Best Buy Ratings and Reviews

Lock in optimal DTV and analog TV signals with this omnidirectional antenna that features a smart connector for easy connection to DTV converter boxes with a smart antenna interface.

Average Customer Rating:

3.2

out of

(23 Reviews) 23

Rating Snapshot 23 reviews

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

52% of reviewers would recommend this product to a friend

(

12 out of 23

)

Customer Reviews for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Review 1 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Great quality antenna

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: spychica755

from Farmville, VA

on 10/18/2010

Value for Price

4.0

Reception

5.0

Ease of assembly

5.0

Durability

5.0

What's great about it: Great reception.

What's not so great: A little pricey, but worth it!

I purchased this for work, so I could watch Football on Sundays. Yes, I have an addiction. Don't judge me :)

The city where I work is known for awful reception for the new digital channels. This puppy defied the odds, and I get stations with no problem. There is still one local channel I can't get, but I'm blaming that on my location and not the quality of the antenna. And it's definitely durable! Customers will sometimes bring by dogs when they come in (we are dog lovers!) and one happened to get tangled up in the cords for the TV and antenna. The poor antenna survived a fall of about 7', and was actually damage-free.

There is only one downfall I've noticed so far: the digital clock doesn't really work. I'll set the time, but it just stays on the time I set. Not really a big deal, since we have other clocks. Just a small annoyance.

I would recommend this to a friend!

0points

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Review 2 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Nite Docs love it

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: housemom

from alameda

on 10/07/2010

Value for Price

5.0

Reception

5.0

Ease of assembly

5.0

Durability

5.0

What's great about it: works really good better than i expected

What's not so great: nothing as of today

My Moonlighters love it finally they can watch the news and keep up on sports

I would recommend this to a friend!

+1point

1out of 1found this review helpful.

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Review 3 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Not very good

Customer Rating

2.0

Posted by: mojack

from tampa

on 09/07/2010

This does not work even as well as the old rabbit ears I was using......

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

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Review 4 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Cheap and good antenna

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: Gulevichg

from Littleton, Co

on 07/31/2010

Value for Price

5.0

Reception

5.0

Ease of assembly

5.0

Durability

5.0

What's great about it: Its cheap and works good with allumium foil

What's not so great: Having to put the alluminum foil on the floppy ears because it dosnt look that nice

I got this antenna six months ago. For the first six months I was having trouble with getting reception. I leaned the floppy ears by a window and put alumminum foil over the floppy ears. I can get 20 free over the air channels. The alumminum foil acts like a sattelite dish.

I would recommend this to a friend!

+3points

4out of 5found this review helpful.

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Review 5 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

I can work with it!!! It's really not too bad

Customer Rating

4.0

Posted by: Anonymous

from Washington, DC

on 02/23/2010

Value for Price

4.0

Reception

4.0

Ease of assembly

4.0

Durability

3.0

What's great about it: Great picture and adequate channels for tv without calbe.

What's not so great: Limited mobility.

I purchased this antennae to work with a 19" flat screen in my home office. I did not want to go through the labor or expense of connecting the tvf to my cable. Once I found the prime location in my home office, it worked perfectly. However, I can only get the amount of channels I do if it remains in the one location, which happens to be right by the window. It really suits the purpose. The reception is great and aside from the limited positioning, the purchase was not regrettable.

I would recommend this to a friend!

+6points

6out of 6found this review helpful.

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Review 6 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Worst antenna ever!

Customer Rating

1.0

Posted by: 1goodguy

from Tucson,AZ

on 12/17/2009

Value for Price

1.0

Reception

1.0

Ease of assembly

1.0

Durability

1.0

What's great about it: the box.

What's not so great: the whole antenna is a piece of junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a piece of junk. For the price, this is literally a piece of garbage. It is actually a waste of time to even open the box. You could buy a pair of simple rabbit ear type antenna and get much better reception than you do with this so called overpriced piece of junk of an antenna.
Flat out way over priced.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

-2points

2out of 6found this review helpful.

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Review 7 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

I bought this today... I'm returning it tomorrow

Customer Rating

2.0

Posted by: Schmakt

from Charlotte, NC

on 11/08/2009

Value for Price

2.0

Reception

1.0

Ease of assembly

2.0

Durability

3.0

What's great about it: it's cheap

What's not so great: it's cheap

prior to tonight I was using a 10 year-old indoor antenna. I really only got 1 channel w/o problems (Fox) and 12 or 13 others that had decent reception but not great. I attached this antenna tonight; now Fox comes in worse, and auto-scan completely lost 4 other channels. (including NBC, which is all that mattered, cuz I want to watch The Office)

Also, one of the 2 telescopic antennas does not fully extend, and the other one was extremely difficult to screw in.

The actual design is pretty cool; I like the swivel clock... setup was easy... except for, you know, it doesn't work.

I will be returning this tomorrow during lunch.

Of course, everything worked a whole lot better before the switch to digital...

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

+1point

2out of 3found this review helpful.

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Review 8 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Best HDVT antenna, better than $75 ones....

