Home > Consumer Reviews > Antennas Direct Clear Stream 1 Outdoor Medium Range Digital TV Antenna - Black (C1)

This thing picked up 40 channels the night I set it up (compared to 25-30 channels I got with the amplified GE Quantum 3-panel with VHF mast). I also used a ClearStream4 at a remote cabin that had all poor edge signals and it picked up most of the channels with no amplification, so I believe these are superior UHF antennas.

However, it appears the ClearStream antennas do not pick up high-band VHF very well... it also doesn't help that the FCC mandates minuscule power levels for high-band digital VHF stations now (post-transition), but I have this thing aimed at the tower, line of sight, 12.5 miles away, and still have very poor reception of the VHF channels in Seattle (KCTS 9, KSTW 11, KCPQ 13).

KCTS is 21.7 kW, KSTW is 12.5 kW, KCPQ is 30 kW. KCTS cuts in and out, KSTW doesn't come in at all, and KCPQ (nearest to UHF) comes in just adequately enough to not drop out.

A lot of people have spent a lot of money on HDTV antennas and most of them are UHF only or UHF plus a tacked-on high-band VHF stick as an afterthought, but some stations decided to move to VHF and submit to the mandatory power cut anyway, so the viewers are left out in the cold unless they subscribe to cable or buy a really high-end VHF roof antenna. It seems these stations' only reason to continue broadcasting is so the cable companies can tune the station for rebroadcasting over cable. Too bad satellite TV subscribers (using OTA) and straight OTA viewers.

Anyway, when the literature for the ClearStream antennas said a few months ago that their antennas were optimized for "the whole post 2009 DTV spectrum", they are now quietly changing it to say "across the whole post 2009 UHF DTV spectrum", "powerful across the core UHF DTV spectrum", or "additional capability on higher level VHF frequencies", though they still do say "Designed for reception on high VHF (Ch 7-13) and core UHF (ch 14-51)"... well maybe if the high-band VHF stations broadcast at 800+ kW like most of the UHF stations instead of the tiny [almost-pirate-radio] 10-30 kW that the FCC limits them to.

My advice: If you have VHF DTV stations in your area that are hard to receive, the ClearStream antennas won't pull them in (but they will pull in even very weak UHF). Instead get a really big VHF roof antenna and a signal combiner to go along with a good UHF roof antenna like this one... or just give up the VHF stations because they surely don't care about you.

After pouring through various websites looking for an antenna and reading various reviews for OTA HD reception I decided upon this one. Best value for money.Signal strength improved dramatically.Went from 2 bars to 5 bars. This is also the third antenna I've used with the other 2 being amplified rabbit ears that were bought at Target or one of those other stores.This outperforms them all. No more skips and loss of signal. Pulls all OTA stations in crystal clear. All our local broadcasts are in HD in the Rochester NY area.
This antenna is mounted inside and works great. Sturdy construction and easy to mount. All you need is the coax to attach to your tv.

I could not be happier with the C1. I referenced www.antennaweb.com to determine the distance and direction of HDTV transmission towers (this site also helps you determine, what antenna you need and where to aim the C1 to get the best reception-- Select "enter address" to view stations, then select "view street level map" to determine aiming). After a simple assembly and connection to the TV, I ran the TV's auto program and pulled up the channel guide to see which stations I could pull in. I was extremely pleased to not only get all my local stations (Omaha), but also stations in Lincoln and Des Moines. 21 HD channels in all, with the farthest being a little over 40 miles away and the antenna placed indoors on top of the entertainment center. The ability to pull in stations from different directions without re-aiming is outstanding with Lincoln and Des Moines almost 180 degrees apart and both over 40 miles away. While this performance may not be typical for everyone (I live on a high spot and the terrain in this part of the country is relatively flat), this is an outstanding antenna that performs much than advertised. Well worth the money!

I was having trouble picking up a PBS station I really wanted. I had some older GE powered rabbit ears that my brother gave me as a gag gift when I disconnected from cable years ago! He still wonders how I can get by without 100's of channels... anyway, I didn't do a lot of research about how far I am from towers, etc. but thought to give this product a try. Hooked it up, did channel scan, and there they were; several new channels including the PBS station I wanted. Worked for me - from my perspective its worth a try for you.

At 14 miles from the tower, this little antenna pegs the signal meter while remaining inconspicuous on the roof. I took back the 10 foot long 100 element monstrosity I bought for twice the price. I'm so glad I decided to read-up on antennas online. I couldn't be happier. This currently feeds a dual tuner HD Homerun after 60ft of cable. I bet I could split the signal again to another dual tuner, even without an amp... all from little tiny antenna less than one foot square! I'm amazed.