HD Alternatives, A.K.A: What the Cable Company Does Not Want You To Know

With the popularity of streaming services, such as Netflix, cable companies have begun to cap their internet services bandwidth for residential internet services, and those Internet Service Providers that already had caps are having their caps lowered.

(For the layperson: bandwidth refers to the amount of data a person can have pass through their service in their home before they either get charged overages and/or have their internet service temporarily blocked.)

 Also, with the recent deregulation of the Internet, in my opinion and observation, it appears many ISPs and cable companies who are also ISP providers have begun to throttle back their speeds, or start to put interruption pulses in their internet, so people who are using their internet service for streaming will be interrupted when they have been streaming too much. This is because the smaller ISPs do not want you to over use their bandwidth, and the cable companies want you to use their TV and on-demand services for your program viewing needs.

Here is the thing:  IF YOU HAVE A GOOD INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER, YOU DO NOT NEED TO PAY FOR CABLE OR SATELLITE SERVICE FOR LOCAL HD TELEVISION PROGRAMMING!!!

What many people do not know, even-though it was in the news several times when it happened, is the government required all TV stations to switch their over-the-air broadcasting to an HD signal.  This means if you a decent line of site view where you live of the land around you, you live close or in a major city, all you need is to by a good HD TV antenna, install it on your roof, and you now have free local TV.  Combine that with a good ISP service for your Netflix and other streaming services, and you just cut your monthly bill by $100 or more.

If you are in the center of a city with good line of sight, a multi-directional antennae would be most advantageous.
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=C4&d=Antennas-Direct-C4-ClearStream-4-Outdoor-HDTV-Antenna-(C4)&c=TV%20Antennas&sku=5374800134

If you are on the outskirts of a city, a unidirectional HD antenna would be a better choice.
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc=03&p=HD8200U&d=Winegard-Heavy-Duty-Platinum-VHFUHFFM-HDTV-Antenna(HD8200U)&c=TV%20Antennas&sku=615798398491


"But I love my DVR service that comes with cable!!!"

Well good news for you: TiVo now has over-the-air broadcasting DVR service, the TiVo Roamio, for $49.99 for the DVR unit, and  $14.99 a month for their service, which if you compare it to your cable company DVR service and extra fees, that is pretty damn comparable, and from the money you saved from dropping cable, it is already paid for the first month alone. https://www.tivo.com/roamio-ota-tlp

Tablo also provides a OTA DVR service, but they require an additional equipment and service, such as Roku or Amazon Fire, to view on a large TV.  https://www.tablotv.com/



RESEARCH YOU NEED TO DO BEFORE DECIDING ON A HD ANTENNAE:

1.) Determine the distance and direction from your location to your local TV broadcasting stations.  This can be determined by entering your location into a few different sites specializing in OTA programming, such as Tablo's site at https://www.tablotv.com/tools/.

2.) Determine the best placing of your antennae and purchase the appropriate mounting kit.  Many people use a chimney mounting kit, where the pole is strapped and bolted to your chimney.  some people use a tripod base in the backyard.

3.) Purchase the antennae and mounting kit and install.  They are fairly easy to install for those who have a DIY knack, but for others, you may want to hire professional assistance with the installation.

4.) Purchase your OTA DVR service.

5.) Say goodbye to cable.

Eventually, with more and more non-cable broadband high speed ISP services becoming available, such as Google Fiber and Sonic Fiber, the cable companies will soon be a thing of the past.  All the premium stations are starting to realize this, so they are adding streaming subscription services so they will be ready, such as HBO has done with their new HBO NOW service.

And I just want to say ANYONE, AND I MEAN ANYONE WHO HAS THE FORTUNE OF CURRENTLY  HAVING GOOGLE FIBER OR OTHER FIBER BROADBAND SERVICE SHOULD ALREADY HAVE DITCHED CABLE FOR THEIR TV, OR THEY ARE JUST WASTING MONEY!!!

I hope this knowledge has helped a few reduce their monthly TV entertainment bill.

WARNING: Unfortunately, for people WITHOUT good line of sight of a city, such as people who live in the mountains, this may not be good for you. Your second best choice is a satellite service, such as Direct TV, for your local channels and basic TV, then use your internet service for the streaming.  Not ideal in cost, but still cheaper than Cable.