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: TechGuy88

from Detrtoi, MI

on 10/04/2009

Value for Price

5.0

Reception

5.0

Ease of assembly

5.0

Durability

5.0

What's great about it: The BEST! Can recieve 20 channels, vs 9 channels by the more expensive $75 ones...

What's not so great: None.

Bought 8 HDTV Antennas to compare, form the cheap $20 ones to $75 ones, found this one is the best - receives 20 channels, and the more expensive ones only receive 9 channels.

You may want to buy at least 3 HDTV Antennas to compare for your own particular areas / need.

I live in Metro Detroit area.

Good luck!

I would recommend this to a friend!

+4points

4out of 4found this review helpful.

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Review 9 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

22 channels picked up by the little antenna!!!

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: usmc7014

from Miami (kendall)

on 10/01/2009

Value for Price

4.0

Reception

5.0

Ease of assembly

5.0

Durability

3.0

What's great about it: easy to set up and picks up 22 channels

What's not so great: clock is kind of pointless

this is a great investment considering all of the antennas that we have purchased and returned. this little bugger picks up 22 channels and we live way out west in kendall, miami. i am so happy that i will be purchasing another one for my hd tv as we put this one in one of the spare rooms with a converter. trust me....get it you wont regret...thanks for reading...

I would recommend this to a friend!

+4points

4out of 4found this review helpful.

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Review 10 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

the apex not a good product

Customer Rating

1.0

Posted by: hvacking

from shreveport

on 09/14/2009

Value for Price

1.0

Reception

1.0

Ease of assembly

1.0

Durability

1.0

What's great about it: nothing

What's not so great: poor reception

I live in the city and I would not recommend this product to anyone. looks can be desired and poor to no reception.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

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Review 11 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Junk, some channels worse than with $10 antenna

Customer Rating

1.0

Posted by: Welchrock

from Rochester, NY

on 06/28/2009

Value for Price

1.0

Reception

2.0

Ease of assembly

3.0

Durability

3.0

What's great about it: Has a clock, whoo

What's not so great: Doesn't serve purpose of picking up reception

This unit was a a definite disappointment. Bought it out of frustration with consistently skipping video and audio while using a $10 unit that some days got the job done.

After some testing this antenna proved to be no better overall than my cheap pre-DTV unit I've used on and off for years. Some channels came in better, but others came in far worse than the non-amplified unit I am trying to replace. Another example of DTV broadcasts/technology needing serious work.

Save your money, this unit provides marginal improvements at best and it cannot out-perform a $10 unit.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

0points

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Review 12 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Big Power Gain in a Small Package

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: Nardi

from New York, NY

on 06/25/2009

Value for Price

5.0

Reception

5.0

Ease of assembly

5.0

Durability

5.0

What's great about it: Very High Gain of 36db which = 3981X amplification. Wow!!

What's not so great: It's deceptivlely too small to be taken seriously at first sight.

I got 41 channels off the Apex SM550 easily with one caveat. You got to stick the antenna out the window to get the 41. When you put it on top of the TV you might get 25 channels. The walls and even the window screen blocks the very weaker signals. But stick it out a window it sings like Barbra Streisand. Man, I got many Jersey channels crystal. This thing got smooth noiseless 36db hi gain on the UHF. Thats nearly 4000 times power amplification! Others got anemic 10 to 20 db. And with the smart hook up it self adjusts meaning that when a plane goes by it minimizes the freezes and pixelation. And no other antenna but APEX got the smart hookup with the 75 ohm cable. My only complaint is APEX should have made it bigger to pull in the real weaker signals thru the walls. Over all It's the best digital HDTV portable antenna on the market. It's A+. This thing is sweet. You got to get one.

I would recommend this to a friend!

+1point

1out of 1found this review helpful.

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Review 13 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Was not impressed

Customer Rating

1.0

Posted by: BmorePfunk

from Baltimore

on 06/24/2009

Value for Price

1.0

Reception

2.0

Ease of assembly

5.0

Durability

3.0

What's great about it: The clock on the front

What's not so great: I could not pull in many channels.

I live less than 20 miles from the local stations. I have another amplified antenna that pulls in every local HD channel. This antenna pulled in 4 out of 16 stations. If I didnt have another antenna to compare the performance to, I wouldnt know just how bad this antenna performed. The performance makes it not worth any price. I wouldnt keep it if it were free.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

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Review 14 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Worse than coat hanger.

Customer Rating

1.0

Posted by: Doc101

from Hillsborough, NC

on 06/20/2009

Value for Price

1.0

Reception

1.0

Ease of assembly

4.0

Durability

3.0

What's great about it: clock

What's not so great: everything else

My bowtie antenna got 14 channels but this received only 6. Tried many combinations.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

0points

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Review 15 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

It Amplified out my Signal for Ch 8, 11, & 13

Customer Rating

1.0

Posted by: Shell05

from Southwest Houston, TX

on 06/19/2009

Value for Price

1.0

Reception

1.0

Ease of assembly

3.0

Durability

1.0

What's great about it: It looks pretty

What's not so great: It over-amplified the signal and I ended up with only few stations

I set it up easily but could only get 1 major station Ch. 2 or NBC! I was shocked that I paid over $44.00 and that is all I got. Well, I called Channel 13 in Houston, TX and Tom helped me diagnose the problem. They switched from UHF to VHF last week. He had me unplug the Antenna from the outlet and try it without amplification. And then I could get Ch. 13 or ABC! I was so happy because I was temped to just live with it as is. I am headed back to the store to get the basic one without amplification that can get the UHF and VHF signals. Thankfully I saved my receipt!

