[Jarot]

My fiancé and I are going to be moving to Stratford in January/February, and we're probably going to be going with internet-only from Optimum, and apparently they also give you a digital antenna. I can't see it being a particularly great quality one, though, maybe I'm wrong.
I haven't tried using a digital antenna before. When we cut the cord on Long Island, we used Netflix pretty much exclusively, but I miss broadcast television so I wanted to get an antenna.
I ran a report and apparently I'll have no trouble getting WTNH (which I like since that's one of the stations I missed since I moved from Connecticut). I also want to be able to pick up New York stations, though.
I've been doing some research, but I want to hear from people already doing it. What are some good options to get CT and NY broadcast stations from Stratford? I would prefer an indoor antenna but if getting NY stations means outdoor I guess I'm open to the option.

[RunD1987]

If you go to Google there are some sites where you put your address in and give you spots to turn the antenna to pick up certain stations...https://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/dtvmaps/ Here is one of them.

Also could use HULU, Prime, or a Roku.

[hvexpatinct]

You should be good with PBS too. Anything else probably requires an outside antenna.

With our outside antenna, in a wooded area, we get all of the "moderate" signal channels for our address and about half the weak ones (with some seasonal tree cover issues). YMMV of course

With our inside one we get 20% of the moderates and 0 weaks.

AFAIK channel 11 can't be accessed in most parts of CT.

[Jarot]

I forgot to mention, here's the report I got:
TV Fool

For the most part I'm just bummed I'll have a hard time picking up WNBC, but it looks like I can get CBS and ABC from NYC, and all of the big four from CT. I also can get PBS.

I'm more curious if it's possible to pick up the 'gray' channels with an indoor antenna, or if it has to be outside, something that's inconspicuous and easy to put up.

[JayCT]

Boy this brings back memories. We were very excited when we got cable years ago. Before there was cable TV in our area, we had an outside antenna for our TV. In Fairfield we only got the New York stations and Channel 8 in New Haven. We could not get the Hartford stations because our antenna faced the wrong way (toward New York). Then we got a rotary antenna that we could move using a box on top of our set. This allowed us to get the Hartford stations as well. Sounds like that is what you would need as well. Funny how things go around but personally I would just get basic cable and make your life easier. Not worth the hassle of dealing with an antenna on your roof. Jay

[adamz]

I'm not in fairfield or new haven, but I have some experience with OTA reception in Storrs.

TVFool is a great guide, giving you information about the best possible signals at your location. It doesn't know anything about houses or trees near you. Both of those can have a huge impact on OTA signals. Trees are particularly a problem for UHF signals.

In my experience, a fairly substantial outdoor antenna is needed to get reliable reception of the yellow stations on a TVFool report. If you have nothing but clear fields around you, you might do better.

[grecostimpy]

Cord cutter for the last year. We don't even bother with OTA, we just stream everything. Apple TV's on all our sets. If we want local news we stream ABC which gives us NY market. We love it. Everything my wife and I would want is available and the kids never are without something to watch between Netflix and Hulu.

[adamz]

Originally Posted by grecostimpy

Cord cutter for the last year. We don't even bother with OTA, we just stream everything. Apple TV's on all our sets. If we want local news we stream ABC which gives us NY market. We love it. Everything my wife and I would want is available and the kids never are without something to watch between Netflix and Hulu.

I wanted to have access to OTA, so I got an antenna installed, but I agree with grecostimpy. The only times OTA gets watched is when my wife is home and wants to watch General Hospital (she mostly watches it the next day on Hulu) and if we want to watch news live around dinner time. The live news could be streamed over the roku using a channel called Newson, or via an abc channel.

I know some people hate Hulu, but I think it's awesome.

[Vin100]

Originally Posted by grecostimpy

Cord cutter for the last year. We don't even bother with OTA, we just stream everything. Apple TV's on all our sets. If we want local news we stream ABC which gives us NY market. We love it. Everything my wife and I would want is available and the kids never are without something to watch between Netflix and Hulu.

Apple TV is just a medium to get the Apps. You dont need Apple TV if you have a smart TV. Even if you have apple TV, you will require to subscribe to separate services like Hulu/ netflix. So how do you get ABC on Apple TV?
I think the very reason some people want to get antenna is that they dont like succumbing to the monopoly pricing of the cable TV. I agree with them that it feels so frustrating when you realize that you have only 1/2 options of cable TV in your area and they have a monopoly on the prices.

[ansky]

I wouldn't bother with an antenna from Stratford. You're basically on the fringe of NYC stations and the fringe of Hartford stations. So you would need a large outside antenna with a rotor to reliably pick up TV stations from either place. Now that TV is digital it is much harder to pick up than the old analog days because you need a very consistent and strong signal to get a watchable picture. For example, when I used to live in Farmington I had a TV with rabbit ears and I had no problem picking up all the TV stations from CT as well as some of the Springfield stations. Since the switch to digital I could no longer pull in channel 8 at all, nor any of the Springfield stations at all.

As someone else already mentioned, I would just sign up for a basic cable package which should include both CT and NY stations. At least that will be reliable.