenna will recommend it to everyone

The 2V antenna was initially placed indoors next to the tv. . Even though the Mount-Royal mountain is in the pathway of certain US transmitters preventing me from getting those channels, I was able to receive 10 local channels and 3 US channels situated at a 55 mile distance to the south, and the image was crystal clear . Then I had the antenna installed on the roof combined to a Channel Master CM-7777HD TV Antenna Amplifier, on low gain, now I have a total of 15 US channels in addition to the 10 local ones and reception for the majority is excellent. After one year of use, I am quite satisfied, but decided to upgrade to the 4V in order get a more stable picture on the on the channels with a weaker signal. The 4V was installed in the exact same location as the 2V by a professional installer on the roof and it basically lost all the US channels. For some reason the 2V greatly outperformed the 4V, therefore the 2V was placed back on the roof and the 4V sent back. Even the installer had no clear explanation as to why the 4V was unable to perform as well as the 2V, either it was defective or it captured more noise from the surrounding cell towers and completely lost the weaker signals.

Agarra muchos mas canales y no hay interferencia a comparacion de mi antena que es una antena de poste afuera en intemperie en una casa de dos pisos, esta la puse adentro junto al televisor y no tuve ningun problema ni en instalar ni en usarla, que completamente contento con esta antena. Los canales se ven casi como si los estuviera haciendo stream desde internet. Imagino si la hubiera puesto afuera seria mucho mejor, pero como ya tengo experiencia con antenas de fuera que se dañan por los elementos pues decidi dejarla adentro

The ClearStream 2V was an Amazon Warehouse deal and showed minimal signs of having been previously installed and uninstalled. All the parts were included. It works well in the UHF and high VHF frequencies. It is mounted outside on the J mount where my satellite dish used to sit and uses the coax cable the satellite dish used to use. I roughly pointed it in the direction of the local transmission towers, which are only 12 km away. Success on the first try.

Excelente funciono muy bien muy buena Señal en la Tv