Above / With more than 15 years of experience, TV Pro Mike Brozovich is on the go, providing affordable packages and installations from the simple to the sophisticated for residential and commercial service.
By Mike Brozovich, The TV Pro Installation
Last month’s article — “So You Want to Cut the Cord”— got some readers thinking about TV viewing options, which generated some good questions.
I wanted to address a few of the more frequent questions.
1. Which channels can I expect to get with an HD antenna?
Reception depends a number of factors, including:
- Which antenna you buy (indoor, outdoor, amp’d, rotational)
- Placement of antenna (inside, on window, outside, on roof, etc.)
- Obstacles or terrain that might block the path of the broadcast signal
That said, the right HD antenna likely provides the major networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC), along with as many as 10-15 others (PBS, CW, etc.) in HD resolution, all for free.
To ensure you get the reception you’re looking for, try one of these websites that lists channels you can expect to receive in your area (antennaweb.org or dtvgovmaps.com).
2. Can I watch sports live?
Yes! There are several ways to watch sports live.
- Your new HD antenna — which gets you over-the-air (OTA) access to the major networks. Free OTA TV is good for football fans since games air primarily on CBS, Fox, and NBC. In addition, OTA will also air at least some college sports (football/basketball), NBA, NHL, MLB, and soccer games, particularly big games or championships.
- Channel ESPN offers a reasonably priced stand-alone service with live sports, talk shows and more (espn.com).
- Skinny bundles (live streaming services ‘bundling’ a smaller number of stations than typically provided with cable) are a great way to watch sports without cable. These providers include Hulu with Live TV, Sling, Fubu TV, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV and Direct TV Now. Many of these will offer ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2 or NBCSN in one of their packages.
- Sport-specific streaming — many leagues offer their own streaming services, including the NBA – Basketball, NHL – Hockey, MLB – Baseball and MLS – Soccer.
Of course, if none of this works for you, there are plenty of great establishments in Naperville to gather with friends to watch your favorite sporting event!
3. What internet speed do I need to stream shows and movies?
Here are recommendations from various streaming services:
- Netflix – 5 Mbps downstream for each HD stream
- Hulu – 3 Mbps for 720p HD / 6 Mbps for 1080p HD / 13 Mbps for 4K Ultra HD
- Sling – 3 Mbps to stream video to tablets and phones / 5 Mbps to stream to TV or computer / 25 Mbps to stream to multiple devices
- For gaming, speeds of 20 Mbps to 50 Mbps should be adequate for most gamers.
Everyone has different needs. An individual using one stream at a time will have a lower speed need than a family of five. A good rule of thumb is to add the number of streams you want at once, multiply it by five and then double that. For example, if you want two HD streams at once that would be 10 Mbps. I recommend doubling that and get 20 Mbps so you can stream and surf without issues.
I hope these answers, along with last month’s article, help you get started as a cord cutter. If you have any questions, please feel send me an email via the form on my website at thetvpro.com.
RELATED PN POST / So you want to cut the cord… (Part 1)
