Side by Side Comparison of: PCT vs 1byone

This Cable Amplifier works great! I was unsure of these before my purchase, but with the questionable cable signal in my rural area I figured it was worth a shot. To my extreme happy surprise it worked great! The grainy channels are now clear and work better than I was hoping for!

Read about it before you buy and apply as stated and it will work as it should and if you try to get it to do something it is not designed to do it will not work and really no need to condemn the item.I used it on the "TV FREEWAY" so called HDTV antenna and what it did was allow me to add three more channels with a whopping total of 8 HDTV channels now and being in a fringe area ,for the price and my set up was worth it for the improvement.

After Charter Cable went all digital in St Louis this month, we had to add several new cable boxes in our home. After adding a splitter and three new cable boxes, the Moxi cable box upstairs was unable to tune several SD channels due to low signal strength. The Moxi now also needed to be reset often because it would freeze up. The picture quality on the SD channels of the other cable boxes were ok, but not great. HD channels on all TVs, even the Moxi, looked perfectly fine.We had a Charter tech come out and test the signal coming into our home and he said our levels were good. Yet after he left, the signal strength on all our cable boxes were still between the range of -7 dBmV to -14 dBmV and the Moxi was still missing around 30 channels, So, I purchased and installed this amp. Now all our cable boxes are reporting +0.5 dBmV to +6.4 dBmV. Signal quality says 100% and the image on every TV looks great on both SD and HD channels. We are very pleased with this purchase.

I live in Brooklyn, NY but was unable to receive channels 2 CBS and 4 NBC off my rooftop antenna. I installed the amplifier about 25-30 feet after the antenna, once the cable entered the house. Reception is now very good and I am able to receive all network channels plus many others. The instructions recommended installing the amplifier close to the antenna, but that would have been difficult for me. The amplifier comes with a transformer that supplies low voltage power to the amplifier. The transformer needs to be plugged into a regular 110v outlet. Running an extension cord to the roof was not practical for me and the closest interior location to put the amplifier and transformed was 25-30 feet away. It worked!

I am running a windows media center PC with a 4 tuner Ceton InfiniTV tuner card. On several channels, for the past year, there were often times when the digital channels would pixelate so much that a show was unwatchable. This would happen on the “prime” channels occasionally. Then there were a few channels that I could not tune at all. In Atlanta there is a PeachtreeTV channel and a couple of PBS stations that I could not tune at all. I am guessing that Comcast gives some channels more cable transmission power (for lack of the proper term) than others.The InfiniTV card comes with diagnostics to review how much RF power you are receiving. From what I have read +15 dBmv to -15 dBmv is the acceptable range and anything less than -15 dBmv is not good.Before the AMP I was getting anywhere from -7 dBmv to -14 dBmv depending on what channel was tuned (which lead to my conclusion above about some channels getting more power than others). I picked this AMP up hoping to improve the issues I had and MAYBE get some of the channels I could not before. Well, not only are all the channels stronger, I am getting ALL of the channels that I could not tune before. Now my signal readings are anywhere from +5.5 dBmv to +13 dBmv. A HUGE improvement.This device was well worth the money!!! If the cable company had come out, they would have charged me for the trip and an AMP. This took all but 15 minutes to install.

I was getting a poor digital cable signal into one room of my house (some channels weren't coming in at all, while others were dropping or pixelated). I'd had good luck with a powered amplifier at my previous residence, so I thought I'd give this one a try since I only needed the one output (for one room) and the price was right on this at $20.Anyway, the product arrived a day early (gotta love Amazon) and I just now installed it -- with AMAZING results! The signal strength on almost every one of my channels was instantly boosted from below 40 (which is undetectable by my TiVo, and therefore wouldn't previously come in) to between 75 - 100! Most of the channels in my lineup are now in the high 90's for signal strength, which is an amazing result for a $20 device that took all of 5 minutes to install.THANK YOU for making a quality product like this and offering it on Amazon for a fair price!

