Customer Ratings & Reviews

Does NOT work...even being located less than one mile from 2 different tv towers!!!!

We used this a camping trip, less than 10 miles from home...nothing nada!

Bad Reception, Poor Quality, Rabbit Ear Antenna...

Not good at all to expensive it does not work good !!!

Horrible.......Don't waste your money or time.....

Unfortunately this HDTV Antenna did not work......

Tried it at two places, couldn’t get a single channel

I "cut the cord" from cable and have been "OTA" (over-the-air) for several years so I was excited to try an amplified antenna. In the past, I've had antennas, and amplifiers, but never had them combined into one unit. The RCA does that and looks stylish as well. It was easy to set up and offered a free app to show you what channels you can expect to receive at your address. (FYI - this information is also available on the internet). I live about 25 miles from the major networks in my area so I had an idea what to expect. I tried the antenna in two locations - my garage, and a basement bedroom. First was the garage where I currently use one of the "flat panel" type antennas, with an external/amplifier, hooked up to a 46" Samsung. With this set-up, the RCA provided better reception (more channels) with the amplifier off. I didn't notice any improvement with the amplifier turned on, nor did I need to extend the dipoles to gain channels. Overall it worked better non-amplified than my current amplified set up. Next, I tried it in the basement hooked up to a 32" Insignia, where I have struggled to get any reception from a portable antenna, even when placed next to a window. With my current "flat panel" I get about 9 channels. With the RCA I was able to get several more channels so it was a definite improvement. When I turned on the amplifier, I guess the signal was too strong because the screen became pixelated and I got nothing. However, non amplified, it worked better than my previous set up. The bottom line with this antenna - or any "OTA" antenna - is to see how close you are to the sources and what stations you can expect to receive. If you're considering dropping cable, check this out first! However, if you've already cut the cord, and know what is available, the RCA Indoor Amplified Antenna is an excellent option since it can be used with the amplifier turned on or off. This would also be a great option in an extra room where you don't have cable (garage) or don't want to pay for cable (guest bedroom). Go get one - you won't be disappointed! I know I wasn't.

Easy to set up, and I am able to get all the local channels I wanted.

It is not very good. You have to angle it just right to have it work properly. I would recommend getting a different one.

Garbage reception/signal. The power wire is short and although it says indoor use the antenna needs to be close to a window to get service so the short power cord becomes a issue if your tv is further then 5 foot away from a window.

The RCA Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna is a perfectly fine indoor antenna. It features two adjustable dipoles, Smart Boost amplification and a sculptural design. Also offered with the antenna is RCA's free Signal Finder smartphone app. I find the sculptural design to be the best feature of this antenna. To get a good signal with your antenna it needs to be out in the open. Hiding it behind the tv or decor greatly reduces its ability to receive a clear signal. This particular antenna has a sleek design that won't look too out of place on a bookshelf or side table, so long as you don't have to extend the dipoles.  Aside from its design, this antenna seems to be like any other indoor antenna. Turning on the Smart Boost amplifier made no difference in signal strength for me. I got just as many channels with the feature turned off as I did with it on. Turning this feature on also lights up a very bright blue light that I find distracting. Unfortunately, I actually got fewer channels with this antenna than the leaf style one I wanted to replace.  Fidgeting with the dipoles didn't offer much more help for me than Smart Boost did. Extending them also defeats the purpose of the sculptural design if you'd rather your antenna not be seen. The Signal Finder smartphone app is a nice feature. It is available for free, whether you purchased this product or not. It's a very bare bones app that shows you where your region's broadcast signals are coming from. This way you can point your antenna directly at those towers for the most direct signal.  I've found that indoor antennas are hit or miss. No matter what proprietary terms a brand uses to describe their product, they're all pretty much the same. It really all depends on how far you are from broadcast towers and how obstructed the signals are between those towers and your tv. If you're just a few miles from the towers and there are no trees around, you'll get a nice strong signal. If you're 50 miles from the towers and you're surrounded by trees, you'll be lucky to get any channels at all. Unfortunately, that is just the nature of radio waves. The further you are from the towers, the more interference you'll have, no matter which brand of indoor antenna you buy. So, I would say that this particular antenna is for the person that has trouble getting reception when trying to hide their antenna. I've always tried to hide mine behind the tv, but that can not only block signals but also cause electronic interference. Because this particular model has a more sculptural design, I believe it would not look out of place out in the open. Just beware that you may need to extend the poles for better reception, which negates the aesthetic design. Also, if you use the amplification then it will constantly emit a bright blue light. 

