Lava HD-8008 Omnipro Omni Directional HD TV Antenna Review
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- This is my review of the Lava HD8008 Omnipro Omni-directional Amplified Outdoor TV Antenna. This antenna is designed to pick up signals from all directions but how well does it work compared to other directional antennas I’ve reviewed in the past?
Affiliate Links:
Click below for an updated list of recommended antennas and accessories:
www.amazon.com...
Link to the antenna:
amzn.to/2NkQ4zN
Link to video on combining antennas:
• How To Combine Two TV ...
For an antenna recommendation visit my website:
www.antennaman...
Link to FCC DTV maps:
www.fcc.gov/me...
Considering a Channel Master antenna? Use my affiliate link below:
www.channelmas...
Consider supporting these videos on Patreon:
/ antennaman
🔌 Did my videos help you cut the cord? If so, consider a PayPal contribution, Patreon, or a Channel Membership:
www.paypal.com...
/ antennaman
Sign up to my e-mail list:
bit.ly/2whSoTI
Like my Facebook page:
/ antennamanpa
E-mail brief general questions or sponsorship inquires to theantennamanpa@gmail.com - before sending an e-mail consider a custom antenna recommendation below if you are looking for help with an antenna setup.
www.antennamanp...
Note: this video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I'll receive a small commission.
📡 Click below for an updated list of recommended antennas and accessories:
www.amazon.com/shop/antennaman
My Grandparents had the best camper trailer as a kid there was a crank on the ceiling that allowed you to erect and point the antenna! They had a directional antenna and it showed me at a young age how a directional antenna is better for far away channels! Good video Tyler keep up the good work!
My Parents had the same setup on their Airstream camper, and on a clear night, that thing would pick up stations from 4 states.
I do love your "NO BS" review!!!.... Thanks for that!!!!
I just recently bought this antenna. Let me tell you about my experience. I live in the 08075 area code.....Philadelphia area in nj. I mounted mine on a 10 ft aluminum pole. First test i did just what u did on ground picked up about 8 channel's. Then mounted on roof on chimney 40 ft in air were it currently resides. With the power for the amplifier hooked up i only recueved 14 channel's, then removed the power amplifier and hooked antenna direct into the tv. Now getting 44 channel's. I believe it is because the tv amplified the signal as well. I get every local channel in perfect hd. Along with great uhf. Bottom line is im very very happy so far with this antenna. Try raising your test anntena against and re test.
I have a Lava HD-8008 that I attached to my old Dish antenna pole on the north side of my house and it picks up lots of Chicago stations because I am only 30 miles SE of Chicago and the land is flat around here. It is doing a good job for me and I have been happy with it.
You are letting the antenna take credit for being in a good reception zone. You would likely get more with a directional antenna
Thanks so much for these informative videos! The signal comparison segments are great. I've gone from being clueless to being able to make an informed decision for product selection and proper installation. You're a fantastic resource. Thank you for your time and effort!
I can testify to picking up from behind. Turned my cm 4228 toward Roanoke 80 miles away and still picked up harrisonburg 30 miles behind me!! Gained 16 additional stations by doing this!! Great point Tyler
I felt like you were talking directly to me! A thanks for that great information Tyler!
I have this antenma. We have had it up for about 9 years now, no problems with it at all.
We get 56 channels, no blinking, and it's only roighly 25 ft off the groung on a chimney mount on our house.
Really great antenna. Especially for VHF. My home-built didn't even pick up CW, FOX, ANTENNA TV. This one picked up those three.
Arnold Sez: "Get in the Choppa!"
I bought one of these last month bc I was tired of trying to get the old rabbit ear type powered indoor antenna to work. The signals come from 40 to 60 miles away from 3 directions & I was never able to get the ABC channel & to get NBC the antenna had to be pointed in just the right direction & put on top of the tv. The only reliable stations I got were the Fox stations. With this Lava Omnipro antenna I get 84 stations including the CBS & NBC stations & all are very clear. Very happy with it.
Even with the gymnastics maneuvers NBC was spotty at best. The 84 stations I now get are all the new digital signals. It only picks up one of the old analog stations-don’t know if that’s bc there aren’t any or if the antenna won’t pick them up.
