Ditching cable in 2017? What you need to know about streaming TV

[kevindavis007]

If your New Year's resolution includes cutting the cable cord in favor of internet television, you're not alone.


Fed up with the rising cost of traditional pay TV and emboldened by competitively priced streaming options, a growing number of viewers are expected to turn in their cable boxes and make 2017 the year of the cord cutter.


"We're not in the cable era anymore," said Howard Horowitz, a longtime media researcher whose clients include HBO, Comcast and ABC. "The threshold has been crossed."


Internet television, also known as over the top, bypasses cable and delivers video directly to viewers through a broadband connection. Major players include subscription video-on-demand services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, as well as linear streaming services such as Sling TV and the recently launched DirecTV Now, which air dozens of cable channels in real time.


Cord cutters and cord shavers — subscribers who trim their cable packages — are part of a shifting pay-TV paradigm. Millennials are at the leading edge of the trend, with 89 percent watching internet television, according to Horowitz.


"Streaming has reached critical mass and it's actually the new normal for millennials," Horowitz said.


A wealth of content has turned internet TV from homegrown cat videos into mainstream programming. From Emmy Award-winning original shows such as "House of Cards" on Netflix to broadcast networks and cable staples such as ESPN, choice abounds. Internet TV also gave rise to binge watching, and allows viewers to take the shows wherever they go on portable devices.


Traditional pay-TV remains the norm for nearly 100 million households in the U.S., who pay an average of more than $100 per month to their cable or satellite provider, according to Leichtman Research Group.


While many viewers subscribe to both a traditional pay-TV provider and an internet-TV service, an increasing number are abandoning cable and satellite for "skinnier" internet bundles of programming.


Read More: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-cable-cord-cutting-1216-biz-20161215-story.html


I'm a CordCutter myself.

[MajorClay]

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[roamer_1]

I'm a CordCutter myself.

Me too - Best thing I ever did... Saved over 70 bucks a month from a fairly basic package. and I am happily no longer supporting programming that I have moral objections to.

[ced003]

I cut the cord in June, after 35 (!) years of cable/satellite subscriptions, mostly out of disgust of election coverage. I haven't missed it for a moment.

[kevindavis007]

Me too - Best thing I ever did... Saved over 70 bucks a month from a fairly basic package. and I am happily no longer supporting programming that I have moral objections to.

Here is what I have that allowed me to cut the cord.


1. Amazon Fire TV
2. Hulu
3. Amazon Prime
4. Sling


As for Sling, I like it as streaming service, however, in 2017 there are going to be more choices.  Right now there is Direct TV Now, Sling, and Vue.

[Wingnut]

BKMK.  Direct tv needs to die   

[kevindavis007]

BKMK.  Direct tv needs to die   

The only reason why I'm avoiding DirectTv Now is because I refuse to give money to AT&T..

[Wingnut]

The only reason why I'm avoiding DirectTv Now is because I refuse to give money to AT&T..

I'm in a contract with them till this Aug.    Hate them. also.... I have ATT as my cell provider.   

[kevindavis007]

I'm in a contract with them till this Aug.    Hate them. also.... I have ATT as my cell provider.

I think in 18 is when my contract with AT&T is over. After my contract is over, I'm go to Verzion or Sprint.

[roamer_1]

Here is what I have that allowed me to cut the cord.

I just bought an old Vista era pooter... Made sure it had HDMI out and Blu-ray DVD... Found a nice little Acer mini for 25 bucks... Stuffed a 2T drive in it (I have large audio and video libraries), a 25 dollar Wireless KB, Maybe 10 bucks for a USB Wireless NIC... Just recently upgraded the box to Win7/64 So it's using the whole CPU now... Just plugged her into the TV and away we go.

And that's it... Float around a bit, and you can find anything you want for free...

[DB]

When people say "they're cutting the cable" they really aren't. They still use cable for their Internet connection. And if you want to do all that streaming in HD then you must have a high bandwidth connection which is - essentially only cable.

