I’m Done With Cable TV. Have You Cut The Cord?

[bdex75]

We have HD antennas on 2 tv’s. Have 2 Apple TV’s and a few fire sticks for hardware.

For internet we went with an Eero mesh system to get better coverage all over the house and outside.

For programming we have Netflix and what was Directv Now which is now ATT Now. Spend about $60 a month and don’t feel like we miss much.

What I would do is look at everything That is on your DVR and write down the channel It is on. Look at the cheapest att tv now/Hulu live package and see what of those channels are in there. If you are willing to lose the ones that aren’t you are done, if not go up to the next package.

What you will notice is that most of those channels that you have live have an app that you can download and log into with your subscriber log ins to access the shows on demand. No real need for dvr. But some do include dvr services.


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[Hollie_Rollie]

Any good recommendations on jail broken boxes? I had a jail broken amazon firestick and it was hit or miss

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by bdex75

What you will notice is that most of those channels that you have live have an app that you can download and log into with your subscriber log ins to access the shows on demand. No real need for dvr. But some do include dvr services.


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One thing I noticed after checking the different options on this thread is that I don't think there is any option for recording and keeping movies/programs with streaming. I think some of them store in the cloud for a while but YOU can't keep them. And if you leave the service you lose the cloud storage.

With the DVR with Dish you can record and even save to an external hard drive. Although I used to record a lot of movies from HBO but Dish lost HBO a while back so that went out the window.

Anyone know if these various platforms allow you to record and keep programs?

[joeychitwood]

You can record with Hulu Live, and there is cloud storage included in the account, but I don't know yet how long you can keep shows. You can also buy extra cloud storage for $10 a month.

[bdex75]

Originally Posted by Blansky

One thing I noticed after checking the different options on this thread is that I don't think there is any option for recording and keeping movies/programs with streaming. I think some of them store in the cloud for a while but YOU can't keep them. And if you leave the service you lose the cloud storage.



With the DVR with Dish you can record and even save to an external hard drive.



Anyone know if these various platforms allow you to record and keep programs?

They record to a cloud dvr. You can only keep so much and for so long. Varies by provider.

If you leave you lose the recordings. But it was like that with DirecTv as well. When I left I had a ton of stuff on my dvr and I lost it all.

I would say most people don’t have an external dvr they can keep when they leave their provider. But I may be off here.

With the rise of on demand programming access will be what you pay for going forward. Why dvr every episode of Breaking Bad when all I need to do is have access to the AMC app where I can go watch them whenever I want? There are some rare exceptions where the most current episodes are not out there if you watch via Amazon Prime Video or Nexflix/Hulu etc. but that is the price you pay to save $$$.


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[Blansky]

Originally Posted by bdex75

They record to a cloud dvr. You can only keep so much and for so long. Varies by provider.

If you leave you lose the recordings. But it was like that with DirecTv as well. When I left I had a ton of stuff on my dvr and I lost it all.

I would say most people don’t have an external dvr they can keep when they leave their provider. But I may be off here.

With the rise of on demand programming access will be what you pay for going forward. Why dvr every episode of Breaking Bad when all I need to do is have access to the AMC app where I can go watch them whenever I want? There are some rare exceptions where the most current episodes are not out there if you watch via Amazon Prime Video or Nexflix/Hulu etc. but that is the price you pay to save $$$.


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My understanding of the cloud service is it's tied to the streaming provider and when you leave it's gone and it has a short shelf life in the cloud. Not sure.

You're absolutely right, about saving movies, but I have some concerts saved that my be hard to find streaming again, but overall I rarely watch what I have saved. I have about 50 movies saved.

My Dish DVR crashed a few times over the years and I lost what I'd saved but you can record directly to an external hard drive but I have no Idea if the format is watchable if you leave Dish.

[swils8610]

The amazon recast box stores all of your recordings. It works great


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[Blansky]

Originally Posted by swils8610

The amazon recast box stores all of your recordings. It works great


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Could you explain?

[swils8610]

The Recast box is a DVR. It stores up to 1tb of recordings. Check it out on the Amazon website. If you are using an antenna it will also WiFi the antenna channels to all TV’s in your house. I’m going with Firesticks, the recast box and an antenna.


