Best Tv Antenna Boosters

If you invest a lot of money in a widescreen, 4K or 8K UHD TV set, you’ll certainly want to get the most out of it.  To get as many channels as possible with the best possible reception, you’ll require a good antenna. But you might notice that some channels give you a picture that “breaks up”, or that freezes. If so, choosing out one of the best digital TV antenna boosters will not just improve your TV’s reception--it’s a vital piece of equipment!

Do TV Boosters Really Work?

There are two types of boosters that you can install:

1. Preamplifier:

This is placed near the antenna, amplifying the signal before it travels down the coaxial cable into your TV set. It gets its power from a power supply unit inside your house that runs current through the coaxial cable.

A single antenna preamp plugged into an unpowered splitter can suffice for splitting a signal to several TV sets. You’ll install a preamp together with a roof antenna, because there is no wall outlet on your roof from where you can get power.

1. Distribution amplifier:

In the event that you use a splitter to distribute a TV signal to several televisions, you should use a distribution amplifier, to offset any losses due to the splitter.

Even a good TV signal can become unwatchable if it goes through an 8-way splitter without some sort of amplification.

What to Look for When Purchasing Digital TV Antenna Boosters?

Armed with all of this information on the workings of television antennas and boosters, you should be ready to select from the MSN list of the 10 best digital TV antenna boosters. Our list is updated daily, giving the latest products at the best prices and based on reviews from across the internet.

Need a little more help? Here are some more extra pointers:

Antenna Amplifier Type

Besides checking signal strengths in your area from the Internet, there’s another simple method to see if a preamplifier will be of assistance.

• Check if you’re losing stations:

As we said, the preamplifier compensates for losses due to the coaxial cable running down from the antenna to your TV set.

So, to see if the signal loss due to the cable is significant, you can try connecting a portable TV up close to the antenna. Use a short cable at first of around 2-5 feet, which will have negligible loss.

After you see how many channels you get, try hooking up the portable TV in your house, at the end of the coaxial cable. If you see that you receive many more stations near the antenna than inside your house, then a preamplifier antenna booster is highly recommended.

• Check to see if your antenna has a preamplifier:

Also, check to see if your antenna already has a built-in preamplifier. If it does, then you should not install another preamplifier. Either due to overamplifying the signal, or due to power losses to the internal preamplifier, it might cause you to lose reception altogether!

Low Noise

We mentioned the importance of looking at the SNR. We also want to be sure that the booster itself doesn’t introduce more noise! Select an amplifier that introduces no more than 2 dB of noise, such as the GE Indoor TV Antenna Amplifier (Model No. 42178).

GE Indoor TV Antenna Amplifier

Signal Gain

If you buy an outdoor preamplifier booster, you can expect as much as 25-30 dB of gain. If you buy an indoor amplifier, it’s recommended to select one that will provide a signal gain of 16-24 dB.

But, since we’re talking about a distribution amplifier, that gain will be split up between the different outputs. For example, on the Channel Master Ultra Mini series, the Ultra Mini 1 has one output, with 15 dB of gain.

The Ultra Mini 2 has two outputs with 11.5 dB gain, while the Ultra Mini 8 with 8 outputs provides 4.5 dB of gain to each TV!

Channel Master Ultra Mini 8 TV Antenna Amplifier

Port Outputs

As we see, a distribution amplifier’s gain is distributed among the various outputs. If you get an 8-output splitter, it’ll split the gain by a factor of 8--even if you only use one or two outputs! So, be sure to get a distribution amplifier that has only the number of outputs that you’ll need.

Durability and Quality

In the event that you install a preamplifier near an antenna on your roof, exposed to the elements, make sure that it’s inside a housing that is both waterproof and resistant to any corrosion.

Price

The great thing about digital TV antenna boosters is that they’re quite affordable, easy to install, and give noticeable improvement in your reception!

A Channel Master Ultra Mini TV Antenna Amplifier is a very popular preamplifier, and costs around $34! For a little more money, the Antennas Direct ClearStream Juice is a VHF/UHF preamplifier, which can compensate for splitters and losses due to long coaxial cables.

You can find 4-way distribution amplifiers for around $40-$50, and 8-way distribution amplifiers for under $60.

When Do You Need a Signal Booster for Digital TV?

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, countries started making a transition from analog to digital television. When you applied a booster to an analog signal, it would allow you to magnify details that were getting lost.

However, with digital TV, the analog signal is digitized to 1s and 0s. Amplifying a digital signal would not reveal more detail.

But there is still a problem of loss of signal from splitters and coaxial cables, as well as noise in the signal. You’ll want to amplify the TV signal over the background noise.

The Signal-to-Noise Ratio (=SNR or S/N) is a fair indicator of whether you need a signal booster or not. It’s a ratio of the average power of the signal divided by the average power of the noise, expressed in decibels (dB) (where 10 decibels is 101 = 10 times, and a difference of 20 decibels is 102 = 100 times greater).

• A SNR of 14 dB is considered the minimal acceptable SNR. If the SNR is less than this number, the channel is not strong enough, or there is too much noise, to use an amplifier. An amplifier won’t help here.

• An SNR of 25 dB is considered good enough that a long cable or even inclement weather will not ruin the reception appreciably. For stations that come in with such a strong signal, there’s no need for an amplifier.

What is Some Important Preamplifier Terminology that I Should Know?

There are some terms that you’ll encounter when looking at specs for a preamplifier:

1. Gain:

The gain of an amplifier is the amount that it increases the power of a signal. It’s a ratio of the output divided by the input, and the number is expressed in decibels as well.

