Home > Consumer Reviews > Winegard SS-3000 Amplified Indoor UHF/VHF Antenna

For a few years I had been a cable customer, and it wasn't until recently that I decided to take a step back and cut some costs. The Winegard was my first and only choice in terms of Over-the-air HD antenna selection. I get almost full signal strength on all of my channels, and the image on my 32" Samsung is fantastic.

It took a couple minutes to put together, then all I had to do was place it on my windowsill and connect it to the TV. I live in a first floor apartment about 6 miles north of Boston, and I get amazing reception. No need to fiddle with it, I just leave it resting there all the time and it does it's job. I was curious as to the quality of the picture because I hadn't seen any photos online or anything, but I can assure you, the resolution is absolutely perfect.

If you're someone who can live without MTV, The Discovery Channel, and Comedy Central, then this antenna will you suit you. All my favorite shows I can now watch for free, & crystal clear: The Office, Lost, Heroes, Fringe, Prison Break.. all look amazing.

ATTENTION: RE-UPDATE -- Monday, June 15 2009

All good again. So I must apologize for my quick fury and incorrect assumptions as it was obviously not the Winegard SS -3000 fault. Something was either wrong with the broadcast change over at some networks or Microsoft Media Center slipped in a silent update over the weekend.

Either way. This antenna is superb.

As of this evening, Monday night 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 all coming in just fine in Manhattan.
ION and all the Spanish language stations too. Que bueno.
Now everything is as it was before.

Even better!

*****


12 June 2009 Update: 1 Star NO VHF RECEPTION

After the digital switch this antennae is horrible! Now I only get 4, 5, 9, 25, and Telemundo. ALL UHF

No VHF reception whatsoever. I have moved, turned and danced with this Winegard SS-3000 and no VHF reception. No 2,7,11,13. I am on the 12th floor with fairly open exposure for a Manhattan apartment. This antennae is billed and sold as VHF capable in addition to UHF. But it is not. Horrible waste of money. False advertising.

*****


In Manhattan I'm getting all the local channels (2,4,5,7,9,11,13) plus a few from Long Island and of course the Spanish channels.

I'm using Windows Media Center with a Hauppauge HVR 1800 Digital tuner in my Vista computer with a 24" screen.

Sometimes the sound can change volume dramatically...not sure why.

Stunningly crisp picture...you can tell that some some newscasters wear too much makeup.

I picked this because of the good reviews. I assembled it and perched it on top of my LCD. It works great. I get NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW, and even PBS in HD. Everything I heard is correct. HD is fantastic as long as you can get the signal. I was worried about NBC because according to antennaweb.org, the station was about 50 miles from my house. I picked it up no problem.

My main goal is to get rid of the 95 dollar cable bill, and that's with no premium channels. Unfortunately, I can't get DIRECTV because I live in a townhouse and a 3 foot pole in the back doesn't give line of site.

I think this may actually work out better. My next step is to get TIVO because that will give me DVR capabilies and streaming content from the internet. I'll gladly pay for the equipment and 12 dollar monthly fee if I'm not paying a 95 dollar cable bill every month.

My grandmother who lives in a retirement community in Union City, California (near Alverado-Niles and Dyer)needed an antennea for the Feb 2009 HDTV changeover. Because of limited retirement income satellite or cable were not an option. Roof mounting was out of the equation as well. Tried a couple of RCA's, cheap and pricey, from the local Best Buy etc. with no luck. Each required gramdma to get out of her chair and respostion the antennea depending on what channel she wanted to watch. Not exactly what you want to do when you are 87. With the Winegard SS-3000 its no longer an issue with it setting on top of the TV at about 4ft of the ground. Works for the VHF and UHF HDTV signals in the San Francisco Bay area. Note I did have to assemble for grandma - took about 5 minutes.

I live in Berkeley and got the nearby mix from San Francisco (3 Miles) but couldn't pull in a host of others including some from San Jose.

Took me 10 minutes to put the rig together and now I get everything in my area and beyond. Just may kiss my cable/satellite goodbye!

The Best!