We've cut the cable (2 Viewers)

[Long Ball Larry]

I still don't see the need for a HTPC. Seems a lot of money to spend to get something very marginally better than what an Xbox gives you and you don't get the games.

Apples and oranges.Short answer. Unlimited PVR storage, integrated live tv, full computer access. Oh, and pretty sure gaming on a computer rig is a thing.

I just have no need for a PVR anymore. I mean what the hell would I record? I either watch live sports or streaming content that I pull primarily from streaming sites I hardly ever even need to torrent crap anymore.

I can't think of a show on that I'm like "Oh wow I need to record this or I'll never be able to watch it" seems so 2006 to me.

I work on Sundays. If I can figure out an inexpensive way to DVR OTA stuff, that means I can watch more than the prime time Seahawks games again. Kind of wish I'd have bought the Tvio Roamio OTA with lifetime for $300 a month or two ago.

Anyone have any experience with this? http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-HW180STB-HomeWorx-Converter-Recording/dp/B00IYETYX8/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1432511574&sr=8-8&keywords=dvr

Would it work? I have the same issue where I tend to need to record games due to various stuff with my daughter or other commitments.

 

[mquinnjr]

Got Kodi installed with add-ons on Fire TV. Surprised at the picture quality and availability of channels/shows. Pretty much anything you could want is here.

Which add-ons and sources are u using?

Think I used this link to install: Brady's link I believe contains most of the same.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK16KbfFlT4

Primarily using SportsDevil so far.

Right. Mine just shows a way to get a lot of it installed all at once. Yours is also a good video.

I'm using simply Genesis (all the Movies and TV shows you could ever consume) and Sports Devil (same for live sports). I also ditched Spotify Premium for Amazon Prime, so my first pass is Prime voice search and then Kodi. Kinda loving it, the Fire TV interface is just nice.

 

[Brady Marino]

Got Kodi installed with add-ons on Fire TV. Surprised at the picture quality and availability of channels/shows. Pretty much anything you could want is here.

Which add-ons and sources are u using?

Think I used this link to install: Brady's link I believe contains most of the same.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK16KbfFlT4

Primarily using SportsDevil so far.

Right. Mine just shows a way to get a lot of it installed all at once. Yours is also a good video.

I'm using simply Genesis (all the Movies and TV shows you could ever consume) and Sports Devil (same for live sports). I also ditched Spotify Premium for Amazon Prime, so my first pass is Prime voice search and then Kodi. Kinda loving it, the Fire TV interface is just nice.

Genesis is my #2 behind Icefilms. Icefilms refuse to do shakycam versions of movies. Otherwise they are close.

 

[Andrew74]

I'd love some advice from you guys. I live in an area where I can't do OTA and get my local channels due to geography. I'm trying to figure out how to watch football games at home. Right now I have a PS3 and Chromecast.

1. How can I get local channels that doesn't involve the cable company?

2. If I get Sling TV for ESPN, do I go Roku or Amazon Fire TV?

 

[LongDuckDong]

For those of you who use SportsDevil - where are you finding streams that actually work?

I feel like everything I click doesn't work. Not sure how you find any American sports that would actually stream. Any help appreciated.

 

[hxperson]

What I did today :

VPN-PIA

Provider-Newsdemon

Reader-SABnzbd

Search-NZB.is (seems like everything on binsearch is taken down)

What are the best places to find reliable nzbs?

Next-sickbeard and couchpotato

Haven't even messed with kodi yet. I am happy with WMC as long as I can find files I want. I don't miss sports streaming and might try out of US subscription to NFL if that still works.

Any advice or recommendations appreciated.

Usenet-crawler is pretty good for NZB's.

 

[Brady Marino]

For those of you who use SportsDevil - where are you finding streams that actually work?

I feel like everything I click doesn't work. Not sure how you find any American sports that would actually stream. Any help appreciated.

I use FirstRowSports.eu for the most part. The Live TV streams are usually good.

 

[MCguidance]

Stream2watch

 

[CGRdrJoe]

.

 

[NutterButter]

What I did today :

VPN-PIA

Provider-Newsdemon

Reader-SABnzbd

Search-NZB.is (seems like everything on binsearch is taken down)

What are the best places to find reliable nzbs?

Next-sickbeard and couchpotato

Haven't even messed with kodi yet. I am happy with WMC as long as I can find files I want. I don't miss sports streaming and might try out of US subscription to NFL if that still works.

