Cordcutting Thread

[Bigun]

Just got a ROKU yesterday and am working through my options.
Are there any channels you highly recommend? And did you find any of the 'local news' channels worthwhile?

Since I posted what you quoted @WhatWouldReaganDo, I've now got the second TV on ROKU and we have, in addition to what comes with ROKU, Amazon Prime (before ROKU), HULU (local channels included), and Paramount +.

I find those provide more than I have time or inclination to watch.  Tried Peacock but canceled that.
 Now paying less than half of what I was paying ATT before for the same things.

[Hoodat]

OK, finally went out and bought a Roku stick.  Now what?  I don't want to pay Netflix anything.  Currently an Amazon Prime customer, but am going to let that expire.

[Hoodat]

Now paying less than half of what I was paying ATT before for the same things.

I am slowly weening myself away from AT&T.  They royally pissed me off when they dropped OAN from Uverse.  Bastards!  I switched cell phone service, but still have a land line (which I need).  What I need is a new internet provider, but I hate cable companies even more than AT&T.

[WhatWouldReaganDo]

Since I posted what you quoted @WhatWouldReaganDo, I've now got the second TV on ROKU and we have, in addition to what comes with ROKU, Amazon Prime (before ROKU), HULU (local channels included), and Paramount +.

I find those provide more than I have time or inclination to watch.  Tried Peacock but canceled that.
 Now paying less than half of what I was paying ATT before for the same things.

Is that Hulu + Live TV? I didn't think Hulu standard offered local channels.

[Bigun]

Is that Hulu + Live TV? I didn't think Hulu standard offered local channels.

   Hulu+

[Bigun]

I am slowly weening myself away from AT&T.  They royally pissed me off when they dropped OAN from Uverse.  Bastards!  I switched cell phone service, but still have a land line (which I need).  What I need is a new internet provider, but I hate cable companies even more than AT&T.

Finally getting true high-speed internet through my electric coop was the key to getting rid of ATT for me @Hoodat.  Without that, I would still be stuck with U-verse.

[libertybele]

Since I posted what you quoted @WhatWouldReaganDo, I've now got the second TV on ROKU and we have, in addition to what comes with ROKU, Amazon Prime (before ROKU), HULU (local channels included), and Paramount +.

I find those provide more than I have time or inclination to watch.  Tried Peacock but canceled that.
 Now paying less than half of what I was paying ATT before for the same things.

We basically have the same things; ROKU, HULU and Paramount+ --- still can't get hubby to do away with Comcast (they are my worst nightmare when it comes to customer service).

[sneakypete]

Just got a ROKU yesterday and am working through my options.
Are there any channels you highly recommend? And did you find any of the 'local news' channels worthwhile?

@WhatWouldReaganDo

Can't recommend any channels because I don't know what you like,but if you can't find something you like on a ROKU,you just ain't trying.

Your best bet is probably use the search engine to look up shows you like to watch,and once you find a channel that advertises a bunch of show that interest you, add that channel to your favorites.

For example,if you like comedy,do a search for a series titled "Shameless". I don't care who you are,you will be in awe of Frank,and want to watch every episode to see what scam he is trying to pull in that episode.

You will notice from your search that there are several channels broadcasting Shameless.

This is how I picked MY saved favorite channels.

BTW,there is no such critter as "local news" on the web unless you live in a city like Chicago or NYC.

I also have a regular tv antenna and a channel splitter hooked up to my tv. Thanks to the new antenna I bought maybe 8 years ago,I now get 43 channels from my tv antenna. Before the new outside antenna,I got maybe 6.

Bought the RCA antenna from Amazon,and paid something like 29 bucks for it. Probably less. Just guessing. I don't know anything about any other antennas,but I DO know that all the RCA antennas are made in America,and you can buy them directly from Amazon.

BTW,with the old 70's antenna I used to have,I got maybe 6 stations. As I wrote above,I now get 43.

[roamer_1]

My biggest ROKU pro-tip:

Get the app. Because when you lose the clicker, your phone will function as a universal ROKU remote.
I am currently operating BOTH my ROKUs only with the phone app.. Because the clicker in the bedroom has followed Murphy's Law, and is somewhere nearly centered underneath my bed, and the clicker in the living room quit working and I have not figured out how to reprogram or replace it.

But I run them both just fine from the app... until I get a round tuit.