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

0points

0out of 0found this review helpful.

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Review 16 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Good Antenna for the price

Customer Rating

4.0

Posted by: maverick1

from Phoenix, AZ

on 06/15/2009

Value for Price

5.0

Reception

5.0

Ease of assembly

5.0

Durability

4.0

What's great about it: Easy setup / reception / clock

What's not so great: nothing

Picked this unit up at my local best buy. Works great right of the box. Have it connected to my apex converter box through the smart connector. It simply powers itself up when the converter box is turned on.

Recepection is better than my older rabbit years but there's signal interefernces for some channels. This seems evident to the overall signal strength to the channels in our area. I was able to get more channels from my girlfriends house (2 mi away) with the same setup. Looks like the digital signals differentiates in certain local areas.

Overall I'm pleased with this unit. Clock is neat too. However, i don't seem to have any fanfare from it.

I would recommend this to a friend!

+1point

1out of 1found this review helpful.

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Review 17 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

All pain, no gain

Customer Rating

1.0

Posted by: EnergyMan

from Raleigh, NC

on 06/13/2009

Value for Price

1.0

Reception

1.0

Ease of assembly

3.0

What's great about it: Smart antenna interface

What's not so great: Zero reception

Bought this to replace a 30 year old set of rabbit ears. Turned on full gain and scanned - got zero channels. As I reduced the gain, I got more channels, but never more than I got with the old rabbit ears and at much lower signal. I live five miles from the towers and can see them from my house, but this antenna won't pick them up. Reviews to date show people swear by this item or swear at it - put me in the "at it" category.

Best Buy happily refunded my money. Got an RCA flat antenna for the second TV that works as well as my old rabbit ears at least.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

0points

0out of 0found this review helpful.

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Review 18 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Good Antenna

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: Keating50

from Rochester, NY

on 06/11/2009

Value for Price

4.0

Reception

4.0

Ease of assembly

5.0

Durability

4.0

What's great about it: Easy setup to my converter box

What's not so great: Cords can be longer

Good overall antenna. Just in time for this digital conversion. I have this antenna wired up to my old toshiba crt tv. This antenna works much better then my previous antenna. Clear digital channels is quite remarkable. No messing to get reception. Handy clock too.

It gets the job done.

I would recommend this to a friend!

0points

0out of 0found this review helpful.

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Review 19 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

GOES GREAT WITH MY THREE WOLVES T-SHIRT!

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: Bleuhaze

from Fontucky, CA

on 06/08/2009

Value for Price

5.0

Reception

5.0

Ease of assembly

5.0

Durability

5.0

What's great about it: amazing clock right on the antenna!

What's not so great: does not have a three wolf design on the antenna

This is an amazing product. i bought this a week ago and the second i picked it up i felt an energy surge through my body. at that time i was also wearing my three wolf t-shirt. it must have been a double whammy of amazing products. at the checkout the cashier complimented me on what an amazing product i have chosen. i cannot believe my eyes that i found such a rarity at my local best buy store. after bringing it home i whipped that bad boy out and hooked it up to me 113" plasma TV. because every plasma needs a digital antenna! i now have the clearest HD quality antenna signal money can buy. now i can watch all my soap opera's while wearing my three wolf t-shirt and achieve total euphoria from these great products. i even have ladies asking if they can come over just to visit my antenna. amazing product. 3 out of 3 wolves or 5 out of 5 stars!

I would recommend this to a friend!

-1point

2out of 5found this review helpful.

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Review 20 for Apex Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna with Smart Connector

Awesome Clock Feature!

Customer Rating

5.0

Posted by: ChaseC

from Houston, TX

on 06/03/2009

Value for Price

5.0

Reception

5.0

Ease of assembly

5.0

Durability

5.0

Images for this Review

(click to see full-size image)

What's great about it: The Digital Clock!

What's not so great: The clock was not large enough.

I've been in the antenna market for quite some time now. I strolled by this bad boy and i felt a gravitational pull to this unit. Once i saw the packaging showing the clock, I knew I had found a treasure.

As i brought it to the cashier, she immediately commented on my amazing find. She too was searching for an antenna with a clock. I pointed her the direction where this unit was located in the store and soon enough, everyone went to grab one.

I brought this antenna home, the setup was easy. The smart antenna connector fit right into my converter box. I fired it up and it simply became the masterpiece of my home entertainment center. Friends one by one came over to see the clock feature, pretty soon i had a line out of my house. I had neighbors, strangers, and hitchhikers, all wanting to see my antenna and the amazing clock.

Life is pretty good when you are known for owning something this amazing. I only wish the clock was bigger for it will be even more powerful!

I would recommend this to a friend!

-1point

3out of 7found this review helpful.

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