Q >> I’m sick of the endlessly increasing prices of Xfinity cable TV. My friends on Facebook say that the other services are the same, with their bills creeping up $5 to $10 every few months. It’s madness! How can I cut the cord but still get the major TV networks like ABC, CBS and Fox?

A >> People transitioning from cable TV to digital streaming and other options has been happening for years, actually. It all started when we could get sufficiently fast Internet connections in our homes without having to pay huge monthly fees.

Simultaneous to this, TV evolved from its early roots in what’s known as 480i (that is, 480 horizontal lines of information shown on the screen, refreshing alternatively even and odd lines: interlaced) to higher resolutions like 720p, 1080p, and now both 4K and 8K resolutions for some media.

The math shows the bandwidth challenge here: 480: 480 x 640 = 307K pixels per frame; 720: 720 x 1280 = 921K pixels per frame; 1080: 1080 x 1920 = 2.07M pixels per frame; and 4K: 2160 x 3840 = 8.29M per frame.

When broadcast (over the air) TV was designed, it needed to compress and transmit 307K pixels per frame (typically 30 frames per second), but the latest HD resolutions are much more demanding, up to 8.29 million pixels per frame.

The industry moved to a new digital broadcast standard called ATSC 1 and then to ATSC 3. ATSC 3 supports 1080p HD and 4K broadcasts, but like ATSC 1, is sent in a digital format.

Meaning — and we are getting to the answer! — that to be able to receive over the air (OTA, in TV industry parlance) channels, you need a digital receiver. It might be built into your modern TV but what you really want is a built-in ATSC 3 receiver and tuner for maximum flexibility.

Don’t have that? There are third party companies like HDHomeRun, Tablo, and ZapperBox that sell NextGenTV boxes that are smart digital tuners. Plug in a modern antenna to one port, your TV via HDMI, and you can watch over-the-air TV channels on your existing television!

What most surprised me is that the TV broadcast includes program information and since all NextGenTV tuners also connect to the Internet, they offer a smart and information-packed on-screen guide. No subscription needed!

I’ve recently made the switch myself with the ZapperBox M1 unit, and it’s been really interesting. You need a good modern digital-ready antenna to start, but I now get over 55 free OTA channels including all the major TV networks in crystal clear HD. This means I can also watch broadcast sporting events for free.

Is it as smooth and easy as a TV cable box? No. Is it worth a bit of hassle to save a lot of money? Definitely.

If you’re interested, I explore setup and features of the ZapperBox M1 NextGenTV on my YouTube channel. Find it at youtube.com/askdavetaylor.

Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since the beginning of the Internet. He runs the popular AskDaveTaylor.com tech Q&A site and you can find his entertaining gadget reviews on YouTube. Chat with him on Twitter as @DaveTaylor.