Ah, the old rabbit ears on top of a bulky box are long gone. But how many of you have paused to wonder what over-the-air television is like these days? If you haven’t, then I’m happy to give you a quick update and explain why this could be a perfect pairing with streaming services.
Why?
The newest standard of OTA television is called NextGen TV, and it’s got some really cool features. Especially if your TV is also connected to high speed internet. But why would you need it if you have IPTV and/or streaming services? Well, because sometimes you want to watch the big game in full HD or even 4K without any possibility of buffering. Or because you’re in a group chat with friends who tell you about a play that happened which you won’t see for the next two minutes because of the streaming delay. Or maybe you want to watch the news from the beginning if you tune in late, or even be able to watch individual news reports from your local stations on demand.
What do you need?
In order to get NextGen channels, you have to have an ATSC 3.0 tuner. There are some newer TVs that have this built in (TCL QM8 series is phenomenal btw), or you can buy an external tuner. If you already have streaming services or other sources you primarily watch then go as cheap as possible on the tuner. If you really plan on watching a lot of OTA TV then look into something with a DVR such as the HDHomeRun box for around $200. You’ll also need an antenna. It doesn’t have to be super fancy or incredibly big. You may be fine with just a small indoor antenna. See the end of this post for more info on antennas.
What features does NextGen TV have?
Crystal clear picture. With digital channels, you either get it or you don’t. There’s no “fuzz” like the old analog days. Most broadcasts are still in FHD, but we may see a lot more channels coming out in 4K.
HDR10+ or Dolby Vision, as well as Dolby Atmos. This is also dependent on your local stations and what they broadcast.
Dialog enhancement and volume leveling. Hear what people are saying easier and avoid those obnoxiously loud commercials.
Interactive TV guide. It looks just like a cable TV guide and allows you to lookup additional information on what you’re watching.
Pause/Rewind live TV. Great if you get distracted or need to take a bathroom break but don’t want to miss something.
Start Over. If you missed the beginning of the currently airing program, you can simply start over from the beginning. You have to be connected to the internet to do this though. And you cannot watch previously aired programs once they have ended unless the station has it available as part of their on demand content. You’ll need a DVR if you plan to watch most things several hours later.
On demand content. If you are also connected to the internet, some channels provide videos you can watch at your leisure. Think of it like subscribing to a YouTube channel where they have several videos to choose from. Many of the news stations separate individual stories into shorter video segments.
Now, more on your antenna choices, as promised above. Chances are if you live close to where your local stations transmit from, you will be fine with just a small indoor antenna. If you cannot get a signal next to the TV then try moving it closer to a window or putting it on the window with suction cups. If you have an old antenna, you may not need to buy a new one. Ironically, OTA channels used to be broadcast over UHF (ultra high frequencies), then switched to VHF, then back to UHF. The big rooftop antennas you see with several long metal bars are built for VHF signals. However, most of them are combination antennas that can pickup both VHF and UHF. There are still more VHF channels than there are NextGen UHF channels, but the ones that have already switched to NextGen are your big 5 networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS). The best UHF antennas have one or many “X” shapes or are shaped like an “8”. They can be much smaller than antennas used for VHF. In order to figure out what channels broadcast NextGen TV in your area and how far away from the transmitter you are, head over to antennaweb.org and enter your address. It will also give you color coded results to tell you what kind of antenna you should buy. It will even tell you what direction to point your antenna if you need a directional antenna as opposed to an omnidirectional antenna.
