i dont have cable. how does this work? what about sports channels....basketball,football..base... dont know if this is better than the other
1115844
This is basically a box that you hook to your TV & internet to stream television shows from the internet. They work sort of like Roku or Apple TV, except this box is running a rooted or jailbroken version of Android, which allows it to run a program called XBMC. XBMC allows you to use various apps to search through & watch movies & tv shows. A couple of advantages to this over other streaming services (Hulu, Netflix, etc) is that it is free to watch & you can usually find shows/movies that are not on the other services. I'm not a big sports fan so I don't really know how that will work. From what I've seen/heard it will probably work like most other tv shows where you can watch them the next day (or when someone uploads them). If you are going to get one of these boxes get the SkystreamX4. It has a faster processor & runs Android Kit Kat & is only $25 more than this version. If you want to test drive XBMC to make sure you can find your shows you can download XBMC for Windows.
68379
It is a little hard to tell. The numbers are all different. I had trouble finding a few - like ESPN. If you have a newer TV, it will pick them up. You just have to sort through all the doubles (HD, not HD) and, again, the numbers will be different. But if you want all the On-Demand stuff, you'll need a cable box.
1631584
You have to watch the same cable channel. Basically you are controlling your cable box at a distance.
781049
I kind of thought that that was the situation. I just got a new HDTV and am a little worried, that in a few days I will be loosing two of my channels (CBS, NBC). My hope is that what I have heard is true, that they will be boosting the signals when they no longer need to carry the analog channels. I have been waiting to purchase a new antenna untill after the conversion.
820056
Some channels are HD, most are not. HD ones are pretty good. Non hd Quality is not terrible.
533959
Absolutely! I've had this for almost one year now and I get a lot of channels, great reception, not one problem! Don't know why did I waited so long to do this. It is worth every penny. Don't miss cable one bit.
858390
Yes that's correct. Dump the cable TV bill, and use an antenna, it looks better, and it's free. This does do atsc, and over the air, the picture quality compared to cable looks great. I am going to be dropping pay tv, because clear qam is how I used one tuner for. Ya listening Comcast?
128932
i have my tv hooked up to my computer with a vga cable. It will work with any tv this way. I no longer have cable b/c it's really pointless for me to have 500 channels when i can watch them all online for 15% of what i was paying. If u hook it up to your computer it will work
1621115
Actually, that's what I'm using it with right now. Pulled it out of storage, got a second cable box, have it set to E1 instead of using its own tuner (to avoid any issues with channels changing unexpectedly again) and pulling in the channels via the cable box instead. Works fine using it that way.
1096836
Your best bet is to go online to the Dish website. It works just like regular cable. There are several packages you can choose from. You can get anything you can get at home.
61328
"Cable"? As in, pay a provider for TV? NO! A strong internet connection would be nice, but not necessary. Depends on how you wanna use it
585063
I cannot. It receives local channels, not channels which would be pay for view on cable. Although I do get excellent HD reception.
476417
Yep! Just be sure to ask for a multi-stream CableCard. It's easier to have them set it up, I think...
445314
I love this antenna, and even though I do not have cable, it is connected to a small HDTV and I get all of the local channels and more that I used to have to use the converter box to get with old TV's. I have no reservations in recommending it. Hope that helps. Oh, and reception is excellent, picture very clear.
1773753
Just try it. I tried it and it works. The only problem I got was that the signal of the cable is so strong that I can only get around 5 digital channels.
61329
"Cable"? As in, pay a provider for TV?NO!A strong internet connection would be nice, but not necessary. Depends on how you wanna use it
1496391
I don't normally watch sports on this machine. I use it as my desktop monitor because I can plug a laptop in thru the HDMI port and use both machines. Having said that, I hooked up and external HD antenna and watched the Bears lose tonight. Although I occasionally lost the screen due to thunderstorms bollixing reception, I did not notice any blurring. I then went to ESPN through my desktop and watched some of their videos. Voila, occasionally the screen blurs. I don't know whether I need a faster internet speed or whether the box is at fault. I suspect internet due to it working OK over the air. Hope this helps. I don't normally watch sports on this machine. I use it as my desktop monitor because I can plug a laptop in thru the HDMI port and use both machines. Having said that, I hooked up and external HD antenna and watched the Bears lose tonight. Although I occasionally lost the screen due to thunderstorms bollixing reception, I did not notice any blurring. I then went to ESPN through my desktop and watched some of their videos. Voila, occasionally the screen blurs. I don't know whether I need a faster internet speed or whether the box is at fault. I suspect internet due to it working OK over the... » Read More I don't normally watch sports on this machine. I use it as my desktop monitor because I can plug a laptop in thru the HDMI port and use both machines. Having said that, I hooked up and external HD antenna and watched the Bears lose tonight. Although I occasionally lost the screen due to thunderstorms bollixing reception, I did not notice any blurring. I then went to ESPN through my desktop and watched some of their videos. Voila, occasionally the screen blurs. I don't know whether I need a faster internet speed or whether the box is at fault. I suspect internet due to it working OK over the air. Hope this helps. « Show Less