How to be Cheap: cut the cord with free TV via antenna

(Updated June 1, 2013)

For those of you with little kids, how much time do you really have to watch TV?  For me, I realized that I was watching relatively little, and most of the shows I was watching are the ones from the major networks (House, American Idol, Lost, etc), all of which are broadcast in HD for free over the air, and often available from the networks via the web at pretty good quality (for ex, CBS streams 1080p, most others stream 720p).  Sure, my kids were used to watching shows on Disney channel or Nickelodeon, but I was already thinking that this was not good because: 1) it's too easy for them to watch a lot of TV or shows I had not specifically screened, and 2) I can't screen the commercials, which often have content which I find unsuitable for little kids to see.  I also discovered that the vast majority of the Northern California bay area gets great reception to all the major stations that broadcast in HD via antenna, so I decided to get rid of my satellite subscription and go for "free" TV.

This was my strategy:

1. Install a decent antenna on the roof to ensure a good signal for the HDTV broadcasts
2. Build a small, quiet media PC with Windows Media Center to act as my Tivo for tuning in channels and recording shows. If you've never heard of Windows Media Center, it's something that will put the PC into a "TV" mode where you don't see anything that looks remotely like the Windows operating system, but instead looks more like a Tivo interface, and is designed to use a normal remote control (not keyboard & mouse) to navigate.
3. Subscribe to Netflix Instant Streaming to supplement my needs to watch TV shows and movies, which I can get also via Windows Media Center, or through my XBox
4. When I want to watch a more recent movie, either go to a local Red Box DVD rental kiosk for $1 rental or rent via Amazon On Demand.
5. All of this interfaces to my existing home theater equipment (AV receiver and HDTV) via HDMI and using a standard universal remote control.

If you're willing to put out a wireless keyboard, you can also fire up a a web browser on the TV and navigate to the TV network websites or Hulu to watch shows via a browser.  I'll show you some examples of wireless keyboards that are pretty slick and friendly towards the end of this article where I give hardware recommendations.

Results:
I built the media PC for a little under $600 (the BOM below comes out to $650 as prices have gone up since I did my build), which would means that it would break even after about 10 months (since I was paying about $60/month for satellite TV).  I built my first one in Aug 2008, and decided to upgrade it (basically just replacing the motherboard) in April 2010 to make it an ultra lower power system based on the AMD E-350 CPU.  I then upgraded it once more to a system build on the Intel Core i3 CPU as I started to used the media PC also as a NAS and Minecraft server.  I have no home phone bill (by using Ooma) or TV bill, and I only pay for internet, so the savings are pretty significant and add up over time. I simply do not find myself wishing I had more TV, because I still fill up my DVR and Netflix Instant Streaming queues with much much more content than I have time to watch.

If the cost or difficulty of building a PC are barriers for you, you now have some great choices for buying cheap laptops or pre-built media PCs for around $300-400.  These types of products that had the needed processing power and small form factor size did not exist when I started this project Aug 2008, but technology has more than caught up.  Examples of pre-built, turnkey systems are listed further down in this article.

The Good

1. It passes the wife approval factor in terms of ease of use and reliability.  You grab a normal remote and interact with it just like a standard cable or satellite set top box.
2. For the channels you get, the experience is the same as a subscription TV service.  I can pull up a program guide, search for shows, pause, record, get a season pass, etc. In the northern California bay area where I live, I'm pulling in all the major networks including ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS, WB and Ion.
3. I can record a ton of stuff in HD and never be worried about filling up the hard drive, because I can buy commercial hard drives which tend to be pretty cheap and huge.
4. I can pull up websites and watch a number of shows from the subscription channels. I am impressed with how much you can see over the web for free.  For example, you can watch all the current season's Project Runway shows on the Lifetime website, although with a 1 week delay.
5. Netflix Instant Streaming rocks.  Quality tends to be quite good if you have a a fast (6Mbps or greater) broadband connection, like cable or U-Verse.  They tend to have older TV shows and movies, but selection is decent.
6. I can also use the media PC to play music or play slideshows, or both at the same time.  I put all my music and photo's on it, again because I'm able to buy a huge, relatively cost effective hard drive.
7. Because the media PC is always on, it's essentially home server & NAS that allows any other PC in my house to access the recorded DVR shows, play music, see photos, or access central files.
8. The media PC can also store copies of all your (legally owned) DVDs on its hard drive, making it function as your DVD jukebox in addition to all your music.  This means you can keep those kids DVDs safely in their cases and never have to open them up to watch them (vs. your kids opening them up each time and eventually scratch them to the point of being unwatchable).  You technically have to use software that bypasses the DVD's copy protection, and many argue whether it's legal to make personal back ups of movie content that you purchased. I'm not going to get into this*, but I can say that Windows Media Center supports a movie catalog of ripped DVDs, along with elegant cover art.

