Detailed instructions on how to Install an over the air TV Antenna for free HDTV 

Yes...my directv bill was anywhere from $92-$97 per month. I was happy to cancel it! Thanks for the kind comment. The splitter was from antennasdirect.com and works great.

I use appleTV and love it.

Robert Garrett Great video. I want what you have, except I'm only using the roku3 and an indoor antenna. I was completely befuddled when I saw you search channels from the antenna through the roku. Please let me know how you did this part, and which roku you have, because I've been trying to make this happen for a couple months now. Let me know if you have a converter box or anything. I'd really appreciate it.

Ultimateprototype The reason I am able to tune to the tuner on my roku is because I have a roku TV. The roku is built into the TV and the TV menu is run via roku. Very cool. Go to amazon and search 55" roku TCL tv.

Robert Garrett Thanks for the response. I've seen a couple of low level TV's with this feature, but I never thought the function worked like that. You learn something new everyday.

+GroovyVideo2 You are lucky to be so close to the transmission tower. I am 50 miles away.

+Thomas Chung I have the same question.

+Thomas Chung Yes! Just use the cable that is already in the walls. I used the wiring that Directv had installed.

I did try. They don't work quite as well. The initial investment is expensive but it is worth it when your cable bill is $0!

+rj newell I get 18 channels. The channels with sports on them are CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and the CW. If you have good internet you could subscribe to sling. Search sling tv on google. It is super cheap.

I lived far enough from the broadcast tower that I felt I needed a long range antenna for each band uhf and vhf

Go to antennafool.com

+gunsmoke1967 Awesome idea!

+Jonathan DaCosta with it being indoors, I didn't think it was necessary to ground it.

+Glen England She will get used to it. Also, consider looking into Sling. It is cheap as long as you have good internet.

Did you try moving the antenna?

Yes. That was the first thing I tried.

Robert Garrett Maybe on this page you can get some ideas: www.dennysantennaservice.com/better_digital_tv_reception.html

+Robert Garrett First of all, THANK YOU for posting this video. You've inspired me to cut the cable cord! I did EVERYTHING you did in your video, at my home. I live about 35-40 miles away from most of the broadcast towers. The DB8e and CS5 set up, allowed me to pull about 60 digital channels. Most were garbage channels, I don't care about, but I did get PBS, CBS, NBC, ION and a few others. What I could not get were the VHF channels. I went onto antennas direct and someone had the same issue. Antennas direct recommended the Clearstream 2V, with the dipole antenna. I'm assuming that dipole made the difference because I now get the VHF channels, FOX and ABC. Thanks again, and I hope I was able to help you with this information as you helped me initially! Take care, bud!

If I were you, I would use tvfool.com. When you run your address, it will tell you VHF or UHF for each channel.

When I searched my address on antennapoint dot com it showed me each channel and the band (UHF/VHF)

Robert Garrett went to antennapoint.com and there is no website of that name, is what was showing.

My TV is a Roku tv. Search "TCL Roku TV" on Amazon

Cody Heard Yes. That is exactly what I did. I did shorten some of them to increase the signal to the TV

TCL with a built in Roku

Eric M stop complaining about the camera work, and just appreciate the effort this man put on making this informative video for us. if you aint got nathing nice to say, then dont say nothing.

Arlind Krasniqi Though i understand someone defending another in this case its not needed. I wasn't attacking him i was pointing a flaw in his video production which can help him improve later videos he does. He a adult and i quite sure he can understand the difference between constructive help and someone doing a personal attack for no good reason.

+Robert Garrett I just got the Preamp today and will mess around with it this weekend.

+Robert Garrett Thanks for posting this vid. Very helpful. I also have DirecTV and I want to cut the cord. I'm curious though. Do you have to run new cable lines to the TV's? Can't you just run the coax from the antenna to the lines in the box attached to the house?

+Robert Garrett Robert, what do you mean by "wired the outlet with 12-2 wire"? Sorry for my ignorance about wires. Thanks.

+orestesdd 12-2 wire is standard electrical wire. It has 3 wires in it. Hot, Neutral, and Ground. It is 12 gauge in thickness.

+UntouchedForce 30 channels with bunny ears? Impressive! I'd say that his expense was well worth it though. What he invested in antenna equipment was probably equivalent to a few months of cable tv, which is now dropped. Paid for itself, in my opinion.

How far away from the broadcast towers are you? I am 45 miles. Bunny ears don't do the job.

