Get Local Channels Without Cable
Learn how to Get local channels without cable. Watching television can be expensive. Cable TV packages range in price from $40 or more for a very basic package to $150+ for the comprehensive packages.
A large cable or satellite TV package can really make a dent in the average budget. As a result, people often seek out ways to watch local TV without cable.
There may be dozens of local TV channels available for viewing in your area that you can access for free.
Here are some of the best ways to access them without having a cable or satellite TV subscription.
How to Watch Local TV Without Cable
When I was researching local cable company pricing for this post, I found that most of the cable companies where I live charge $60 per month just for viewing local TV channels.
Bigger packages started at about $75 per month, and that didn’t include taxes, fees, installation charges, and monthly equipment rental fees.
As you can see, a cable or satellite TV package can get expensive quickly, even when you just want to have a better quality reception to watch local TV channels.
So, what are your alternatives?
Get an HD Antenna
Using an HD antenna takes a bit of money and a bit of knowledge as well. It matters where you place your antenna.
Using this cool website called Antenna Web, I did an address search of our country home to find out how many channels we could get if we hooked up an HD antenna.
When I typed in our address without checking the box stating that the antenna would be installed at least 30 feet above ground, it said we could get 52 local channels by using an HD antenna.
Bonus, when we install the antenna at least thirty feet above ground, we could get 55 local channels.
It’s not a big difference in the number of channels, depending on what those other three channels broadcasted.
Even without installing the antenna at thirty feet or above, we could view some channels that were 40-plus miles away from our house.
What Type of Antenna?
The answer to that question can vary. One way to determine which type of antenna is best for you is to find out what direction the broadcast stations are in comparison to your house.
If they’re all located in a single location from your house, you can use a directional antenna. A directional antenna focuses its power in one direction.
If the broadcast towers are located in the same general direction but multiple locations, a multi-directional antenna will likely work the best.
If towers are located in multiple directions that aren’t necessarily near one another, an omnidirectional antenna is a good choice.
You can also buy a good directional antenna that has a remote. The remote allows you to change the direction the antenna faces according to which tower you’re accessing at a given time.
If you live further out you’ll likely need a more powerful antenna. However, if you live within 20 miles of most broadcast stations, you can probably get away with something a little less powerful.
Indoor or Outdoor Antennas?
An indoor antenna should work fine if you live in close proximity (within 20 miles or so) to broadcasting stations.
You’ll also need an indoor antenna if you live in an apartment, townhome, or condominium where installing an outdoor antenna is not allowed.
However, if you can get away with installing an outdoor antenna, you’ll probably have better reception no matter where you live.
If you live far away from broadcasting stations, an outdoor antenna is a must.
While an antenna is probably the best option for maximizing the number of local channels you can view without having cable TV, there are other options as well.