December 21, 2015
In The Mix

Lend Me Your Ears

As viewers cut the cord, rabbit ears make a comeback.

Daniel Frankel

The humble antenna - affectionately known as Rabbit Ears - was once an integral part of the viewing experience.

Often delivering poor reception and adding to living-room clutter, it was replaced some 50 years ago by the roof, or aerial, antenna. Then, cable and satellite television came along to render rabbit ears obsolete.

But the living-room antenna is making a comeback amid the cord-cutting trend and resultant shift to over-the-air (OTA) viewing.

As viewers ditch cable and satellite TV in favor of over-the-top services like Netflix, Sling TV, HBO Now and others, there's still a heavy demand for viewing of live broadcast television. But there aren't a lot of solutions for streaming live broadcast programming without a pay-TV subscription.

That's where a one-time investment in a digital antenna comes in handy. The networks, after all, still deliver their signals over the air for free. And most high-definition flat-screens come with a digital tuner. To access free over-the-air broadcast channels, all a cord cutter needs to do is purchase a digital antenna, which can run anywhere from $8 to $80.

Antenna selection depends on geographic location. Viewers living close to broadcast towers will not need a premium antenna to get clear reception. For example, for Los Angeles- area residents living in sight of broadcast towers in the San Gabriel Mountains, a low-cost, non-amplified antenna like the RCA ANT11 or the Mohu Leaf will likely deliver excellent reception.

However, those further away from towers, or somehow obstructed from them, should consider a higher-end digital antenna, such as the popular Mohu Leaf Ultimate, which contains extra electronic circuitry to amplify station signals. These devices are available through online retailers like Amazon or through big-box stores like Best Buy.

But viewers retaining their pay-TV subscriptions may still wish to buy an antenna, to watch the so-called broadcast sub-channels, which were created after the analog-to-digital transition six years ago.

One example is Comet, a sub-channel launched recently by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Available in more than 60 percent of the U.S. — but not through cable or satellite — Comet offers sci-fi 24/7, with reruns of classic MGM titles like The Outer Limits, Dead Like Me and Stargate.

Digital antenna viewing can be paired with a DVR, just like in the pay-TV eco-system. TiVo, for example, sells DVRs, like the new Bolt, that are designed to connect directly to an OTA antenna. The Bolt also enables the use of services like Netflix, so that all viewing can be accessed through the same interface.

Microsoft is creating the same kind of experience with its Xbox One gaming console. Earlier this year, Microsoft started selling a dongle-sized digital TV tuner that fits into a TV's HDMI port and connects directly to a digital antenna.

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