Any advice or recommendations appreciated.

Usenet-crawler is pretty good for NZB's.

Sickbeard is the greatest thing ever for tv shows.

 

[17seconds]

I still don't see the need for a HTPC. Seems a lot of money to spend to get something very marginally better than what an Xbox gives you and you don't get the games.

The enjoyment you get from playing videogames I get from building and using a custom HTPC.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

I still don't see the need for a HTPC. Seems a lot of money to spend to get something very marginally better than what an Xbox gives you and you don't get the games.

The enjoyment you get from playing videogames I get from building and using a custom HTPC.

 

[matttyl]

I still don't see the need for a HTPC. Seems a lot of money to spend to get something very marginally better than what an Xbox gives you and you don't get the games.

The enjoyment you get from playing videogames I get from building and using a custom HTPC.

The xbox can't DVR or even receive live TV.

 

[culdeus]

I still don't see the need for a HTPC. Seems a lot of money to spend to get something very marginally better than what an Xbox gives you and you don't get the games.

The enjoyment you get from playing videogames I get from building and using a custom HTPC.

The xbox can't DVR or even receive live TV.

I don't really care about DVR. DVR is pretty 2006 to me. And it can get live tv with the OTA tuners that are now available.

 

[matttyl]

I still don't see the need for a HTPC. Seems a lot of money to spend to get something very marginally better than what an Xbox gives you and you don't get the games.

The enjoyment you get from playing videogames I get from building and using a custom HTPC.

The xbox can't DVR or even receive live TV.

I don't really care about DVR. DVR is pretty 2006 to me. And it can get live tv with the OTA tuners that are now available.

For the one TV that the xbox is connected to, and the channels are only the OTA channels. My HTPC can get any channel that my cable package provides (I understand that I'm in the cut the cable thread, though), and I can send that signal to any TV in my house.

 

[culdeus]

I still don't see the need for a HTPC. Seems a lot of money to spend to get something very marginally better than what an Xbox gives you and you don't get the games.

The enjoyment you get from playing videogames I get from building and using a custom HTPC.

The xbox can't DVR or even receive live TV.

I don't really care about DVR. DVR is pretty 2006 to me. And it can get live tv with the OTA tuners that are now available.

For the one TV that the xbox is connected to, and the channels are only the OTA channels. My HTPC can get any channel that my cable package provides (I understand that I'm in the cut the cable thread, though), and I can send that signal to any TV in my house.

Ok, I still don't see this as a reason to build a HTPC. I can't think of a single reason that it makes sense for me. Xbox+extenal hard drive+OTA is really all I need.

I don't really watch all that much TV anymore anyways.

 

[matttyl]

Ok, I still don't see this as a reason to build a HTPC. I can't think of a single reason that it makes sense for me. Xbox+extenal hard drive+OTA is really all I need.

I don't really watch all that much TV anymore anyways.

Oh, I didn't mean to say that it's right for everyone. Each person's needs and goals are different. For me, I wanted the ability to "swap out" the cable company provided equipment for my own, and save a few $ each month to do it. I also wanted one device that would do live TV, DVR TV, Netflix, Amazon prime, play movies/media stored locally or on my network, store all my music (it's connected to a networked stereo), and it can still play games, browse the internet, and my HPTC's case has a screen which updates sports scores for me (yeah, that's kinda nerdy). Also, I enjoyed building it myself, and enjoy having the ability to "upgrade" should I ever need to. It's really just a very capable media hub that can do nearly anything I want it to.

 

[17seconds]

There are a lot of different ways to solve your home entertainment needs depending on how much you care about movies, TV, and live sports.

I like building my own thing so much, I'd pay extra to do it. The idea that my server is build entirely of components I selected and got going myself gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

I've got a cheap video card coming in the mail tomorrow. I have a Plex server which doesn't even use the GPU, but the one I have in there has a loud fan. So I'm spending $35 on a basic fanless card so the server runs silent. It makes it that much more perfect.

 

[matttyl]

There are a lot of different ways to solve your home entertainment needs depending on how much you care about movies, TV, and live sports.

I like building my own thing so much, I'd pay extra to do it. The idea that my server is build entirely of components I selected and got going myself gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

I've got a cheap video card coming in the mail tomorrow. I have a Plex server which doesn't even use the GPU, but the one I have in there has a loud fan. So I'm spending $35 on a basic fanless card so the server runs silent. It makes it that much more perfect.

