Home > Consumer Reviews > Winegard HD8200U Platinum Series High Definition VHF/UHF TV Antenna

Metro NYC-Northern NJ, about 25 miles from midtown, antenna located in large attic: Adamantly anticable, antisatellite. Am I the last OTA out there? Anyway, I bought this antenna after being forced to re-antenna my house secondary to the government's enforced digital revolution. Wasn't too please to have to do this, needed to wire the house for 75-ohm cabling to two TVs on opposite ends of the house as well as replace an ancient (possibly Winegard) antenna that had been ridiculously wired and that was never completely satisfactory even in the analog era. TV reception in my home was never anything to brag about, pretty annoying but not a high priority. The digital changeover forced my hand. I have a Sharp Aquos HDTV with tuner and for about 6 months, since the changeover, was using the little indoor Winegard SS-3000 antenna. It picked up digital 2, 4, and 5 plus some useless UHFs I didn't care about, but it was erratic, lost pixels or picture when anyone walked near it. Etc. So I knew I had to do something.

I finally settled on the HD8200 because it is GINORMOUS (14-foot boom and 9-foot span!) and I figured if it didn't pull every station I ever wanted there was no hope for me. I hired a contractor/home-handyman to actually set it up and then do the wiring of the house, which involved dropping cable through ceilings, drilling walls, etc. So I didn't do any of the work myself. Antenna came from Amazon in Winegard box in decent shape in about 2 days from time of order. Took contractor about 2 hours to set up antenna (including stabilize my existing wobbly mast from prior antenna), then most of rest of day to do the cabling. So set-up was not a problem. No pieces apparently missing or damaged.

Bottom line: This antenna is SPECTACULAR! It pulls in, in all of their multiple digital forms, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13, plus more UHFs than I ever saw or heard of before. (Remember, for about 6 months, while I was using the little indoor Winegard SS-3000, Channels 7, 9, 11, and 13 just didn't exist any more for me.)The Winegard expert with whom I had had an e-mail conversation (another plus for Winegard, since they didn't break off conversation after the first reply the way some other on-line vendors do when their sales pitches don't elicit an immediate buy response) said this antenna was probably more than I need but since reception was always poor at my location I went for it. I am completely happy and have no regrets. I recommend this antenna without reservation.

Interesting sidelight: I ordered a distribution amplifier with the antenna to make sure the signal that made it through the roof and that was split to two TVs and driven along 50 or more feet of coax was still strong. The amplifier apparently didn't work (no light went on at least) so I took it out of the circuit and just tried the antenna without amplification. Worked as described above. No amplification necessary. (For neophytes with digital TVs: After you connect the antenna make sure you make the TV do a complete channel scan. It has to look for new stations, you can't just expect it to recognize the signal with the new antenna. It has to re-scan and acquire all available signals afresh.)

So don't hesitate to get this antenna if you want great reception and have a large enough attic! I am ecstatic!

I used the Winegard web site for their recommendations and followed it by the letter. Antenna must be assembled on the ground. Impossible to do on the roof. It is big and bulky so have at least another person to help you get it to the mounting position. The signal strength is worse than the 20 year old antenna I had in the attic which was 1/2 the size. I get fewer stations with the new Winegard than I got prevoius old antenna. The new antenna is outside and 20 ft higher than the old and pointing in the same direction. Big expense, poor results. May work fine if you are in a strong signal area but I bought it to improve recepption as I am out 50-60 miles.

For years we had an RCA VHF/UHF antenna mounted to our chimney, but it came down Easter weekend of 2009 from a tornado. Since several of the Nashville stations had already began broadcasting digitally, we were really enjoying digital TV. For a replacement I decided to try a DB8 from Antennas Direct, but it failed to live up to its reviews (don't get me started). It was only UHF and upper VHF and none of the stations were all that strong.

Well... it's a new day and a new antenna. Got the HD8200U from Amazon and it really sucks! That's a good thing! It sucks in every broadcast station in middle Tennessee. It's pulling in over 10 different stations, most of which are broadcasting with subchannels. I now have 23 different channels/sub-channels to choose.

Part of what makes this antenna work so well is its size. This is a BIG antenna. It's 14' long and over 9' at the widest. But, it was amazingly easy to assemble and install. It is very light weight and well balanced. I installed it myself - took about hour to assemble it and then another hour or so to get it installed. Do not even think about installing it with anything stronger than a breeze. It accepts a 2" pole, but I just used a 1-1/4" top pole from a chain-link fence. Worked great. Oh, this is without any amplifier and it's split to three TVs. Most stations are pegged around 98% signal strength with a couple around 85%

Now that I've gushed over how great it is, let me say a few things that really ticked me off. They're minor, but very annoying. 1) Ordered the antenna and one of the vanes was installed backwards at the factory. It was riveted on so I couldn't correct it. Because of this, it wouldn't lock in to place. Returned it to Amazon and had them ship another. 2) Second antenna was OK, but there were some nuts and bolts missing. Had to make a trip to Home Depot to get what was missing.

At any rate, I'm very pleased with the reception and how easily the installation went. Except for the two problems, it's about as perfect as can be. While this isn't a cheap antenna, it's a whole lot cheaper than paying for cable or satalite each month!

tiene muy buena calidad de imagen pero lo unico malo es que es unidireccional y tienes que estar moviendola para que agarre otros canales y si compras un preamplificador no hace ninguna diferencia aun tienes que seguir cambiando la direccion

I live 30 miles from Chicago.

Before purchasing this antenna I read all the reviews. Most of the concerns that people seemed to have had nothing to do with the antenna, but actually centered around the flimsy cardboard box it was shipped in. When our antenna arrived the box was loose at both ends and there were a few nuts rolling free in the box that could have very easily fallen out. But we lucked out and everything was there.

By the way - we utilized the super free shipping that Amazon offers. The antenna arrived a couple of days after we ordered it.

We put the antenna in the attic of our two story home. Our home is surrounded by larger houses and lots of very tall trees. We get all our normal channels, plus a few I never knew existed. I was concerned that, with such a powerful antenna, we might pick up too many channels and they would spill over on each other, but since this antenna is very directional, that has not happened.

I am very pleased with this antenna. It feels like I've purchased a lifetime of free reception for the mere cost of about three months of cable TV.

By the way, be careful when exiting your attic. My ladder slipped and I fell out of the attic. But don't worry! I'm okay....just pulled a muscle in my arm while trying to break the fall.