How Do You Mostly Receive Broadcast TV? - Page 2

I put up an antenna in 2006 so I could get HD long before the cable/sat companies had it. Built 2 HTPCs to record and view and am still using them as they work better and are more flexible than cable/sat STBs and the PQ is much better. I have also had cable or satellite off and on over the same period, mainly for college football. I have taken a hiatus during the football offseason and streamed what few shows I actually watched on cable or sat. System is working out well for me and the hiatus saves enough money to make the cable/sat affordable for the college football season.

How do you get internet?

OTA for me. I just dropped DirecTV after 10 years.

We cancelled our cable 2 years ago and stream everything for most of our view. For the local OTA stations, we use a ClearStream 4 DTV Antenna, which works great (the quality is actually a lot better than we got through our cable network - Comcast). So with OTA and Streaming, we are pretty much covered (along with BD movies that we purchase sine they will be watched a lot).

I'd love to go OTA-only cost wise, but having MSNBC, Comedy Central and a few others channels is a must. I also added up the a-la-carte cost of stuff like Discovery via iTunes or Amazon, and it ends up being $30+/mo for not that much content, so it ends up being a better deal to just run cable and get everything in one, big, expensive, crappy quality package.

+1 fror me.

I have never paid for TV broadcasts and never will.

Cable. No chance for OTA in my location. Small cable company with 22 vsb and 140 clear QAM channels with NY and "locals" in HD. When all you have is lemons....

Directv, though I wouldn't mind putting up an antenna to get them OTA as a backup. I also get them from Charter on the QAM tuner, but only the 4:3 SD versions, they encrypted the HD versions, these are "freebies" as I have charter internet.

I'd say 45% satellite 50% OTA and 5% online with the online and OTA percentages growing year by year. Last year I finally sprung for a roof mounted antennae which improved reception considerably and added to my list of receivable channels. I'd love to cut the satellite permanently but like the music stations and the wife has her pay channels i.e. W, TLC, HGTV, etc. that she can't live without...

OTA only ever since dtv started in the states. Best programming and best pictures all for free.
Don't cask me how I get HD shows from the premium channels like HBO. I use a htpc, you get the idea.

My Netflix account is paid for by relative too. We don't Netflix much because PQ seems bad. All the savings and we don't feel like we are lacking anything. More outdoor time and money in our savings.
Edited by openwheelracing - 2/20/13 at 5:17pm

I am just change back to OTA
Have Dual tuner DVR for the antenna
Saving $70.00 per month or $840.00 per year it is FREE

Directv, best PQ and will only switch when something better comes along.

That's pretty bad eating up carriers for 8VSB over cable...

Dish 64% ("Locals")
DIRECTV 35% (Distants - Grandfathered)
OTA 1% (spotty)

I am in a canyon. Somewhat rural. I don't like cable or subscription satellite. I do what is known as Free to Air satellite. Eight foot dish with a motor that turns the dish to see the arc where all the satellites are orbiting in geosynchronous orbit.

The programming I watch is not scrambled. I get, right now, five premium channels, networks (but not locals) old classic shows, the full line of PBS stuff, Nasa, sports feeds and more. Just about all of it is in HD. And I don't send a monthly check. I have had cable, Dish and Direct. My viewing experience is just as good now as when I had those.

Cable for me... Satellite has technical issues, streaming isn't a feasible option as the shows I watch are either prohibitively expensive to watch online or not available at all online, and some OTA channels on my cable system are those whose OTA signals are too weak to reach my area.

I have Cable, but also have OTA. If there is a an NFL game or some other show on the big networks, I always watch OTA. I feel cable "corrupts" the signal too much. The PQ just looks better on OTA.

I have recently jumped on the streaming bandwagon. I have a Vizio SmartTV, an Xbox360, and a Sony BD player that does streaming. I am very pleased with the PQ on all 3 when watching Netflix, VUDU, etc, although I give the edge to the Sony BD player since it supports 1080P and 5.1 surrround.