Your motherboard doesn't have an integrated GPU? To me that's a must with any HTPC or server.

 

[17seconds]

There are a lot of different ways to solve your home entertainment needs depending on how much you care about movies, TV, and live sports.

I like building my own thing so much, I'd pay extra to do it. The idea that my server is build entirely of components I selected and got going myself gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

I've got a cheap video card coming in the mail tomorrow. I have a Plex server which doesn't even use the GPU, but the one I have in there has a loud fan. So I'm spending $35 on a basic fanless card so the server runs silent. It makes it that much more perfect.

Your motherboard doesn't have an integrated GPU? To me that's a must with any HTPC or server.

Nope. I got an old Core2 Duo machine from work for $30, yanked out the mobo and processor into my own case. It streams 1080 and to multiple devices at once no problem. Runs ubuntu.

 

[matttyl]

There are a lot of different ways to solve your home entertainment needs depending on how much you care about movies, TV, and live sports.

I like building my own thing so much, I'd pay extra to do it. The idea that my server is build entirely of components I selected and got going myself gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

I've got a cheap video card coming in the mail tomorrow. I have a Plex server which doesn't even use the GPU, but the one I have in there has a loud fan. So I'm spending $35 on a basic fanless card so the server runs silent. It makes it that much more perfect.

Your motherboard doesn't have an integrated GPU? To me that's a must with any HTPC or server.

Nope. I got an old Core2 Duo machine from work for $30, yanked out the mobo and processor into my own case. It streams 1080 and to multiple devices at once no problem. Runs ubuntu.

I've not yet taken on the project of a non Windows based machine. Would love to try it.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

So watching all ESPN and NBC Sports online require a cable subscription? Is that right?

Any of the network shows available to watch online that do not require that subscription?

 

[TakiToki]

Netflix/Amazon is more than sufficient for me with respect to TV and movies. The one and only thing I care about is DVR capabilities for live sports. I know OTA is in play, but I need to be able to start watching ESPN and Fox Sports live sporting events (college and pro football and basketball to be specific) an hour after they start and fast-forward through commercials and dead time.

Is there anything out there for me, or am I still beholden to cable/dish for the time being?

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

So watching all ESPN and NBC Sports online require a cable subscription? Is that right?

Any of the network shows available to watch online that do not require that subscription?

You can watch espn online with sling tv subscription

I've never watched nbc sports so no idea about that

 

[KiddLattimer]

So watching all ESPN and NBC Sports online require a cable subscription? Is that right?

Any of the network shows available to watch online that do not require that subscription?

Sling has you covered on ESPN and a few other stations... NBC sports is not in it though. NBC Sports just launched a Roku app but it requires proof of a cable subscription.

 

[culdeus]

Nbc has always played funny with their content.

 

[saintfool]

i'm looking for recommendations here. i cut the cable a few years back. in my house, we've been using the Roku for Netflix and AP. i'm moving in with the girlfriend and she'd like to watch the local channels. what's a good OTA HD converter-signal-antenna-thing? let's keep in to $60 or less...

 

[Long Ball Larry]

i'm looking for recommendations here. i cut the cable a few years back. in my house, we've been using the Roku for Netflix and AP. i'm moving in with the girlfriend and she'd like to watch the local channels. what's a good OTA HD converter-signal-antenna-thing? let's keep in to $60 or less...

This works great for me: http://www.amazon.com/Mohu-Indoor-Antenna-formerly-Ultimate/dp/B00HSMK59E

 

[matttyl]

i'm looking for recommendations here. i cut the cable a few years back. in my house, we've been using the Roku for Netflix and AP. i'm moving in with the girlfriend and she'd like to watch the local channels. what's a good OTA HD converter-signal-antenna-thing? let's keep in to $60 or less...

All depends on how far her place is from the broadcast towers, and if you have things like tall trees and mountains in between you and them.

 

[cubd8]

I'd cut the cable IF

- I could still watch LIVE sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, college football and basketball).

- Watching season series that season, as soon the next day (sort of like 'On Demand' where I can access a show the next day).

Is Slingbox a possibility for live sports? If not, why? If so, are there any limitations?

Am I out of luck?

 

[matttyl]

I'd cut the cable IF

- I could still watch LIVE sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, college football and basketball).

