Really starting to dig into getting rid of cable.....

[Clay]

I'm finally pretty pissed with Time Warner and their pricing and lack of customer service. Ultimately I would love to stick it to them and just drop their service all together. So being said I've started looking into going with things like Hulu plus, Amazon prime, and netflix with an hd antenna for locals.

So 2 questions for those who have already made this switch:

1) are there any channels you have issues getting? Or other options I'm overlooking?

2) what is a good hd antenna? I would like both indoor and outdoor options.

Thanks!
Clay

 

[Cam]

Tagged for interest.

 

[HoughMade]

I use this antenna:

Antennas Direct ClearStream 4V Antenna Multi C4-V-CJM - Best Buy It is in my attic about 18 feet above ground level.

Remember- there really is no such thing as an HD antenna. there is just an antenna that can receive UHF and VHF signals. If it will do that, it will work.

I am 37 miles from Chicago and 41 from South Bend. I pick up a combined 61 channels (some are Spanish, or shopping or otherwise have programming I don't care about), so I have multiples of all the major networks and numerous independents. There are probably 25 channels that I will watch from time to time.

Go to AntennaWeb - Address to get info on what channels are in your area and whether the signals are UHF or VHF.


I also use free HULU and Netflix streaming.

I also watch less TV than when I had satellite.

No cable specific channels like ESPN, etc, but many cable channels have old seasons on Netflix. I'm more than satisfied.

 

[JettaKnight]

I'd suggest a Channel Master or Winegard 4 or 8 bay antenna (depending on what you need to receive).

Mine was from a kit, it came with a template and soldered copper leads. It looks like this, and I mounted inside my attic.

 

[1911ly]

I use this antenna:

Antennas Direct ClearStream 4V Antenna Multi C4-V-CJM - Best Buy It is in my attic about 18 feet above ground level.

Remember- there really is no such thing as an HD antenna. there is just an antenna that can receive UHF and VHF signals. If it will do that, it will work.

I am 37 miles from Chicago and 41 from South Bend. I pick up a combined 61 channels (some are Spanish, or shopping or otherwise have programming I don't care about), so I have multiples of all the major networks and numerous independents. There are probably 25 channels that I will watch from time to time.

Go to AntennaWeb - Address to get info on what channels are in your area and whether the signals are UHF or VHF.


I also use free HULU and Netflix streaming.

I also watch less TV than when I had satellite.

No cable specific channels like ESPN, etc, but many cable channels have old seasons on Netflix. I'm more than satisfied.

QFT! i want to throw up everything I see those adds. What a load of . False advertising at it's best!

 

[ModernGunner]

Currently, I use the internet, and a UHF / VHF antenna (bought from Radio Shack some years ago) for local stuff. Got rid of cable companies about 6 years ago, couldn't be happier NOT to spend $1200 / year on cable television which had way more channels I DIDN'T watch (though, still paid for) than channels I did watch.

I'm gonna give the antenna suggested by HM above a try, see if it provides any added benefit. Quite a bit more expensive than the Radio Shack model I have, but it's worth a try, IMO.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I had a channel master that worked great like the one listed above. Now I have ClearStream™ 5 UHF/VHF Ultra Long Range Outdoor DTV Antenna. Worked great but my wife wanted cable back

 

[1911ly]

I'd suggest a Channel Master or Winegard 4 or 8 bay antenna (depending on what you need to receive).

Mine was from a kit, it came with a template and soldered copper leads. It looks like this, and I mounted inside my attic.

Bay antenna's are about impossible to beat on UHF. If you can get this up in the air and on a rotor you will be amazed. years ago I had a Parabolic antenna that was the only thing that beat the bay. I am not sure if anyone even makes one these days. Go with a bay. 8 bay is even better.

 

[PistolBob]

Most of Vigo County is going to get 3 or 4 over the air channels. There just isn't much over that way.

 

[Dosproduction]

I don't watch tv it is just a propaganda machine. I do get Netflix and internet though. Could care less about television since I can just choose to look up what I want.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I don't watch tv it is just a propaganda machine. I do get Netflix and internet though. Could care less about television since I can just choose to look up what I want.

