Tutorial

Switch From DirecTV to HDTV Antenna and OTT Streaming in 2019

Do you pay too much for DirecTV? This tutorial will show you how to cut the cord and switch over to an HDTV antenna to pull over-the-air (OTA) channels for free. This OTA setup also includes streaming channel options too. We saved over $220 a month when we decided to cut the cord and install an outdoor HDTV antenna on our house. Follow my steps below to switch from DirecTV to antenna and start saving money:

Here’s a look at the finished product:

Mandatory equipment needed:

HDTV Antenna – I purchased the RCA Outdoor Antenna with a 70-mile range for less than $50
RG6 Coaxial Cable – You will need cabling to run from your antenna to your connection in the house
Coaxial Cable Splitters – You will need these to replace any DirecTV SMW adapters or splitters

Optional Cord Cutting equipment:

Roku Premiere Streaming box
Amazon FireTV Stick
Chromecast
TCL 4K Roku TV – 43″ 4K UHD Smart TV $229
Hulu TV – Get Hulu with Live TV

In early 2019 Hulu was named the fastest growing live tv streaming service over YouTube TV.

The first step in this process is to figure out what HDTV antenna you need. I’m going to walk you through the steps I used to replace my DirecTV with an outdoor HDTV antenna. You can also use a Mohu amplified indoor antenna to capture HDTV channels from inside your house for one TV. By using an external or outdoor HD antenna it should give you signal in every room that has a coaxial outlet. DirecTV is different from basic cable because you need a box for every TV. If you had basic cable you should get HDTV in every room that had cable.

First thing is first, you need to see what channels are available in your area. Head over to the TV Fool to use their HDTV signal detector. To enter your address, click the large “Click Here” in the middle of the page and you should be directed to a page where you can enter your address. If you will use an outdoor attic installation for your HDTV, you can also enter the height at which your antenna will be placed. The TV Fool tool will help you inform the range of HDTV antenna you’ll need.

Based on my location, I purcashed the RCA HDTV Antenna 70 mile range

The best approach, in my opinion, is to install your antenna close to your DirecTV dish since you know that is the line into the house and because of that, you know the signal will get to every room. Using the instructions that came with your antenna, find a safe location to install it on your house or roof. You should always be mindful of any large objects that might be on the path of receiving a strong signal. You can always move your antenna around to a different location and then just run coax cabling to the location where it enters your house. Based on your DirecTV satellite mount, you may be able to carefully remove the satellite dish and mount the HDTV antenna right on the DirecTV dish mount.

Installing HDTV Antenna and removing DirecTV

Now it is time to head to your DirecTV dish and inspect the coaxial connection that comes from the dish. My DirecTV system was using the Single Wire Switch or SWM technology so unfortunately, I can’t speak to any other DirecTV technologies. Here is a picture of the SWM adapter that was coming from the DirecTV dish, note that it looks very much like a cable splitter.

SWM adapter coming from DirecTV dish — Note that this is a special SWM splitter from DirecTV and works only with a satellite signal.

You will want to understand where the different cables are going to from this SWM adapter. In my case, they were going to another box that was an original Cox cable installation for the house. I was able to identify that there was a ground wire that was existing already so I’m good there but here’s another resource on ground wires if you want to do more research. I’m not an electrician and really didn’t want to mess much with what was already existing so I decided to just hook the antenna up to the existing cables to see what would happen and then I could diagnose any problems as they arise. Again, the house was already wired so in my mind all I’m doing here is just changing the source from satellite to antenna.

I was worried about signal loss throughout the house since I have no idea where other splitters could exist and don’t have an idea of the existing wiring in the house either. This is probably common sense but worth noting that the signal is strongest the closer you are to the antenna and the least amount of splits in the line as well.

My next step is to remove the DirecTV SMW adapter and replace it with my new Coaxial splitter. Use the coax cable from your HDTV antenna as the “in” source, and then use whatever cabling was attached to the “out” sources on your DirecTV SWM adapter as the “out” sources for the splitter. Once you have replaced the SWM adapter with the coaxial splitter then believe it or not but you’re almost done!

