An intelligent antenna has an integrated built-in amplifier, while a passive antenna does not have an amplifier. An intelligent antenna will work on active mode if it’s connected to power provided from a downstream power supply, receiving power through the coax cable. A passive antenna is not an active component even when connected to a pre-amplifier, it is rather just a passive component of an active system.

One of the main factors affecting indoor reception are the losses produced by building walls, partition, windows, metallic elements, etc. The ability of electromagnetic waves to pass through materials is called pervasiveness, it is related to losses, and it is highly dependent on the kind of material and its thickness. As a rule of thumb, the higher the pervasiveness the better the signal will reach, and from low to high pervasiveness the scale would be metal, concrete, brick, plasterboard, wood and glass. Also, electromagnetic waves suffer from reflections in indoor walls, and these reflections are superimposed on the wanted signal, causing fading and severe impairments. To improve indoor reception, the receiving antenna should be installed as close to a window as possible, avoiding metallic elements and with clear line of site to the TV transmitters.

Our antennas have an exclusive feature that other active antennas do not have: BOSSTech® Technology, which provides the appropriate (regulated) signal level no matter the reception scenario. In case of antennas working in VHF and UHF, the regulation of signal level is adjusted separately (VHF, UHF) to take into consideration the different broadcasting conditions of the two bands. Also, the antennas can work in intelligent mode (power on) and in passive mode (power off), thus increasing its dynamic range. Last, but not least, the antennas perform mechanical and electronic filtering to get rid of unwanted interferences broadcasted in the UHF band that could potentially impair TV reception. In simple terms, BOSSTech® is a very sophisticated AGC amplifier on a chip designed by our engineers with 5G filtering that adjusts in real-time to current and changing conditions of broadcast TV signals, providing a more stable signal to the TV.

In some particular locations where the broadcasting direction is unknown, users may choose an omnidirectional antenna, driving a van for instance. However, knowing where the signals originate from is necessary. The logical choice for better performance is to use a directional antenna pointed at the broadcasting towers. Please check our website for guidance.

The best reception is obtained with an outdoor antenna pointed directly at the broadcasting transmitters. The outdoor antenna obtains its maximum performance within its reception main lobe, and depending on its directivity, receives the broadcasting signals and rejects interferences and ghost signals avoiding destructive interference and fading. On the contrary, an indoor antenna has normally low directivity and receives direct signals and also signals delayed or reflected from walls or obstacles at home, which can potentially interfere and destroy the wanted signals.