Background. I live in north suburban Chicago area. I'm only about ten miles from the antennas, but most stations have antennas favoring west, and reception can be marginal at my location. I also have a rat's nest of an antenna distribution; old yagi antenna on the roof, feeding an amplified four port splitter, whose branches go to different areas in my home. In my family room there is a four port passive splitter, one lead of which goes to the kitchen TV.The kitchen TV has problems with WBBM. WBBM is so notorious for bad signals, that it actually has three transmission frequencies. Two on their main band, with different radiation patterns, one on a Wiegel channel. This TV would often freeze and lose signal with WBBM 2.1 (the best one for me). This amplifier has almost totally cleared up the WBBM problem on the kitchen TV.So, the bottom line. This amp can be a cheap aid for a marginal situation. However, garbage in, garbage out. If you don't have a good signal, this won't magically create one. If you have a bad tuner, a hotter signal still might not help.

Initially this was great. It fixed all of my signal issues, but after a 3 weeks or so they all returned. The red light on the unit comes on but I don't think it is actually boosting the signal anymore. There is now no difference in signal quality whether the booster is in place or not.Update: Changing review from 2 to 3 stars. 1byone reached out to me and is sending a replacement unit. If the replacement keeps working after a few weeks I will update this again to 5 stars because when it wasn't broken the booster really did greatly help my signal and 1byone has shown good customer service.Update: Replacement unit works great and is still going strong.

I was getting 4 networks (CBC, ABC, FOX, PBS) with my antenna but missing one (NBC- which is known to be the weakest in my area). So I took a chance on this amplifier and it works great! I get NBC crystal clear and none of the others are worsened. Very please, just what I needed.

This low cost amplifier has breathed new life into our "Mohu Leaf Paper-Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna" Mohu Leaf Paper-Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna - Made in USA (Certified Refurbished). I live in a suburb of Minneapolis and expected to easily get >15 channels with that antenna, but I was plagued by pixelation and stuttering, to the point where watching some primetime channels was unbearable. The straw that broke the camel's back was the complaint from my father-in-law during the NCAA basketball championship game. I had to rearrange my antenna and the furniture to get a good picture for that game, and I vowed to fix the problem.This amplifier has fixed all of the picture issues with my previous channels, and also given me spotty access to even more channels, albeit with some of the aforementioned pixelization or stuttering issues. In hindsight I should have gotten a larger Mohu antenna with an included amplifier, but this low-cost fix has really solved my biggest problem with reception. I just wish that I had bought this amplifier earlier so that I could watch the Olympics and NCAA games in peace!

Excellent product; necessary for my purpose. My cable provider has done a few "FREE" upgrades over the past few months , , , , in other words (and reality) I am paying MORE for LESS! They have filtered out two of my favorite stations, one being worldwide news channels: no more NHK, DW, BBC, etc. So, as these channels ARE available OTA ( over the air) I tried using an antenna. Success, but only after adding the 1byone amplifier. I was so pleased with the first amp's performance that I purchased two more for other TVs. Thanks 1byone!Forgot to mention that I am speaking about INDOOR antennas, mostly the little extendable rods (as on old cars). I have lengthened one with an "L" shaped wire for better reception. I am about 25 miles from the TV stations, all almost directly South (174 degrees) on my location. Even though the antenna faces S-E (window frame mounted, not rotatable) I still get good reception.

Honestly, I wasn't sure if this amplifier would help our reception or not. There seemed to be mixed reviews regarding how well it worked or if it did anything at all. For our issue, we were having trouble when the weather was bad (rainy/windy) with pixelation and signal drop off. Some channels which normally came in fine would be unwatchable in rainy/windy weather. The day the amplifier arrived was a PERFECT test day. We were experiencing a major wind/rain storm and the reception on several channels was greatly affected. We connected the amplifier between the co-ax cable from where the outdoor antenna (ours is in the rafters of our garage - so not really outside) picks up the signal and the co-ax cable that goes throughout (under) our house to two TVs. The difference was night and day! With the amplifier, channels that had dropped off were back again and looking pretty good. There was some minor pixelation, but definitely watchable, and like I said -- we were having a major storm at the time. After the storm the reception has been perfect, a little rain and a little wind yields no problems like it had before. We are extremely happy with this amplifier as it solved our problem. It made a believer out of me!

Improved my TV antennae signals. Now I get all the local channels in clearly.

