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

[joeychitwood]

My cable TV bill just went up again, and I’m tired of paying so much for multiple tiers of channels and DVRs just to get the few HD channels and shows I regularly watch. I want to cancel cable and stream content to my smart televisions. When I built my new house, I ran Cat-5 wire into every room, so all of my televisions are hard-wired for internet. For those of you who have cancelled cable/satellite TV and been satisfied, a few questions:

Regarding live TV, I like the NFL, college hockey/football and news. Suggestions for online services?

I recall a story about certain TV brands not being able to access some streaming services. Any issues with this in your experience?

Any regrets? General advice?

[Blansky]

I got rid of cable 21 years ago and got Dish Network. I've had zero issues with it.

I was up to around $200 a month but cut it back down to $140, but I also get the hockey package. I also stream Netflix, and Prime, Britbox and Acorn. Dish lets you stream directly from Netflix, and from Prime, and Prime let you stream Britbox and Acorn without dealing with them directly.

I don't watch anything with commercials (except hockey) and never watch local or anything news related. I record basically everything I want on the Dish box, but lately have been streaming more than anything.

For streaming I ran an ethernet cable from my router instead of using WiFI. It never has to resolve itself or stop playing this way.

Oh and I got Amazon Fire ($25) that allows me to hook it to the HDMI port in TVs in our timeshare in Hawaii and watch Netflix and Prime.

[Jackie Daytona]

I cut it probably 3 years ago, and am very pleased I did. I have way more content now that I did and pay only about 1/3 of the price. I haven’t had any issues with anything as of yet as I haven’t had any real internet speed or connectivity issues.

I use Sling for normal cable programming, have Netflix, and Hulu as well. With Slimg I am able to get lots of sports and special interests programs for pretty cheap and it has worked great as long as I have had it.

Only issue is NFL football on Sundays. I don’t really watch it, but my wife does. You can stream everyday except Sundays. The price of Directv for the NFL subscription alone though, it’s cheaper just to go out and have meal and a beer, so it doesn’t bother me. It’s been pretty enjoyable doing it that way actually.

I absolutely would never go back to cable/satellite tv. At this point I feel it is such a massive ripoff.

[superdog]

I am about to.

[Ferdelious]

I haven't had cable in over 5 years probably. I used HD antenna for local channels(before YouTube TV came along), Netflix, Amazon Video, and now YouTube TV. Frontier Fios is my internet at $55 a month and YouTube TV is $55 a month. Netflix and Amazon I already had before the cable was cut so I don't add those into my total cost.

[Dan Pierce]

Cut the cord over a year ago. Saved $160.00 per month and still got HBO, Showtime, Netflix, & Hulu, not to mention about 50 free TV channels. Lately we've added more services [Amazon Prime, Hulu Live TV] and our monthly bill has increased but still much cheaper than cable.

Joey, we got Hulu Live TV to watch baseball as well as other sports options.
dP

[s14roller]

Joey - I also had cut the cord years ago after increases to my bill. I cant speak to the live channels but in regards to streaming apps, I personally have found using Apple TV to run all the apps, smoother. My TV is a few years old (Samsung) but the interface has a bit choppy when trying to toggle between apps directly on the TV. Went out and bought an Apple 4K TV unit and have been happy.

[gnuyork]

Long time ago... Since 2005. And I have never had a land line for phone since 1999.

For me there's more than enough content between You Tube, Netflix, and HBOGo. I had Prime for a year, but since canceled because I didn't take advantage of it enough. That may change.

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

I recall a story about certain TV brands not being able to access some streaming services. Any issues with this in your experience?

If that's the case, maybe a device like the Apple TV or Roku to stream if the TV cannot. I have been using various Apple TVs since they came out. I don't have the latest, but I also don't need it, I don't have a 4K TV. BTW I hardly ever turn on my TV, most of my viewing is on my laptop.

[Blansky]

Joey, if you already have Amazon Prime, then with that Fire that I mentioned you can get Netflix, HBO, Prime etc etc.

Apple TV I think is the same way. Apple and Amazon are just gateways into the streaming services.

Also I should mention that if you stream from any of these companies, you can't record anything like you can with Dish or cable.

If you want to record movies or anything, I believe there are ways to do it but it's basically illegal I think.

[brannonj1]

I did it a little over a year ago and haven't looked back. This is a good source to select the channels you want and it will compare the best platform for what you are looking for. Just update to your zip and go from there.

https://www.suppose.tv/tv

We had Play Station Vue for the longest and we absolutely loved it. Since they no longer exist we switched to YouTube TV and have no complaints there either.

