Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) 2017 - 2020

[UnrealizedPotential]

Oddly, TV Fool shows more possibilities, but totally misses on 3 I get very well, out of the same town I get others. NBC, Fox, and UPN locals, and they don't seem to be known by another name. And it claims I can get one, might become a WB affiliate?, that I can't get.

I have my antenna connected to my Dish receiver so I can record, and that gives me a signal strength number between 0-100. It helps a lot to get the one shaky local station I really want, without losing the stronger ones. Once i got that, I try not to touch my Leaf antenna.

What do you put for antenna height? The standard is 25 feet from ground level. Whatever height antenna is from the ground you need to input in the space provided on the website. I am curious if that changes anything.


The other thing is the website needs your exact address. I used to live in Orange County,Ca and I got the Los Angeles stations great, but I couldn't get San Diego worth a darn. Travel 5 miles south past some hills and during the summer, San Diego came in booming. Reception can vary by the inch or by a few miles.

 

[RunningBum]

What do you put for antenna height? The standard is 25 feet from ground level.

My Leaf antenna is in my basement so I left it as 0, since that's pretty much correct. Surprisingly, I can get away with it. I could pretty easily run a cable to the attic but since I get what I need I don't bother.

The database TV fool is using has a lot of omissions, and doesn't appear to have been fixed.
***Alert*** New database has serious issue *** - TV Fool
I noticed that the 3 I'm missing have been reported in another thread.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

My Leaf antenna is in my basement so I left it as 0, since that's pretty much correct. Surprisingly, I can get away with it. I could pretty easily run a cable to the attic but since I get what I need I don't bother.

The database TV fool is using has a lot of omissions, and doesn't appear to have been fixed.
***Alert*** New database has serious issue *** - TV Fool
I noticed that the 3 I'm missing have been reported in another thread.

Fair enough, but my experience has been, and I have a lot of experience with TV antennas and TV signal reception in general, that antennaweb is rather poor at predicting reception. It looks like your experience has been the opposite of that, and that's fair. But it doesn't change my opinion. In any event I wish you luck with your OTA TV reception!


ETA-I forgot to mention that having an antenna in the basement is just about the worst place it could be and I think you realize that. Still, if you could get it outside and up in the air, someday when you are feeling adventurous your results could be different.


But since you get what you need, it doesn't matter at all. I just wanted to say it for the benefit of others.

 

[RunningBum]

Fair enough, but my experience has been, and I have a lot of experience with TV antennas and TV signal reception in general, that antennaweb is rather poor at predicting reception. It looks like your experience has been the opposite of that, and that's fair. But it doesn't change my opinion. In any event I wish you luck with your OTA TV reception!

I think TV Fool would be better but they have that database issue from a year ago they still haven't fixed.

I can't remember the details since it was a few years ago, but my method was to find all of the possibilities from various sites and play with location of the antenna to see what I could pick up. From there I'd try to optimize one location I didn't have to change to pick up the ones I really wanted. Surprisingly I get about as good of reception in my basement than I did running a cable up to the my top level. Maybe it degrades over my house cabling. I have reasons to keep the Dish box in my basement. I'd guess a bigger attic antenna would do even better but it doesn't seem to be needed.

 

[RunningBum]

I tried 25 and 50' with TV Fool and it didn't add those stations. Not surprising, since they should've shown up somewhere in the big list of possibilities, even if it didn't think I'd get them easily (which I can).

 

[REWahoo]

How does https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps compare to the other two?

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

How does https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps compare to the other two?

I like it. I have never used that site so I put in my address just to see what it would do. I find it pretty accurate in my case. Of course as we all know everyone's experience is not the same!


I don't have an over the air issue anymore though. I got lucky in that the whole state of Utah, with the exception of Moab I think, gets Salt Lake city TV signals via translators.

 

[RunningBum]

How does https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps compare to the other two?

Far worse for my unique situation.

It says I can receive a good signal for all stations from the nearest town, but in reality I can only pick up one station from that town.