Upped channel count from 12 to 26 with no other changes. Channels seem clearer as well.Amplifier is warm to the touch so I used back spacers to allow airflow. Transformer is barely warm.

The description of this unit includes the language, "or are having HD reception problems with just a single TV attached to your outdoor antenna, this product will likely not improve your reception." This is true. In my optimism I bought it and got marginal reduction of pixilation on a couple of fringe stations. Repositioning the antenna made more difference, so try that several times. The lesson learned is that the information from the seller is correct. I have no bad feelings about this unit, just a slightly bruised sense of optimism.

Replaced old one with this one hoping for better reception. I cant really tell??? I think I need a new antenna to get a better signal to be able to judge fairly.

I bought the 1 port version. I have a long run from my Channel Master CM-4228HD antenna to two TV's: the TV on the 2nd floor picked up the local stations without any problems (it's closer to the antenna), but for the cable run down to the family room on the first floor, the reception was not so good (several channels wouldn't show up at all and a few would drop out or show pixelated video from time to time). I put this on the cable line and now the family room TV picks up the stations fine. Although it comes with the AC Power Adapter, you'll need one coax cable to connect the AC Adapter to the Amplifier.

Works just fine. It really boosts the signal. I had to replace my burned out Booster Box (another brand) and this model had received such high marks from owners that I went with it. It does a really good job of boosting the TV signals out here in rural Colorado.Only complaint I had was that the unit does not ship with all the parts to "plug and play". If you look on the Amazon page, it clearly shows the amplifier unit and the transformer block. What does not ship with the unit is a TV cable to go from the transformer block to the amplifier. I was shocked? Fortunately, I had a short piece of cable in my electronic junk box and it filled the need.So if you don't have some TV Cable lying about you will end up making a second purchase to fill that gap and have a functional unit.

Maybe this deserves a full 5 stars - I am not sure because I have not done direct side-by-side testing with another amp that I use and like. I live in a fringe area with VERY weak OTA signals; without an amplifier/powered antenna, no picture is possible at all on any device. I currently use an external 1byone antenna that came with a different 20 dB amp, and it works very well. My initial impression of this new amp I added to boost the signal at a remote device is that it probably is not as strong as the 20 dB amp that came with the antenna, despite the fact that this one is rated at 20 dB also. HOWEVER, I must state that I have not actually removed the first amp and replaced it with this one to compare the resulting signal strength in an identical way, so it may actually be just as good. If I ever feel like going to the effort to do that test, I will update this review.I already use two other amps on my incoming coax - the one that came with the outdoor antenna mentioned above, plus a powered splitter connected immediately to the output of the first amp. With this configuration, I get usable signals for all available stations, but one is broadcast from such a weak low-power translator that its signal is just BARELY strong enough for a stable picture (40% relative signal strength on one device where a 38% signal cannot be seen at all). When I want to use an additional passive splitter in a remote room to also feed the antenna signal into my receiver for radio reception, that weak station is totally lost.I added this amplifier to the coax at this remote location just before the passive splitter, and my problem was solved; that weak station signal is now up to 42% even with the splitter in place. Note that this actually makes this amp the 3rd amplifier in the coax between the antenna and this final device!Now here is a real bonus for such a low-cost amplifier - it seems to be MoCA compatible! If you do not know what MoCA is, it makes no difference to you at all, but for people who use MoCA to create an Ethernet network between video devices over coax cable, this is important. With another (very old) amp that I tried, I could not use a MoCA connection to this remote device, but with this new amplifier, MoCA streaming is now working perfectly in both directions.

Purchased in Sept 2015, still using. I just installed a 1byone antenna so I double-checked the operation of this amplifier. Unfortunately mine suffers from the broken LED problem that many reviewers reported in 2015. But it definitely is working despite that. Software for my HDHomeRun reports on both signal strength and signal quality. I tested with and without the amplifier (you can't just unplug the amplifier because it only passes about 1/2 the signal). On strong channels, it made little difference, but on weak channels it made a huge difference both in strength and quality.I deducted 1 star for 2 reasons: 1) my LED doesn't work, and 2) the short section of coax wire (the "tail" off the amp body) that makes a U shape in the product picture appears to be entirely unshielded. Since I have "homeruns" on both cable and phone lines, I have to be sure I keep the amp away from other wiring and I suspect it's because of insufficient shielding.