I can't help y'all much with channels. I spend some time on the ROKU channel and a couple free movie channels. Of course I can get at my paid memberships channels (Netflix, Prime) through the ROKU, and other subscriptions (Youtube), but that is only as a convenience and reserve - I generally don't use them from ROKU. I use them through my primary system, which is a PC hooked up to the TV.

I actually use ROKU as a standby for that system (if for some reason the PC ain't working I can still use the TV through ROKU), though I DO seek out free movies on ROKU and I do tend to use ROKU for paid/rental movies. I also use the OANN app from time to time, and a couple private membership channels that actually feed better from the ROKU than they do on the web.

[Hoodat]

Comcast (they are my worst nightmare when it comes to customer service).

 

They all suck.  Every last one of them.  They are handed a monopoly by local government, and they act accordingly.  You have no option of going with a different cable company.

[Cyber Liberty]

I have one simple request right now.  I was streaming with Locast, but they were put out of business by a lawsuit.

Every service I've seen that promise all local channels never carry MeTV.  Who streams MeTV???

[sneakypete]

 

They all suck.  Every last one of them.  They are handed a monopoly by local government, and they act accordingly.  You have no option of going with a different cable company.

@Hoodat

Yes,you do. You can kill the cable system and buy a ROKU player to replace it. Most people with cable save at least 100 bucks a month by doing this.

No satellite dish,no cable,just plug it into your telephone outlet,subscribe for $8.99 a month,and start searching for free tv shows and movies to watch. If you are like most of us,you are going to end up subscribing to Netflix and a few other providers and still end up paying a LOT less than 100 bucks a month.

You will almost certainly get Amazon Prime too,but if you are already an Amazon Prime member anyhow,it will be free to you.

[sneakypete]

I have one simple request right now.  I was streaming with Locast, but they were put out of business by a lawsuit.

Every service I've seen that promise all local channels never carry MeTV. Who streams MeTV???

@Cyber Liberty

It's free on ROKU,but it's not very highly rated,with 2 stars out of 5.

[roamer_1]

No satellite dish,no cable,just plug it into your telephone outlet,subscribe for $8.99 a month,and start searching for free tv shows and movies to watch.

Hold on now... As a point of order, you HAVE TO HAVE broadband access.
That may be DSL through your phone line, or it may be Cable, or it may be satellite... but broadband access must be there.

There is a distinction between cable internet and CableTV - Two different things. I have cable internet access through Spectrum - But I do not subscribe to their TV option. Two different things. If I put my TV in TV mode, there is nothing but noise. But the internet access is there... I just have to move the TV to HDMI1 for my PC or HDMI2 for ROKU... But none of that would work without the internet access package.

In my case, you could plug ROKU into the phone line all day long and you wouldn't get diddley. Because my internet does not come over the phone copper. it comes over the cable.

[Hoodat]

@roamer_1 , yeah, this is what I need.  Phone and high-speed internet without paying a fortune.  I only have one cable option, so I am hoping to find DSL service other than AT&T.

Just switched  cell service to Patriot Mobile..

[Bigun]

@roamer_1 , yeah, this is what I need.  Phone and high-speed internet without paying a fortune.  I only have one cable option, so I am hoping to find DSL service other than AT&T.

Just switched  cell service to Patriot Mobile..

I switched to Cricket only to later find out that it is just ATTs cut rate service. Same ownership.

[sneakypete]

Hold on now... As a point of order, you HAVE TO HAVE broadband access.
That may be DSL through your phone line, or it may be Cable, or it may be satellite... but broadband access must be there.

There is a distinction between cable internet and CableTV - Two different things. I have cable internet access through Spectrum - But I do not subscribe to their TV option. Two different things. If I put my TV in TV mode, there is nothing but noise. But the internet access is there... I just have to move the TV to HDMI1 for my PC or HDMI2 for ROKU... But none of that would work without the internet access package.

In my case, you could plug ROKU into the phone line all day long and you wouldn't get diddley. Because my internet does not come over the phone copper. it comes over the cable.

@roamer_1

It's been over 10 years and I have chemo brain,so my memory is slightly less than perfect,but from what I REMEMBER,all I did was buy the Roku,go to their web page and sign on and agree to pay them $8.99 per month for their service,which includes paying any fees to other services I subscribe to. Which,of course,they add to my normal monthly service fee of $8.99.

All I really remember doing beyond that was just plugging my ROKU into my phone line and hooking it up to my tv. I use a station splitter because I also have a DVD player and a TV antenna hooked to my tv.

