Sports Fans Please Comment

Just a quick post for the sport fans. Please share with other readers in the comment section how you are getting your live sports. Just want to get an idea of some of the best methods used. If you subscribe to service like NHL.com or MLB let us know your experience with these services. If local stations air games how do you find the selection. Please share you cord cutting tips as sports has been one hold out point for some trying to cord cut cable.

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Antenna Troublshooting When HD Channels Drop

If you are having trouble getting certain channels with your antenna there are few things you can do to improve the signal.

The web site AntennaWeb can help locate the signals in your area. Just enter the information requested and point your antenna the right way. The AntennaWeb site also has some great resources for cord cutters.

If this dose not bring in the signal then it might take a little playing around with your antenna. The new digital HD signal can be a little more fussy then the old analog signal. With analog you got the signal through walls even if it came in blurry. This not the case with digital the signal needs to be strong with out being blocked by walls antenna should be placed by your window. If you play around with the position of the antenna near a window it should help maintain a solid signal. The surrounding buildings or trees can have an effect on the quality of the signal.

The type of antenna used can also provide mixed results. With the channels in my area one antenna brought in some channels, but failed to find others. Then I bought a new antenna with a different design and it picked up more channels then the first one, but missed a few that the first antenna has tuned in the first time. The only way I could keep all the channels found was to run an A/B splitter and pick the antenna I wanted to use. This allowed all the channels to tune in, but with a little extra effort as I have to switch the antenna every time I need to get a channel not on the first antenna.

If you have the option of being able to place an antenna outdoors on a pole it might work out better when tuning station at a greater distance, plus you can set it up high and avoid building or trees that might be blocking the signal. The cost of an outdoor antenna is fairly cheap and they make them in many different configurations. There are the typical bow tie design and more up to date designs that look like a gun. Once you decide what type of antenna you want to buy do some research and see if other users have had success bringing in hard to get signals. It will give you a better understanding of what you might be able to pick up in your area.

As each area is different the general rule is to play around with antennas until you find the right one. The majority of stores that sell antennas will take it back if it does not work. With testing antennas in my area it took 23 antennas to find the ones that would pick up the most channels. There build and quality from different manufactures can impact the signal. If you have friends that are cord cutter or neighbours with outdoor antennas ask them if they find that the model they have is working well.

Setting up an antenna have seem a little troublesome for some and remember you can still cord cut using the Internet. All you will miss if you can't get an antenna to work in your area is live shows. There are not to many live streaming stations online, but you can find most shows and the evening news as a video stream from your local station.

Once you get the right antenna and everything is set up properly HD just comes in great from over the air stations.

Skip Live Streaming Pay per View

If you watch streaming sporting events online you might be at risk. It seems the government is targeting sites that offer streaming of pay per view events. The sites are taken off line and it might be possible that your IP address can be tracked. If you want to watch an event you are better off going to a local bar and watching there. If you have a friend with cable why not go half and get the stream in a legal way.

Cord cutting is about getting free legal content or paying for content to alternative companies to cable. Follow the rules stay out of trouble. If anyone has any tips or advice about pay per view events share in the comments.

The information for this post was from a recent episode of Diggnation.

New TV Season Free for Cord Cutters

The networks have announced the fall schedule and it looks like we are going to get some great show. The two show I am looking forward to watching is Pan Am and the Playboy Club as a fan of Mad Men I was hoping for something similar. The nice thing is that I can watch these show with my over the air antenna or if I miss an episode I can purchase it on iTunes. There are a few more shows that look very interesting here is the list of fall shows.

Fall TV Shows

Pan Am

Playboy Club

Terra Nova

Hart of Dixie

Man Up

Unfogettable

New Girl

Suburgatory

Revenge

I Hate My Teenage Daughter

Up All Night

Free Agent

Charlie's Angels

Person of Interest

This is just a partial list of shows on the major networks that you can watch for free with an over the air antenna.

 
Looks like cord cutters are going to have a busy fall season keeping up with all the new TV shows.