It lists a few others from other towns and says they'll be weak or out of range, but doesn't list any from the bigger city with stronger signals that I get very well. It probably thinks it's too far away at 79 miles (according to the first site).

I've verified with each tool that it shows the exact address for my house.

With the mountains around me, it would not surprise me if a neighbor down the street gets totally different results from me due to different elevation and line of sight. It could be some of the sites are using the terrain from the road, instead of ~100' off road and slightly lower where my house sits. That could make a difference.

 

[RunningBum]

So, antennaweb was the most accurate for me, but it was conservative as UnrealizedP says, and showed the fewest options. I have, at times, gotten a signal from some of the others listed at the other sites. If those were my only options, I think I could find a location for my antenna and make those work. I just don't think it would be a compatible location for the ones I can get better, so I gave up.

 

[retiredunder50]

Back when we had an OTA we used a booster to enhance the signal... many years ago... pre digital so not sure if the concept still applies.... but it worked well.

+1


I've been using a decent pre-amp placed near the antenna with a decent low noise figure and gain characteristics and it makes a difference. A rotor helps too as these typically directional antennas have to be pointed towards the towers listed on tvfool, antennaweb,...


I just saw this article comparing many of the major streaming providers. There is a nice comparison table with the channels offered by each.
https://clark.com/technology/tvsatellite-cable/streaming-tv-comparison-best-channel-lineup/

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Even though I have more content than I can watch, I am always looking to improve. I have 2 directional antennae in my attic pointing at 2 major cities . I am on a mountaintop and can pick up stations 30 to 107 miles away on a regular basis. I do not use the rotor. Depending on weather, I will occasionally pick up ridiculously distant signals. 150 miles. I can pick up 60 or more stations on a regular basis. I sometimes look for better antennae and amplifiers. When I find some additional electronics, I have to deal with the DW factor.

I rarely watch live. I have a Tablo OTA DVR. It is easy to look through what is scheduled and pick content to record. Once recorded, I can watch through a Roku or Android device or others. I can also watch outside my home network. I have lots recorded.

I had internet and landline through Spectrum. Recently they offered a streaming only service that has just about all of their channels including Showtime, Cinemax, HBO, Espn, etc. So, I am paying $125 for the "bundle". Before, I was paying $85 for Internet and landline, so $40 for the streaming TV package. They do not advertise this streaming only. Sometime, on a regular basis, the live sports shows are too blurry to watch for a few minutes, then they clear up. Don't know why. The OTA live and recorded shows are higher resolution than Spectrum, even when not blurry.

Many of the Spectrum channels have apps. You have to separately let the channel know that you have Spectrum credentials. Once you do this, you can watch that channel on the road. And the app has more "On Demand" than Spectrum's On Demand. For example CNBC, ESPN, and HGTV have apps. In addition, you can watch the Spectrum app on the road. It is limited but it has enough to be pretty good.

I also have Amazon Prime and Netflix. Although not TV, I have Pandora on my Roku's. I find that I watch Cable News for a few minutes then listen to music.

We have 5 TVs we watch on a regular basis. We have 2 in our guest rooms.

Cost? Years ago, I was paying $195 a month for bundled TV, cable and landline. Now at $125. I had Netflix and Prime before the change. I probably have $600 in hardware costs to make it happen. At times, I have had no streaming package or Sling TV or Spectrum (which I now have).

 

[REWahoo]

Even though I have more content than I can watch, I am always looking to improve. I have 2 directional antennae in my attic pointing at 2 major cities . I am on a mountaintop and can pick up stations 30 to 107 miles away on a regular basis. I do not use the rotor. Depending on weather, I will occasionally pick up ridiculously distant signals. 150 miles. I can pick up 60 or more stations on a regular basis. I sometimes look for better antennae and amplifiers. When I find some additional electronics, I have to deal with the DW factor.

I rarely watch live. I have a Tablo OTA DVR. It is easy to look through what is scheduled and pick content to record. Once recorded, I can watch through a Roku or Android device or others. I can also watch outside my home network. I have lots recorded.

