For those of you who may wish to get an antenna and ditch cable,
check the TV you have and the next one you buy. Some
manufacturers have begun to eliminate the tuner in order to save
costs.
A TV tuner is a device
that converts digital over-the-air channels for viewing on
compatible displays and TVs. If you get a TV without a tuner,
you will need some kind of converter box, such as an HDTV
Digital TV Converter box with HDMI output. You can also get a
DVR that will turn an antenna into HDMI cable. This way not only
do you get OTA but a DVR to record your shows.
External TV tuners cost
from fifteen US dollars up to multiple hundreds of dollars and
can be as small as a USB stick up to the size of a cigar box.
You can also buy a TV tuner card for a PC and turn it into a
television.