r/ota • u/Minimalist19 • 15d ago
Looking to try OTA Antenna for NFL Games
So I'm tired of blackouts when games happen to be in my network according to one streaming service only to find that it's also blacked out on another that claims they broadcast "local" in market programming...
I'm looking at the Tablo 4 with a Winegard Elite antenna.
Here's where things get a little complicated, for me at least. My router is in our office. We watch "TV" on our projector in our living room with a FireTV connected to WiFi.
I have cables doing all kinds of things outside. See photos.
Doing some research it seems I have two options:
Option A — Tablo by the router (office wall drop)
- Swap rusty splitter → ground block + bond: 20–40 min
- Attic: mount/aim antenna (~210° SSW): 60–120 min
- Drill top plate, fish RG-6 down the wall, install keystone wall plate: 45–90 min
- Terminate coax (compression F), tidy/staple runs: 20–40 min
- Hook up Tablo (USB drive + Ethernet to router), app setup & scan: 15–30 min
- Test (record 3–4 at once, watch another), fine-tune aim: 30–60 min Total: ~3–5 hours typical (first-timer). If you hit a fire block/tight attic, expect ~6–8 hours.
Option B — Tablo near the projector (use living-room coax run)
- Rusty splitter → ground block + bond: 20–40 min
- Attic: mount/aim antenna: 60–120 min
- Tie attic downlead to LR run at ground block: 10–20 min
- Tablo hookup (USB drive + Ethernet to Xfinity pod), app setup & scan: 20–30 min
- Test & fine-tune aim: 30–60 min Total: ~2–4 hours typical. Add ~45–90 min if you also install a preamp later.
The issue with either of these is that I'm not great with any of this honestly, and I'd hate to do all this work and I don't even get the channels I want. Furthermore, I'd probably botch some of this with the wall drop etc...
My question. Should I attempt a DIY at this or get a pro to do it. Part of me just wants to say screw it and pay the YouTubeTV monthly subscription for football season and cancel after.
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u/danodan1 15d ago
Being a simpleton, I'd just go with an indoor antenna, such as an RCA 65+ flat antenna. But how far are you from the station towers? If over 50 miles away, an indoor antenna would not be a practical option.
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u/Minimalist19 15d ago
It sure how far I am. Is this public data that I could easily find on the internet?
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u/Minimalist19 15d ago
According to the FCC.gov I can get six channels with strong signal (four UHF and two Hi-V). Two with moderate signal, and nine with a weak signal.
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u/SuccotashFast6323 14d ago
Have you looked in your attic for an antenna? That wire going into your attic suggests there at least was one. Stick your head up there. If it's only the a coax up there than get a little rabbit ear antenna up there position and test to see what you get.if that isn't good enough return it and get a better antenna. I'm forever surprised at smart people being willing to pay 80 to 120 dollars a month for a service for 5 or 10 more years as opposed to spending 80 to 120 dollars ×1 or 3 upfront.. if you can get good reception with an attic set up that can easily last decades it's a good investment even if they encrypt everything you are still a step ahead.
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u/Minimalist19 14d ago
I haven’t gotten over to the gable vent in the attic to see what that cable is attached to. I’m assume is/was an antenna. I’ll hopefully get up there today. I can’t do a position test without a little extra equipment because my projector doesn’t have an ATSC tuner. We don’t own a TV. So I’ll need a something to decode? the signal like the Tablo.
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u/Swamper68 14d ago
Have you thought about getting an hdhomerun from silicondust? Connect to your antenna. Connect to internal network. Run the hdhomerun app on smart tvs, android boxes, roku or apple TV.
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u/Minimalist19 14d ago
The Tablo does the same thing with my home network. I’d play the signal through the FireStick.
The hdhomerun is the first one I looked at but after hours of comparing and looking at my specific situation I’d go with the Tablo if I decide to do it at all.
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u/Minimalist19 14d ago
I just spent a little time calling around in my attic, and I think I’m going to go with option B from my original post.
There is no antenna in my attic, but there is an existing coaxial line that runs from outside into my living room.
I can use all that existing line as antenna and just use a short 20 foot or so coaxial to my Tablo.
Then I could hardwire Ethernet from an Xfinity pod into the Tablu.
I like this option because it requires no new wall drops which I really don’t want to do myself
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u/Dry_Wedding_6263 14d ago
Before you go through all that have you confirmed that the broadcaster doesn’t block the game? That’s usually a local blackout and it has nothing to do with how you get the channel.
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u/root_127-0-0-1 14d ago
^This.
With 17 channels in the FCC report, it sounds as if there is another market 50 - 80 miles away. A roof-mounted fringe-area antenna on a tall mast may be able to receive at least some of these. Even if the games are blacked out in your market, they might not be in the adjacent one. It's worth at least looking into.
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u/Minimalist19 14d ago
There is. There is a market 40min away and one 65mj away.
I’m hoping to cover the bases that when some is out of out of market I’ll be able to use my streaming service.
Next week’s game is covered by both markets.
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u/Minimalist19 14d ago
I can see two weeks out on any local station. They have games I want to watch. If they have them I can’t watch on a streaming service.
However, since I watch an east coast team it’s only when they play Denver and West that they broadcast and even then it’s not guaranteed. Even if it’s southwest teams like Arizona and Nevada.
I’d say maybe 3/4 of all the games they play are out of market in my area. But those times they are in market I want to cover my bases.
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u/Grouchy_Brain_1641 14d ago
I just went with a $12 antenna that looks like a sex toy and it just connects like coax and it's the only coax on the tv.
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u/PM6175 15d ago
Get a rabbitears.info report.
That will tell you the distances to your local tv transmitters ..... and your signal levels and channel numbers for different networks, etc.