I have satellite service because I only recieve 1 OTA channel.

Hooked up a 40 year old attic antenna to watch the MLB playoffs after the latest fight between my cable company and a broadcast network. Being fairly close to NYC, I was ecstatic to find that ALL the local stations were available and crystal clear (noticeably better than cable service). Dumped the STB in my bedroom forever, since we typically only watch broadcast channels during primetime anyway.
If I could get MSNBC, CNN and MLB without cable, I would do it tomorrow.

Today I found that I have over 60 channels free and if change my Antenna I get about 40 channel

I started whit dish and hock 10 year after I move and only got a channel and second channel not so good to started down that path. I move back out of the mountains and just did not change cost me over 10 years $9,000 now it is free. I DVR like a lot Now I have a dual DVR for OTA

In West-Europe one can recieve more than 1.000 channels for free, including 20/30 HD channels.

directv and ota.Have to keep Directv if i want to continue watching certain programs like Spartacus,Dexter, Sons of anarchy etc.

Scott -
Apropos of your survey:
I am interested in the best way to go about "cutting the cord" and relying on streaming video and OTA content. I am pretty comfortable with the process of installing an antenna and I know that it is somewhat of a hit or miss affair. My main insecurity relates to trying to improve internet and wifi performance. I have done a lot of research on this subject but most of it is in technical terms that I am not able to understand. I am wondering if you know of a website or resource where I can get a basic explanation of the following:

1. How to I test the performance of my ISP? Do I just connect my laptop to the modem and go to a website that can measure it? What kind of numbers do I need to be seeing to be able to stream video efficiently?
2. If I find that my service from Comcast is poor how do I know if it is the signal or the modem? If it is the modem can I purchase a better modem and how do I know what type will work with Comcast?
3. If I find that the service from Comcast is ok but wifi is sporadic do I need to purchase a new wifi router? If so how do I know which one will work with my modem?
4. If the ability to run cables is not an option, is it best to tweak the wifi or to try powerline or some other technology?

In the frustrating ISP/CATV world of monopoly and duopoly I am reluctant to chase down a better provider since the consensus of opinion seems to be they are all pretty similar. So I am attempting to find out if there are equipment solutions that I can purchase myself that will improve my service. Unfortunately, I am not tech-savvy enough to know which (if any) devices will help me in my quest.

Any help that you can give will be much appreciated.

Thanks

Saw this article and thought it was appropriate for this thread.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/02/21/172532486/amid-lawsuits-aereo-brings-broadcast-tv-to-the-internet

This DB8 has been my home's flag since the day we moved in 5 years ago. The cable company (Rogers) who had the previous owners signed up for cable TV, cable internet, and (cable) VOIP home phone pulled out all the stops to shower us with mail and phone calls and terrific "deals"...

BLOW ME

That was one evil I didn't need. For about the first 6-8 months though we had to endure the cable company's evil brother - the phone company (Bell). Although my wife and I would be perfectly happy living off our mobile numbers our families expected a traditional phone line, plus we needed high speed internet from somewhere so we went with what we thought was the lesser of two evils. Well, I ditched this provider due to incessant harassment - NON STOP mail, phone calls to the house inquiring how our internet service was and if we wanted to upgrade... the second last time I received a cold call I told the CS agent to put a note in my file that I would CANCEL all my services if I received one more solicitation. Less than a week later phone rings, "hi I'm from Bell and want to extend a special offer"... I told the dude to read the last note that was inserted in my file a week ago. He read the whole thing to me and was not one bit surprised when I told him to cancel my phone line and DSL internet immediately. The guy offered to patch me in to a special service rep but knew I was serious and didn't bother asking again after I said "nope".