Okay this is an update to my old review that you can see below. After posting my prior review 1byone's customer service contacted me, they suggested that I try one of their other Amplified antennas. I did have some partial success with that. I'm changing my rating from one star to four stars because of their good customer service. If you would like to know more I still have two more reviews to do. One for my original antenna that I bought from 1byone and one for the amplified antenna that they suggested. Again 1byone's customer service is very good.----------------This did not work for me. Hooked it up according to the instructions. But when I plugged in the power adapter, the red light came on and all the channels on my TV went away.

I recently discovered we had more over the air channels available.My TV found them when I did a scan but the signal bounced from 0 to 1 bar (out of 6 total) when I checked the signal strength indicator in my TV's setup screen.I figured I'd give this a try and now I'm get a steady 2 bar signal and no problems picking up the new channels. I have a large rooftop antenna in my attic that was there before we bought the house so I have no details on what exactly the antenna is. It's huge though.So it does work, but don't expect miracles. It did not introduce any visible noise in the picture and it did not improve the image on channels that were already coming in. From what I gather this is correct due to ota channels being digital now. IOW you either get them or you don't.I would say if you are receiving a channel but it keeps cutting out, this will work great. If you can't pick up the channel at all then you have a 50/50 chance of it helping.I'm very glad I got it and it was well worth the low cost.

It's not the most powerful antenna gain tool I've used, and there's no gain adjustment knob like I've seen on others. But that being said, it has brought some channels in that I didn't have before, and my other HDTV channels that would cut in and out are now almost always in.I installed this in my utility closet at the end of the antenna line and before the splitter that goes out through the house to the various rooms.But overall I'm grateful that for the price, I got something that works well enough for me!

Gives an estimated 20miles range added.I get few channels more.Some channels that were just below the 25% signal threshold where the image would freeze frequently, are now displaying as continuous feeds, with occasional hiccups (50% signal strength).Some analog channels the receiver didn't show before, now display crystal clear, though in low definition.I went up from 40 clear channels, to 60 clear channels in my area, with the same hardware (receiver/antenna).I've tested most channels, and found 60 of 64 channels to be perfectly viewable, although about 48 channels have no hiccups or connection issues on a sunny day.I am aware that this number might go down with rain or clouds.If you're looking for more signal, it may be best to look for a better and larger antenna first. Then add this amplifier second, and then redo the auto-search for channels on your receiver, to store newly found channels.

Does what I expected.

Works but hums loudly

It didn't seem to help much with the reception, but maybe nothing would where our trailer was parked.

I bought this to try to improve the signal strength of a couple of channels. It's installed outside near my antenna, which has about a 110-115 foot cable run to the TV. The amp supposedly provides 15dB boost, but I jotted down the signal strength on each channel before and after installation. The actual improvement at the TV is only 1-2 dB on some channels, and 0dB on others.I kept it because it wasn't that expensive, and it does provide some marginal reduction in digital breakup. However, it doesn't do nearly as much as I expected based on the description and the other reviews.I should note that the kit also does not include a couple of important parts, specifically a short antenna cable and a power inserter (that's needed to send phantom power to the amp from inside). I used this inserter: PCT 1-PORT BI-DIRECTIONAL CABLE TV HDTV AMPLIFIER SIGNAL BOOSTER WITH PASSIVE RETURN PATH.

In all honesty the input signal that came from my diy antenna was not a good comparison.

Ended up not needing for the situation orginally bought it for but holding on to it for another project.

this 20 db amp did nothing to improve our signal, YMMV. But we also using this on an RV thats in a valley about 40 miles from the nearest transmitter, using an Amazon bowtie internal/external whole house antenna. No improvement over the amp that came with the antenna (was a 15dB amp)

Added this to an existing digital antenna. Gained about 2 more stations. Seems to be directional, though as placement of this booster makes a difference in reception for us.

Helped get a couple channels we couldn't get before wasn't as good as I hoped but overall I'm not sending it back

When I first installed this product and actually lost a few of the lower quality air channels.I thought it might be the amplifier so I re-ran the scan basically got the lower quality signals back but they were still pretty unwatchable.Moved the antennae and reconnected the amplifier - skol ... got my stations back with more clarity.Thoughts: if the stations are really bad then the amplifier may filter them out.. if you get a descent signal the amplifier works.Unbiased opinion here.. just observations.

