Over the Air Signal in Framingham
TV Listing for Over the Air signals
This weekend we have joined the growing trend and cut the cord from Comcast's Xfinity service. We switched over to Fios Internet service without TV service.
We are getting live TV from Over the Air and from Hulu's new live service. Hulu also has some great cable programming that we like to watch.
In-House Antenna
Technology has gotten so advanced that you don't need a large outdoor antenna to get quality over the air TV signals - particularly if you live in Framingham or for that matter much of the MetroWest.
We purchased a Vansky 2018 Newest Indoor Amplified Digital HDTV Antenna It offers a 50 Mile Range, Local Broadcast 4K/HD/VHF/UHF, Signal TV Channels for Smart Television w/ Detachable Amplifier. We purchased it from Amazon. This works perfectly in our house. This is powered by USB, it comes with a wall adapter, but the USB port on the TV works just fine.
We did notice that our 10-year-old TV didn't get as many channels as some newer TV sets.
Over the Air in Framingham
Framingham residences can get access to 38 "Over the Air" channels. Here's the current listing that you should be able to get:
The quality of the picture is great. This is certainly not the same "Over The Air" picture quality from the 1980s and 1990s. No rabbit ears, just pure digital quality.
Using Hulu Live
It does take time to get used to Hulu interface - particularly after watching Xfinity for a long time. When you turn it on you get a menu on what you want to watch, not live TV right away.
The live functionality isn't available on every platform. Only Samsung TVs has built-in support for Live, on other TVs, you need to use the Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV or Chrome Stick to view Live broadcasts.
We'll still be able to watch popular news channels - Fox News or CNN whenever we want.
What We'll Be Missing
Unfortunately we won't see any of the regular Red Sox, Celtics or Bruins games as they are all on cable channels. Hulu doesn't carry NBCSP and NESN, where most of the games are played.
In some cases, we'll miss Xfinity DVD functionality and the voice remote.
We'll also miss the Xfinity Hotspots, especially along the Framingham/Worcester line.
Cutting the Cable is the Future
More and more people are cutting the cable because people are too busy to watch live TV. They are watching TV on their terms and cable is too expensive.