I have the same antenna for 3years now its relatively good. I live in Toronto area and receive 41 channels with sub channels stabled. some do pixel at times but are pretty stabled. . I never received FOX in the years having this antenna. Strangely I am getting FOX and ION TV regularly . used to get WNYB in Jamestown CH 26 but no more. I have it outside on my balcony facing south east . As being high up so, Weird times I got Detroit Michigan Fort Wayne Indiana. I wouldn't say its true omnidirectional antenna but its doing its job for now. Thanks for the review Tyler Its nice to see a review on the antenna I own.
I've had a Lava 8008 Omnipro for over a year, works great, All you have to do is install it and forget it. Pulls in all my local stations in my area and some in another state 85 miles away. I guess every area is different.
if you live near the airport every time a plane goes by you loose the signal.
I'm five miles away from Willis Tower, which is 1,450 feet high and has most of Chicago's transmitters, so this should work great.
Thank you Tyler for the review that is the identical antenna that I finally settled with after trying four directional antennas I'm in southwest Missouri pick up 42 channels of course some are duplicates I get them from Springfield Missouri Joplin Missouri in Fayetteville Arkansas I am very happy with this antenna thanks again. I have quite a few Rollinghills small mountains as I live on the lake down below works good
Thank you for your review. I had only just recently seen this antenna lava for sale and was wondering if it was any good I'm glad to see that you are up-to-date
I live in the city and I connected and old antenna that I have from my portable tv 7 inch, and Eureka! I had all the local channels, like 40. Great reception !!
I have an omni antenna and it works great , I pull in about 35 to 40 channels . I'm not in a major city either , I live outside a smaller town with the bigger cities at least 90 miles in any direction maybe over 100 .
Thanks for reviewing this, as I was always curious. Meanwhile my intuition was telling me it's nothing special. This time my intuition was trustworthy.
I built a Gray-Hoverman antenna. It's outperformed my large aluminum directional and a clear stream by far. The antenna design is not cost effective for manufactures but you can build it yourself for pretty cheap. Part of the trick to any antenna is make sure the antenna is isolated from touching other metal, and make sure it's grounded. I used rubber washers and wood. #8 copper wire for the antenna itself. You must add hats to receive vhs. I'm 60 miles from dallas and receive all the channels (56) at 100% , I receive decatur 90 miles away at 100%.
I like mine a lot, but most of the plans show the terminals going in to wood. Works fine until the wood gets wet! I used discarded venetian blind channels to insulate and isolate. Though you can buy grommets and terminal blocks, I built my Gray-Hoverman for just about no material cost.
@@stevejohnson1321 I Used 2x4 treated lumber and put a few coated of linseed oil on it , it should last a long time. I used what I had handy. The reflector I used a metal bed frame one of my neighbors threw away and some galvanized bailing wire. It was a fun project. I'm definitely a believer in Gray - Hoverman design. I'm also a amateur radio operator and have made lots of antenna's.
I built one on PVC 1x4 boards. I added the VHF hats, and it’ll get a low power station on RF 5 at 90%. I’ve gotten stations 60 miles away at night through hills and mountains!
For some reason I'm pulling in RF 5 too; not splendidly, but amazing that works at all. Performance is very similar to Channel Master 4221 I pulled out of the trash, though that model drops off quickly below channel 13. Both models I run without reflector, as that lets me pull in two opposing TV markets. Without error-correction, that wouldn't have been possible.
Steve Johnson I had a reflector, but took it off after the repack. A couple stations behind the antenna changed channels.
You are awesome, please keep making content
( I hope to put this info to a DIY project soon!)
The very best antenna is the log-periodic-yagi array,these have the very best forward gain with widest bandwidth,plus the forward gain stays much more consistent across the antennas bandwidth.
Thanks for the honest review.
Looks like the antenna on my r.v. and it is defiantly a half assed antenna! another good review brother! 👍🏻🧔🏻
Another great review. Thanks
I have had a Lava omni directional antenna for a while now and was very happy picking up stations from the two different broadcasting areas I am between. Could get some stations from one area if I could not get it from the other. Areas are about 80 degrees apart. But since the rescan have lost a lot of stations from both areas and some stations are broadcasting on the same channels for example I have two 23.1 channels. I am about equal distance between the Rockford and Chicago markets. Thankfully it is all flat farm land.
