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The latest Tablo news along with tips to maximize your free TV experience. 

How Geography, Surroundings and Obstructions Impact your OTA HDTV Signal Reception

OTA HDTV SIGNAL RECEPTION

Another critical aspect of your ability to receive free Over-the-Air TV is your home’s surroundings. Since local television stations broadcast their programs in the form of radio wave signals, it’s easy to understand how the least amount of obstructions and distance between your HDTV antenna and the broadcast towers, the better OTA HDTV reception you’ll achieve. This concept is known as line-of-sight.

*** See an updated version of this post ***

 

Good Line of Sight

Poor Line of Sight

(Thanks to www.wsls.com for the graphics.)

Obstructions between your OTA HDTV antenna and the broadcast tower can lead you to have poor line-of-sight, or no line of sight. This may impact the number of channels you’re able to receive via an Over-the-Air HDTV antenna.

Some examples of obstructions for line-of-sight Over-The-Air TV reception are:

  • Concrete and rebar walls – Just like you don’t get cell phone signals in basement parking garages, concrete and rebar construction can block OTA HDTV signals. So if you live in the shadow of an office tower, a basement apartment or a WWII bunker, you might be out of luck.
  • Trees – If you’re lucky enough to have a house surrounded by 100-foot century old redwoods, or just a handful of really big maples, this can also negatively impact your reception.
  • Mountains & valleys – If the broadcast antenna is on one side of a massive geographic feature like a mountain and you’re on the other, it’s going to be difficult to get a good signal.
  • Power Lines – Something that may not appear to be an obstruction but can have a significant impact are power lines. If you have a power line leading to your house or high tension lines in your backyard, these can reflect signals from broadcast towers, decreasing your antenna’s capacity to clearly ‘see’ the signals.

To a lesser and far more variable degree, weather including severe fog, wind and snow can sometimes affect your HDTV signal causing breakups or pixelation.

On the other hand, some geographic features can actually improve the Over-The-Air signal quality and range enabling you to receive stations from broadcast towers that would normally seem too far out of range. For example, flat bodies of water like lakes provide near perfect signal transmission conditions.

The important thing is to be as informed and honest with yourself as possible when it comes to evaluating how your specific location will work for receiving and enjoying OTA HDTV. Cutting the cord is a wonderful and liberating thing, but having your TV viewing pleasure limited by your location can be even more frustrating than that monthly cable bill. Inform yourself and choose what works best for you.

Next up, we’re going to talk about where to place your antenna within your home for the best OTA HDTV signal reception. Stay tuned!

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How to restart your phone/tablet

Sometimes, just restarting your smartphone or tablet can clear up issues with apps. The links below will provide detailed instructions on how to force close your Tablo app. 

Apple iPhone

Android smartphones 

Most Android smartphones and tablets can be restarted by holding the POWER button and then selecting RESTART or POWER OFF and RESTART from the POWER OPTIONS menu.

NOTE: Newer Samsung devices require you to hold the POWER/SIDE button and VOLUME DOWN to make the POWER OPTIONS menu appear. On the Google Pixel 6, hold the POWER and VOLUME UP buttons.

How to force close your Tablo app?

Sometimes, just restarting the app can fix things. The links below will provide detailed instructions on how to force close your Tablo app. 

Apple iPhone/iPad

Android smartphones/tablets 

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Getting your channels...

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( over-the-air channels and streaming channels )

This is an estimate only. Actual broadcast TV channels received may vary based on TV antenna location, reception, topography, and other obstructions. Streaming channels require an internet connection. View the Channel Details Report for specifics of each channel and to help determine what antenna is needed. 

Reception alert:  Based upon the location you entered, you may not get many of the major networks.  As a result, Tablo may not be the best fit for you.  Please enter your full address above for best accuracy. 

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