How to watch Super Bowl LIV on a Vizio TV in 2020

It's time. Super Bowl LIV here . Or it will be on Feb. 8, 2020, anyway. And when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers in Miami, you'll be there in front of your television. Maybe even a Vizio television. And that leads us to the following question:

What's the best way to watch the Super Bowl on a Vizio TV if you don't have cable?

Being that the game is on Fox, and Vizio's SmartCast operating system doesn't have its own FoxSports app just yet, you're going to need a little help to get the game. The good news is that there are plenty of options. Let's take a look.

Watch the Super Bowl on Vizio with Hulu

If you're looking for the simplest way to watch Super Bowl LIV on your Vizio TV — that is, without having to buy any more hardware at all — watching on Hulu may well be your best bet.

Vizio TVs have a built-in operating system with its own set of apps. And that includes Hulu . And Hulu has a pretty competitive option for live TV — including your local broadcast networks. And that should include Fox, so you can use Hulu to watch the Super Bowl on your Vizio TV.

You will, however, want to double-check that your local market is covered . (It should be, but sometimes things happen.)

In addition to Hulu, you'll be able to watch Super Bowl LIV on AT&T TV Now , Sling TV , YouTube TV or Fubo .

Use a Roku with your Vizio TV

There's a reason why Roku is the No. 1 streaming platform in the United States. It's easy to use. It's inexpensive — even when you get the best Roku device available. And it has just about every streaming service available. And that includes streaming services that offer up live TV.

But which Roku should you get if you're going to get a Roku for the Super Bowl?

For our money we'd go ahead and spring for the best. The good news is that the newest Roku Ultra — which was refreshed toward the end of 2019 — comes in at less than $100. In fact, we're already seeing it discounted to around $75. It serves up 4K resolution and HDR 10, has an easy-to-use home screen and remote control. And the Roku Ultra comes with a set of JBL earbuds, too, which you can plug in to the remote control for private listening. Pretty cool.

Use and Amazon Fire TV Stick with your Vizio TV

If Roku just isn't your thing and you'd prefer something with Amazon Fire TV instead, we'd go for the Fire TV Stick 4K. This is the one with Amazon's own operating system built inside — and that includes Alexa, of course. And it also has just about ever streaming service you could want at its beck and call.

The Fire TV Stick 4K also ticks all the technical boxes you want, including 4K resolution, Dolby Vision for HDR and Dolby Atmos for audio, so you're getting the best standards you can.

And it all comes in at a ridiculously low price.

Watch with the FoxSports app and Chromecast or AirPlay

All modern Vizio TVs — we're talking several years old at this point, too — support not just Google's Chromecast protocol, but Apple's AirPlay 2 as well. That means you can stream directly from the FoxSports app. (Provided that you've got a way to log in to that app, be it an (ahem) borrowed cable or streaming login.)

All you need to employ AirPlay is an iPhone or iPad. All you need to employ Google Cast (aka Chromecast) is an Android device.

Then stream away.

Watch Super Bowl LIV with an over-the-air antenna

Yes, antennas are still things in 2020. In fact, the underlying technology is still pretty much the same as it's been for decades, even if the picture has gotten clearer.

With a decent over-the-air antenna you'll be able to pluck your local Fox broadcast affiilate out of the air for free (yes, free and legal) and watch Super Bowl LIV. Fox broadcasts in 720p at 60 frames per second — that last part is really important for sports — so you'll see all the little details you'd see if you were using a streaming service.

So — which antenna to get? It might be tempting to get something cheap and slap it up on a wall or a window. But to really do things right you'll want an outdoor antenna that you can mount on the side of your house, or a chimney — something like that. You'll also want to point it in the direction of your nearest Fox affiliate — you can check on that here.) If your Fox affiliate is to the west, make sure your antenna faces west.

It's a little more work but worth it in the long run to set up an outdoor antenna. That'll cut down on channels cutting out. Once things are hooked up, just run the coax cable into the tuner on your Vizio TV, and scan for channels.

Your experience may vary depending on where you live. Things like trees and hills and mountains and buildings can interrput an over-the-air signal.

If you just can't mount an antenna outdoors, an indoor model may stil work just fine for you. Again, placement is important. Try to put the indoor antenna in a windowsill that's facing the same direction as your local Fox affiliate.

After that, the process is the same. Connect the antenna's coax cable to the Vizio TV's tuner, then scan for channels — and enjoy watching the Super Bowl, and everything else available on Broadcast TV.