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[Blansky]

Originally Posted by swils8610

The Recast box is a DVR. It stores up to 1tb of recordings. Check it out on the Amazon website. If you are using an antenna it will also WiFi the antenna channels to all TV’s in your house. I’m going with Firesticks, the recast box and an antenna.


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Thanks. I may look into that. I see that it says it doesn't record streaming apps. So you can't record, say, Netflix, or am I not reading that right.

So say I have Amazon Fire, and it has Netflix, Prime (obviously) and Britbox, and HBO Now, and Acorn, etc, under it's umbrella, would I be able to record those shows that are streaming?

https://www.amazon.com/Fire-TV-Recas...5328536&sr=8-5

[ajfjcklc]

I'm cutting the cord today! My wife and I and our 3 boys (ages 16, 17, 20) have been trying free trial of YouTubeTV and Philo while we're cooped up in the house. We need Philo for Hallmark channel for my wife, plus it has a good number of channels YouTubeTV doesn't have. It's been going well, most surprisingly is that my wife likes YouTubeTV and Philo more than I do! She was hesitant to switch at first, but the DVR features are so easy to use. We have Netflix HD (for my LG OLED tv primarily), a "free" version of Hulu that comes with our Sprint account, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, and ESPN+. MY LG OLED has a great operating system with lots of apps that work great, and we use a Roku for the other TV. I purchased an Apple TV box when I wasn't sure my LG TV would have a Disney+ app (it does), and now I like the Apple TV to watch photos and videos we've taken and we like some of the shows on Apple TV+.

I'm a little worried about giving up use of my TiVo when I cut the cord, the commercial skipping is great and I have 20 or 30 movies stored, hopefully I can still watch them once I remove the cable card.

Cancelling Spectrum cable TV and going with all streaming will be around $30 cheaper per month (not counting cost of streaming services I already had and would keep even sticking with cable). Only 2 channels we won't get that we use is MSG (Madison Square Garden) for my son to watch Rangers hockey, and the NFL Network which we only watch if they have a big game.

Good luck on your journey to cut the cord!

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by ajfjcklc

Only 2 channels we won't get that we use is MSG (Madison Square Garden) for my son to watch Rangers hockey, and the NFL Network which we only watch if they have a big game.

Good luck on your journey to cut the cord!

With the scattershot of all the streaming and different boxes, I'm sort of concerned about losing some stuff that I may have forgotten about.

For hockey I have the Center Ice Package on Dish and not sure who else carries it if I did an a la carte streaming/box service.

Just for your information if you look at the Center Ice Package for Rangers hockey, Center Ice blacks out local teams. So you wouldn't get the Rangers in something like a 100 miles radius. In fact not sure how that would work in NY so many teams so close.

[ajfjcklc]

Originally Posted by Blansky

With the scattershot of all the streaming and different boxes, I'm sort of concerned about losing some stuff that I may have forgotten about.

For hockey I have the Center Ice Package on Dish and not sure who else carries it if I did an a la carte streaming/box service.

Just for your information if you look at the Center Ice Package for Rangers hockey, Center Ice blacks out local teams. So you wouldn't get the Rangers in something like a 100 miles radius. In fact not sure how that would work in NY so many teams so close.

Although we live 3 hours outside NYC we are considered "in market" for NYC teams which is crazy, so yes we are in black out area. My son has an apartment at college so we are thinking we can use his address to sign up for Center Ice. We'll see.

[etp095]

Originally Posted by ReMember

Cut the cord in 2016 and been streaming ever since. I’m surprised no one has mentioned streamer box. Paid for the box and no monthly subscription fee. I get to watch free new movies, free PPV, “all” NFL, NBA, MLB, etc games for free, OTA TV shows without commercial interruptions, SHO, Amazon, HBO, etc. AND local TV channels from every state. Initial cost was $188 for the box, shipped.

What streamer box is this, where do I find one?

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by ajfjcklc

Although we live 3 hours outside NYC we are considered "in market" for NYC teams which is crazy, so yes we are in black out area. My son has an apartment at college so we are thinking we can use his address to sign up for Center Ice. We'll see.

Also in case you didn't know, Center Ice doesn't cover playoffs.

Dig, dig, not that affects the Rangers. Dig dig.

But ya know, in the future.

