Free TV - Top 3 Best Ways to Watch Free TV
Tired of paying for Cable or Satellite? Best tips to watch Free TV
These are some of the best ways we have found to watch Free TV and avoid getting a nasty letter from your broadband provider.
For years we were falsely led into believing that if we did not have a hundred fifty channels we were somehow missing out. With all those channels, many of the ones we watched most can still be watched over the air for free. Cutting Cable TV or Satellite is still a popular way to save a lot of money every month. The problem is many people are still not quite sure of the best way to go about it. The good news is we are here to help you find ways to stream and watch Free TV. All without resorting to dangerous BitTorrent file sharing methods that can land you into trouble with your internet service provider or worse.
Free TV with an HD Antenna
Content watched from an over the air antenna is often broadcast in much higher quality HD than what you would typically get from a Cable or Satellite TV provider. There are two reasons for this. Since your antenna is much closer, there is less signal loss. The signal does not need to travel over long distances to get to your home. Television providers often compress their signals as much as possible in order to conserve bandwidth and fit in more channels in an allocated space. Many times their HD programming is not broadcast at true 1080p HD resolution at all. This is not the case with an over the air antenna where you will notice a dramatic increase in picture quality.
Not all antennas will work equally. Before you purchase an antenna, visit this website and enter your Zip Code. The further away you are from the television transmitters, the larger antenna you will need. Please don't assume that if you tried a small antenna like a Mohu Leaf Paper Thin Indoor antenna and can't get any channels that an antenna won't work at your site. Often by adding a larger antenna on the roof or in your attic, you will still get a handful of Free TV channels in full 1080p HD.
For a list of some of the best HD Antennas - Please click here.
Some televisions have two F connector inputs. Typically one is labeled Cable and the other Antenna. Make sure to plug your antenna wire into the Antenna input. If your television only has one input, then check your TV settings to set the input from CATV to Antenna.
Finally, you will need to go into your channel settings and do a scan for new channels. This will find all the channels that you are able to receive from an antenna. Each time you change antennas or the location of your antenna, you should always rescan your channels on your TV to help you find new channels.
Sometimes changing the direction your rooftop or attic antenna is facing can make a difference on pulling in distant channels. The higher you place your antenna the better your reception will be. Auto Rotators like this one, are also a good option to let you maximize your signal by changing the direction of your Antenna from the comfort of your home.
Media Streamers Offer Many Channels of Free TV
Anthony Wood who also invented the popular and now discontinued Replay TV DVR, started Roku in 2002. While the company began as a way to let people watch Netflix on their television sets. Their platform exploded over time and now currently offers 1700 Roku channels.
While many of these channels offer Free TV, the ones that offer the most useful content are Netflix, Amazon Instant, Vudu and Hulu Plus and they all charge a small fee.
Click here to learn how these media streaming services compare with each other.
The Roku 3 is their current top of the line model and is by far the fastest and the one we recommend if your TV has an HDMI input.
If you are one of the unlucky folks that live in an area where you can't get a signal from an antenna, here are three Roku channels you may want to take a look at. These three Roku channels offer broadcast live streaming network TV right your Roku. While these channels are not free, they are still less expensive than a cable or Satellite TV subscription and offer many more channels for the cost.
Click the names to learn more about each Roku channel and the service they provide.
1. USTVNow
2. XTV
Apple TV is another media streamer that is popular with the Apple iTunes crowd. It is especially useful for watching free TV if you can find a reasonably priced 2nd generation version. Often these models sell for a premium since it is the only HD Apple TV that can be Jailbroken and have XBMC/Kodi installed. XBMC will give you access to many great Plug-ins or Repositories (Repos).
Here are our Top 5 Repos that will let you watch Free TV with XBMC.
Recently Android Media Streamers have been generating a lot of buzz. They offer many streaming media apps along with very impressive Quad core hardware specs. They are in no way restricted and come with XBMC/Kodi pre-installed. Jailbreaking is not necessary to access some of the best sources of Free TV online.
Their apps offer many free TV shows and movies. Two of our favorite companies that make some of the best Android hardware along with great firmware support are Minix and Ugoos.
Click here to learn how to turn your Android media streamer into a streaming monster by adding these very useful apps.
Amazon's recent entry into the streaming media market with their Fire TV can also use Android Apps. XBMC/Kodi can also be installed on a Fire TV. This is not done as easily as on a dedicated Android media streamer since the apps need to be side loaded. We will cover this process more in depth in a future article.
The advantage of the Fire TV is the faster Quad core processor which performance wise blows both the Roku and Apple TV current models away. It may not be quite as fast as newer Android media streamers although you can't argue with the price.
Learn more about Amazon's Android Quad Core Media Streamer that can run XBMC and Android Apps Click here!
Watch Free TV from Your Laptop or Computer with an HDMI cable
If you would like to buy a dedicated HTPC, take a look at these excellent models from Assassin HTPC.
Internet Channels to watch on a PC or HTPC are plentiful on the net. We have compiled several lists of great sites and channels to stream Free TV and also Music online.
Be sure to view our Free TV and Internet Radio Channels Guide
Sports is where many Cable TV providers still keep their customers happy. While watching sports on Roku or Apple TV can be somewhat limiting, the best options exists for those with an HTPC or XBMC media streamer.
For some of the best ways to watch Free sports, please be sure to read Front Row Sports Live Stream for Cable Cutters.
Additional Resources
These are some of the best sites and tools you will find in your quest to rid yourself of the monthly cable ball and chain.
In closing here are two wonderful resource sites on Facebook for new streamers. Roku Rocks is a group that covers mostly Roku media streamers. Team Android is a group for Fans of the Android platform especially when it comes to media streaming. These are the places to go if you have additional questions. The helpful members usually come up with an answer pretty quick so your are never left hanging with an unresolved issue for too long.
Additionally, if you Search mkvXstream we have many pages of useful info and tips for finding even more Free TV online.
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Use of third-party trademarks on this site is not intended to imply endorsement nor affiliation with respective trademark owners.
We are Not Affiliated with or Endorsed by Roku®, Apple, Google or Other Companies we may write about.
