Author Topic: Cordcutting Thread  (Read 91806 times)

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Offline Axeslinger

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #25 on: May 04, 2017, 10:36:05 am »
I'd like to cut the cord... now to convince the wife...
@Weird Tolkienish Figure
Do it!  With slingtv or PlayStation Vue and a roku you'll not miss out on anything AND it's only about $30/month

I cut the cord about 3years ago and don't miss it AT ALL
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Offline Applewood

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #26 on: May 04, 2017, 11:39:35 am »
I started with Sling TV a few weeks ago. They have a 7 day free trial period, after which you have the option of canceling. There are two basic packages -- blue and orange, or you can get both.     There are also optional add-on packages for anywhere from $5 to $15 a month.  I'm paying $25 a month for the blue package, so even if I get one of the add-ons, my bill will still be cheaper than cable.

Right now I only have Sling TV on my tablet and phone.  Have to get a Roku or something similar to hook it up to the tv.  As far as local channels go, I will need an antenna, but I'm contemplating not bothering with local channels at all. Only local channel I watch is for local news and weather, and I can get that on my other devices through the station's apps.  I've also heard that Sling is developing some way to get local channels, but that technology is still in its infancy.

The only other problem is that my WiFi is through cable. Once I can decide on an alternative and disconnect cable tv,  I can get rid of cable for good.

So far, I like Sling.  I can get channels my cable provider doesn't have, such as Axs.  The streaming has been very good. No major problems with scrambling or blackouts.  Of course, a lot of that depends on your Internet or Wi-Fi service and perhaps where you live. But for me, so far, so good. 

Used to have a bundle -- cost me around $150 a month.  Finally gave up the phone, pared down the TV service to basic and used WiFi.   Still costs $107 a month. Still too high.

I will be very happy to rid myself of cable once and for all.  Why should I be paying so much for terrible choices and even worse customer service?

Online Elderberry

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #27 on: May 04, 2017, 01:44:15 pm »
Y'all have convinced me to give it a try. I've not tried before because I didn't think I could get access to the Wife's favorite programs. It looks like with Hulu, she'll have most of what she watches. I'm going to pick up a Roku and give it a go.

Offline Applewood

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #28 on: May 05, 2017, 08:57:18 am »

Wingnut

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #29 on: May 14, 2017, 12:40:12 pm »

Offline roamer_1

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #30 on: May 14, 2017, 02:42:02 pm »


Squinch your eyes a bit, and that guy might just be Eric Estrada.
How the mighty have fallen.  **nononono*

geronl

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #31 on: May 14, 2017, 03:05:50 pm »
As expected Spectrum has hiked the price here too, especially for internet.

geronl

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #32 on: May 14, 2017, 03:07:37 pm »
Squinch your eyes a bit, and that guy might just be Eric Estrada.
How the mighty have fallen.  **nononono*

If you think that's bad, it is official Star Wars canon (I think) that Jar Jar Binks is now an impoverished street entertainer....

Offline roamer_1

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #33 on: May 14, 2017, 03:11:22 pm »
As expected Spectrum has hiked the price here too, especially for internet.

 :shrug: If it gets too bad, split the cost with your neighbor... It's not illegal to give your neighbor access to your router... Another beautiful thing about cord cutting.

Online Elderberry

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #34 on: May 14, 2017, 03:20:22 pm »
I just picked up a Roku and am trying out PlayStation Vue. The wife likes it so far. I missed having Gunsmoke on TVland, so I'm downloading a whole mess of episodes.

Online Elderberry

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #35 on: June 06, 2017, 06:09:34 pm »
I got a warning from AT&T that I was going to exceed my Bandwidth limit of 1TB. I never even knew I had a limit. I found out that they just started imposing one around March of this year.
I starting watching my usage and discovered that it went way up after we starting using Playstation Vue. Part of the problem, I found was the wife would turn off the TV, but not cancel the streaming that was taking place. Also my daughter, taking online classes, complained about networking problems when streaming was taking place.

Yesterday I set up router port rate limiting on the Roku port. It would not handle 512kbits/s at all. I could not tell any difference in picture quality with 1 or 2 Mbits/s rate limiting. I did notice the speed changed going thru menu selections.  I have not experienced any buffering issues. I am now confident that I can stay under the bandwidth limit and not have to pay for unlimited bandwidth.

We are going to pull the plug on Dish later this month.

Online Weird Tolkienish Figure

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #36 on: June 06, 2017, 07:08:59 pm »


WTF needs dirty channels in this day and age?

I remember trying to watch the Spice Channel on squigglevision (IOW scrambled) back in the early 90's.

Online Elderberry

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #37 on: June 06, 2017, 07:14:23 pm »
Guys at work used to order the cable filters by the case and re-tune them to whatever channel people wanted to receive.

Offline kevindavis007

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #38 on: June 07, 2017, 11:44:56 pm »
Looks like a lot of more people are cutting the cord:
http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,266315.0.html
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Offline Applewood

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #39 on: June 08, 2017, 12:24:27 am »
@kevindavis

Thanks for referring us to the post and article. 

It's sad in a way. All these providers are swirling the bowl. You would think they would try to come up with ways to hold onto their customers.  But they just keep driving people away, then fret when profits shrink. 

