Indoor over-the-air antennas are a dime a dozen. That's because they're inexpensive and they're easy to set up, and they're a great addition to any television if you're a cord-cutter. You just can't beat free over-the-air television. But so many of these antennas just look like antennas, with minimal amount of time and effort spent on any sort of aesthetics.
The Mohu Blade ($39 at Amazon) bucks that trend a bit. It's billed as an indoor/outdoor antenna, but we're going to focus on indoor use — mostly because if we're going to go to the trouble of mounting something outside, we're going to use something with a bit more range. (And any price difference probably will be minimal.)
In the box we've got the antenna itself — about 18 inches by 5 inches, and not quite an inch thick. (And most of that thickness is in the little hardware ring on the back of the antenna — and that ring is actually very nicely designed in brushed metal with the Mohu name on top.)
You've got a few options for mounting the Mohu Blade. There are brackets for screwing it in to a wall, or you can just leave it horizontal on an entertainment stand or windowsill. I prefer the foot that lets it sit up vertically. There's no single right way to do it here — it's all going to depend on your setup and what works best for you. Any of these methods is simple, and Mohu included a basic wall-mount template on the single-page instructions, if that's the route you chose to go.
Once you've got the whole mounting thing figured it, it's just a matter of attaching some coax cable (there's 10 feed included in the box) to the antenna, plugging the coax into the "Power Injector" (which is not optional — you must use it for the antenna to work), and then you plug that into your TV or tuner box.
And then you scan for channels.
So how well does it work? Again, it depends on a lot of things, including where you've placed it, the direction it's facing and how far away your towers are, and whether the antenna makes your living room look like a science fair, earning you many a scowl from your spouse. (Sorry, honey.)
This isn't a magic antenna. The same VHF channels I didn't get the last time I used an indoor antenna I'm not suddenly getting with this one. That's not unexpected. But neither does that mean the Blade is a bad antenna. Far from it. Again (and we can't stress this enough) it's all going to come down to positioning. My setup needs more than an indoor antenna. Yours may not.
And that brings me back to how the Blade looks. I love it. Between the design itself, and the sort of flaked, composite look of the plastic, this is an antenna that I absolutely don't mind somebody seeing in plain sight. That goes a long way. Maybe even longer than the "40-mile" rating Mohu gives the Blade.
But for close-in signals in a design that you won't be ashamed for guests to see? The Mohu Blade absolutely is worth a look.
The Mohu Blade antenna is a 40-mile indoor/outdoor (you'll probably use it inside) that can be mounted on a wall, or used standing on an entertainment center or bookshelf. (Wherever you want, really.) There's nothing overly magical about the antenna itself. It's an antenna.
But the design of the Mohu Blade absolutely should be lauded. It's sleeks and sophisticated and is the rare indoor antenna that you won't mind guests getting a look at.