I don't know about this product. I honestly can't tell if it does much. Sometimes there seems to be something going on, other times not. I'm not new to boosters, and have several hooked into other tv's that were expensive ones that do work. This one is placed on a television in a basement, so reception isn't the best anyway. It's paired with an Antenna's Direct DB4E. I would say if you wanted to try one in a better situation, you probably can't go wrong with it. The coaxial hook up on this device could be a little beefier. It mostly wants to just twist itself up, instead of actually screwing on.

In my area, there is one station that broadcasts in VHF (NBC) while all the others are UHF (Fox, ABC, CBS). Without this amplifier I can get all the UHF channels and not the VHF channel. With this amplifier, I can get the VHF channel, but not the CBS UHF channel... "Too much amplification" seems to be the case if what is found on forums is to be believed. I don't watch a lot of TV, so switching from Amplified to Non-amplified isn't a huge hassle. Still annoying, though.

Looks sharp and was delivered quite fast. I had just hoped amplifiers had progressed some in over the years. Didn't boost the signal as well as my 10 year old GE version from Radio Shack.

This product did nothing to improve my tv reception in my RV. I carefully followed the installation instructions, connected it and walla, less channels than I had before installation! Needless to say, I am very disappointed. Hooked up my factory installed cheap booster again and walla , more channels than with this product. I do not recommend.

Could not get a signal to go through. Had it hooked half way between my over the air DVR and the TV on a cable run of 100+ feet. The picture would work before i put this in and then i would get no picture when i put this in. I double checked that i had it set up the right way and even tried it backwards just in case. Never a picture. must have gotten a bad one

So far seems to work fine, no real issues, will follow up if there is.Follow up: After testing for 2 weeks it appears that this item does not help much if any. Marginal channels before use of thisare still marginal after installing this in various locations, close to the antenna, midway and close to the tv, no difference. So I am removing my recommended rating to a 'why bother' rating.

This thing worked great from when I received it (March 7) until 2 days ago (April 28). Then it died. Beyond TV Setup now shows a signal strength of 0 with this thing hooked up. VERY disappointed. Emailed the seller to get warranty coverage. We'll see what happens.Update May 1, 2014: I contacted the seller, picture-fixerz, and they said I could obtain in warranty replacement for $15. This thing only cost me $21.50 when I bought it so it is not really worth paying $15 plus shipping to return it. I suspect they aren't losing any money by providing a new one for $15.

I live in a house that was built in 1998 and wired for cable at that time. I have had Comcast hard-wired CATV service since 1998. Over the past several months, one of my HD TV's has experienced difficulty in receiving five channels. These channels have frequent drop outs and pixelization, and frequently show a 'service interrupted' message from Comcast. This TV is connected directly to the wall plate with a 50 foot coax cable. None of the other TVs in the house have this same problem, and the cable internet service works flawlessly.After doing some reading, I wondered if this amplifier would solve my problem. Upon receiving it, I went to install it in the exterior cable box on the outside of my house; I could not do so since this was no power to the box and no exterior power outlets within a workable distance. So I decided to connect it to the wall plate and connect the coax cable of the affected TV to it. This disabled the Comcast DTA at the TV and I was receiving no cable signal at all to the affected TV. I disconnected everything and reconnected it to the DTA so that the line out from the DTA went to the amplifier and then I connected the amplifier to the TV with a coax patch cable. This degraded the signal on all channels and did not get me any better reception on the five problematic channels.I have looked at the website and cannot tell if I am doing something wrong or what. I had read the reviews here before purchase and did not find anything on point in terms of using a Comcast DTA with this system, so I wonder if that is the issue. Comcast recently changed their service in Washington such that you must have a DTA to receive a cable signal. Perhaps this product works best when it plugs directly into the TV without an intervening set top box or DTA.