Yes, I could have told you the same thing based on my results as well. I’ve bought that Omni antenna from Amazon, and I returned it to them the same day after those crappy results
Good review Tyler. Funny, I get a station on RF channel 10 coming in on the side of my directional yagi antenna and I get it just fine. Go figure.
Seems that a better test would be to rotate this antenna while receiving a reasonably good signal. This would reveal if it's really omni. As you mentioned all antennas are omni, to some degree.
Tried it and lost some signals. This is not a true omni
Thank you for your help in understanding antenna use and set, much appreciated.
Mine is pointed east towards Harrisburg but Hagerstown is so strong that I still get their stations from the back.
I have this antenna mounted outside at 30 feet. Here in south Jersey I get 66 channels several of which pixelate due to a cell tower 2 blocks away. Since it has a built in pre-amp, I am unable to install a LTE filter. LAVA support said to install it between the power inserter and the TV but that didn't help. Note that the VHF is BI DIRECTIONAL. I can get 3 VHF stations in this market. RF 2, 6 and 12 (Philadelphia). RF 4 (Bridgeton, NJ) and 9 (Lehigh, PA) are too weak.
I have a bow tie antenna that I made out of a 2x4 and clothes hangers back when digital tv became reality and works great. Even now. I made two.
Just bought this antenna prior to seeing this review. I didn't get it for the omni functionality, but for the VHF-LO capabilities. In my area (a mountain valley), all but 1 channel come from the same area, and that 1 channel is an LPTV channel, so it's not that big of a deal to me. Anyway, not only was the preamp very good at all, but the low end of the UHF band is somewhere above RF channel 15, as neither of those 2 channels come in (they used to).
Hypothetical question for you antenna man. You said that a strong directional antenna can receive signals from the back and sides. Would you be able to tell me what roughly the signal would have to be for the antenna to see the signal ??? Also, would the directional antenna see the signal more from the sides rather than the back side ??? So refreshing to have someone answer questions with factual answers. Thank you again Sir Antenna Man. Good day too.
I actually said that a directional antenna will pick up strong signals from the back not weak signals. Different antennas have different gain and rejection paths. Refer to the antennas manual to determine where they are.
@@AntennaMan Nice to hear from you on my question about signal reception. Slowly I will become an expert as yourself. Thanks Antenna Man.
Summary: The omnidirectional UHF antenna inside the radome lacks the sufficient gain to pick up weak signals. The antenna will perform well if the UHF stations are close. This antenna has directionality in the VHF band: the directionality can be used to receive weaker VHF signals if the customer needs directionality in their reception location. Ok for RVs. Workmanship is good.
Extra elements on a directional antenna helps very well on the back side. If you're clever enough you can even add your own elements.
Again thanks useful info
the lava antenna is a good antenna the but the only problem i have is that i live one mile from the airport and every time that a plane fly over my house my signal is lost for about 30 second is annoying
I'm just curious about your gear. What brand TV do you use to show the different pieces of information regarding the actual signal on each channel? I think it's fascinating to see all the data associated with each channel. Thanks for all your videos and the great information.
This is the tuner I use on the TV set in the video. amzn.to/2ZM9ZAC
I got an ad for this antenna on TH-cam. Apparently they're advertising this as a "4K" antenna even though there is no 4K OTA TV (yet)
I am looking to buy my first house in Fort Myers Florida it has a television antenna on it but I spoke to the owner of the house and he said the antenna has been there since he was a child in the 70s he doesn't know if it still works but it does look pretty decent if it does still work with a 50 year old antenna to pick up HD signals are would I have to buy an HD antenna
Hey Tyler, do you have a list of the actual VHF and UHF frequencies? I know the channels are not on assigned frequencies as back in the 1990’s and back. At least give me an idea of the band limits. I can’t seem to find a band plan. Great job on your videos!
www.dbsinstall.com/broadcast/vhf_uhf_freq_list.asp Maybe this will help
They’re on the same frequencies as always, it’s just that everything over 36 isn’t used now.
I do have this particular antenna for my tv and the nearest towers are 30 miles.
I get good reception and the antenna is just 12 ft off the ground and get 20 channels.
But I have few trees and the terrain is flat farmland.