Steps for switching TVs from DirecTV to HDTV

Step 1: Remove DirecTV from your TV and hook the coaxial cable directly to the TV

Now that we have all of the connections completed, we need to see what comes in on your TV. I would recommend not starting with your family’s main TV but instead start with a TV in a spare room. The next step is to remove the DirecTV box from your TV. My TVs were all connected via HDMI cable, so I removed the HDMI plug from the back of the TV. Next, find the coaxial cable that runs from the wall outlet to the back of the DirecTV box and unscrew it from the DirecTV box. Once removed, find the cable connector on the back of your TV and screw the cable in.

Regular coaxial cable splitter — Ran the coaxial cable from the antenna to a new splitter. Then attached the coaxial cables from the SWM splitter to the new splitter.

Step 2: Find HDTV channels on your TV

The next step will be for your TV to catalog the new HD channels it is receiving. Since we all have different brand TVs, I recommend finding the remote that came with your TV, you can use your DirecTV remote if you programmed it to control your TV, but more on that later. With your remote, you need to access your TV’s menu, and from there you need to try to find a section that says “Tuner” and from there you might see the input as Cable, if you do, switch it to the “antenna” or “TV” input and complete a channel scan operation. If this hasn’t been of any help, you can Google “how to scan for HDTV channels for [insert brand of TV] TV”

How to find HDTV channels on a Vizio TV

Here are the basic instructions on how to find HDTV channels from an antenna source for Vizio TVs:

Press the Input button on the remote control and select “TV”.

Press the Menu button on the remote.

Select “Tuner” and press OK.

Check the “Tuner Mode” settings. It should say “Cable”. If it says “Antenna” press the left arrow button on the remote to change it to “Cable”.

Go to “Auto Channel Scan” and press the OK button on the remote.

Your TV will then scan for channels based on the signal strength. When the progress bar reaches 100% you will have access to all of the TV channels your TV receives.

Step 3: Watch free TV!

Scroll through the local channels you want and watch each of them for a few minutes. You’ll want to watch and see if the signal comes in strong and steady. If not, you may need to go back to your antenna and adjust the direction it is pointing. I spent about 30 minutes calibrating the antenna based on the various signal strengths I was receiving. When you are satisfied that you’ve found all of the channels you’re going to get, repeat this process for every TV.

I had one minor issue during my transition to HDTV. A TV in a bedroom was only getting half the channels that the others were getting. I thought it was a signal loss because this was our master bedroom and was the furthest point from the antenna.

When the DirecTV installers were at our house we had them run coax to an outlet so we could have a TV on our patio. Turns out they spliced the cable in this bedroom and there was a SWM adapter on the line! As I mentioned before the SWM adapters are for satellite signal only and it wasn’t allowing the HDTV signal to pass through. I replaced the SWM splitter with a standard splitter and reprogrammed the TV and I had all of the other channels my other TVs were receiving. At this point, I don’t really think I have any signal loss from point of entry to the TV furthest away.

SMW splitter inside house — SWM splitter that was attached to my bedroom TV. Once it was replaced with a regular splitter, the reception, and channel count both increased.

Final Thoughts and Tips

After completing the transition over to OTA HDTV it seems to me that the picture quality is better than DirecTV. It could be wishful thinking but I honestly believe it to be the case. I also thought that this process would be much more difficult than it really is. I really wish we had done this sooner because we do not miss DirecTV. It is also worth mentioning that if you have a family member who has DirecTV, you can also utilize their login to be able to stream content from various apps like ESPN, FoxSportsGo, HBONow, etc.

Cancelling DirecTV

So in my experience with canceling DirecTV, they only wanted 3 of the 6 units I had back. I find this to be quite disingenuous since they have no problem charging me equipment charges every month, but I digress . . . .

If they do not request back all of the equipment and you programmed your DirecTV remote to control your TV, you might as well keep the remote. No reason to return a universal remote since one of your TVs may need a new controller one day.