[bdex75]

Originally Posted by ajfjcklc

I'm cutting the cord today! My wife and I and our 3 boys (ages 16, 17, 20) have been trying free trial of YouTubeTV and Philo while we're cooped up in the house. We need Philo for Hallmark channel for my wife, plus it has a good number of channels YouTubeTV doesn't have. It's been going well, most surprisingly is that my wife likes YouTubeTV and Philo more than I do! She was hesitant to switch at first, but the DVR features are so easy to use. We have Netflix HD (for my LG OLED tv primarily), a "free" version of Hulu that comes with our Sprint account, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, and ESPN+. MY LG OLED has a great operating system with lots of apps that work great, and we use a Roku for the other TV. I purchased an Apple TV box when I wasn't sure my LG TV would have a Disney+ app (it does), and now I like the Apple TV to watch photos and videos we've taken and we like some of the shows on Apple TV+.

I'm a little worried about giving up use of my TiVo when I cut the cord, the commercial skipping is great and I have 20 or 30 movies stored, hopefully I can still watch them once I remove the cable card.

Cancelling Spectrum cable TV and going with all streaming will be around $30 cheaper per month (not counting cost of streaming services I already had and would keep even sticking with cable). Only 2 channels we won't get that we use is MSG (Madison Square Garden) for my son to watch Rangers hockey, and the NFL Network which we only watch if they have a big game.

Good luck on your journey to cut the cord!

ATT TV now has the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel on the basic package.
May be cheaper than two different services if it had the other channels you need.


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[joeychitwood]

It’s been a couple of weeks since I cancelled cable TV and went with Hulu Live and Roku streaming. Even considering the slightly added cost of boosting my internet speed, I’m saving almost $1,000 a year, and frankly, I’ve not missed cable for one minute. I thought navigating streaming menus would be more cumbersome, but it’s really quite easy. And unlike cable, where one has to watch whatever is live at the time unless a show has been recorded on a DVR, streaming TV is like having half a million shows on a giant DVR. I should have done this long ago.

[gnuyork]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

It’s been a couple of weeks since I cancelled cable TV and went with Hulu Live and Roku streaming. Even considering the slightly added cost of boosting my internet speed, I’m saving almost $1,000 a year, and frankly, I’ve not missed cable for one minute. I thought navigating streaming menus would be more cumbersome, but it’s really quite easy. And unlike cable, where one has to watch whatever is live at the time unless a show has been recorded on a DVR, streaming TV is like having half a million shows on a giant DVR. I should have done this long ago.

Excellent

[barneb10]

Youtube TV is pretty legit.

[michaelodonnell123]

I "cut the cord" a few years ago and happily went back to cable TV. The channels/services that I like to watch are not free, and require a paid subscription linked to a credit card. By the time I added up the monthly charges of all the services/channels that I was paying each month to stream, it ended up being more than just paying for cable TV. I then realized I never really cut the cord, I merely changed one cord for another.
A lot of folks erroneously think that streaming means 'everything is free' and this is simply not true.

[Cryten]

Originally Posted by michaelodonnell123

A lot of folks erroneously think that streaming means 'everything is free' and this is simply not true.

You're right, but with streaming you're not paying for wall to wall adverts (yet).

I seriously don't understand how anyone can watch cable, the adverts are so bad that I've even seen adverts within the advert break, advertising the show you're watching because you've probably already forgotten what it was.

I used to channel surf every time the adverts started, but they're on every 5 minutes, and I'd end up watching 5 or more shows at the same time, but never actually able to follow any of them, and usually forget what I'd started watching in the first place.

I gave up, its not even worth it for free.

[DLRIDES]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

It’s been a couple of weeks since I cancelled cable TV and went with Hulu Live and Roku streaming. Even considering the slightly added cost of boosting my internet speed, I’m saving almost $1,000 a year, and frankly, I’ve not missed cable for one minute. I thought navigating streaming menus would be more cumbersome, but it’s really quite easy. And unlike cable, where one has to watch whatever is live at the time unless a show has been recorded on a DVR, streaming TV is like having half a million shows on a giant DVR. I should have done this long ago.

Bingo !

I would never go back to cable TV !

