How to get free TV
FreeStream Media Box:
An android device capable of streaming content to your television. A copy of Kodi (formerly XBMC). Several pre-loaded addons for Kodi that allow access to illegal-streaming sites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodi_(software)
Kodi has attracted negative attention due to the availability of third-party plug-ins for the software that facilitate unauthorized access to copyrighted media content, as well as "fully loaded" digital media players that are pre-loaded with such add-ons. Freestream and Kodi are legal but the use of the add-ons creates copyright infringement. Freestream does not have any legal deals to stream any content. Your friend is being told about the advantages of using illegal-stream addons through Kodi, a free media center application installed on his 300 dollar device. It comes down to the content, and whether the source is properly licensed. If it's not, you are arguably complicit in the violation, and if you trusted the service you got the content from, that's just a defense. That being said, if there's a service distributing content for free that they don't have permission to distribute, they are going to be viewed as the problem more than your friend.
Barry Diller tried this in 2012 with Aereo. On June 25, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled against Aereo The Court found that Aereo infringed upon the rights of copyright holders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aereo
Personally, I have 5 TVs, all of which have their own antenna. The television broadcast signals are transmitted over 45-860 MHz of radio frequency. I have been experimenting with home made antennas since 2009. Very much like the 60s the direction is critical. Old rabbit ears are among the best indoor antennas.
Ironically, my wife who complains every time we get random interference, purchased online two so-called HD antennas for WAY MORE than they are worth. Indoors they sucked. We then discovered the company has no return policy and we were stuck with them. As a test, I mounted them on ten foot PVC pipe and attached to my privacy fence beside the house with a clear shot due east. To protect them from rain I slipped one quart ZipLoc bags over them. Outdoors they work GREAT!.
The only drawback is that VHF signals are not picked up as well as UHF so I added an old antenna to the mix that was once on the roof pointed to channels 10's old tower in Tarpon Springs (BTW they have moved to Riverview now). This improved 8, 10 and 13. Now random interference only happens rarely and I swear it happens when a cruise or cargo ship travels down Tampa Bay in or out of the port between me and the TV towers.
Any antenna that picks up the 45-860 MHz range is good. There is really no such thing as a HD or digital antenna. The signal they receive might be HD but an antenna is an antenna.
Devices like Roku, Chromecast, Amazon, etc. require a computer to get the signal and are cheap compared to FreeStream. They are basically the same technology without the illegal add-ons. I look for free stuff. Broadcast TV is still free and growing every year. Right now I get eight channels with nothing but color bar test patterns and I know soon they will have programming.
In 2009 I made a bat-wing antenna based on a YouTube video (dimensions are critical) and placed it on my roof (my house still has a mast from the 60s and coaxial cable to indoors). I was surprised at how well it worked. Unfortunately, I made it from wire coat hangars and within a year the rust began to reduce its effectiveness. (By the way, I don't climb up on my roof anymore after my ladder broke and almost killed me). I discovered that a metal loop exactly 7" in diameter works almost as well. I bent coat hangars into loops at the center and the leftover metal into straight lines very much like rabbit ears. When placed with the loop facing the TV antennas I can get 60+ channels.
My hardware to make the antennas includes a balun. This attaches the cable to the antenna. I bought 10 of them on eBay for $9.99. The other expense might be for coaxial cable. I happened to have much on-hand from previous cable TV and even some free left-overs from places I worked.
Direction is the key to best signals. I'm lucky that Riverview, Florida has most of the good station towers. You can use AntennaWeb to find what's near you. Click the box to claim your antenna will be 30 feet above ground.
