Most North Americans can access High Definition TV for FREE simply by plugging in an Over-The-Air HDTV Antenna. Once people know this concept exists and that it’s 100% legal, their first question is (or at least should be), “How do I know which over-the-air channels can I get in my area? Well, we’re here to make this easy for you! Explore the Tablo TV Signal Locator! This handy dandy tool is available on our home page, as well as at www.TabloTV.com/channels
OTA Channels for US Residents:
Simply enter your location details into the form and we’ll create a customized map showing you the location of broadcast towers in your area, as well as a list of available channels and their estimated signal strength.
For example, here’s the map for Tampa, Florida. As you can see, there are several towers in the area and a selection of 51 channels with good signal strength. With excellent reception and channel selection, Tampa-based cord-cutters will find Tablo to be an excellent alternative to cable and satellite.
OTA Channels for Canadian Residents:
Click on the “Canada” Tab and follow the link to TVFool.com’s TV Signal Locator Tool. The page will look like this:
Enter your location details (and antenna height if you know it) and click “Find Local Channels”.
This will produce a results page that shows you a radar graph with the direction of broadcast towers as they relate to your specific location. It also shows a list of channels ranked by signal strength and colour coded to indicate which kind of antenna you will require to pick them up.
You can see from the radar image above that this location has two large towers within range, one is located North East while the other is located South East. For more details on antenna selection based on tower location, click here.
Channel listing ranked by signal strength based upon search location:
This channel listing tells you that you can expect to receive about 11 channels with an indoor antenna. You could try and squeeze in an extra 4 channels with a roof-mounted outdoor antenna.
Legend for background colours on the Radar image and Channel listing:
IMPORTANT! Use these signal locator tools only as a guide. Your actual results may vary.
The results of available channels in your area is an estimate based on the location details entered and the location of the TV transmitters in that area (< 35 miles; 35-50 miles; and 50-60 miles) and is not guaranteed.
The estimated signal strength shown in the TabloTV.com and TVFool.com charts are calculated using multiple factors. These factors include an antenna height of (25), distance from broadcast towers transmitter power, terrain obstructions, curvature of the Earth and other factors that affect signal availability. Your specific location will be unique in terms of local terrain, foliage and installation details which will affect your reception.
These results should be used to estimate what channels you might expect to receive based upon the location details with an antenna placed at a height of approximately 25. Most installations will require some optimization in terms of antenna type, quality and placement. Lucky for you, we’ve already written this 5 Blog series on OTA HDTV that can help you out in each of these areas.
Do you know what stations are available Over-The-Air in your neck of the woods? If not, visit www.TabloTV.com/channels to find out.