TechRadar Verdict
Pros
- +
Amplifies signal competently
- +
4G filtering works
- +
Convenient shape
Cons
- -
It's pricey
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Designed for the Freeview HD generation, the SV9395 is an indoor amplified Freeview aerial designed to filter out the interference from, among other things, 4G phone networks.
The recent launch of 4G mobile networks in the 800MHz spectrum can cause significant disruption of digital TV reception – essentially the signals overlap and interfere with each other.
The SV9395 stops this from happening by aggressively filtering out all radio waves at and above 790MHz, thus ignoring the mobile networks completely.
The aerial is flat, which means it can be placed quite easily. Either lay it down flat, stand it up or hang it on the wall. It contains "360-degree multi-patch technology" which means it's designed to work optimally in any orientation – something anyone who's used an indoor aerial before will appreciate.
Does it work?
Between the unit and your TV/digibox sits a touch-controlled digital amplifier which essentially allows you to dial up the strength of the filtering and amplification. The higher the setting, the less interference you're likely to get but equally the lower the quality of the picture you're likely to receive.
However, we found that even on its maximum setting, picture quality was excellent in our area.
We tested in a notoriously bad area for TV reception that has also recently been bathed in 4G radio waves. Performance was impressive – the reception was reliable, more so than One For All aerials we've used before, and the 360-degree nature of the receiever meant there was no hassle finding somewhere to put the thing.
Verdict
It costs £49.99 so it's not exactly cheap. But if you need a robust new indoor aerial this is a solid option even if you don't foresee any issues with 4G interference.
