Recently, I cut the cord, meaning I rid of cable and the bill that went with it. I've also not reduced the TV entertainment in my house. I've had people ask a lot of questions, so I thought I would put together a list of the top questions I've gotten and hope that this helps others that are looking to lower their monthly costs by dropping cable, and at the same time not giving up all of their digital entertainment options at home.
1. Does an antenna really work?
YES, an antenna will give you a great HDTV experience for all of your local channels. In fact, I've personally found that having an antenna that feeds to 4 TV's in my house, if i'm using all of my TV's at the same time, I never lose TV reception. Even in the worst of storms, my antenna TV is available, even when the internet goes out! The only channel that might go out in a blizzard is Channel 2 (CBS), I never have an issue with any other channels.
In order to get the best reception, the type of antenna depends on where you live. If you are in or near (within 10 miles) a large city, you most likely can get away with an antenna that is indoor that sits on top of your tv or near a window. However, if you're like me and live 30+ miles from your closest major city, then I highly recommend an external antenna mounted on a roof, tall poll, balcolny or similar structure.
2. I've decided I want to cut the cord, which antenna should I get?
Which HDTV antenna you should go with varies on budget and if its an indoor antenna or outdoor antenna. I would recommend looking at amazon.com and looking at reviews. I always read the 3 star reviews and immediately discredit reviews that talk about anything other than the product and what it's supposed to do (in this case, the antenna and reception).
Here are two options that will work great and, as of this post, are currently available on amazon.com:
Indoor Antenna:
With Amplifier Signal Booster Upgraded Version Better Reception
Outdoor Antenna
This antenna mirrors the look of my antenna the most. I bought my antenna in 2014 and they have discontinued it.
If you live in the farther suburbs, this antenna will get you what you need. I live near Minooka, IL (about 52 miles from downtown chicago) and with the antenna positioned on my garage (you can't even notice it unless you're looking for it), I get about 72 channels, all in HD!
Something to keep in mind, if you go with an outdoor antenna, you may need a a long Coaxial Cable to run from the antenna to where ever the splitter is in or on your house that feeds the tv signal to the tv outlets in your house. You will want one continuous cord from the antenna to the splitter, trust me on this one.
3. How do I setup an antenna?
Setting up the antenna is really easy, even a beginner DIYER could do it in an hour or so. Simply mount the antenna (usually on a pole, side of the house or on a roof), run the cable to where the tv splitter is for all the other TV's. connect it, and you're all set.
Here is a quick check list for setting up the antenna:
- Mount the antenna
- Run the wire from the antenna to the house tv splitter (usually by your electrical box inside the home or near the cable area outside the home)
- Connect the antenna wire to the amplilfier(comes with the antenna)
- Connect the amplifer to the input connection point on the splitter.
- Plug in the amplifier
- Connect tv's to the tv outlet in the room you want and do an auto search for channels
4. what about HGTV, ESPN and other channels? Is Sling TV any good?
Sling TV is a streaming service that acts similar to Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime. The main difference, is that Sling TV is like having a cable company provide you only the few channels that you really use, whereas comcast and other tv providers give you 200 channels when you only watch 10 or 20 of them at most!
As of November 2016, Sling TV's basic backage was $20 a month and included the following channels: ESPN, AMC, CNN, HGTV, Lifetime Network, ESPN2, ESPN3, Cartoon Network, History, Comedy Central, TNT, Disney Channel, and about 15 other channels. In addition to these channels, Sling TV's offering gives you a streaming service similar to a DVR from your cable company. For example, I was unable to watch the walking dead because it was on at the same time the cubs were playing in the world series (priorities people). So I watched the world series game and then the next day I was able to watch the walking dead on sling tv. The cool thing about it is I didn't have to set it to record, it just has all of the shows available!
All you need for Sling TV is a streaming box. I personally, use a Roku.
5. What are the total costs after cutting the cord?
- Internet: $49/mo. (as of Nov 2016 with Comcast and I have my own modem, so I do not rent one from Comcast)
- Sling TV: $20/mo.
Total cost for Internet and TV: $69/month
(fees included, my area does not have fees or taxes on internet services)
Note: I purposly did not include costs for Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime because most people have these services regardless of if they pay for cable or not.