[Elderberry]

I just bought an old Vista era pooter... Made sure it had HDMI out and Blu-ray DVD... Found a nice little Acer mini for 25 bucks... Stuffed a 2T drive in it (I have large audio and video libraries), a 25 dollar Wireless KB, Maybe 10 bucks for a USB Wireless NIC... Just recently upgraded the box to Win7/64 So it's using the whole CPU now... Just plugged her into the TV and away we go.

And that's it... Float around a bit, and you can find anything you want for free...

I just got thru copying my music/video server onto another box for my son I helped move to Va. 150GB music and 2TB Movies and old TV programs.

[roamer_1]

When people say "they're cutting the cable" they really aren't. They still use cable for their Internet connection. And if you want to do all that streaming in HD then you must have a high bandwidth connection which is - essentially only cable.

Right... sorta... My buddy is on a crappy DSL connection out at the end of the road... It works... He just has to start a stream and pause it, and then wait for it to DL half or better before actually beginning to watch.

I have serious cable anyway, since as a computer tech, I DL and UPL a ton of stuff, not to mention stupid geek tricks... But the service and a VOIP phone is around 70/mo (compared to 140/mo before)... I literally paid for my switch-out with the savings in the first month...

I have been saving 70 bucks a month for almost 2 yrs now, and that's alright with me... That's nearing 1500 bucks in savings, and I watch exactly what I want, without supporting '250 channels and nothing on'

i am a happy guy.

[kevindavis007]

Right... sorta... My buddy is on a crappy DSL connection out at the end of the road... It works... He just has to start a stream and pause it, and then wait for it to DL half or better before actually beginning to watch.

I have serious cable anyway, since as a computer tech, I DL and UPL a ton of stuff, not to mention stupid geek tricks... But the service and a VOIP phone is around 70/mo (compared to 140/mo before)... I literally paid for my switch-out with the savings in the first month...

I have been saving 70 bucks a month for almost 2 yrs now, and that's alright with me... That's nearing 1500 bucks in savings, and I watch exactly what I want, without supporting '250 channels and nothing on'

i am a happy guy.

I'm just hoping Google Fiber shows up in my neighborhood soon. So I can tell Comcast to f yourself.

[roamer_1]

I just got thru copying my music/video server onto another box for my son I helped move to Va. 150GB music and 2TB Movies and old TV programs.

I don't really know what I have anymore... Pretty sure music is over 80g in mp3 and ogg vorbis... Well over a T in movies... It's really pretty dumb... Especially music... Since the media server is hooked to a TV, I prefer to find a good playlist on Youtube and get the vids too... I don't think I have cracked open my music lib in over a year.

Same with movies... They're all online. The only reason to keep some around is for if the web is down, which happens from time to time. My router bit it a couple months ago, and I spent an evening watching movies from my lib, but otherwise, I never use it.

[roamer_1]

I'm just hoping Google Fiber shows up in my neighborhood soon. So I can tell Comcast to f yourself.

We've got Charter/Spectrum for cable here in town, and Centurylink DSL... I carry both, though the DSL is mainly for testing machines that are on that (and several other) service... pretty cheesy, but I don't need much more than their low end stuff for testing client machines...

The Charter line is big (60), though I am lucky to get 45 due to line hardware... and they are throttling a bit on the weekends. Even so, I very rarely have to wait for streams.

[kevindavis007]

We've got Charter/Spectrum for cable here in town, and Centurylink DSL... I carry both, though the DSL is mainly for testing machines that are on that (and several other) service... pretty cheesy, but I don't need much more than their low end stuff for testing client machines...

The Charter line is big (60), though I am lucky to get 45 due to line hardware... and they are throttling a bit on the weekends. Even so, I very rarely have to wait for streams.

The bad part is that the antiquated cable monopolies law setup by local municipalities limits my choice. I think there is other out there so I'm looking around.. 

[roamer_1]

The bad part is that the antiquated cable monopolies law setup by local municipalities limits my choice. I think there is other out there so I'm looking around..

It's the cost of shoving new wire in the ground... Nobody likes laying new hardware... Centurylink made the mistake of renting out bandwidth to several bandit ISPs So of course they have to guarantee them (x), so they wind up throttling their own customers when it gets busy... It's a mess, which is why I am all for Charter keeping their own lines to themselves.