- Watching season series that season, as soon the next day (sort of like 'On Demand' where I can access a show the next day).

Is Slingbox a possibility for live sports? If not, why? If so, are there any limitations?

Am I out of luck?

sling =/= slingbox

Sling offers a few channels in the base package, including ESPN and ESPN 2 I think - so you can get live sports on those channels. If you want to watch a live sporting event thats on Fox, CBS or NBC, or ABC, you can't view it via Sling TV. You'd need an OTA antenna (and to live within range of those stations, which I do not), or have a cable or sat package.

If Sling TV also included my locals, I'd do it in a flash.

 

[saintfool]

i'm looking for recommendations here. i cut the cable a few years back. in my house, we've been using the Roku for Netflix and AP. i'm moving in with the girlfriend and she'd like to watch the local channels. what's a good OTA HD converter-signal-antenna-thing? let's keep in to $60 or less...

All depends on how far her place is from the broadcast towers, and if you have things like tall trees and mountains in between you and them.

i live in Chicago proper. no real worries about that here.

 

[matttyl]

i'm looking for recommendations here. i cut the cable a few years back. in my house, we've been using the Roku for Netflix and AP. i'm moving in with the girlfriend and she'd like to watch the local channels. what's a good OTA HD converter-signal-antenna-thing? let's keep in to $60 or less...

All depends on how far her place is from the broadcast towers, and if you have things like tall trees and mountains in between you and them.

i live in Chicago proper. no real worries about that here.

Then the above recommended leaf should be fine.

 

[SayWhat?]

i'm looking for recommendations here. i cut the cable a few years back. in my house, we've been using the Roku for Netflix and AP. i'm moving in with the girlfriend and she'd like to watch the local channels. what's a good OTA HD converter-signal-antenna-thing? let's keep in to $60 or less...

All depends on how far her place is from the broadcast towers, and if you have things like tall trees and mountains in between you and them.

i live in Chicago proper. no real worries about that here.

Then the above recommended leaf should be fine.

Is the leaf, along with your TV, all that's needed to watch OTA? Or would one need a box of some sort?

 

[Zasada]

i'm looking for recommendations here. i cut the cable a few years back. in my house, we've been using the Roku for Netflix and AP. i'm moving in with the girlfriend and she'd like to watch the local channels. what's a good OTA HD converter-signal-antenna-thing? let's keep in to $60 or less...

All depends on how far her place is from the broadcast towers, and if you have things like tall trees and mountains in between you and them.

i live in Chicago proper. no real worries about that here.

Then the above recommended leaf should be fine.

Is the leaf, along with your TV, all that's needed to watch OTA? Or would one need a box of some sort?

In a traditional setup, you basically need one antenna per TV. And then you use the TV's digital tuner (provided the TV isn't ~10+ years old) to display the shows.

If you want to use one antenna to stream TV to your networked devices, the HDHomeRun Extend is pretty good. I use it and stream OTA TV to various Kodi instances and to my tablet using the manufacturer's app. DVR capability could be coming soon, too.

 

[cubd8]

I'd cut the cable IF

- I could still watch LIVE sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, college football and basketball).

- Watching season series that season, as soon the next day (sort of like 'On Demand' where I can access a show the next day).

Is Slingbox a possibility for live sports? If not, why? If so, are there any limitations?

Am I out of luck?

sling =/= slingbox

Sling offers a few channels in the base package, including ESPN and ESPN 2 I think - so you can get live sports on those channels. If you want to watch a live sporting event thats on Fox, CBS or NBC, or ABC, you can't view it via Sling TV. You'd need an OTA antenna (and to live within range of those stations, which I do not), or have a cable or sat package.

If Sling TV also included my locals, I'd do it in a flash.

If you had bunny ears, wouldn't that work with sling box to get live sports on local tv while using the sling box to get espn/espn2?

 

[matttyl]

i'm looking for recommendations here. i cut the cable a few years back. in my house, we've been using the Roku for Netflix and AP. i'm moving in with the girlfriend and she'd like to watch the local channels. what's a good OTA HD converter-signal-antenna-thing? let's keep in to $60 or less...

All depends on how far her place is from the broadcast towers, and if you have things like tall trees and mountains in between you and them.

i live in Chicago proper. no real worries about that here.

Then the above recommended leaf should be fine.