Whenever you are "graced" with a wee bit of time, please consider fabrication of a "ground plane", specifically for use in improving VHF reception within areas located in the medium and far fringe designation. Due to the rurality of your service area(s), and combined with a perceived (mountainous) terrain/heavy mineralization, ground plain reception efforts could very easily add 10%-to-17% more signal gain, and in some instances lessen the amplification (power) demand by the amplifier's comparator section/circuit.
I was going to buy this antenna and now you have me second guessing. I have an old RCA Omni antenna but I've lost several channels and think it just needs replacing. My problem is that I'm between at least three tower locations and a directional antenna I feel will not get me what I need. Not to mention all the tall trees. 49633 is the zip. Any suggestions? Great channel thanks!!!!
Omni directional antennas typically don't work well. If you would like a custom antenna recommendation I offer them at the link below: antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
@@AntennaMan thanks!
With that being said, does a larger 3ft. or 6ft. Antenna recieved clearer channels.
i am on the north end of the apartment complex... stations are on the south side... so what can i do I only want channel 2 ... help
What is your suggestion for the best omnidirectional antenna for a sailboat. I am located in the Australia East coast Newcastle
No one has done a teardown video for one of these. It does have a copper coil inside, once you open it up.
Thank you
Here's something odd, with the antenna I have I had a hard time getting uhf channels I took an old uhf antenna off a old TV, It actually did the job receiving. My setup looks strange but dose the job now without a boost.
Do you find putting your antenna too high causes for signals to go out I have mine at 28 feet if I go any higher the signals fade out
I have an antenna exactly this when I installed it on the roof, the signal reception was good, and most of the stations were visible, but when I installed this antenna higher (8 feet from the roof) the signal changed weak, there is a strange phenomenon that I need to add a reflector (the reflector at the back of general directional antenna) on top of this antenna will then to received signals and see all the stations. I don't know why Mr. Antenna Man knows the reason and what advice does it has? I wish the antenna reflector could be removed.
It's all about location with an antenna. Sometimes a higher placement will provide worse reception due to multipath. That's why I always recommend using some kind of signal meter to find the best spot for an antenna. Don't just point it and hope for the best. See video below. th-cam.com/video/1_Cy08x5qeY/w-d-xo.html
@@AntennaMan thank you for your advise.
I have a Lava antenna as well and I get pretty good reception despite my area...I would like to know however if there is any particular reason it wont work with a signal booster?
a cheaper yagi or quad would usually have less director elements so wouldnt it pick up MORE off the back side than a fancier one with more elements?
Not if the antenna is made of junk like this one.
Could you show some antenna installs and also some info on grounding. Thanks and I enjoy watching your videos. Thanks
I have a video on grounding if you check out my other videos. I will not be posting any videos on how to specifically install an outdoor antenna as it deters local install requests and has a liability risk for someone that gets hurt trying it after watching my video.
We must live in the same area- northeastern PA. We are needing to get rid of our cable. We are in Fleetville - so rural. Any specific antennas to recommend for us?
You can find a list of recommended antennas or sign up for an antenna recommendation from me below: www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
I had pretty good luck getting getting Buffalo channels with my 91xg that are about 70 miles away while still getting Erie channels from behind that were about 18 miles away. I've built a new house about a 1000 feet South of the old house. Trying to figure out what I want to do this time. for now I have a cheap indoor antenna in a window on 1 tv that will some times bring in a Buffalo or Canadian channel. The new house has a metal roof. Maybe I'm putting too much thought into that. I don't want to install into the metal and I'm concerned that it will interfere some with my channels. At this house I will also be running to 5 or 6 tvs so I don't want a rotor. I was thinking maybe I should go with something that is less directional to get a wider range of the Buffalo and Canadian channels. I'm struggling with how I want to mount it, Do I want directional?, I'm thinking I want a pre-amp or maybe an amp or both. This review has me crossing the omni directional out of consideration. Appreciate any advice.
What is the best Antennas for Satellite signal?thanks
I know it's not related to this video, good video btw I was wondering about this antenna, anyway is the antenna repacking going to help with signal loss on tv antennas due to bad weather? I have had outdoor antennas and every time it gets cloudy or cloudy and rainy some of my stations pixilate! Is there any fix for this? Ever since the stations went digital this happens and is quite annoying, especially when you are trying to make sure there are no tornado warnings etc.!
