Time Warner Customer Guide To Watching '13 PGA Weekend

Fellow Time Warner Customers won't have to worry about flipping to channel 402 this weekend to watch the CBS broadcast of the PGA due to the mega-media conglomerate dispute over fees. And as Bloomberg's Michael Buteau explains, it will likely take the start of football season to get the situation resolved.

As discussed previously, there is the PGA app option which, while functional, isn't nearly as much fun if you have an HD television.

The irony of a situation: we're alerted to third party options that get us around needing cable or a network feed. And considering the USGA's alignment with FOX and the potential for more of these spats in the future, it's time to better understand our options!

Reader Joe explains how to go the HD antenna route:

You need an HDTV with an internal tuner, and if your set is from the last 7 years or so it almost certainly does so already.  And you also need an antenna.  Any chance you live in a house with an old antenna still on the roof back from the 70's?  That could still work (it did at my father-in-law's house).  You could also try just an indoor antenna, but I have not found much success with those.

If you don't want to mount an antenna on your roof, it is simple enough to buy the outdoor antenna you need, mount it on something (I had a no longer working Ikea lamp that worked perfectly), and simply set it outside in your backyard, driveway, or even deck and pointing at the transmission tower for your local CBS station.  Note:  the higher the antenna sits the better, and line-of-sight with no trees or buildings in the way to the transmission tower should be avoided).

How do you find out what antenna is best for you and where to aim it?  Go here and simply punch in your home address:

http://antennaweb.org/Address.aspx

Then go to your local Radio Shack and get the antenna that antennaweb recommends (usually no more than 100 bucks), enough coaxial cable to go from your tv set to the antenna, fire up your TV and tell it to tune all the local OTA channels it can, and BAM, you've got another way to get HD broadcasts when your cable or satellite system is down or not carrying a local channel due to some other reason.

Thanks Joe! Off to RadioShack.

Nancy Blair of USA Today explains in less detail how the $30 modern indoor antenna can pick up up HD broadcasts from the major networks. And then there is Aereo.

It basically lets you watch live TV via a small remote antenna that you control over the Internet.

The subscription service ($8 monthly) makes network programs available right away. It's available in just a few markets now, including New York City, Boston and Atlanta, but has been in expansion mode as it fights legal battles.

Happy PGA viewing!

The online PGA live link.

And the network coverage:

TNT: Sat, Aug 10  11:00 AM - 2:00 PM ET
CBS: Sat, Aug 10  2:00 PM - 7:00 PM ET

TNT: Sun Aug 11  11:00 AM  -  2:00 PM ET
CBS: Sun Aug 11  2:00 PM  -  7:00 PM ET