Is the leaf, along with your TV, all that's needed to watch OTA? Or would one need a box of some sort?

Assuming it's a newer TV (flat panel), you'll be fine.

 

[matttyl]

I'd cut the cable IF

- I could still watch LIVE sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, college football and basketball).

- Watching season series that season, as soon the next day (sort of like 'On Demand' where I can access a show the next day).

Is Slingbox a possibility for live sports? If not, why? If so, are there any limitations?

Am I out of luck?

sling =/= slingbox

Sling offers a few channels in the base package, including ESPN and ESPN 2 I think - so you can get live sports on those channels. If you want to watch a live sporting event thats on Fox, CBS or NBC, or ABC, you can't view it via Sling TV. You'd need an OTA antenna (and to live within range of those stations, which I do not), or have a cable or sat package.

If Sling TV also included my locals, I'd do it in a flash.

If you had bunny ears, wouldn't that work with sling box to get live sports on local tv while using the sling box to get espn/espn2?

Again, Sling TV is different form Slingbox. I'm talking about Sling TV.

As to your question, yes (assuming you live withing range of your local channels). I live about 60 miles from the broadcast towers, and have a very large mountain in between them and me.

 

[matttyl]

DVR capability could be coming soon, too.

How is that any different than just any Windows Media Center computer on the same network as the tuner?

 

[Drifter]

I'd love some advice from you guys. I live in an area where I can't do OTA and get my local channels due to geography. I'm trying to figure out how to watch football games at home. Right now I have a PS3 and Chromecast.

1. How can I get local channels that doesn't involve the cable company?

2. If I get Sling TV for ESPN, do I go Roku or Amazon Fire TV?

I just moved and now my OTA sucks. Antenna.com says I need a roof mounted antenna - a large one if I want NBC. I was perfectly happy with Amazon/Sling/Hulu/OTA but I don't know if I can completely forgo having the OTA channels.

 

[Zasada]

DVR capability could be coming soon, too.

How is that any different than just any Windows Media Center computer on the same network as the tuner?

Pretty similar. But the SiliconDust app will integrate with Kodi while WMC doesn't (very well). For a monthly fee (which is the deal-breaker for me).

 

[matttyl]

DVR capability could be coming soon, too.

How is that any different than just any Windows Media Center computer on the same network as the tuner?

Pretty similar. But the SiliconDust app will integrate with Kodi while WMC doesn't (very well). For a monthly fee (which is the deal-breaker for me).

Let me ask you this, as you may know. I've got a silicon dust cable card network tuner (3 tuners). It's connected to my Windows 7 (WMC) HTPC via my home network. I use it as a DVR. What I'd love to do, likely with "Kodi" is have a small (maybe raspberry pi) device at other TVs in the house that can both access the network tuner for live TV, as well as access the TV recordings on the HTPC. If it can also do Netflix and Amazon prime that would be killer. Any advice?

 

[mquinnjr]

And so it begins: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/netflix-is-experimenting-with-advertisements?utm_source=mbtwitter

Update: An additional spokesperson for Netflix tells me the company will not sell third party ads: "We do not and will not be adding third-party ads," he said.

Cable companies said the same thing in the 80's. Time will tell, I guess.

 

[Mile High]

I use a cheap pair of rabbit ears. Have no problem getting Ota channels.

 

[Zasada]

DVR capability could be coming soon, too.

How is that any different than just any Windows Media Center computer on the same network as the tuner?

Pretty similar. But the SiliconDust app will integrate with Kodi while WMC doesn't (very well). For a monthly fee (which is the deal-breaker for me).

Let me ask you this, as you may know. I've got a silicon dust cable card network tuner (3 tuners). It's connected to my Windows 7 (WMC) HTPC via my home network. I use it as a DVR. What I'd love to do, likely with "Kodi" is have a small (maybe raspberry pi) device at other TVs in the house that can both access the network tuner for live TV, as well as access the TV recordings on the HTPC. If it can also do Netflix and Amazon prime that would be killer. Any advice?

You can do most of this with Kodi.

A Raspberry Pi will definitely be able to stream TV from your tuner. While I didn't have the HDHR Prime version (I had the OTA version), I was able to tune channels without issue on the Pi/Kodi. Kodi will also stream media from your home server over your network. So it will be able to play your recorded TV shows as well. You will likely need to buy an MPEG-2 license (cheap) for the Pi since I think the HDHR recorded streams are in that format and not H.264.