[larryccf]

only thing i don't understand is what good does it do to cut cable? Verizon, Comcast etc have all priced their plans so that if you opt out of cable, it only reduces the monthly bill $5

we bought a mini-RV (mercedes sprinter) only to travel and the occasional weekend camping, not to really RV camp in. I've been recording movies and TV series using Camtasia Studio for about 3 years now, only so that we have a library of movies etc to watch, ie while one is driving, the other one of us can go back, fix a cup of coffee and watch a flick etc. If you own the movie dvd/blu-ray disk or own it on amazon's tv svc, you're allowed under law to make an "archival" or backup copy. But using Camtasia, i get about 1 hour of movie = 1 to 1.25 GB, and have about 10 two TB small seagate drives - not a lot of space required for over 4000 hours of viewing.

BUt back to the original question, with only a $5 monthly savings for cutting the cord, is there any real benefit? Yeah,i subscribe to amazon prime, netflix and amc but i did that with cable connected.

[rob1200]

Originally Posted by Cryten

... I seriously don't understand how anyone can watch cable, the adverts are so bad that I've even seen adverts within the advert break, advertising the show you're watching because you've probably already forgotten what it was.

I used to channel surf every time the adverts started, but they're on every 5 minutes, and I'd end up watching 5 or more shows at the same time, but never actually able to follow any of them, and usually forget what I'd started watching in the first place.

I gave up, its not even worth it for free.

I currently subscribe to cable TV. With two DVRs sitting below my TV, I almost never need to watch an advert.

I would love to cut the cord and just stream to my smart TV. Unfortunately the streams seem to have adverts as well, and there's no way to skip them. Also, living in a rural area, my internet service isn't great and the "Buffering" message shows up regularly while streaming. Is there a piece of hardware that can record a stream? If such a device exists, it would answer my prayers.

[piratfisk]

Originally Posted by rob1200

I currently subscribe to cable TV. With two DVRs sitting below my TV, I almost never need to watch an advert.

I would love to cut the cord and just stream to my smart TV. Unfortunately the streams seem to have adverts as well, and there's no way to skip them. Also, living in a rural area, my internet service isn't great and the "Buffering" message shows up regularly while streaming. Is there a piece of hardware that can record a stream? If such a device exists, it would answer my prayers.

I know with YouTube Red, Amazon Prime, and Hulu whatever-their-paid-service is, you can download shows to be played within the app. It'll still take however long to download it based on your connection, but it'll be saved within the app so you can play it back without having to stream it again.

I could never justify cable TV. I watch the shows I want to watch in the apps I want. Sure, there might be a 30sec commercial, but it costs me a fraction of what a cable subscription would cost. I refuse to "channel surf" and major, live events can (usually) be streamed for free.

[Knappo 1307]

Hulu Live, Netflix, and Amazon prime for us. Absolutely love it and have never looked back....

[antbkny]

Pluto tv is good to add

[Cryten]

Originally Posted by rob1200

Also, living in a rural area, my internet service isn't great and the "Buffering" message shows up regularly while streaming. Is there a piece of hardware that can record a stream? If such a device exists, it would answer my prayers.

I download. There are some legal issues, but If I'm downloading a single copy for personal use and not disseminating, then I'm on the edge of legality.

I pay for Amazon prime but I need to cancel it as I travel for a living and if I ever try to watch something it asks me "are you travelling? You can't watch this outside of the US.....here are the 3 shows we'll allow you to watch", and even then the buffering issue screws me.

I just end up downloading the show to watch later. It also means internet speed isn't an issue.

Storage is cheap. I have 8TB stored on my system. I could run my own TV station for several years. I haven't watched commercial TV in so many years that it's not possible to go back now.

[Trog]

Roof mounted HDTV aerial with Mediasonic HW-150PVR / ATSC Tuner. Total cost: $300

[Blansky]

Originally Posted by rob1200

I currently subscribe to cable TV. With two DVRs sitting below my TV, I almost never need to watch an advert.

I would love to cut the cord and just stream to my smart TV. Unfortunately the streams seem to have adverts as well, and there's no way to skip them. Also, living in a rural area, my internet service isn't great and the "Buffering" message shows up regularly while streaming. Is there a piece of hardware that can record a stream? If such a device exists, it would answer my prayers.

Not sure if you tried this but running your TV from an ethernet cable direct to the router the may be better than Wifi.

I cured some buffeting issues doing that.