I got this to try on my basement tv. My old antenna's reception would break up a lot and my basement is the toughest location in my house so I thought it would be a good test for the new antenna. Simple to connect; you can use it with or without the amplifier. I live about 18 miles from the nearest towers. I ran a channel search and my tv found 52 channels without moving the antenna. That's about six channels more than my tv upstairs. Your results may vary depending on where you live and distance from the broadcast towers. Mainly for local stations but I can sometimes also pick up stations from other cities nearby. The phone app is nice too as it shows the location of towers in your area and where to "aim" the antenna for better reception. Useful especially if you're new to using an antenna for tv. I've been using various tv antennas for many years. It's free once you buy the antenna. I've also had cable tv a few times but got tired of paying the always rising monthly bills for it. Free broadcast channels do show a lot of commercials though so be prepared for that (except for PBS). Not really a problem for me as it gives me a chance to do other things (like going to the bathroom, etc.) while watching. If you're new to broadcast tv the digital stations usually also have substations broadcast from the same tower which is why there are so many channels. Get one now. It's good.

I picked up the RCA ANT1268E indoor antenna in hopes that it might be a bit better than a similarly priced, window-mounted flat antenna I had previously purchased. I also wanted to try the accompanying RCA Signal Finder app. In particular, I was hoping the RCA antenna would receive signals from a tower 33 miles away that broadcasts CBS, ABC and FOX. The RCA antenna box advertises a range of 45 miles. The app did indicate a signal from the CBS-ABC-FOX tower, but try as I might, the RCA antenna did not receive it. Consequently, I found that this antenna received exactly the same channels as the flat antenna pressed against the window: NBC and PBS from towers 5 miles away and a local religious station from a tower 10 miles away. The RCA antenna had one small advantage over the flat antenna pressed to the window with adhesive. The adhesive on the window-mounted antenna has periodically come loose, requiring remounting. In contrast, the RCA antenna sits elegantly on a horizontal surface and looks much more attractive. However, in terms of signal reception, the antennas are on par, receiving exactly the same channels. Neither received the signal from the CBS-ABC-FOX tower 33 miles away, despite the RCA app indicating that it should be reachable. I should also note that extension and orientation of the rabbit ears on the RCA antenna is important. I found that it did not pick up the small religious station until the rabbit ears were extended to a full horizontal orientation. In contrast to the RCA indoor antenna, an antenna I have mounted in my attic is able to pick up signals from the CBS-ABC-FOX tower. So, while the RCA ANT1268E is fine for an indoor antenna, realistically one shouldn't expect it to perform like an outdoor antenna.

Total crap. Utterly worthless. …and if you can’t make it back to Best Buy quickly enough you’re stuck with this thing. Mine literally went in the trash.

