I know this has nothing to do with home repair, but I am looking for a newsgroup or blog discussing alternatives to cable TV. There are several services such as Hulu that use the Internet and I would like to hear from someone who has cut the cord. Any comments or suggestions where I might hear from someone who has such a service would be appreciated.
Tried satellite ? They'll give you great prices for a while ... we cut the cord about a year ago , get all our content over the internet . We subscribe to CBS to have access to a major network/local station , plus sling and netflix . Including our internet connection we get as good coverage at about 2/3 the cost of satellite - cable not available out here in The Holler .
I cut the cord about two years ago and went with an OTA antenna and internet. I have Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime. There are other services such as Sling which will offer several channels. If you like shows on HBO or Showtime, they both offer their own service.
There are many options, you just need to do your homework.
I am weaning my self off of Satellite as we speak. I have a Tivo OTA and I get a bunch of stuff over the air (the 4 networks and a bunch of the sub channels). I buy Amazon, Netflix, HBO and Show. Since Amazon and Netflix are not on the Cable/Sat anyway the only extra ones are HBO/SHO. I was amazed at all of the stuff on You Tube. It is not just cat videos and guys taking a fast ball to the nuts these days. I may be looking at Sling or Hulu but not so far. The money I save by only buying 2 premiums is significant compared to the $160 satellite bill I had for 300 channels I never watched. (like a tenth the cost) I am also largely commercial free except for one occasionally on You Tube and they are right at the beginning and the networks I see. The Tivo lets me skip them.
I've never had cable TV. We use an antenna on the roof to pick up broadcasts.
So what is your point? Where I live I'd need a rather high tower to get a weak signal.
I am not sure how the TV's communicate with the electronics for the alternate services. I assume there is a box that connects to the Internet, and does it communicate via WiFi, coax cable, or HDMI to the TV?? I currently have coax run from the Internet service throughout the house, so if I could use it that would be best. My TV's do not have WiFi built in at this time.
As for programming, I am not into premium movies so HBO and such are not important. I do enjoy college football games so ESPN, and the SEC network would be required. As for other programs, Fox News, business channels, and science programs like History etc. would be nice. A DVR would also be nice, do they work with such systems?? Most web sites for such services are vague about exactly what programs are included.
Currently I am on a cable provider with a discount that expires in several months. Unless I get an extension of that discount (which I doubt), I intend to cut the cord. Any further comments would help.
I switched to streaming TV about 4 1/2 years ago, have not regretted it. To do so, you need either a "smart" TV or a streaming device such as Roku. There are devices other than Roku but - IMO - Roku is the best. The cheapest $30 Roku device works fine.
Via Roku, one has access to 100s of free streaming channels. Most are junk, others are loaded with commercials. Just ignore the lot and subscribe to a decent, ad free one; the big three are Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, all are in the $10/month range. We usually are subscribed to two of the three, sometimes only one. It is easy to stop a channel for a month or two or three if you are busy watching stuff on another one...why pay when you aren't using it?
There are some good secondary channels too...Acorn for one, best of Britain. Several specialized ones too. Youtube is free and has lots of content.
My suggestion would be to buy a Roku, subscribe to one or more of the big three and try things for a while. Once you are satisfied, tell your cable company to take their outrageous bill and shove it.
One word - ROKU . Uses wifi to connect to your internet , HDMI to the TV . You can also got most of the same programming - Sling , Amazon Prime , etc on a home computer with the proper TV/PC interface devices . I watch videos on youtube all the time on my big TV thru the computer .
Don't know who your provider is. I have choice of FIOS or Comcast cable and both are connected to my house as are some neighbors. Guy across the street switches back and forth when initial offers expire and they won't keep price down. Might do it myself except for the pain of switching, having to remove equipment myself, different TV channels, etc. Living on a hillside TV reception is very poor even in days there was an antenna on top of the house.
There are Roku devices to convert regular TV's to smart TV's. Comcast DVR I have actually does this so I can see Netflix on non-smart TV's.