Used to help a GE 33692 Attic Mount HD Antenna pull in signals from local towers approximately 30 miles away. Absolutely no change in reception with or without the 1byone amplifier installed. Antenna amplifier is installed (as instructed) and the antenna is pointed directly at coordinates of the local transmitters. The antenna advertises itself as an "up-to 50 mile range" without an amplifier. My guess is that the signals in my area will be much clearer with an outside antenna and that this amplifier is a waste of money either way.

i tried to use it to boost the uhf band on split antenna feed and it killed the vhf channels.nice customer service allows return if it doesn't work out...

I live on the edge of town, but within 6 miles of the local stations. This think does not bring in a great signal most of the time. It tiles terribly. So much so that we almost exclusively watch Amazon Fire TV! Don't waste your money. My neighbor uses a much cheaper rabbit ear style and gets a better signal!

Improved the reception marginally, I really thought my already decent signal with a few hickups here and there would be fixed. This did not seem to fix it, but did slightly improve the signal and slightly reduce the hickups

Lots of reviews here for the antenna/booster combo. I purchased the booster only, and since I was hounded by the seller to write a review, I will. This might work fantastically with the matched antenna, but it's pretty much useless in any other setting. Not sure where their gain claims come from, we measured the gain on a tester, and this device actually degraded signal strength on several channels.So, if you're buying the combo apparently this is the greatest thing ever invented. But save your money and don't buy the amp only

I was hopeful that this amplifier would improve my HDTV reception. I am using with with the AmazonBasics Ultra-Thin High Performance Indoor HDTV Antenna. Unfortunately, I believe my TV reception stayed the same or even got a bit worse with the amplifier. I still have channels drop in and out just like they did before I purchased the amplifier.

worse reception after installing. junk

Couldn't make it work. No way to return or get help for it.

Didn't have a chance to hook it up in the return window, when I did it died in about a week. The power brick also gets extremely hot. It did work great while it was functional though.

Blocks VHF High and after 15 minutes it got very VERY warm.Way too warm to risk leaving it connected.I will be returning it.

I purchased this to replace another brand which had quit working. I could tell no difference in signal strength either with or without the unit.

Stopped working 11 days after "return window".

This stopped working right after the return date. This is the second one I have had an issue with by this company. I would spend more money and go with someone else.

After installation and hooking up power supply light came on but even worse reception. Tried messaging seller but no response

Did not work AT ALL-- wouldn't even pass through the signal. I went to Walmart and purchased the cheap RCA amplifier, and it was excellent-- perfect signal boost... all 60+ channels distributed to 9 TVs.

Didn’t work at all for me, actually degraded the signal on all stations including ones I got w/o pixilization. I live 10 miles from the TV towers straight line. I had minor breakup of the picture on 4 out of about 25 stations. The price was low so I decided to try this amp. Power light on, all connections checked from an indoor antenna located beside the TV. 6 feet of coax cable that came with the antenna. Correct direction of amp in the signal line. Now all stations had breakup, and were unviewable. I would expect some improvement due to my location from the towers.Even though this distributor states a 30 day free replacement, for the price I paid it was not worth effort packaging and paying the postage to Canada. Remember, the return policy starts the date of purchase and I received this 6 days later. And to pay the cheapest postage I can, who knows how long the return will be, within the 30 days?? Seems that is the game, sell it cheap and when it doesn’t work, many will say it’s not worth paying $5 to get $13 back and take the chance it will arrive at the vendors w/o damage. For all those that had good results with this amp I wonder if most are real users. Win some, lose some, I’ll never buy ANYTHING from this distributor again. Too bad I can’t rate them a zero!

Adding the Antenna amplifier did not add any channels that I can pick up. Before the antenna, I get one channel off and on, and it is very choppy. I was hoping that this amplifier would allow me to get this channel clearly, but I was disappointed as the channel comes in no better. Adding this amplifier made my reception no different at all than with a passive, un-powered antenna. I would not recommend this product.

Amplifier/booster did not work. One channel was improved just slightly, but other channels (that had worked without the amplifier) did not work at all with the amplifier installed, probably due to clipping (attenuation of the amp's output with additional signal splitters did not help). Definitely would not recommend.I threw this one away and installed a more expensive EDA 2100 antenna amplifier instead, which worked perfectly.(Note that multiple products are listed under this same Amazon part number, and this review is of course regarding the HDTV Amplifier/Booster.)