Chris, I think if I were closer to the transmission tower then it would. I tried using just the DB8e by itself and it did not get the VHF channels. I am 48 miles from the tower that transmits the VHF channels. I also tried just the Clearstream5 and it got all the VHF channels and 1 UHF channel. The only way I could get both was to use both. NBC/ABC are 48 miles away and VHF. Fox is 40 miles away and UHF. CBS is 52 miles away and UHF. PBS is 40 miles away and UHF and it is 90 degrees vertical to the other towers. Lastly, because I mounted in the attic, my signal reduced a lot as well. If I had mounted outside I might have been able to use just one antenna. I wanted them inside so I wouldn't have to deal with weather, wind, rain, etc.

Thanks for the info. What you said will help me. Cheers!

Robert Garrett Hi Rob: Of course when you refer to ABC, CBS, the CW, FOX, NBC, and PBS (plus now the Digital Terrestrial Television or DTTV sub-channels which offer national programming, such as ANTENNA TV, BOUNCE, BUZZR, COZI, DECADES, ESCAPE, GRIT, LAFF, MeTV, MOVIES, and THIS TV, etc.) , you really mean the local affiliate stations which air the programming of those over-the-air national television networks, all of which are more than 40-52 miles away from your home and are located in mostly in New York, some in Los Angeles. I agree with another poster here that if one lives in an area prone to tornado activity, loss of a TV antenna may be one of your lesser concerns, life and limb the primary one. If one's house is blown away and destroyed, needless to say the attic and roof (wherever one's antenna would be mounted) goes along with it. I live in southern New England (between Boston, MA and Providence, RI), an area not traditionally known to have high tornadic activity. And with the changing weather patterns some attribute to so-called "climate change," even NE seems to be observing increased tornado activity in recent years. I hope we will never have the terrific amount of tornadoes suffered by the Midwest and some parts of the South. But, who knows? I think we should all always be prepared for worst-case scenarios. I think that is very much in accord with the American survivalist spirit. I live in a townhouse (two-story, so I have an attic space), one unit (owned by my sister) of a small (three units total) condominium complex. And my sister has forbid me to have a rooftop TV antenna installation because, she said, an improper installation could invite roof leaks for which she would liable to the other two unit owners should water damage occur. Now before the era of cable and satellite TV, most homes in America (apartment buildings and single-family homes) had rooftop TV antennas. And yet I never heard or read about there having been a rash of roof leaks from improperly installed TV antennas. Did you? Do you think my sister is being overly cautious, that a truly professional TV antenna installer would do such a shoddy job as to create holes in one's rooftop? I ask because I was told by a cable TV tech that a rooftop antenna would be much more powerful than a mere attic antenna, in terms of picking up TV signals from further away. My home, like yours, is about 50 miles away from most of the TV station transmitters located in my nearest metropolitan areas (Boston & Providence), and with some obstructions (hills, tall building, etc.), I suspect, between my home and the transmitters. So is my assumption that the higher the installation level of a TV antenna, the better the signals will be? Do you think an attic TV antenna installation would be sufficient? There is one station in southern New Hampshire (which carries the programming of the retro format Antenna TV) I would like to be able to receive, but that station's transmitter is some 100 miles away. So wouldn't I be better off with a rooftop antenna, if I want to have any chance of picking up that Antenna TV affiliate? I am already having problems picking up some Boston and Providence area stations with my current OTA TV antenna. But my antenna is merely atop a bookshelf in the living room, not as sophisticated as your attic set-up. Your instruction video is very helpful, Rob, and I am downloading it to show both my sister and the tech who will ultimately install my antenna (whether in attic or atop roof). I wish you lived nearer me, Rob,, and I would just pay you to do the job. Do you think you could also handle a rooftop antenna installation? The only other caveat I would add is that I also plan to retain my cable TV service for awhile, so would require (as would others in my same situation) some sort of switchbox to go back and forth between cable TV and OTA antenna signals, as well to be able to view TV when using my DVD player-recorder. I have a Smart TV with USB ports, so obtain a lot of video (from torrents, Amazon, Hulu, RU-vid, etc.) I download from online and streaming services that way now. But occasionally I will still need to be able to record to DVD discs from OTA signals, as well play commercially-purchased DVDs. So I will retain the DVD player-recorder for awhile longer too, I think.