The repack May improve reception on some channels but most of them will stay about the same. If you are having issues with bad weather you may need a larger antenna setup.
@@AntennaMan Thank you so much for the information. :)
@@yabby4 also check out this video I made on 10 ways to improve your TV reception. I am sure at least one of them will be beneficial for you.
th-cam.com/video/Rr3ST2Vw4vg/w-d-xo.html
Hi, I Am Unable To Receive NBC Channel 8.1 As They Are 17 Miles Outside City Limit. The Station Design The Tower To Broadcast Signal To Smaller Towns 60 Miles Away.
Which Antenna Would You Recommend? Thanks
The FTC DTV Reception Maps show Fox 14 as the only station available in Zip 88310, but I have no reception of it at all. Also Antennaweb.org neglects to identify the translators on a nearby mountain top while it says reception is available from El Paso and Las Cruces. This is incorrect because Alamogordo is not in the markets of either city. I did get Las Cruces and two El Paso stations some time ago but there was a problem with duplicate stations from the mountain top translators and Las Cruces causing my DVD recorder to be confused. Where and how do these sites get their inaccurate information?
I installed this over the weekend - with the preamp 30' away I picked up 11 channels. Moving the preamp 10" from the antenna I was able to boost up to 52 channels. HOWEVER - I'm not getting the local channel I want most. Thoughts? Different preamp?
Bummed….. went on your site to type in my address (also 45 Miles from towers) the Lava was by far recommended!!!
Got it on the peek of the house… terrible reception 😔
Antennaweb.org is not my website. It does not provide accurate antenna recommendations - but I do. Visit the link below to learn more. www.antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
Looks like an antenna someone would have on an RV
And what’s your point?
Did the recent repack push more of the channels into the VHF band? I recently acquired a TV from my sister and it is getting plenty of good channels with dollar store rabbit ears with a small double UHF loop.
Yes it did move some to the VHF band but most just moved on the UHF band
Depends on the market. Mine had several VHF channels already, so the UHF stations stayed on UHF.
Tyler you got to do a video that makes a yagi for certain station. I’m having trouble getting channel 18 from LA. Virtual channel 50. However I need to make a 497 MHz yagi and combine it with my antenna. I have everything just need to make the yagi.
If you are good at building antennas, check out these specs. www.mtmscientific.com/yagi.pdf
What should you do when you live in a condo and you can't put any antennas outside of your home? Do I just need to settle with the poopy ones?
The RF channel a station broadcasts on isn’t what’s listed on the TV’s channel guide. So what use is knowing the RF channel?
To know what kind of antenna you need or to manually input it on a TV
For RV use, what exact antenna do you recommend? Considering that an RV'er will never have familiarity with any spot they land on. AND that any antenna heavily marketed for RV use is usually WAAAY overpriced.....cuz we RV. thanks.
I was wondering about FOX 56. I had picked it up sporadically but recently it's been popping up even when the antenna isn't pointed at it. 77 channels from zip code 18104 at the moment.
Forgive me for not remembering to ask this question from you Sir. What would be the best omni antenna to this date you have tested and are willing to recommend ??? Thanks
This is the only omnidirectional antenna I have tested so far. I do not recommend any of them because they do not work well. They accept signals half-ass from both directions rather than reliably from one direction. Refer to my TH-cam channel on reviews for good directional antennas
@@AntennaMan Nice to send me to a location for finding out the answer to my question Sir.
The Channel Master STEALTHtenna Bundle is for locations within 50 miles of broadcast towers I use this bundle and it works good have you tested this ??
Does it matter if you mount an antenna horizontal or vertical? I have a small directional one and struggle to get UHF.
I just now discovered the new
Channel Master | Introducing OMNI+ - New Omnidirectional Outdoor TV Antenna [CM-3011HD]
or
Omni+ 50
Looks interesting for the omni-directional category.
Can you compare it to the others?
Thanks
Good information
Question when linking two antennas on needs to be UHF and the VHF?
I have a video on this topic on my TH-cam channel.
Can you use a channelmaster powered splitter with this antenna?
In some case yes. In other cases you may over amplify the signals.
