Hello, I live in Athens, GA. A place where there is only one cable company here unless I get dish. Unfortunately, my apartment building won't let me have a satellite. Is there a device I can buy that can provide me free to air without a satellite. I would imagine that a satellite is just a big antenna. Any help would be appreciated. I need to dump charter as soon as possible. I'm paying 80 dollars for basic cable. This isn't right.
Digital FTA (Need to get rid of my cable company)
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I would suggest a Roku, but that needs broadband internet. That is about the closest you are going to get.
You are correct. I understand your frustration. You can dump your subscription TV but you must be satisfied with alternatives such as FTA and other sources can offer. You won't find the same channels. Do you really think multi-billion $ companies that somehow have convinced average people to pay them up to $150+/month for TV would have it any other way?
Internet with streaming media boxes from Roku, AppleTV, WDTV, etc... along with Hulu Plus, Netflix or Amazon is about best alternative without having access to satellite dish or wanting to pay for cable tv.
I can vouch from personal experience that Netflix @ $7.99/month here is excellent value. It provides movies and TV shows and it's all legal. You need a good high-speed Internet service.
Have you thought about just getting an over the air tv antenna for your apartment? There are even some that are flat, and stick to a window. You didn't give an exact address, but here's a TvFool report for Athens GA. There are some channels available to you. If you are in an upstairs apartment, it probably will work better.:
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id=5b9465dacad4ae
Other than that, the others are correct in that you'd need high-speed internet, and a Roku or some device such as that. Or even just a laptop, and going to Hulu.com and other websites to watch tv on your pc.
http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29&q=id=5b9465dacad4ae
Other than that, the others are correct in that you'd need high-speed internet, and a Roku or some device such as that. Or even just a laptop, and going to Hulu.com and other websites to watch tv on your pc.
To get HBO on Roku you have to subscribe to HBO on Charter or satellite.
If HBO allowed standalone subscriptions, it would probably be on the order of $21-24/month for the plex.
A Roku will bring you more movies and TV shows than you could possibly watch (especially with a Netflix subscription) and a subtly placed outdoor antenna on your balcony (you do have a porch or balcony?) will get you most of the Atlanta channels.
That's pretty much it. If the apartment manager doesn't allow a dish (something they can't easily do as it is protected by FCC policy), they certainly won't allow an outdoor antenna.
The "Free TV" antennas are often indoor units and they perform as such (poorly for anything further than 20-30 miles away).
Depending on where you live in Athens, that means maybe five or six channels (ABC, Univision and maybe PBS).
TVFool shows Atlanta at 56 miles with 1 edge. This is unlikely to be a stealth antenna.
You'd think. But I have a friend who lives 45 miles away from Atlanta with one of those $20 square indoor/outdoor deals and hangs it under his porch. It performs a lot better than I expected (although not as great as a proper outdoor aerial, of course). From Athens, I'd expect a little less reliability, but if placed outdoors, I'd still imagine several of the UHF-band stations would come in.
Roku is really just for Netflix and some other specialty "channels." You wouldn't receive things like HGTV, Food Network, HBO, etc. At this moment, the only way to get a lot of this premium programming is through pay satellite, U-Verse, or cable.
If an outdoor antenna isn't possible for you at all, your best bet may be to keep cable, but just for the local channels (which is usually around $20 a month in most markets), and add a Netflix subscription (either through a smart TV or a Roku connected to any TV) for $8 a month.
I guess the top question is, which channels do you watch the most and are you willing to sacrifice any/some of them for a better price? 
I am guessing you don't have a Roku.
There are about 200 free channels currently. A lot if what use to be on FTA (or is still is on FTA.).
There also is a growing number of cable channels showing up. Some you need a username and password from you cable or satellite company to access all shows but for most a lot of the shows without ever logging in.
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I have one...I guess I must not be using it to its full potential!
I was assuming she meant a complete replacement for cable (all the local networks and premium stuff streaming live without a sub to cable/pay satellite). If Roku provides that, I apologize and must be behind the times!
I was assuming she meant a complete replacement for cable (all the local networks and premium stuff streaming live without a sub to cable/pay satellite). If Roku provides that, I apologize and must be behind the times!
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if my tv is already hooked to the internet through its own connection, a sony, do I still need roku? secondly, is there a directory to the free channels? charlie
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