As important as the digital media era is in bringing us the best of television over the internet there’s something to be said for the old school as well. The ability to bring in free high definition content via the digital air waves is also an enticing option. With the right antenna, free digital television can be had as far as 60 miles from the source.
The best resource for not only locating the sources nearest you but also helping to decide which antenna is best for you is found at Antennaweb.org. Entering you address into Antennaweb will return a list of stations broadcasting near you along with a color coded guide. The color guide is an estimate of the type of antenna you will need to pick up that particular station. Clicking on the guide color will also bring up a chart and description of the antenna needed.
As you can see it will also provide you with exact compass headings and distances to each station. This can be helpful for those who own a rotating antenna. For those of us who don’t have rotation equipment, Antennaweb will also provide you with a map by click the “View street level map”. Though it certainly isn’t Google Earth quality it can give you a general idea of which way to point your antenna.
Once you’ve got your antenna setup, getting it to work in Media Center isn’t terribly hard. From the “Tasks > Settings > TV > TV Signal > Set Up TV Signal” you can setup your tuner to accept ATSC signals which is what you’ll need to get digital channels over the air. In some cases you may need to use manual setup if Media Center doesn’t detect ATSC signals automatically. Your tuner may or may not support ATSC, you’ll need to refer to the manual or manufacturer’s website for details.
Once your tuner is setup for ATSC, the TV Signal menu will now show an option for checking Antenna Signal Strength. This will go through the list of channels one by one checking the signal strength of each station then cycling back through the list. This can also help you fine to your antenna’s position along with the Antennaweb map.
Getting your local channels live with digital over the air can prove to be the perfect supplement to content delivered over the internet. Being able to not only catch your local news live but also broadcast network shows in full HD can prove the last thing to take care of before turning off that cable for good.
You can even find directions to create a home-made antenna at tvantennaplans.com. The results of this do it yourself hack are actually surprisingly good, allowing me to pick up digital stations over 40 miles away with nothing more than some coat hangers and tinfoil. Of course results will depend on your location and the signal strength in your area.
Hopefully, this guide as well as the previous two on replacing your cable company bills with free alternatives have you well on your way to enjoying your favorite content for less. Unfortunately, at this time Antennaweb and 7MC don’t support ATSC in some countries including Canada. Be sure to check back often to find the best ways to save even more with your Media Center setup.
If you haven’t already be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the Canceling Your Cable series on Hack7MC!
Getting streaming internet television and movies can be a challenge, luckily there are a few Media Center plug-ins that can help though. One of those plug-ins is 
We’ve all thought about it, the money we could save by canceling cable and just streaming our favorite shows on demand. Of course big media does it’s best to keep us down, such as the case with NBC and News Corp funded Hulu ordeal going on with Boxee. Luckily at about the same time Boxee was coming up (and subsequently being crushed) a number of Media Center plug-ins were released to harness the power of streaming television.
