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OTA = Over-the-Air Television: Here’s How it Works

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It is interesting to note just how full circle watching television has come in the last few years. Obviously the televisions of the 21st century are different in very different ways from the pioneers in the industry, but how you watch is shockingly similar in one big way.

High Definition (HD) television was the kind of technology that was in just a few homes a mere five years ago, but now it is almost impossible not to get an HDTV when you go shopping for a new set.

Over the Air Television

Leaf Antenna

One of the big drawbacks of a high-definition television is that most people believe you also need to get the high-definition feed from your local cable company in order for there to be any reason to have a top of the line set.

Cable companies, in turn know that people are getting HDTVs (and most recently Smart TV’s) by the truck load and because of this they are starting to jack up their monthly asking price for an HD signal.

Luckily for the high-definition television owner, there is another way to get the HD signal and it could actually save you $100’s of dollars a month depending on where you live as long as you can get your hands on an OTA antenna.

So what is OTA?

Very simply it stands for over the air and with an indoor antenna like the Leaf Antenna, you can tune into a free television signal, rather than having to connect to a cable box using coaxial cables.

An OTA antenna is what people used to use back in the golden age of television, before there was anything like a coaxial cable. That was when there were three or four channels at the most.

OTA channels still very much exist and with the OTA update that was made when it became clear that HD was here to stay, you can now get HDTV antennas and watch those major channels with a crystal clear picture, without befooing tied down to a cable provider.

HDTV Channels

Some people think that using an OTA antenna means that you are going to get a weaker signal, or that the signal is bound to be fuzzy and untrustworthy. The fact of the matter is, today’s level of technology means that whether you are using an inside or outside antenna, the picture quality can be just as good as when you are plugged into a coaxial feed — providing true HDTV channels for your viewing pleasure.

You don’t have to rely on trying to figure out how to watch sports online. Football Saturdays and Sundays don’t have to suffer because you don’t have a sports package from your provider. OTA football offers most of the same great games that you access on cable TV, while saving you a pretty penny.

Click here to see what free HDTV channels are available in your area, including ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX; or go directly to AntennaWeb.

No Cable. No Dish. NO BILLS

Over the air broadcasts in HD offers the top 20 shows on TV for free, in full high definition. With prices rising, and customer service seemingly going by the wayside, more people are taking this step.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in testing out, it is time to check out the Leaf Antenna — they build the best Indoor Antennas on the market and they are very reasonably pricedIt only takes 5 minutes to plugin and you’ll gain access to local television shows and several HD Major Network TV Stations

Leaf Indoor TV Antenna

The Leaf indoor television antenna is a paper thin antenna that connects to your TV and mounts on the wall, behind a picture, or just about anywhere to enable you to receive free over-the-air broadcasts.

Performance:  In side-by-side tests comparing against other major brands of indoor antennas, the Leaf/Leaf Ultimate performed better on average than all others tested. The Leaf Antenna was designed by experienced antenna engineers who have been designing antennas for the US military for years (see their sister company GreenWave Scientific).

Leaf Ultimate Indoor TV Antenna

The Leaf Ultimate is unlike any other amplified HDTV antenna available! The Leaf Ultimate Amplified HDTV Antenna improves upon the top-selling Mohu Leaf Antenna by providing you with an additional range for remarkable reception. For channels that experience occasional dropouts or pixilation, the additional gain of the Leaf Ultimate will provide a far more reliable signal than other antennas.

How the Amplifier Works: The Leaf Ultimate gives you a USB power injector at the end of the antenna cable to provide power to the amplifier in the antenna housing. You can power the amplifier by using the supplied power cable or by plugging the USB cable into a USB port on your TV. There is not another Antenna like it on the Market!

 “If you are cutting the cable bill and streaming content…we have discovered probably the best thing you will ever plug into your HDTV. It’s the paper-thin HDTV antenna from Mohu.”  – HDTV Magazine

Click Below to Learn More:
Indoor AntennasOutdoor AntennasOTA DVRs
Leafrsz_skyTiVo Roamio
Mohu Antennas are the #1 Selling Antennas on Amazon for a Reason!
Forbes

As always, comments are welcome and encouraged. Cheers!

p.s. If you really enjoyed this post, please consider helping me out and spreading the word below! Thanks!

Ditch “Big Cable” Now – 3 Simple Steps to Cut the Cord

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That’s it — you’ll save money, take back control, and enjoy TV more!

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5 replies on “OTA = Over-the-Air Television: Here’s How it Works

How do I kill the cable bill completely? I still have my internet through them. Remember the good ole days of DSL? How do you get reliable internet if not from Comcast?

Ouch. You got me where it hurts – and really are touching on a huge issue. As far as I know there is no way to get rid of your internet bill completely. There are free wi-fi plans in the work but nothing concrete yet. Please let me know what you find out about this topic as it is dear to my heart 😉

Thank you so much for all of the great info on how to get rid of your cable. We cut the cord about a month ago, but are having difficulty finding an antenna that works in our area. I would love to have some advise. We cannot attach an outdoor antenna to our house since it is a rental. We are allowed to attach one to a post, but I’m concerned about it getting top heavy and falling over a lot. It also would not be any more than 7-8 ft in the air. We have tried a couple of indoor antenna’s which have not worked on our downstairs TV and on our upstairs we have gotten 2 channels (occasionally). We live 50+ miles from the TV towers. If you have any suggestions I would appreciate them. Thank you so much!

Short answer is: Mohu Leaf Plus. What brand of Antennas have you tried? And did the Antennas have an amplifier?
Also, did you use Antenna Web to find out what channels you should be receiving?

We go rid of our cable several months ago. We were streaming through Roku for the things we wanted to watch and thought we had to purchase the antenna to get the local channels. Well, we never got around to looking into what exactly we needed to do when a friend told us we didn’t need an antenna, since our tv was newer we should be able to get the local channels by hooking the co-ax into the cable outlet in the wall. We did that and scanned for channels and it worked! Well, fast forward a few months and a not too bad storm and now we don’t have any channels. I rescanned and nothing! What could be the problem and who can I call to look into it? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

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