[barneb10]

Switched over to YouTube TV. $50 a month and can be viewed on any of your smart devices. They also have a family share where you can provide access up to a certain amount of family members' devices. Worth the free month to test out.

[Al1969]

Ending it this month and going with internet only.

What are you using for over the air channels? Any recommendations?

[clock]

Cut the chord, pleased with Hulu.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by Al1969

Ending it this month and going with internet only. What are you using for over the air channels? Any recommendations?

I talked to my daughter this morning. She is using Hulu Live for current TV and popular channels and loves it. I'm checking my TVs this morning to make sure I can download any streaming apps I need. I already know that I can't download Disney Plus onto one of them.

[erhein]

We cut the cord a couple of months ago and should have done it a couple of years ago. Hulu plus live TV, Netflix and Prime more than take the place of Dish Network, at a lower overall cost. No regrets whatsoever.

[joeychitwood]

I live too far out in the backwoods to get any antenna TV. What internet speeds are you all using? My choices here are 50MB, 100MB or 1GB, prices ranging from $45 to $125 per month.

[gnuyork]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

I live too far out in the backwoods to get any antenna TV. What internet speeds are you all using? My choices here are 50MB, 100MB or 1GB, prices ranging from $45 to $125 per month.

I think I have 100MB and it's fine. Though lately it's been a bit spotty only occasionally probably due to everyone being at home doing the same thing... keep in my mind you may need to upgrade your modem to get the higher speeds properly.

[Al1969]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

I live too far out in the backwoods to get any antenna TV. What internet speeds are you all using? My choices here are 50MB, 100MB or 1GB, prices ranging from $45 to $125 per month.

Going with 1GB. Close to NYC, good and bad under the current circumstances.
Fios has 1GB offer for $64.99 per month.

[DLRIDES]

It the cord 4 years ago !

50mb Internet, Roku, Amazon prime member, digital antenna .............. THOUSANDS of viewing options !

I couldn’t even imagine going back to cable.

[gnuyork]

Also, I want to mention, and I never use this and always forget, but my cable provider also streams channels and has episodes on demand for streaming at your leisure... I think they keep the current 3 episodes of popular TV shows...but I haven't checked in a long time.

[ManUtd]

I had DirecTV (satellite) for ages, then moved to Comcast (cable), then PSVue (streaming) until they closed last January 31st. Now I have Hulu (along with Netflix and Amazon Prime which I've had for a long time). I can't imagine going back to cable primarily due to cost.

[djgallo]

I stream with Roku....it’s great!

[SMD]

YouTube TV. Completely different product from Youtube. Check it out -- unlimited cloud DVR, up to six people watching at same time, watch from phone, tv, iPads, computer, etc. Good for sports as well.

[MichaelFlash]

I only have basic cable in my basement that we never put on. We have to have it for the internet. Our family has not had or used real cable for almost 4 years now.

[brandrea]

I’ve tried but every time I call to cancel, they put me through to “customer retention” and I end up getting a deal I can’t refuse

Same thing happens with Sirius XM.

[mountainjogger]

Can't really help. Been about 30 years since we have watched TV.

Judging from cable bills, there was an upside to that decision.

Stay safe.

[junamuan]

Originally Posted by brandrea

I’ve tried but every time I call to cancel, they put me through to “customer retention” and I end up getting a deal I can’t refuse

Same thing happens with Sirius XM.

Same thing with me. But at least I'm at the lowest $$/month with the same number of channels.

My concern really is the sports. I have NetFlix & Amazon Prime but if I add SN (SportsNetwork) where most of hockey games stream, I'll end up paying the same as cable without NBA & Golf.

[singe89]

Redoing the network in our home now to boost wi-fi and will hard wire everything for cable but looking at cutting the cord soon. They don't offer 4k with COX and I really don't watch 95% of the channels. Just have to figure out what steaming apps I need to subscribe to that will get me the channels I actually want to watch.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by junamuan

Same thing with me. But at least I'm at the lowest $$/month with the same number of channels.

My concern really is the sports. I have NetFlix & Amazon Prime but if I add SN (SportsNetwork) where most of hockey games stream, I'll end up paying the same as cable without NBA & Golf.

Same here Jun

I’ve watched live sports on some of my friends direct TV, but it’s not the same quality at all.

[swils8610]

I’m in the process. Any advice would be great!


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