Don't shortchange DSL... They are getting pretty remarkable speeds out of it anymore, providing you're in town.

[kevindavis007]

It's the cost of shoving new wire in the ground... Nobody likes laying new hardware... Centurylink made the mistake of renting out bandwidth to several bandit ISPs So of course they have to guarantee them (x), so they wind up throttling their own customers when it gets busy... It's a mess, which is why I am all for Charter keeping their own lines to themselves.

Don't shortchange DSL... They are getting pretty remarkable speeds out of it anymore, providing you're in town.

I understand, but for me DSL is slow and 25 mps is fine..

[roamer_1]

I understand, but for me DSL is slow and 25 mps is fine..

Around here i think DSL is getting pretty consistent 40's... But that's in town... The problem is switches... the further you get from town, the older the switches are... I am only a mile out, but I can;t get anywhere near that here.

[kevindavis007]

Around here i think DSL is getting pretty consistent 40's... But that's in town... The problem is switches... the further you get from town, the older the switches are... I am only a mile out, but I can;t get anywhere near that here.

Towards the end of me using DSL, it was slow..

[DB]

Around here i think DSL is getting pretty consistent 40's... But that's in town... The problem is switches... the further you get from town, the older the switches are... I am only a mile out, but I can;t get anywhere near that here.

A DSL speed of 40 Mbps is very rare. Typical DSL speeds are closer to a few megabits per second. Cable on the other hand is typically much faster. 30 Mbps is pretty much basic service these days. I live in the hills and have a 100 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload connection via cable. If your household has multiple people who stream Netflix or the like it takes a high speed cable connection period (or fiber but that is a very rare option for now).

[roamer_1]

A DSL speed of 40 Mbps is very rare. Typical DSL speeds are closer to a few megabits per second. Cable on the other hand is typically much faster. 30 Mbps is pretty much basic service these days. I live in the hills and have a 100 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload connection via cable. If your household has multiple people who stream Netflix or the like it takes a high speed cable connection period (or fiber but that is a very rare option for now).

From Centurylink's site ( http://www.centurylink.com/home/internet/ ):

'Speeds up to 40 Mbps – may not be available in your area.
Requires 12‐month contract and AutoPay enrollment.'

It ain't cable, to be sure, but 40mbps is pretty doable. Now, like I said that's in town... Out here, just a mile out, I couldn't get 12. And throttling is common, as I explained upthread... But like I said, in town, 40 is pretty likely...

You have it pretty good if you're getting 100 out in the sticks - That sure doesn't work like that here. I;m behind the first switch going up the canyon, and I speedtest at 40/45... Once they finally replace that switch, I can expect double.

[DB]

From Centurylink's site ( http://www.centurylink.com/home/internet/ ):

'Speeds up to 40 Mbps – may not be available in your area.
Requires 12‐month contract and AutoPay enrollment.'

It ain't cable, to be sure, but 40mbps is pretty doable. Now, like I said that's in town... Out here, just a mile out, I couldn't get 12. And throttling is common, as I explained upthread... But like I said, in town, 40 is pretty likely...

You have it pretty good if you're getting 100 out in the sticks - That sure doesn't work like that here. I;m behind the first switch going up the canyon, and I speedtest at 40/45... Once they finally replace that switch, I can expect double.

I'm not arguing with what you have. I'm just pointing out that VERY few people across the country get access to 40 Mbps DSL. Take a poll here, that would be interesting. DSL at my home location barely does 2 Mbps. The people I know with DSL who live in town get around 6 Mbps which is iffy for HD quality video. I have DSL for automatic backup (I use a dual WAN port router with automatic rollover) because I work at home and require Internet access to move work data around.

And just a note, typical wired home routers won't do much over 50 Mbps (at least that was the case not long ago). I had to replace my router with a higher performance small business router to realize 100 Mbps+ cable modem performance. You should find the specs for your router and see if it is up for the job. It really mattered for me.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Would like to do this. Not just streaming but also with OTA TV as well. If I put an antenna on my roof I can get substantial amount of stations.