Question: I am looking into cutting the cable chord and going to OTA only. I’d like to ask the members what has been their experience with their setup. Here are the few key questions that come to mind:
- Is your reception generally good, how good? Does it vary? How much work (e.g. rotate the antenna?) is it?
- Is the content satisfactory?
- What do you miss the most about cable?
- Is there a DVR in the market that I can use (non-TiVo, non monthly subscription) to tape my favorite shows?
- If I have to mount an external antenna, how much money should I budget? Thanks for your help.
From Fernando in Torrance, California
Answer:
Hi Fernando,
Good for you for getting all the facts and information before you make a big decision. We have heard countless stories from people like yourself that are so happy to save money by cutting cable. And with free over-the-air digital programming the switch is not as hard as you might think after years of cable.
We definitely welcome comments from our members and readers to help Fernando out and share your stories of cutting the cable cord. But of course, we will put our two sense in for items 4 and 5.
In regards to the fourth question: TiVo and other monthly subscription services will work with other-the-air TV and your antenna. Moxi offers DVR services without monthly fees, however it is not compatible to record digital programming OTA. There are a couple DVR products out there that will work with OTA TV and you pay a flat fee. The two that I found are: One is a DTVPal DVR. The other is the Channel Master CM7000PAL, both for under $400. There are also ways that you can record using your computer and software programs.
Has anyone used either of these products? Or record OTA programs through their computer?
For the fifth question: As far as how much you should expect to pay for an antenna will depend on your location. We usually recommend outdoor antennas for the best quality digital reception. Our antennas range from $49 to $149 dollars depending on the type. We have outlined the process for you for choosing the best antenna on our website. We recommend you contact customer service for help in choosing the correct antenna if you have problems deciding or questions about what is best for them. In addition to the cost of your antenna you might need outdoor antenna installation and/or antenna accessories such as amplifiers or cables to enhance your reception quality.
What has been your own experience with switching from cable to OTA programming with an antenna?
I live in an apartment so I’m not sure about outdoor antennas or installation.
But I can say that I love my high def. OTA reception. We live in South City, St. Louis and can get all the channels crystal clear, sometime we have to get up and rotate our antenna for channel 9 though. We live right next to a park and nothing seems to get in the way.
Since it’s baseball season, I miss having the option to watch those games at home since the local channels usually only broadcast Cards games about once a week. But we just go out and watch them at bars. Good luck!