The process to cancel with DirecTV was pretty simple. They sent me the postage paid boxes to return the equipment they wanted and they sent me a prepaid Visa debit card for the balance left on my account. If they tell you that you can just cancel when your month is up, just say no and ask for a refund. This helps pay for your antenna and any other equipment you had to purchase.

How much money we saved by cutting the cord

HDTV Antenna on roof — An antenna attached to my roof getting over 40 HDTV channels over-the-air.

At the beginning of this tutorial, I had links to optional equipment if you want to add streaming to your TVs. We’ve been really happy with Roku devices as well as the Amazon Fire TV sticks. The way the current technology is, you will need a streaming device for every TV if you want to stream video. My math shows us way ahead over the next year even if we were to purchase a streaming device for every TV. We saved over $220 a month and over $2,400 a year by ending our relationship with DirecTV and installing an antenna. Please note that this tutorial was based on my specific setup. Please leave any comments or questions below.

Cold Smoking Cheese: Use the Big Green Egg & A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker

Learn to cold smoke cheese at home. I’ll show you how to cold smoke cheese with your Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe smoker, pellet grill or Masterbuilt electric smoker. Smoking cheese requires some practice and a little patience. Once you learn the art of smoking cheese, you will always want to have some on hand. Best uses for smoked cheese include crackers, salads, or used in recipes that call for shredded cheese. The key is to use the cold smoking method and keep the temperature inside your grill as low as possible while still creating the right amount of smoke. Using the Big Green Egg kamado smoker to cold smoke cheese adds another function to this great smoker. Almonds, bacon, cheese, and sausages can all be cold smoked using a Big Green Egg.

Let’s smoke some cheese!

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

What is the Best Cheese to Smoke?

In my opinion, the best cheese for cold smoking is Monterey Jack. The reason Monterey Jack is perfect for smoking is that it is a semi-hard cheese. Monterey Jack is easier to work with for beginners on the smoker since it is a harder cheese. If it is your very first cheese smoke, one other recommendation is to smoke string cheese. Buy the individually wrapped string cheese at the store, unwrap, and put on the smoker!

What is the Best Wood for Smoking Cheese?

In my opinion, the best wood for cheese is apple wood. It will give the cheese a crisp but not overpowering smoke flavor. I recommend using apple wood pellets in the A-Maze-N pellet smoker. Fruit woods are generally considered mild on the taste scale. They can make cheese taste acidic if you over smoke the cheese. Using my method with pellets and the A-Maze-N smoker will help keep your smoker’s internal temperature down below 100 degrees.

How to Cold Smoke Cheese

The next steps will lay out how to cold smoke cheese using a large Big Green Egg. I start with an empty firebox (no charcoal). I place the plate setter legs down inside the egg.

Use the A-Maze-N Smoker for Big Green Egg

If you don’t own an A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker for your Big Green Egg, then you’re missing out on one of my favorite accessories. You can use the A-Maze-N smoker with any grill for a variety of different uses. I use my A-Maze-N pellet smoker primarily for cold smoking in my Green Egg and Masterbuilt electric smokers, but you can also use it with a gas grill. I need to write a review on the A-Maze-N pellet smoker but for now just know that this is a must-have accessory that is high-quality and will last a long time.

Take the A-Maze-N pellet smoker and fill with applewood pellets. Place the A-Maze-N smoker in the middle of the (upside down) plate setter. Grab your torch, light it, and place it at the end of the A-Maze-N smoker.

Setting the smoker up with pellets:	Using the torch to light the pellets:

Starting the fire:

Depending on your torch you will want to burn the pellets for a few minutes so that there is a decent fire going in the pellets. Let the pellets burn for about 10 minutes to ensure a good coal base. Using thermal gloves (like a Pitt Mitt), grab the non-burning side of A-Maze-N, with the other hand remove the plate setter and then pace the A-Maze-N in the bottom of the Big Green Egg. Then put the plate setter in the Big Green Egg, legs up.

Now we’re cooking!

