Running a cable from an antenna in the attic or outside to a TV set can be tricky. While there aren’t any wireless antennas, there are wireless tuners. Some options include the Tablo and Amazon Fire TV Recast. Each unit connects to your antenna and home’s WiFi network. After it’s set up, you can access your over-the-air channels on the TVs through either the Tablo or Amazon Fire TV Recast app. Both models have multiple tuners built in, which means you can watch and even record different channels on multiple TVs at the same time.
It’s important to install the wireless tuner in a livable area. Do not install one in the attic or it will overheat. While a cable must be run from the antenna to the wireless tuner, it will likely be easier than running a cable to the TV.
Getting started
Watching free, over-the-air TV with an antenna is simpler than you may think. In many cases, you can take an antenna out of the box, connect the cable to your TV, run a channel scan and voila! You have dozens of local channels to surf.
The number of channels you can access and how clearly they come in is based on a number of factors, including your distance from the point of broadcast towers, the type of antenna you have and where it’s located in your home.
Not sure what kind of antenna you need? Take our simple quiz to help narrow down the options. You can also find a general list of recommended antennas here.
Pair your antenna with an OTA DVR device to record your favorite shows
Did you know you can use an antenna similarly to how you watch cable? Ditch the costly subscription fees, but keep the cable capabilities (record, pause, rewind and fast forward) with an OTA DVR device. Here are the products we recommend:
Tablo DUAL 128GB Over-the-Air [OTA] DVR: Record up to 80 HD hours and stream up to two free broadcast channels from your HDTV antenna simultaneously.
Tablo QUAD 1TB Over-the-Air [OTA] DVR: Record up to 700 hours and stream up to four free broadcast channels from their over-the-air HDTV antenna simultaneously.