Broadcast: Free as the Air
Over-the-air broadcast stations have been leaders in the conversion to HDTV. All you need to receive free HD programming from your local stations is an HD tuner (also called an ATSC tuner) and a VHF/UHF antenna. The tuner may be built into your HDTV or part of a separate set-top box, and the antenna can be as simple as a pair of "rabbit ears" or as complicated as a roof-mast, depending on where you live.
As a general rule, if you're within 25 miles of the broadcast tower, you can get by with an indoor antenna. If you're further away, a roof mount can take your range out to 60 miles or more - provided your sight-path to the transmitter isn't blocked by terrain. Either way, you get free access to the available network feeds in HD. Some stations are further along than others, but it's estimated that two-thirds of U.S. households can now receive high-def broadcasts over the air. And there's more good news: you don't need a fancy "HDTV" antenna; just a regular old TV antenna will get the job done. HDTV broadcasts are in the same frequency range, and actually more forgiving than their analog ancestors when it comes to atmospherics and poor reception. If you pick up the station at all, it's probably going to come in just fine, without any static or snow effects. To find out more about your specific location, and exactly where the nearest transmitters are, type your address into
www.antennaweb.org and see it all on a map. And for more tips on hooking up an antenna, see Connecting to content sources in our
HD Connectivity Guide.