An amplifier will get electricity from a USB cable, wall current, or the coaxial cable, and use that to boost the antenna signal. You’ll want the amplifier gain to be more than the losses in the signal due to coaxial cable and splitters.

For example, the AllAboutAdapters Digital HD TV Antenna Booster provides a gain of 15 dB, with only a loss of 1 dB due to noise!

AllAboutAdapters Digital HD TV Antenna Booster

1. Auto Gain Control:

As we mentioned, if you live close to a TV station, the reception will already be strong, and amplifying the signal may actually damage your TV set’s electronics.

So, it’s best to get an amplifier with “auto gain control”, so that only the weak stations are given the maximum gain.

There are also antennas with built-in amplifiers, which require that you change the amplification manually from “long-range” to “short-range” when you watch a station that is nearby.

One such antenna is the TS-Ant Store Upgraded HD Digital TV Antenna with a Smart Amplifier and Signal Booster.

TS-Ant Store Signal Booster

1. Noise Figure:

The antenna booster itself will generate some noise. The noise figure of an amplifier is a ratio of how much noise is generated after the amplifier is inserted as compared to the input noise. In general, noise of 2 dB is considered low, while 4 dB or more is considered too high.

1. FM traps:

FM radio stations may produce interference that ruins your TV signal for the VHF stations. Some preamps have an FM trap that simply filters out any external FM signals. That’s very important if you live near a FM radio station.

1. 4G LTE Filters:

Also, cellular phones and antennas can interfere with UHF stations. There are preamp boosters that have 4G LTE filters to remove cellphone interference.

1. Dual input amplifier:

Some preamplifiers are made to amplify both VHF and UHF channels. An example is the Televes 560483 Dual Input Antenna Preamp. It takes two inputs, one from a VHF antenna, and one from a UHF antenna.

Televes 560483 Dual Input Antenna Preamp

When Do You Need a TV Distribution Amplifier?

As we said, a distribution amplifier is meant to avoid loss of a signal when you split the signal to several TVs.

Without some sort of compensation, a splitter will cause signal loss, even if you don’t use all of the output ports. The signal loss can be so bad that you’ll lose all of your channels!

An example is the Cimple 24 dB Distribution Amplifier. You plug the power supply into a wall socket, attach an input coaxial cable from the antenna, an output coaxial cable to your splitter, and you’re done!

Cimple 24 dB Distribution Amplifier

When Do You Need a Preamplifier vs a Distribution Amplifier?

There are a number of checks that you can do to see whether you should get a preamplifier, a distribution amplifier, or perhaps even both.

For example, there are a number of websites that quickly give you information as to signal strengths in your area, such as Channel Master’s Antenna Selection Guide.

You enter in your address and zip code, and you will receive a list of TV stations in your area, and their respective strengths.

Channel Master’s Antenna Selection Guide Display

• Preamplifier only: For channels with a red or purple-colored signal strength indicator, you are advised to use a preamplifier at the antenna.

• Preamplifier with Distribution Amplifier: If you have 1) a long coaxial cable of more than 25 meters running from the antenna to your TV set, and 2) more than two TV sets attached to one antenna, then you should use a preamplifier and a distribution amplifier inside your house. The preamplifier will ensure that signal levels are adequate when they get to the distribution amplifier.

• Distribution Amplifier only: For green and yellow-colored channels, a preamplifier won’t be required, but you could still use a distribution amplifier, if you have several TVs hooked up to one antenna. This will ensure that you won’t have any degradation in picture quality or channels “dropping out”.

How to Install a TV Amplifier?

Almost every TV antenna booster comes with an installation video, showing you how to install it in around 5-10 minutes. But, there are still a few points to keep in mind, for optimal performance:

Positioning a Preamplifier Booster

A preamplifier booster should be placed next to the antenna. If the antenna is placed outside on the roof, you should attach the preamplifier nearby. It should be in a waterproof casing to protect it from damage.

Use weatherproof “boots” to put on the coaxial cable, to make sure that no water seeps inside.

Also, you should properly ground the antenna, as well as the mast on which you attach the antenna.

You’ll notice that many preamplifiers consist of two units:

1. An outdoor booster unit that is placed near the outdoor antenna that you mount on the antenna mast, and

1. An indoor power inserter unit that you plug in that sends power up the coaxial cable to power the amplifier.

An example of such a device is the Channel Master Titan 2 Medium Gain Preamplifier.

Channel Master Titan 2 Medium Gain Preamplifier (Model CM-7778V3)

Positioning a Distribution Amplifier

An indoor distribution amplifier should be placed near the TV. The more output ports you have, the more losses you’ll have in the signal.

So, an 8-port distribution amplifier will only have 12.5% of the signal going to each TV. Therefore, try to keep the coaxial cable lengths to a minimum.

For example, the Antennas Direct 8-Port TV Distribution Amplifier, which can connect up to 8 devices, including TVs, DVRs, DVD recorders, and VCRs!

There is a power supply that you plug in and attach with the accompanying 3-ft black coaxial cable. Only with such a booster could you ever expect to get proper reception to all of these devices.

Wrap Up

All things considered, a digital TV antenna booster is a small investment of as little as $30, yet it can immeasurably improve your viewing experience on a TV that costs thousands of dollars!

Whether you need a preamplifier or distribution amplifier, or if you want an antenna with a built-in amplifier, you can find what you need in our list of the top 10 digital TV antenna boosters.