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| - We had an antenna installed today by Mr. Antenna. He arrived on time and was great at explaining everything about the process. I was pretty amazed at the picture quality - it is digital quality on the networks that broadcast in digital, and the others have pretty good picture quality too. We used to pay Cox around $15/month for the most basic cable tv service (we use cable modem and mainly watch Netflix streaming, along with the few local networks and PBS for the kids). We reduced our cable package now to just cable internet and phone service, and we are using the antenna for our tv service. We now get all the networks, plus a huge variety of different channels. Some channels, we will likely never watch, but some seem great (a channel with MGM movies, CW, etc.).
Unfortunately, we had a large pine tree near our best signal location which blocks the signal, so the antenna he needed to use was larger than his smallest antenna (which he initially planned to use) - I would estimate maybe 5 feet across was this "medium" sized antenna. It is about the same height as our chimney. He placed it behind our chimney so from some angles it isn't visible. From others (back/side of the house), well, it looks like we have an antenna on our roof. So whether you are willing to have that or not is sort of a personal decision (like whether to get Dish, or to have solar pool panels on your roof, or anything else that is visible and maybe not the most aesthetically pleasing but makes sense to you). I am happy enough to ignore it to eliminate a monthly bill with a one time charge. Will our friends make fun of us for getting an antenna? Maybe. I am not one to bow to social pressure when it comes to practical decisions though.
One thing I didn't realize and learned when he arrived was the antenna hookup does rely on where your cable hookups are placed. Your reception comes through coax cable. So I was hoping to get a tv along a different wall in a bedroom (different from where the cable plug was), but switching to antenna doesn't allow that. It was not a big deal, just that I didn't understand how the whole thing worked before our installation.
We were a little concerned about HOA because our house borders on a community park and the antenna is visible from that angle (but barely visible from our front and side yard), but our HOA representative said the same thing that Karlo explained - Federal law permits you to have an external antenna if that is what is needed to get you a signal. They do request we file a paper with them for the "approval" but they basically need to approve it.
Happy to be reducing our monthly Cox bill.
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