Robert Garrett Hi Rob: Of course when you refer to ABC, CBS, the CW, FOX, ION, NBC, and PBS (plus now the Digital Terrestrial Television or DTTV sub-channels which offer national programming, such as ANTENNA TV, BOUNCE, BUZZR, COZI, DECADES, ESCAPE, Family Channel, GRIT, Home Shopping Network, LAFF, MeTV, MOVIES, retro TV, and THIS TV, etc.) , you really mean the local affiliate stations which air the programming of those over-the-air (OTA) national television networks, all of which are more than 40-52 miles away from your home and are located mostly in New York, some in Los Angeles. I agree with another poster here that if one lives in an area prone to tornado activity, loss of a TV antenna may be one of your lesser concerns, life and limb the primary one. If one's house is blown away and destroyed, needless to say the attic and roof (wherever one's antenna would be mounted) goes along with it. I live in southern New England (between Boston, MA and Providence, RI), an area not traditionally known to have high tornadic activity. And with the changing weather patterns some attribute to so-called "climate change," even NE seems to be observing increased tornado activity in recent years. I hope we will never have the terrific amount of tornadoes suffered by the Midwest and some parts of the South. But, who knows? I think we should all always be prepared for worst-case scenarios. I think that is very much in accord with the American survivalist spirit. I live in a townhouse (two-story, so I have an attic space), one unit (owned by my sister) of a small (three units total) condominium complex. And my sister has forbid me to have a rooftop TV antenna installation because, she said, an improper installation could invite roof leaks for which she would liable to the other two unit owners should water damage occur. Now before the era of cable and satellite TV, most homes in America (apartment buildings and single-family homes) had rooftop TV antennas. And yet I never heard or read about there having been a rash of roof leaks from improperly installed TV antennas. Did you? Do you think my sister is being overly cautious, that a truly professional TV antenna installer would do such a shoddy job as to create holes in one's rooftop? I ask because I was told by a cable TV tech that a rooftop antenna would be much more powerful than a mere attic antenna, in terms of picking up TV signals from further away. My home, like yours, is about 50 miles away from most of the TV station transmitters located in my nearest metropolitan areas (Boston & Providence), and with some obstructions (hills, tall building, etc.), I suspect, between my home and the transmitters. So is my assumption that the higher the installation level of a TV antenna, the better the signals will be? Do you think an attic TV antenna installation would be sufficient? There is one station in southern New Hampshire (which carries the programming of the retro format ANTENNA TV, the closest to classic TV LAND programming available OTA) I would like to be able to receive, but that station's transmitter is some 100 miles away. So wouldn't I be better off with a rooftop antenna, if I want to have any chance of picking up that ANTENNA TV affiliate? I am already having problems picking up some Boston and Providence area stations with my current OTA TV antenna. But my antenna is merely atop a bookshelf in the living room, not as sophisticated as your attic set-up. I am hoping this will soon change. Your instruction video is very helpful, Rob, and I am downloading it to show both my sister and the tech who will ultimately install my antenna (whether in attic or atop roof). My problem is that although I am fairly tech savvy, my mechanical inclination has deteriorated as I have aged. I wouldn't even feel safe on a ladder nowadays. I wish you lived nearer me, Rob,, and I would just pay you to do the job. Do you think you could also handle a rooftop antenna installation? Just kidding, although I probably really would if we lived in the same town. I wish I knew a guy who is handy with tools and so forth, like my dad used to be. The only other caveat I would add is that I also plan to retain my cable TV service for awhile, so would require (as would others in my same situation) some sort of switchbox to go back and forth between cable TV and OTA antenna signals, as well to be able to view TV when using my DVD player-recorder. I have a Smart TV with USB ports, so obtain a lot of video (from torrents, Amazon, Hulu, RU-vid, etc.) I download from online and streaming services that way now. But occasionally I will still need to be able to record to DVD discs from OTA signals, as well play commercially-purchased DVDs. So I will retain the DVD player-recorder for awhile longer too, I think. Thank you for the helpful video. I hope you will answer my questions when you have some spare time.

SuperAjej sorry thought it was going outside

+Esther Michel You should just get a very powerful indoor antenna. Only way to install one outside would to be if you have a balcony & can find a way to run the cable outside or if you live on the very top floor where sometimes in certain buildings the management will allow you to install it or in some cases even if you live in a lower floor they'll let you install it on the side of the building. That's usually what dish or direct tv does when they install a satellite but it usually comes down to what the building's management will allow you to do.

Thank you I appreciate it.