Netflix and Amazon Prime are a bit more complex. Netflix doesn't have an official addon for Kodi but there are solutions out there. Same goes for Amazon Prime.

Not sure if the Pi can handle streams from those two hardware-wise. You might want to consider a HP Stream Mini. More expensive than the Pi, but you also don't have to buy a case or keyboard. Plus it comes with a Win8 license so that you can run real PC stuff on it if you want. Much more powerful on the CPU side and much more capable at handling high-bitrate streams from Netflix and Amazon Prime. Built-in WiFi, too (something you would have to add to the Pi).

I had a Pi running Kodi (as noted above) but then flipped to a Lenovo Q190 mini-PC so that I could play higher-bitrate streams and use a more CPU-intensive skin on Kodi. But if the HP Stream Mini was out at the same time as the Q190, I would have bought the former. Better deal/functionality.

And regardless of what choice you make with hardware, I recommend getting a Flirc. Chock full of awesomeness. Basically turns any IR remote you have into a USB keyboard, and you can code any remote button to any keypress. I have this on all my home HTPCs. Worked on my Pi, too.

 

[Britney Spears]

I'd love some advice from you guys. I live in an area where I can't do OTA and get my local channels due to geography. I'm trying to figure out how to watch football games at home. Right now I have a PS3 and Chromecast.

1. How can I get local channels that doesn't involve the cable company?

2. If I get Sling TV for ESPN, do I go Roku or Amazon Fire TV?

I just moved and now my OTA sucks. Antenna.com says I need a roof mounted antenna - a large one if I want NBC. I was perfectly happy with Amazon/Sling/Hulu/OTA but I don't know if I can completely forgo having the OTA channels.

Did you move further south? These sites all say NBC is a problem for south puget sound area...

 

[tonydead]

I'd love some advice from you guys. I live in an area where I can't do OTA and get my local channels due to geography. I'm trying to figure out how to watch football games at home. Right now I have a PS3 and Chromecast.

1. How can I get local channels that doesn't involve the cable company?

2. If I get Sling TV for ESPN, do I go Roku or Amazon Fire TV?

I just moved and now my OTA sucks. Antenna.com says I need a roof mounted antenna - a large one if I want NBC. I was perfectly happy with Amazon/Sling/Hulu/OTA but I don't know if I can completely forgo having the OTA channels.

Did you move further south? These sites all say NBC is a problem for south puget sound area...

Really? NBC works for me; CBS is my problem child. Works fine upstairs closest to the antenna on the roof, but, I rarely get it downstairs even with an amplifier. (Covington)

 

[Drifter]

I'd love some advice from you guys. I live in an area where I can't do OTA and get my local channels due to geography. I'm trying to figure out how to watch football games at home. Right now I have a PS3 and Chromecast.

1. How can I get local channels that doesn't involve the cable company?

2. If I get Sling TV for ESPN, do I go Roku or Amazon Fire TV?

I just moved and now my OTA sucks. Antenna.com says I need a roof mounted antenna - a large one if I want NBC. I was perfectly happy with Amazon/Sling/Hulu/OTA but I don't know if I can completely forgo having the OTA channels.

Did you move further south? These sites all say NBC is a problem for south puget sound area...

North - Lake Forest Park

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

I realize it's not necessary to get/pay for it with what's available out there, but has anyone tried NFL Game Pass with Kodi?

 

[Foosball God]

Making the first steps towards trying to see if this is something viable for me. I live about 35 - 40 miles outside of DC on the Virginia side.

I bought this antenna first. It picked up 45 channels which seemed awesome until I found out that I got NBC and Fox, but I wasn't finding ABC or CBS. After doing some more reading I assume it's because they are broadcasting in Hi VHF and that antenna doesn't do a good job picking it up.

So I am following it up with this antenna. I haven't hooked it up yet, but I'm hoping it will bring in the Hi VHF stations I'm missing. If I can't get the network stations then this is pretty much a no go from the start.

If I can get that working, I already have a Fire TV stick and Amazon Prime. I'd subscribe to Netflix, and probably get SlingTV, and the stand alone HBO package. Getting Food Network, HGTV, etc that the wife likes is harder. I know that ulive has that programming, but it doesn't appear they have any apps for any streaming service. I also have a Chromcast,