* Actually, I have a few comments on this topic.  I can see it being ok to make a copy of content that you purchased for personal use, like watching it without risking your kids scratching up the disc from constant use, or making a copy of the car where you're worried the heat might eventually warp the disc.  But I think it is stealing to rip a DVD you rented or borrowed, and keeping that copy.  I do also think it is blatant stealing to use a peer to peer network like bit torrent to download ripped media as well.  Come on, these things cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make, do you really think you're entitled to have it for free?

The Bad

1. You need to be fairly PC proficient to be able to build one of these and to do the software maintenance for it.  How proficient does one have to be to build one?  Do you know the difference between integrated and discrete graphics?  Can you go into the system BIOS to select whether the chipset uses the HDMI vs. DVI connection?  Do you know how to find a graphics driver and install it?  Do you know how to find out if a particular graphics chipset or GPU supports decoding of 1080p video encoded in H.264 at High Profile?  If you are not comfortable with all of these, then you'll need to befriend/date/marry an engineering nerd who can make a media PC for you.  Yes, all you hot girls who were mean to us nerds in school, this is how we get our revenge- by making you need us later on in life. Or if you're not a fan of building, you can also simply recycle an old laptop of desktop PC. If using a laptop, you'll also need an external USB hard drive since the hard drives in laptops usually are not big enough for recording HD content.
2. You may occasionally need to use a keyboard for maintenance or troubleshooting, like downloading patches for the graphics chip that makes it work more efficiently.  This is probably not more often than a few times a year if you're using it as a standard DVR set top box.
3. You're giving up the shows that are only available on pay channel like ESPN, HGTV, or Discovery.  So that means no more ESPN Sports Center, though maybe they'll add this to the ESPN 360 web subscription service.
4. Windows Media Center does not (at least at this point) support playback of Blu-ray discs.  So if you want to buy a Blu-ray drive for your media PC, you'll need to also buy a Blu-ray playback software applications (like CyberLink Power DVD 10).  The good news is that this playback applications do a nice job integrated with Windows Media Center where it has a widget for launching the Blu-ray player right from Media Center.  The bad news is that these applications cost $50.  Add in the $70 for the Blu-ray ROM drive, and you're already paying more than a stand alone Blu-ray player.  So for now, it looks like you'll need to use a stand alone Blu-ray player if you want to enjoy Blu-ray.
5. You may find yourself watching less TV overall, because there's less content and you're less likely to find something interesting surfing those 100-200 channels you were used to get.  Personally, I think this is actually a good thing.

 

My External Hardware Setup: (about $200-$300)

• Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote: ($290 new, $120 used) I'm a big fan of Logitech.  Their stuff is easy to use and setup, and their database of remote control commands get frequently updated. The Harmony One is the mother of all remotes, and used to cost only $155 when I got it. The new model costs a lot more, and there's the Harmony Touch for $199 as well.  Highly flexible to program and customize, along with a color touch screen.  It's not cheap, but it's the no compromise remote to get. The ultra cheapo alternative is to get a simple Windows Media Center remote like this one, which will only be able to control the Windows and the volume output by the PC.  You'll need to use your TV's remote to turn the TV on and off or control the volume if the TV's speakers. 
• Logitech diNovo Mini: ($52) This is a handheld thumb-style keyboard with a trackpad similar to the ones on laptops.  You won't be composing long emails with this, but you can certainly type in URLs and navigate a browser.  If you want to go cheaper, there's the Logitech K00 keyboard ($36) .
• Winegard HD7494P Outdoor Antenna: ($57) Plenty strong enough to pull in signals from 60 miles away, and it doesn't look like a redneck monstrosity.

My Media PC Bill of Materials: (about $650) I'll start by saying that there's no longer any reason to build your own system unless you are an enthusiast like me who likes to be able to hand pick every component and have lots of flexibility to individually upgrade components over time. For example, I recently adding an SSD drive to serve as the OS/boot drive, while putting all the media on the hard drive.  Why?  Because SSDs are cool!  It's cool having a system that boots ridiculously fast, but it's honestly not needed in a media PC since it's on 24/7 and does not actually go through a full reboot more than maybe once a month (to install Windows security updates).  Skip to the bottom to see some great low cost pre-built media PC options.  But if you want to get your geek out, check out my BOM below.

• Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H): ($64) I used to build mostly with AMD CPU's as they were high bang for the buck, plus they began to integrate a decent GPU into the CPU itself for more cost and power savings. My previous media PC build used an AMD E-350, and the power consumption of the entire PC (not just the CPU, but everything including hard drives, etc) was 30W at idle, 55W during HD playback.  That's less than some laptops! However, I moved over to Intel in my last build as I wanted a beefier CPU that would be able to run a Minecraft server, act as home server, and be a DVR, and be able to run all these at the same time. Intel started to sell a specific low power version of their mainstream Core CPU's (designated with a "T" at the end, like the Core i3-3220T), so this met my requirements of low power. 
• 2x 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM: ($30-40) 4GB is plenty for a media PC, and buying as 2 sticks makes it run more efficiently.
• Western Digital Green 1TB Hard Drive: ($60) All your recording of the HD shows you pull off the antenna will need some space, and hard drives are cheap  I suggest getting one of the "green" drives that spins at a lower speed below the typical 7200 RPM.  Lower speed means less heat, less power, and longer life, and a dedicated media PC has no need for extremely high hard drive performance.
• DVD ROM Drive: ($20) Since you'll want to be able to play back those DVDs you rent from Netflix, Redbox, etc.
• USB Infrared Sensor: ($12) You'll need this to accept commands from a remote control. I had a hard time finding a stand alone USB IR sensor, so I ended up buy a cheap Windows Media Center remote which includes the IR sensor.
• Antec Earthwatts EA-380D Power Supply: ($40) If you opt for a case that does not include a power supply, then you'll need to buy one separately. Assuming you don't use a high end CPU or graphics card, this is a well rated, fairly efficient and quiet power supply.

Silverstone ML03B Case

• Silverstone Grandia GD05B: ($95) I got the biggest case I could find that would fit in my TV stand shelf, and this is it.  I prefer bigger since that makes it easier to install the components, has good airflow for cooling, and gives me lots of options for adding hard drives or optical drives.  Most people have no idea this case is actually a full PC.  If you want smaller, the Silverstone ML03B ($60) looks pretty good as it can hold a microATX motherboard and has just enough space for one 5.25" optical drive and two 3.5" hard drives.
• HD Homerun network tuner ($78): This is a popular tuner that is small, reliable, and includes a handy signal strength tool for helping you aim your antenna. If you prefer to minimize external components, I've also had good luck with the Avertv HD Duet ATS Tuner Card: ($50) This is a small PCI Express card with dual ATSC tuners, which means it can tune in two simultaneous stations at the same time.  This means you can watch one show live while recording another channel at the same time.  Dual tuner is a must have, because you may find yourself wanting to record two shows at the same time (especially during prime time when the good stuff is on). Windows Media Center does a good job of seeing your tuners and being able to use them seamlessly.
• Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium OEM Version: ($91) What the difference between the cheaper OEM version and the retail version?  With the OEM version, you pay $80 less and just get an install DVD.  I'm not aware of any other differences.

If you're not a PC builder and prefer to buy a turnkey solution, one option you can go with is to simply buy a cheap laptop ($350-400) or recycle an old PC you might have lying around. I see these cheap laptops on sale at Fry's Electronics all the time. Just don't buy one using the Intel Atom CPU, and also avoid the AMD E-series CPUs if you want to ensure you have some margin to do more than just watching TV. The Intel Core i3/i5 and AMD A-series APUs are a safe bet. If you end using using a laptop or old desktop PC, you'll also need to buy these 2 things:

• USB Infrared Sensor: ($8)
• HD Homerun tuner: ($78)

Laptop users will also likely need to buy an external hard drive like these 1TB drives, since the laptop hard drives are too small to store all those recorded HD TV shows or your DVD collection, so you'll need extra space.  You can use just about any external hard drive including pre-built USB external hard drives (clean looking, quiet, and cheap), separate USB hard drive enclosure + bring your own 3.5" hard drive (least attractive, louder, but has flexibility to upgrade the hard drive size later), or even a Network Attached Storage enclosure which can double as a central media repository that all PCs in your home can tap into.
 

Questions or comments?  Drop a comment and I'll do my best to respond quickly!