Ditching Cable for Good: My OTA + Plex DVR Setup

My Xfinity cable TV promotion was about to expire. That meant my bill was about to jump an additional $40/month for the exact same channels, a single rented DVR box, and the internet I already had. Instead of locking into another contract, I decided to cut the TV side of the service entirely.

I wanted to keep my gigabit internet with unlimited data, and I was able to lock that in for $86/month for the next five years. That left TV. I considered YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, but at $83/month each, they didn’t save me much-and they still came with channel bloat and endless monthly fees.

So, I dropped cable and replaced it with a simple, solid Over-The-Air (OTA) setup backed by a Plex DVR. Here is the hardware that makes it work.

What I Bought

ClearStream 2V Antenna ($55): Picks up major local broadcast networks like NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS.
HDHomeRun Flex 4K ($200): This is the magic box. It takes the antenna signal and streams live TV over my local network. No coax runs to every TV needed. It has four independent tuners and integrates seamlessly with Plex DVR.
Quad-Shield Coaxial Cable ($5): Runs from the antenna to the HDHomeRun box.

Total cost: ~$260. That pays for itself in about 3 months of dodging the old cable TV bill.

The Experience

The antenna feeds the raw signal to the HDHomeRun box. That box broadcasts those channels over the network. Plex (which I run on my Unraid server) handles everything else: the live TV grid, the guide data, recording schedules, commercial skipping, series pass rules, and remote mobile streaming.

I can reorder channels, completely hide home shopping networks or anything else I don’t care about, and pin my favorites. The interface is smooth, modern, and identical across my living room TV, tablet, and phone.

Plex DVR Tips

If you are setting this up, here are a few ways to maximize the Plex integration:

Series Passes: Set up season passes, daily recordings, or one-off sports events just like a traditional cable box.
Comskip: You can configure Plex to automatically detect and skip commercials in your recorded shows.
Local Storage: Record directly to a NAS or external drive (in my case, my Unraid array) so you own your media files.
Remote Access: Access your live local sports and recorded TV from anywhere in the world using Plex remote streaming.

Signal Testing with PowerShell & AI

While aiming the antenna inside, I needed to test each channel one at a time to dial in the reception. The Antenna Point mobile app helped find the towers, but I needed real-time signal metrics.

I used an AI chatbot to quickly generate a script for me:

My Prompt: "Give me a command I can run in PowerShell using hdhomerun_config to test a specific virtual channel and return the tuner status. Use channel 6.2 as the example. I’m using tuner0."

It gave me a perfect script. I just updated it to use a placeholder for the IP address. You can copy this, swap in your HDHomeRun's local IP and the virtual channel number, and test your signal quality instantly while making micro-adjustments to your antenna:

Disclaimer: This post is for educational and informational purposes. I am not affiliated with Plex, SiliconDust (HDHomeRun), or Antennas Direct. Always ensure antennas are mounted securely and grounded according to local building codes if installed externally.