Not perfect, but definitely helpful

Thinking about all the bills one has each month, it’s easy to picture what you may want to cut from those bills. Whether it’s cutting back on your groceries, canceling that landscaper, or just watching what you’re buying from Amazon, it has to make sense as it fits into your life. It’s why so many people — myself included — have cut the cord on cable.

Cutting the cord on cable, however, doesn’t mean that those people have found a successful way to replace the loss of cable . Maybe they’ve bundled some of their streaming services to include cable TV. But many others have decided to utilize a digital TV antenna to plug into their smart TV and pick up the channel signals near them. Digital TV antennae can turn your smart TV into one with cable without having to pay for it, as it will pick up broadcast stations as well as other basic cable channels. But there are other channels one will pick up as well that could make it a sound investment.

Ever on the quest to cut cable, I tried the Nimizo 2024 Upgraded TV Antenna for a while to see how it would work out for me. Having tried different HD TV antennae before, I knew how to set one up and where in my office would be the best place to try and grab a signal. That process continued with the Nimizo antenna, but actually watching TV got tougher from there.

Price, specs, and availability

It goes in and out of availablity

When I first ordered the Nimizo Upgraded TV Antenna, it was available at Amazon. But it has since become unavailable on Amazon, but I did find it on eBay for $38.30. It measures 70x70x210mm, so it is very compact. It is shaped like a freestanding microphone, so it is much easier to place around a room than other digital TV antenna like the Mohu Leaf Supreme Pro .

With a more slim design, it is easy to place on shelves, furniture, or even a window ledge. Plus, it has an adhesive bottom, so it can be mounted either vertically or horizontally, which provides a lot of flexibility when it comes to placement. It utilizes VHF and UHF frequencies, so it is slated to get the best of the signals you have around you.

What I liked about the Nimizo Upgraded TV Antenna

Setup was as simple as other digital TV antenna I’ve used

The Nimizo had a similar setup to other TV antennae that I’ve tested, so it made for an easy time. It has a long 18-foot cable attached to it, giving you plenty of cord to work with when you’re trying to figure out where to place it. The cable also comes with an attached amplifier that allows you to toggle from short range to long range, which is particularly helpful for people who may not be very close to broadcast towers.

I know that my home isn’t too far from a broadcast tower, so I kept a short range to get the best signal. If the short range signal is coming through, the amplifier has a green light that will blink. Unfortunately, just because the green light is on doesn’t mean a signal is actually displaying on your TV. For my TV, I plugged the coaxial cable portion of the cable into the Antenna In port on the back of my TV. After that, I plugged the USB portion of the cable into the USB port. If your TV utilizes a digital set-top box, like one that is mounted on the wall, and you can’t get to the back of the TV, I suggest doing the same.

After the antenna was plugged in, I switched the input to antenna. As with any TV antenna, I ran the channel search / auto program function on my TV (usually found in the menu settings.) This guaranteed that the TV and the antenna were synced on how many channels it potentially could find. To my delight, 78 channels registered. The next step was to find where to best place the digital TV antenna.

As I began to move the antenna around the room, I went to previous TV antenna success spots, which included a picture ledge above my desk, sitting snuglty between two picture frames.The signal came in okay on some channels, such as ABC, ION Network, and Bounce Network. But for others, like PIX11 or Grit Channel, the signal was weak at best.

Certain channels, such as an all-Spanish-language channel, did come in clearly from there. I tried it in different areas around my office, such as the windowsill, on the desk itself, above my closet, and on the wall near the window. Consistently, the best spot was, once again, on my picture ledge. However, not every channel came through as well as I’d hoped.

What I don’t like about the Nimizo Upgraded TV Antenna

The channels that I were hoping for weren’t always there

Unfortunately, there were some channels that gave a pixelated picture for a bulk of the viewing. I could hear the audio on some of the channels, but the picture remained grainy and off-color. Frustratingly, this was on what was supposed to be CBS, which is a basic cable channel. There were other channels that only came in as audio with no pictures whatsoever.

Some of my other issues included a short instruction manual, which was only about three pages. It did have pictures, but no troubleshooting information. Additionally, I never got the red light to completely switch off when I switched the antenna on to long range, even on the channels that weren’t working — not a deal-breaker, but definitely annoying. It’s also worth noting that the coaxial cable connector was different from other ones I’ve used and the pin inside felt flimsier.

Should you buy the Nimizo Upgraded TV Antenna?

It might be worth a try

The Nimizo Upgraded TV Antenna is another on a long list of available digital TV antenna. The setup is simple, but it will likely depend on how the connection is around your home that will really define whether it will be a good digital TV antenna for you. It worked for some channels for me, but others didn’t come through at all or in a limited capacity. As with any digital TV antenna, it’s worth trying to see if cutting the cord on cable is right for you. But I have had better luck with other antennae, so I’ll stick to them.

Nimizo Upgraded TV Antenna

The Nimizo Upgraded TV antenna has both short range and long range signals it can pull.