Without cable or FIOS I don't think cable news channels are available. I also prefer cable channels like FX to the crap on ABC/NBC/CBS.
Takes a bit of work and sometimes threat to quit to get cable bill down. We have to do it every year.
Your cable company will almost certainly offer a deal when you say you're cancelling - that deal might make you reconsider. In my case - a small rural hamlet - recent fiber availability changed all the rules. I signed up for a 2-year-bundle - - phone, internet, TV $ 120. per month; free install & receiver; plus a $ 450. credit as a signing bonus .. My various older services would usually cost about $ 175 - 200. combined - minimal usage. The fiber interface box has a small battery back-up that maintains the telephone service during power outages. I have recently tried NetFlix on a free 1 month trial - tons of content but I'd never watch ~ 90 % of it .. I suspect that after a few months I'd be fruitlessly searching for something I liked. I do like commercial-free ! and if you pause and come back the next day - it's waiting for you to resume where you left off. I had a PVR receiver with my last sat-TV but seldom used it, so I just opted for a regular receiver this time. I have kept using my original NetGear wireless router - from over 10 years ago when I first changed from dial-up to cellular internet - it's working fine. Smart TVs and computers all work good. John T.
Thanks to everyone for their comments, I am beginning to better understand my options.
From your comments, it appears that Roku and other options work on WiFi so wiring is not a factor? Also from your comments I guess I can run Roku and my Comcast cable until I decide what I want?? What about recording programs should I drop cable? Is that possible, or can I simply download any missed programs whenever I want?
Sorry to ask so many questions, but these options appear to be changing rapidly and it is hard to know what I am going to be faced with.
If you have an old PC that may be the easiest way to get your TV talking to the internet. Most TVs have a PC input (15 pin). I use a wireless 2.4gb keyboard and mouse to run mine (30' range). I have 1 smart TV and 3 running on PCs. The ones on PCs get more stuff and are easier to navigate. I hate trying to run a search with a remote, typing names in from the on screen keyboard. hit one wrong button and you are starting over or worse. Basically your TV just becomes a very large monitor and you can use any PC music, photo program, games or whatever. I was doing that long before streaming became a thing. (even before flat screens with PC inputs, using a "TV out" card) You can play DVDs, recorded movies and lots of other stuff you are not doing on a Roku or Fire stick.
Frank wrote in news:p2vqtk$p4d$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:
I've often thought of cutting the cable, but with different viewing tastes around our house, I suppose one would need to set up each TV with these alternatives to cable. That is, if Mom is watching a gardening channel on one TV, Dad could watch the NFL on another TV, only if each TV had it's own alternative setup. And each setup would require it's own subscription. Yes?
Most of these services allow more than one log in at the same time. Netflix starts with 2 and you can ad more.
Netflix allows at least 2 viewing at the same time, different stuff, but you can put it on all your devices like smart phones, computers and smart TV's.
The 55" in our rec room doesn't even have a TV cable or sat box attached. It runs off of a laptop 100% of the time.
Same dillemna. My problem is i Need sectv to get my wifi. Att does not have internet here 18706. I have a cheap tv antenna in the mail to see what i get. If it gets anything ill buy a good one. I truly hate sectv. I have roku but want local news in the early am with my coffee. Ill post back because i ordered the antenna a week ago ish. I can see the towers on the mountain. Check out antennasdirect.com . no spam.
The point is that the option of receiving free TV over the air is frequently overlooked. Many of today's stoopid young people apparently don't even know it exists.
Of course the signal strength in your area will determine how feasible an option this is. For us a rooftop antenna with a rotator does the job nicely.
Yes, Roku uses wifi
You could use both Roku and Comcast (you would need to change the TV input selection)
No reason to record, you can access/watch whatever you want whenever you want to. You can stop watching something on a particular channel and start watching something else on the same or different channel and then (generally) resume what you were first watching.
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