First off, I have been using "rabbit ear" antennas since I was a small child. I have gone through many years using cable and satellite, but for a little over a year now I have gone completely over the air and streaming. I Have quite a few antennas in my house and have tested at least a half dozen. This RCA antenna outperformed most that I have in my home. This one is pretty traditional with a main unit and the 2 retractable antennas that are actually pretty long. You plug it in to the TV and also to a power source and away you go. So I tried this out in my basement office where I watch the morning news while I am working from home. My current antenna is one of those flat antennas mounted in the ideal spot after several hours of calibrating. I had a whopping 14 total channels. I set up this RCA in almost the same spot and ran the channel search. It found 30 total channels...30! I was ecstatic. The old channels I did get were also dicey and now those tried and true channels came in perfect. I could not be happier but the instructions recommend an app. There is an RCA app that helps you find the best position based on where the network towers are located. I am in a far north Chicago suburb and the app literally showed Chicago on a map and Milwaukee on a map. It was kind of funny as I could have just pointed the antenna towards Chicago or Milwaukee at any time. So I did and ran the channel search again. This time it found only 25. I found this even more funny. So I now have little faith in the concept of simply aiming the antenna towards the big city's towers. I then positioned it back in my original ideal spot and ran the channel search again and this time it found 35! I was perplexed as to how if found 5 more channels back in it's original spot. But I was not complaining as I now have several shop from home channels that I always find somewhat hypnotic. Overall I have extremely pleased with this antenna as it has given more channels to entertain me in the background while I am hard at work in my home office. Take the app for what it's worth, but I uninstalled it right after the first attempt using it. I think this is a 5 star antenna all day.

I substituted my old antenna, which scanned 48 channels, and am happy to say it was able to pick up an additional 3 channels. The HD picture is as good as when I used my old one. The very ne t day there was a snow storm, and of course being terrestrial, the reception did suffer from 5 bars down to 4 and became a little Pixelated. Moving the "rabbit ears" around did help. And the amplification really does bring in clearer, crisper channels. Nice, if you are a cord cutter, this should make you pretty happy.

If you are a cord cutter, or someone who wants a backup to their cable/sat subscription, an antenna is wise option, and the RCA Indoor Amplified Antenna should fit the bill well. The antenna is easy to get going. RCA provides a Signal Finder app (I used Android, find it in the Play Store under RCA Signal Finder) to help you know what stations should be available, and how to orient your antenna. It worked well, and as you move your phone, the map adjusts to show which direction the station is. For me, this wasn't quite as useful, since I live close to 3 of the 4 stations and already knew where their towers were. But someone who doesn't, the app is a handy addition! Physical set up is simple. As it's an amplified antenna, it does have a very tiny AC adapter to plug in. Connect the cable to the antenna and TV, plug it in, and extend the dipoles, and you're pretty much set. The instructions recommend avoiding metal, and placing near a window when possible, which I did. Afterwards, I ran my TV's channel scan again, and picked up all the stations I expected--the four broadcast networks, and their subchannels (a total of 20). Video quality over broadcast can be excellent, as it's typically very lightly compressed compared to cable/sat providers, so if you've never seen broadcast HDTV, you might be in for a pleasant surprise--at its best, it's near Blu-Ray sharp. For the cord cutter, this is a good product, as some of the streaming services that mimic cable packages do not always include local channels. That gives you flexibility to save some money possibly with a provider that doesn't, while you retain your access to broadcast via the antenna. And of course, even if you do use one that includes it, or have traditional cable or satellite service, this serves as a nice backup for any outages. Recommended.

The antenna works well and I can receive several channels.

I'm a cord cutter and this RCA Indoor antenna is just what I needed. I don't have live TV of any kind and really only miss football on the weekends during football season. This antenna fills that void. Set up was very easy. Definitely download the RCA Signal Finder app. You simply connect the antenna and plug it in, and then the app helps you determine the direction that the signals come from by using your address. I definitely recommend using this near a window. I got nothing until I moved the surge protector a little so that I could put it closer to the window. Also, move it around around and rotate it and see if you can get better signals and more channels. It recommended to in the instructions and it really did helps. The first scan that got channels found 9 I repositioned the dipoles and tried again, and only got 8 channels. I rotated the antenna itself and repositioned the dipoles, and was able to scoot it about 6 inches closed to the window by moving the surge protector again, and Bam! 20 channels. Importantly, all the local channels that I would need for football and a bunch that I never expected. And some of them are pretty good. Ones that play movies, an HGTV type channel, a crime channel and a sports channel. The antenna is definitely worth it and I would recommend it to anyone.