I had internet and landline through Spectrum. Recently they offered a streaming only service that has just about all of their channels including Showtime, Cinemax, HBO, Espn, etc. So, I am paying $125 for the "bundle". Before, I was paying $85 for Internet and landline, so $40 for the streaming TV package. They do not advertise this streaming only. Sometime, on a regular basis, the live sports shows are too blurry to watch for a few minutes, then they clear up. Don't know why. The OTA live and recorded shows are higher resolution than Spectrum, even when not blurry.

Many of the Spectrum channels have apps. You have to separately let the channel know that you have Spectrum credentials. Once you do this, you can watch that channel on the road. And the app has more "On Demand" than Spectrum's On Demand. For example CNBC, ESPN, and HGTV have apps. In addition, you can watch the Spectrum app on the road. It is limited but it has enough to be pretty good.

I also have Amazon Prime and Netflix. Although not TV, I have Pandora on my Roku's. I find that I watch Cable News for a few minutes then listen to music.

We have 5 TVs we watch on a regular basis. We have 2 in our guest rooms.

Cost? Years ago, I was paying $195 a month for bundled TV, cable and landline. Now at $125. I had Netflix and Prime before the change. I probably have $600 in hardware costs to make it happen. At times, I have had no streaming package or Sling TV or Spectrum (which I now have).

Now we know what you "do all day".

 

[Chuckanut]

Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV)

According to Arstechnica Comcast is raising broadcast fees and some equipment fees on Jan 1. I sure am glad I did not take them up on that offer I got earlier in the year that locked me into a two year contract while allowing them to raise certain fees during the contract. It’s not my idea of Win-Win.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...and-sports-fees-rise-again-hit-18-25-a-month/

“Comcast is raising its controversial "Broadcast TV" and "Regional Sports Network" fees again on January 1, with the typical total price going from $14.50 to $18.25 a month.”

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Now we know what you "do all day".

There is a 007 movie where the bad guy wants to rule the world by controlling the media. Maybe my warped mind sees "World Domination" in my future?

Or maybe someone will give me suggestions to improve my setup.

 

[RonBoyd]

Or maybe someone will give me suggestions to improve my setup.

Improve in what way? What do you feel you're missing?

I use SageTV and not Tablo. Tablo is distant second to SageTV as far as features but would be my first choice if not for STV. I am a bigger fan of PLEX than I am of KODI. PlayOn is pretty handy for recording streaming programming. (Oh! yeah. DSL through CenturyLink,)

I have >80 channels OTA available but, also, subscribe to DirecTV NOW (HBO comes with DTVN), Hulu, PBS, Prime, Acorn TV, & Showtime.

 

[Carpediem]

I use SageTV and not Tablo. Tablo is distant second to SageTV as far as features but would be my first choice if not for STV.

Interesting....I just clicked over to SageTV to learn more and here is the message on their home page:

"We’re thrilled to announce that SageTV has been acquired by Google."

I suppose this is going to be the new Amazon Recast competitor.

 

[ncbill]

Tivo is offering their Roamio OTA 1TB (~150 hours of HD video) model (includes lifetime service) for $300 today for those of you who use an antenna.

 

[RonBoyd]

Interesting....I just clicked over to SageTV to learn more and here is the message on their home page:

"We’re thrilled to announce that SageTV has been acquired by Google."

I suppose this is going to be the new Amazon Recast competitor.

Sorry about that. I should have included more detail.

Actually, that was about 7-8 years ago. Google did purchase it but did nothing with it. A couple years ago, they released it. SageTV is now supported by a very knowledgeable user group. Everything you need is found at this Forum - https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/.

Since I have used SageTV since the beginning (v1 -- it is now v9), I really can't be very helpful in getting you started. Nevertheless, the Forum will provide all you need to get started. (I should mention that the members of this group are extremely helpful.)