In before grammar police post!

 

[churchmouse]

I had a channel master that worked great like the one listed above. Now I have ClearStream™ 5 UHF/VHF Ultra Long Range Outdoor DTV Antenna. Worked great but my wife wanted cable back

That is the kicker with me. Spouse will watch all of the mindless "E" news and related mindless BS.
There are times I have to revolt and take the control sometimes under threat of death.
She has no fear of me......

Cable stays.

 

[Cldedhnds]

IBGPP?

 

[bobbittle]

I'm using OTA antenna to pick up all the local channels, 6, 8, 13, 20, 29, 59, 63

I have Netflix and Amazon Prime (Amazon Instant Video) for streaming movies/seasons through my Roku boxes (2 day shipping for Prime is great!).

Brand new service just came out, NO CONTRACT over the internet cable channels. The selection is limited, you get the package and that's it. https://www.sling.com/

For $20/month I get:
ESPN 1
ESPN 2
AMC
HGTV
Food Network
Disney
TNT
TBS
Travel Channel
Cartoon Network
ABC Family

And for an additional $5/month I get:
Cooking Channel
DIY
HLN
Bloomberg

They also have a kids package and a sports package for additional channels @ $5/month per package

Many of the channels you can pause/rewind/etc. Many of them you can go back days at a time and watch previous programs. Some you can't.

 

[Bfish]

Whatever you do, just do not think about going to dish for any reason!

 

[Cldedhnds]

Brand new service just came out, NO CONTRACT over the internet cable channels. The selection is limited, you get the package and that's it. https://www.sling.com/

Interesting. I'm getting ready to do the re-up my discount or I'm leaving dance with AT&T this weekend and need to be ready to make a change if they don't lower my bill.

 

[mrjarrell]

Whatever you do, just do not think about going to dish for any reason!

I've got and have had Dish since the 90's and have no real complaints. Their selection and equipment are good and the service has always been really good. I'd recommend Dish over DirectTV any day of the week.

 

[EvilElmo]

I cut the cord a couple of years ago. I hung one of these in my attic and I easily get all the local channels: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FVVKQM/

Honestly though it barely gets used. The whole family watches almost nothing but netflix streaming anymore. Dropping the satellite really did make a significant reduction in amount of time that my family wastes in front of the idiot box.

 

[danimal]

I've got and have had Dish since the 90's and have no real complaints. Their selection and equipment are good and the service has always been really good. I'd recommend Dish over DirectTV any day of the week.

I'll second the J man. I had Dish for 7 years and they're the best compared to my prior experience with Comcast and UVerse. Sometimes people complain about them losing channels for a few weeks while they negotiate new deals for channels. Don't know why they're complaining, Dish is doing what they're supposed to, fighting to keep your bill low, they don't want to pass additional costs on to consumers or have to eat rate increases out of their own profits. Comcast seems like it has a mandatory $3 rate increase every quarter because they just roll over whenever a network says it wants more money. I swear I heard at one time in the past that Dish was actually pitching and trying to get a lot of the networks to go ala-carte, but don't quote me on it.

I dropped Dish as soon as SlingTV came out, not because of any real issue with Dish, but only because Sling is much cheaper and is a much better fit in the channel selection than any of their packages. We got the $5 kids pack (wife and I love Boomerang), and I already have a Blaze account, Netflix, and mooch off my dad's Prime account. I'm considering getting a subscription to MOTV so I can still get everything from the Outdoor channel back (another $5/mo). So my bill is basically down under 1/2 of what it was before, closer to a 1/3, and we're not wasting a bunch of money on channels we don't watch anymore. Personally, we never watch any local channels, so we don't even have an antenna. A Roku3 in the living room and a Roku stick in the kids room. If you are heavily vested in iPhones/iPads, you can consider an AppleTV, but check for app support for the services you want to on it.

 

[CZB1962]

I have been looking at this one but I have to admit that I don't really know too much about them. The reviews seem good.

http://www.amazon.com/Xtreme-Signal-HDB8X-Bowtie-Antenna/dp/B00CX6UJ5K

I also found this page that will give you the direction to point your antenna.

AntennaPoint.com - Antenna Locator