In terms of the ventilation on the egg, close the lower vent to about an inch or less open. Put the daisy wheel on top of the egg and turn the wheel, so the vent holes are about 1/3rd open. The goal here is to prevent is too much airflow through the chamber and the pellets catching fire. If the heat inside the egg gets over 100 degrees, the cheese will start to melt. I’ve had this happen to me, the airflow was too high, and the pellets caught fire and I had no idea until I lifted the top of the egg to find soft blobs of cheese. The next step in learning how to smoke cheese is figuring out how long to cold smoke cheese.

How Long Does it Take to Smoke Cheese?

It takes 90 minutes to 2 hours to cold smoke cheese. I will check the grill every 20 minutes to verify the temperature and ensure there haven’t been any pellet flare-ups. While there is some science involved, I’ve found that smoking cheese is an art form. At one point or another, you will end up with melted or soft cheese; it is just part of the learning process. Don’t get discouraged. If you’re lucky you will end up with cheese that looks like this:

You’ll notice that I use a tiered rack and frog mats on the grates. The tiered rack allows you to smoke more cheese in one batch. Frog mats have been lifesavers when smoking cheese, they are coated so they won’t get ruined by the cheese and if you happen to melt some cheese, they clean off easily. I highly recommend you get some frog mats as they also help keep the cheese off your greasy grates. I have a frog mat on the second tier and just used scissors to cut out a hole for the tiered rack center spindle, very easy to do and doesn’t damage the frog mats.

Finishing the Smoked Cheese: Vacuum Seal

As I mentioned at the outset of this tutorial, the most crucial part of this process is patience — you must have the patience to wait for two weeks for your cheese to cure. As a learning lesson, for the first time you smoke cheese, please cut a small bit off one of the blocks and eat it. Oddly enough it will taste like an ashtray. Now you’ll understand why we need to let the cheese cure for two weeks.

Pro tip: Remove the cheese from the Egg and place on a plate or cutting board. Whatever you do, resist the urge to put the cheese in the refrigerator to cool down. The smoke from the cheese will get into your fridge air filtration system, and it will smell smokey for at least the next two weeks.

The last step in this process is to vacuum seal the cheese and let it sit for two weeks. I recommend that you write the date you smoked the cheese on the vacuum sealed package, it is much easier to know when the two weeks is up that way.

Cheese waiting to be vacuum sealed:

The finished smoked cheese product:

Cold Smoking FAQS

What is the best cheese to smoke?

The best cheese to smoke is semi-hard cheese like Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack or Swiss cheeses.

How long should I smoke cheese?

Ninety minutes to 2 hours. Ultimately, you can smoke cheese as long as you want before it starts to melt.

How do you smoke gouda?

Smoke gouda cheese by using the steps in this article. Gouda is a semi-soft cheese that takes smoke well. The best wood for smoking gouda is Apple. You don’t want a wood that is too harsh.

Can you smoke fresh mozzarella cheese?

Absolutely! Check the grill more frequently and watch the temperature but otherwise follow the directions laid out in my article. Smoked Mozzarella is wonderful on pizza!

Is it possible to over smoke cheese?

Yes, cheese can be over smoked if you use a harsh wood. Hickory, Oak, and Mesquite can make the cheese taste too smokey.

What is the temperature for cold smoking?

Any temperature less than 100 degrees.

Can you smoke cheese at 100 degrees?

Yes, but not for long. 100 degrees is the melting point for most cheeses. Use the cold smoking method to keep the cheese under 100 degrees.

How long should cheese sit after smoking?

Cheese should sit for a minimum of 1 week in vacuum sealed package. For maximum taste, let the cheese sit for two weeks or more.

I hope you found this cold smoking tutorial for the Big Green Egg helpful, let me know in the comments if you have any questions.

Disclosure: If there is a product that I like and it has an affiliate program, then I might link to that product using an affiliate link. By using an affiliate link, it means that I might earn a commission on a product if you buy something through that link. This doesn’t cost you anything, but I just wanted you to be aware.