If I ever get my act together and get Sling TV hooked up to my tv -- so long Comcast.

Offline kevindavis007

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #40 on: June 08, 2017, 12:32:03 am »
@kevindavis

Thanks for referring us to the post and article. 

It's sad in a way. All these providers are swirling the bowl. You would think they would try to come up with ways to hold onto their customers.  But they just keep driving people away, then fret when profits shrink. 

If I ever get my act together and get Sling TV hooked up to my tv -- so long Comcast.


@Applewood


Your welcome..


Well the providers don't get it and they will go away in 5 years..


I have the Amazon Fire TV and I love it.  I have Sling TV (excellent service) however, I might go with Hulu TV service when it is available.
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Offline Drago

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #41 on: June 08, 2017, 09:42:43 am »
Another vote for Playstation VUE (like their layout/"DVR" capabilities)(to be fair I haven't tried SlingTV or DirecTV Now yet).

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/

https://www.sling.com

https://www.directvnow.com


Offline InHeavenThereIsNoBeer

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #42 on: June 08, 2017, 10:14:15 am »

If I ever get my act together and get Sling TV hooked up to my tv -- so long Comcast.

HDMI cable from the tablet to the TV?
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Online Elderberry

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #43 on: June 08, 2017, 11:57:35 am »
HDMI cable from the tablet to the TV?

I found a guide for U

 "If you're new to streaming TV, here's your guide

    By Gail Pennington St. Louis Post-Dispatch Jul 16, 2016 (…) "

http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/television/gail-pennington/if-you-re-new-to-streaming-tv-here-s-your/article_e8a9dd76-3117-5dcd-852d-031971fb162b.html

Offline Applewood

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #44 on: June 08, 2017, 05:00:03 pm »
HDMI cable from the tablet to the TV?

I have a "smart" tv, so I think what I need is a Roku.  I gotta look into this further.  Already have Sling on my tablet and phone.

Thanks.

Offline Applewood

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #45 on: June 08, 2017, 05:01:08 pm »
I found a guide for U

 "If you're new to streaming TV, here's your guide

    By Gail Pennington St. Louis Post-Dispatch Jul 16, 2016 (…) "

http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/television/gail-pennington/if-you-re-new-to-streaming-tv-here-s-your/article_e8a9dd76-3117-5dcd-852d-031971fb162b.html

Thank you.  I need all the help I can get. 

Offline roamer_1

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #46 on: June 09, 2017, 03:23:58 am »
I have a "smart" tv, so I think what I need is a Roku.  I gotta look into this further.  Already have Sling on my tablet and phone.

Thanks.

@Applewood
I don't have a whole lot of experience with the 'smart' side of my tv - I actually disabled it by feeding it a bad IP address... So the smart side of my tv doesn't even work.

But evidently, at least with Samsung, you can buy or download applets for most popular streaming services.

I know I was able to access Amazon (with a subscription) and youtube and such.
But the interface is so hinky and problematic, that I seriously believe you would like the Roku better.
BUT, it costs you nothing to attempt to use the inbuilt features of the tv... It probably has a SlingTV applet already.
YMMV.
« Last Edit: June 09, 2017, 03:25:30 am by roamer_1 »

Offline InHeavenThereIsNoBeer

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #47 on: June 09, 2017, 04:08:40 am »
I have a "smart" tv, so I think what I need is a Roku.  I gotta look into this further.  Already have Sling on my tablet and phone.

Thanks.

I don't know what Sling or Roku are, but if you can watch what you want on your tablet, and your tablet has an HDMI output, you can use an HDMI cable (need the right one, my tablet takes a mini HDMI) to take the video and sound from your tablet and run them through the TV.  Might not be the long term solution you're looking for, but the cables are cheap and nice to have around anyway.
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Offline jmyrlefuller

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #48 on: June 09, 2017, 04:57:39 am »
Some totally free video channels that don't require any subscription whatsoever and are totally legal:

WeatherNation TV
http://www.weathernationtv.com/video/
This is an upstart network in the mold of The Weather Channel. Its selling point is that it sticks to forecasts and only forecasts, without any of the reality TV shows or AGW hype.

NASA TV
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/
This is the official TV station of NASA. It carries space program video and educational programs. Because it's the federal government, everything is free to redistribute.

Tuff TV
http://www.tufftv.com/tuff-tv-live/
This is a small network that features a male-oriented selection of programs, including cooking, outdoors, pro wrestling and a wide variety of sports.

Rev'n
http://www.revntv.com/watch/watch-online/
This channel is mostly automotive-related programming.

Newsmax TV
http://www.newsmaxtv.com/
This channel was originally conceived as a news outlet, a plan that fizzled when it lost its satellite carriage. Its current mission is carrying simulcasts of conservative talk radio shows.

Bloomberg Television
https://www.bloomberg.com/live
Bloomberg has carried a live feed on the Internet for as long as I remember, one of the very few to have done so since the pre-broadband era.
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Offline Smokin Joe

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Re: Cordcutting Thread
« Reply #49 on: June 09, 2017, 06:26:58 am »
bkmk
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Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

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