Disclaimer :
No TV Antennas were harmed in the making of this video.
There are no HD antennas. Your TV decides what signal is HD, not your antenna. A cheap basic antenna will do the same job.
Directional antennas will allow you to pick up signals from faraway stations, if you have it pointed to the station. Have someone in the house watch the TV to tell you when it is pointed at the correct compass point.
Can you review a channel master antenna?
So,tyler what is the best antenna?
I live in CLARKSTON GA right outside of Atlanta what would be a good antenna for me.?
I now offer antenna recommendations for a small fee at the link below. One from me can prevent you from spending hundreds of dollars and time wasted on setting up the wrong antenna for your area. antennamanpa.com/antenna-recommendations.html
well i myself have tested every ant that they sell at walmart, HD and lowes. The LAVA IS THE ONLY ant that works out in joshua tree yucca valley. So please please let me know if you have another one. even though the LAVA is the only one that works i do only get 10 channels. which is better than none because i really like me tv and it comes in good.
Would increasing the height of an antenna be useful?
In general yes but for my tests height doesn't matter. If nine antennas can pick up a TV station that one antenna can't there's a good chance the one antenna is junk.
I have "stuff" in between the stations and the house. (Water tower, hill, International airport, the other half of the house) The higher up I can get the antenna the better my reception. Must be getting above the affects of the objects and the metal range hood. I can not put an antenna outside.
what about the Channel Master Omni+? Have u tested it?
I will have this in a future video of mine. Stay tuned.
My signal strength meter has 2 readings strength & quality.
Readings vary due to time of day , and atmospheric conditions.
That's everyone where it varies, I have 3 bedrooms in the back of my house, and just simply walking to the main bedroom in the front side few of the house few feet over, that Antenna gets much better reception then the USB TV tuner attached to the dual monitor PC in the other bedroom.
Hi Tyler, when the analog to digital transition first took place they broadcast a channel with a channel guide on it, for your OTA channels. Are they going to offer something similar in the years to come? Like an EPG guide or something? Right now I go to nocable.com, where I made a custom guide for my channels, but being able to just click a button to see what’s on tv is much more convenient. Let me know. Thanks Jeff.
They will likely have a guide
Try TitanTV.com and type in your zip code, it will give you all TV channels with program guides for your area.
i have an omni that was on my camper from the factory and was not impressed.great job
Weld some European license plates to the vhf elements on that antenna
Looks like a knockoff of the old Winegard Sensar RV antenna.
Too add there is no such thing as a digital signal, the actual signal factor is still analogue but is digitally modulated on DTV. The analogue modulated signal power level is also measured differently to a digital modulated signal too.
I purchased this and it didn't not work at all. Wasn't what was advertised and doesn t work for rural area! Also unable to receive a full refund from the company, antenna direct. Total rip off!!
📺📺📺📺📺
thumbs up
I'm freaking out!
Thanks Tyler, looks like mediocre at best performance. I might be better off using two directional antennas at opposing angles.
Hey Antenna Man. Sling TV doesn't have local channels in their lineup and they are advertising one of those flat piece of crap antennas you tell everyone not to buy. They are giving it away for free yet it doesn't do anyone any good unless you're within 20 minutes from a tower. How can they get away with misleading customers? Anyone using Sling will be better to purchase their own antenna that works and do a little bit of research.
Jeffrey Downer that antenna probably does work for some people.
They're giving it away for free is the reason although I think they'd be better off not giving them anything. Those junky flat antennas make people think that they cannot get reception and they give up on antennas all together
@@AntennaMan My Clearstream 4V works wonderfully inside. I can get 37 channels daily inside which is pretty good for SE Michigan. During tropo I can get 60-70. I'm satisfied, you just have to spend a little bit more and do some research.
@@john26262 It works if you are really close to a TV tower. Most people do not live close to towers.
Jeffrey Downer understood. Fortunately I can see the TV towers in my area out my bedroom window and I get a clear shot at them except for one station which transmits from another location but I can get it also.
The strength is bad. I couldn't catch channel 9 WMUR in Manchester, New Hampshire, I live in Nashua about 15 miles away.
Bought one of these antennas the thing is a piece of trash won’t pick up anything, company won’t return my call to return.