 

[Qs Laptop]

Fascinating thread. I thought I'd throw in my experience.

Comcast cable customers may not have noticed this but NBC's signal is severely compressed. When watching sporting events it is typical to see pixelation and blockiness/blurring of the TV images. This is especially noticeable during football games where the camera is close up to medium closeup of shots of players rapidly moving across the screen.

Last week during the Vikings/Bears game I pulled out my old DTV flat-antenna and connected it to the TV. I had to find the sweet spot for the NBC affiliate, but man, oh man, what a difference! Absolutely no pixelation during players movement, but was even more impressive was the upgrade in picture quality and the emergence of 5.1 surround sound. I was absolutely astonished at how much better the picture was. Sharper, more contrast, more detail, fuller colors, etc.

You should know that this is in the BASEMENT of my house. So this week I repeated the strategy of using the flat antenna when watching the Vikings/Packers game. Same great picture and sound. I change the input back over to Comcast cable HDTV and it's a bit washed out, no surround sound, pixelation and blurry motion. Flick it back to antenna input and, Voila!

I can get about 25 stations from the basement using this flat antenna I tape to the sweet spot on the wall. Now I'm really curious what I would get if I put an antenna in the attic of my 2-story home and point it at the local TV towers.

 

[pb4uski]

.... Now I'm really curious what I would get if I put an antenna in the attic of my 2-story home and point it at the local TV towers.

You might get enough to ditch Comcast and go with OTA and streaming!

 

[Qs Laptop]

You might get enough to ditch Comcast and go with OTA and streaming!

Which I would love, love, love to do. However, I like to watch baseball in the summer. No way to watch the local MLB team without cable TV.

 

[pb4uski]

Have you checked out suppose.tv and put in the channel/network that you need for baseball to see if it streams?

For example, in the NE a lot of streaming packages carry NESN, the home of the WORLD CHAMPION Boston Red Sox... (sorry... had to slip that in).

 

[HtownRose]

This $0.99 a month (probably no longer available?) is charged monthly and one can cancel at any time. So a small investment for Hulu newbies to see if they like it.

Still available as of a few hours ago. Thank you to the OP who posted this deal - I wouldn't have heard about it otherwise. I TiVo most of what I want to watch, but it isn't always the best quality, & is sometimes pre-empted, so this is a nice backup & they have a few other things I like - old BBC shows, Homeland, used to like Nashville but not so much since they *spoiler alert* killed off (a main character).

 

[Qs Laptop]

Have you checked out suppose.tv and put in the channel/network that you need for baseball to see if it streams?

For example, in the NE a lot of streaming packages carry NESN, the home of the WORLD CHAMPION Boston Red Sox... (sorry... had to slip that in).

Thanks for the site info.

Playstation Vue is my best fit. $49.99.
There is an old Playstation 3 in the house, I presume it would work.

Now I need fast internet. Comcast would be about $60 a month. So I'm at $110 a month for TV and internet. I'm paying $129 for TV/internet/security right now. Almost worth it to make the jump.

I see that DVRing is possible and I can skip the ads. That's nice.

Hmmm....

 

[pb4uski]

You don't need a Playstation... it is an odd name, but Playstation Vue is a streaming service a la Sling, Hulu, YouTube TV, etc. and works on many devices.

You can enjoy PlayStation™Vue on a variety of devices, including:

• PlayStation®4 consoles
• PlayStation®3 consoles
• Roku® Players and TVs (firmware 7.7 and up) -- read more about PlayStation™Vue software versions on supported Roku Players and TVs
• Amazon Fire TV (all gens)
• Apple TV® (4th gen running tvOS 10.0 and up)
• Android TV (all gens)
• On the web at psvue.com/watch (most recent versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Microsoft Edge, as well as previous “evergreen” versions.)
• Mobile and tablet devices
• iOS devices: iOS 9 or higher
• Android: Android phones and tablets running Android OS version 5.0 or higher
• Amazon: Fire HD6 tablets and above
• Google Chromecast (1st gen and up)