Watching HDTV is awesome on a big TV. For sports especially, it’s almost like you are really there!

But even if you get a nice discount on your cable television bill, the money can still add up over the years. So why pay something when you can pay nothing?

Note: Free HDTV channels do NOT include any of the premium channels like ESPN, SHOWTIME, etc. All you will get are the basics: ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, maybe CW.

To take advantage, you need a HDTV TV tuner. Preferably you want a tuner that can handle both QAM cable and (over-the-air) OTA antenna. All of the digital  TVs sold these days actually come with a built-in OTA  tuner. Only some come with the QAM tuner for HDTV through your cable outlet. If you have a relatively new TV, check your specs to see what you have.

Otherwise, you’ll have to buy a tuner. If you have a computer and want to watch HDTV on it, I highly recommend the HDHomeRun which is a networked HDTV tuner that can handle either QAM or OTA signals. It has got to be one of my most useful purchases over the years. Basically, i plugged it into my cable outlet, put an ethernet cable in it, and set up the software. Now, i can watch or record live HDTV on any computer in the house. That includes even my laptop. It’s great to be able to sit outside and watch a game on on HDTV over WiFi.  It’s compatible with both Mac and PC.

[amazon-product type="image" image="11eKMEzaCuL._SL160_.jpg"]B0010Y414Q[/amazon-product]

Now should you use QAM or OTA as the input source?

QAM

OK, I don’t even know what QAM stands for or how it works. All I care about is that it is free HDTV! If you have a cable outlet, you may have a QAM source.  If you have basic cable or a cable modem, you probably do. I had free channels before with Comcast and now with Charter.

Unfortunately, my experience with cable TV technicians is that they are clueless. I ask them about whether I will get QAM and typically will get some puzzled look like I am from Mars. Then they’ll tell me I’ll need to rent a box from them if I want HDTV. They are usually wrong about this.

Tip: I’ve found the best HDTV channel lineup guide for QAM to be from the HDHomeRun site, which compiles the listings of HDHomeRun users.

OTA

The other option is to get an antenna that handles ATSC. I honestly haven’t had much luck with getting good signal with various antennas. Maybe it was due to where I was living. You can check AntennaWeb where you can put your address in to see how good your reception might be. There are all different shapes and sizes. I’ve tried a lot and honestly can’t tell the difference in quality. The best would probably be a roof-mounted one but that’s a lot of work. The Silver Sensor is a cheap indoor one I’ved used and is as good as any other.

Suggestion: For HDTV options in your city, check out the AVS Forums where people in various cities talk about how they are getting their HDTV channels.
___________
Pro: Free HDTV
Con: Takes some know-how and time to set up. May need upfront purchase of a tuner.