If our monthly cable bill is a metaphor for a bloated, slothful life, Winegard’s flatter-than-a-Wheat-Thin FlatWave indoor HDTV antenna represents mindful simplicity.
For $39.99, or $69.99 for a longer-range amplified version, the FlatWave receives local over-the-air broadcasts from ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS, usually supplemented by secondary networks like Ion, This TV, Univision and Telemundo.
In my tests with the FlatWave Amped, the amplified antenna pulled in 30 channels within its 50-mile range, including the major networks’ digital subchannels. (In a major metropolitan area, expect almost double the channels.) My local cable provider offers a similar starter package, with added chestnuts like TBS and C-SPAN, for $26.99 a month, or $323.88 a year.
It makes dumping cable look easy. The FlatWave, like many HDTV antennas, is a fraction of the size of old-style rabbit-ear antennas: It’s only 12-by-13 inches and .02 inches thick, almost like a 24-hour diner’s plastic place mat. Antennas Direct PF7, now discontinued but still available on clearance racks and online for less than $30, is built into a picture frame.
The FlatWave, tethered to a slender 18-foot cable, usually performs best when placed near, or on, a window using Winegard’s plastic adhesive strips. The amplified version adds a tiny power adapter with mini-USB port to boost weaker signals in fringe areas. The included USB cable can also connect directly to an HDTV to power the antenna.
I checked for available channels and their signal strength by entering my ZIP code at the DTV reception map at dtv.gov/maps. More detailed information, including the transmitter location of available stations and recommended antenna types for your specific address, is available at antennaweb.org.
Every television made since 2007 has a built-in ATSC tuner to receive digital signals.
The FlatWave antennas are often compared to another cracker-thin model, the Mohu Leaf ($39.99, gomohu.com). My RCA-powered antenna, which dates to HDTV’s origins, is a hard-to-miss bar-style that spans 4 feet and stands in a corner.
I have not given up my expensive cable package only because I need a broadband connection and the regional network that carries my favorite professional baseball and hockey teams’ games. Everything else I want in high-def is available with an Apple TV, Xbox or PlayStation.
The bar antenna is for special viewing occasions, usually NFL games in the fall. One of the benefits of an over-the-air signal is an uncompressed signal bundled with surround sound. Cable providers compress their signal to fit as many channels as subscribers will tolerate. The difference in picture quality is easy to detect in the over-the-air-broadcast’s deeper, richer colors and greater clarity. Try it.
The newer, smaller FlatWave outperformed the bigger antenna bar in a simple test: Which antenna could hold a signal longer without pixelation, freeze frames, audio dropouts or sudden fade to black? The FlatWave stumbled only a couple times during a Stanley Cup playoff game whereas, in the next period, the bar antenna lost the signal regularly.
Both antennas were placed, after some experimentation, near a window. But the FlatWave proved more adaptable to other areas of the room, even on the floor in a corner, out of view.
The FlatWave is only one component needed for decableization — doesn’t the act of dumping cable deserve a one-word name? — unless local channels alone suffice. A streaming device, with an Internet connection, will be a mandatory add-on in most homes.
Winegard FlatWave Amped Indoor Amplified HDTV Antenna
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Cost: $69.99 (unamplified version with 35-mile range, $39.99)
The good: Excellent-for-its-size reception of channels with transmitters within 35 miles and up to 50.
Not so good: An expensive placemat.
Information: winegad.com