By Scott Kramer
Since posting my column on Tablo TV last week, I’ve been asked which over-the-air antenna I’ve been using with it. It is the Channel Master indoor SMARTenna + with Active Steering technology, the company’s latest model that comes with seven different antenna modes that attempt to optimize reception.
The 11.6” by 11.6” flat antenna has a black side and white side, presumably to camouflage against walls where applicable. It also comes with two black and two white push pins that stay relatively invisible when positioning the antenna on a wall. And there are four pieces of adhesive strip tape also included, if you want to attach the antenna to a window.
You need to connect the antenna coax cable into its included amplifier (it just easily pushes on without the need to screw it on), plug the amplifier into the wall, and push on another included coax to your TV (or in my case, the Tablo TV device). The antenna goes through an optimization process for a few minutes, which you can see via a blinking light on the bottom of it. Then you scan for channels on your TV menu. The company suggests that when you go through the initial process, you’re supposed to sit where you normally do to watch TV and not move through the entire ordeal. The theory is that body movement anywhere near the antenna will throw off your reception. That’s a bit temperamental, no?
There’s also a button on the antenna that’s designed to eliminate the need for repositioning the unit. So if your picture becomes pixelated, you’re to use the button to page through the seven modes. And this is where the product lost me a little bit. To get into Mode 2, you need to push the button twice and then wait a few minutes. If the picture doesn’t clear up, then you press the button three times to get into Mode 3 and wait. And so on, all the way through Mode 7. That seems like a lot of tedious time and effort. Makes me fondly remember the old rabbit ear days when you just moved around the two antennas until you found the picture.
I’ve tried seven or eight over-the-air antenna models the past two years. Where we are located in Southern California, getting decent, steady reception anywhere in our home — thanks most likely to all of the hills in the area — is near impossible. I tried the Channel Master downstairs at first and only got two channels. I tried optimizing at that point, going through all of the modes as per the instructions, and even reset the unit — but couldn’t do any better. So I moved it upstairs to the optimal reception point of our home, and was able to pick up about 15 channels. That was just about what all the other antenna models I’ve tried have received. And so far in the week I’ve used it, it has kept the signal better than many of the competitors — without me needing to try any of its other modes. This unit sells for $89.
Scott Kramer is veteran, Southern California-based writer primarily versed in golf and personal technology. Studying Computer Sciences in college, and then working as a programmer/software engineer for about a decade, triggered my passion for today’s high-end, high-tech gadgets. I can’t help myself whenever I see any kind of cool new personal technology. I feel compelled to further check it out and see what it’s all about. And even if I have no use for it personally, I’m always thinking who it might best suit. There are exciting new innovations emerging daily that are shaping the future and simplifying life. And I hope to be your eyes to that world, through the words of this column.