At that point I had already researched an emerging service reseller (or ISP depending on who you ask) and had received many recommendations from IT/techie people I knew who used them. I switched my land-line phone service and high speed DSL over to Teksavvy, a 3rd party who basically uses Bell and Roger's infrastructures to deliver the same service - or I should say MORE service - at less cost. I've never looked back. I'm paying less than before, receiving WAY more in terms of monthly bandwidth (like try <25 GB/mo before vs. 300 GB/mo now), and the BEST PART is that after a few months of cancellation I stopped receiving any mails or calls from the old provider. Is that not ironic? I was harassed MORE as a paying Bell customer and now that I'm not they leave me alone. I get maybe one letter every 6 months but that's it. Rogers sends me one letter (usually around Christmas) to advertise "new customer specials"... (their letters stopped saying "we want you back!" years ago lol)

I get over 25 reliable and unique digital (mostly HD) channels from my antenna. Weekly sports is the only thing I miss but with two small kids (and the fact I get by with OTA) I don't have much time for TV. It just means I get out of the house to watch a weekday game at a buddy's place or stop into a local bar to catch the last hour of a game. Saturday evening is my hockey night, and even the odd Sunday (was nice to see NBC's triple header all day last Sunday). Any shows/movies we can't receive via OTA we get from the web (netflix, torrents, forums, internet TV channels/apps, you name it).

Best part about my current internet plan: unlimited downloading between 2-8am. Won't even count towards my 300 GB monthly limit.

In Pittsburgh I can get a around 20 total channels OTA - only the four networks (one digital sub channel each), PBS (and its sub channels), MyTV, the CW, along with a few other sub channels. Some come in better than others.

Basic cable costs around $12 a month through Comcast. They took $20 off my internet service price when I "bundled" it with a tv service (basic cable) so it was actually cheaper for me to get internet and tv than just internet. Given that I wouldn't have to worry about antenna positioning, or selecting between QAM and OTA, I just go with QAM.

During the winter I subscribe to a higher tier of tv service and DVR a few terabytes worth of stuff. I'll cancel it after Pittsburgh Penguins season ends and go back to just basics for six or seven months, watching all the stuff I recorded.

Hello all,

Brand-spankin' new to AVS.
'Came looking for an answer to a graphics question and ran into this thread.
I recently cut the cord on U-verse. I live alone and at 70+ there's a whole lot
of teevee that is irrelevant to me. I went commando from around '95 to 2008.
'Had a grandson coming to visit so I purchased an LCD television and tried
Direct. That lasted a couple of years 'til the switch to ATT. (gotta have Internet).
I think I can survive with the network sites (USA, et al.) and Hulu.
I've added and OTA tuner and a cheap laptop and am exploring the possibilities.

Regards,
Eq

We have satellite, DirecTV, for all but CBS because there is one "local" broadcast station within 40 miles. Unfortunately, there's a lot of valleys, hills and trees between them and us though there is another tower closer. So we have rabbit ears for CBS though if you stand up or walk anywhere near the TV (dogs included) we lose the signal for a few seconds. I just asked DH again about a roof antenna and he'd rather try a dipole first hung in the rafters. *sigh* I figure that will be about as good as the dipole for FM broadcasts, gets us about 3-4 stations on a good day.

Can't really do streaming because our internet is also satellite, Hughesnet in our case on the cheap plan, because well, we're as cheap as we can be without going cold turkey and having to find something else to do out here in the woods. Cable is a joke. Whereas the surrounding communities are actually getting decent cable and cable modem, the cable company actually has 3 large dishes at the edge of our village and they beam about 33 channels to them for the same price as those who can get the 100 or so via conventional cable.

what also annoys me is I have to have NY channels for ABC, NBC and FOX because of some other restrictions, rather than Detroit. Not that I care that much about Detroit since it's a 4.5 hour drive south but still, I care even less about NYC.(and it galls even more because my sports teams are all Boston!)

I do prefer living in the woods though so we just have to live with it.

I would sign on (again) with MLB if only their blackout rules weren't so asinine. Living in Little Rock my
rooting interest is with St. Louis. Guess what, I can't view them on MLB regardless of home/road.
Plus, the Rangers, Astros and Royals are verboten. Sucks@!@!!