Here is my list of monthly payments as well as the services I subscribe to.

Monthly tv and movie fees:

-21.34 Philo streaming via ROKU  01/26/2021

-74.71 Per Year for Disney Plus Channel-Activated Nov 2020 and pd until Nov 2021.
       Disney Plus Yearly - US - Web , ($6.23  per month)

-$8.99  Roku AUTO PAY  Fee for ROKU subscription

-$7.46 Roku for BritBox +  PP 24 Oct 2019 Pay Pal

 -$16.00 for Roku for HBO  +  2330 6 Apr 2018 PP

-$8.51  Roku for Hulu       PP 24 Oct 2019

-$15.49  Roku for Netflix  PP 9 Feb 2022

-$11.73 Roku for Showtime +  PP 24 Oct 2019

-$9.60  Roku for Starz  +  PP 24 Oct 2019

$93.62 per month

-$48.64 VERIZON  Due ea mo on the 2nd as of 5 Feb 2018

I subtracted the Verizon fees from the ROKU fees because I  was already paying that each month before I got the ROKU.

As you can tell some of these fee rates date back to 2018 and I need to update them,but they really aren't that high. I was paying a HELL of a lot more to Dish Network and getting a hell of a lot less.

[roamer_1]

@roamer_1 , yeah, this is what I need.  Phone and high-speed internet without paying a fortune.  I only have one cable option, so I am hoping to find DSL service other than AT&T.

Just switched  cell service to Patriot Mobile..

I hit Spectrum Cable and never looked back. Been with em for an age now. No worries. VOIP phone and unlimited cable internet... something like 70 or 80 bucks a month. Just can't beat that.

Now, because of my geekitudinal needs, I require some stupid pet tricks that your average joe six-pack does not even understand... And that's where the rub was for a while. But, I got to know a few of their basement geeks (birds of a feather, after all) and a couple escalated favors later, I have true fixed IP and dang near 60 upload... which is plenty.

And I do right by them. They get in a trick bag they move to the front of the line with me.

So it's all good. I will never leave.

[roamer_1]

I switched to Cricket only to later find out that it is just ATTs cut rate service. Same ownership.

I am on straight talk... 35/mo, paid forward somewhere into the fall.
And it don't matter much in the west... everything is ATT/Verizon anyway.

[roamer_1]

@roamer_1

It's been over 10 years and I have chemo brain,so my memory is slightly less than perfect,but from what I REMEMBER,all I did was buy the Roku,go to their web page and sign on and agree to pay them $8.99 per month for their service,which includes paying any fees to other services I subscribe to. Which,of course,they add to my normal monthly service fee of $8.99.

All I really remember doing beyond that was just plugging my ROKU into my phone line and hooking it up to my tv. I use a station splitter because I also have a DVD player and a TV antenna hooked to my tv.

Here is my list of monthly payments as well as the services I subscribe to.

Monthly tv and movie fees:

-21.34 Philo streaming via ROKU  01/26/2021

-74.71 Per Year for Disney Plus Channel-Activated Nov 2020 and pd until Nov 2021.
       Disney Plus Yearly - US - Web , ($6.23  per month)

-$8.99  Roku AUTO PAY  Fee for ROKU subscription

-$7.46 Roku for BritBox +  PP 24 Oct 2019 Pay Pal

 -$16.00 for Roku for HBO  +  2330 6 Apr 2018 PP

-$8.51  Roku for Hulu       PP 24 Oct 2019

-$15.49  Roku for Netflix  PP 9 Feb 2022

-$11.73 Roku for Showtime +  PP 24 Oct 2019

-$9.60  Roku for Starz  +  PP 24 Oct 2019

$93.62 per month

-$48.64 VERIZON  Due ea mo on the 2nd as of 5 Feb 2018

I subtracted the Verizon fees from the ROKU fees because I  was already paying that each month before I got the ROKU.

As you can tell some of these fee rates date back to 2018 and I need to update them,but they really aren't that high. I was paying a HELL of a lot more to Dish Network and getting a hell of a lot less.

@sneakypete
That's a whole lot more than me, Sneaks... and too complicated.

I pay 70/80 bucks a month for cable access... I am subscribed to Netflix on a fam account that costs me around another 70 bucks a year... And I have Prime, which winds up incidental in cost, as the vid side of that is a perk. I would be paying for prime anyway because my business requires it for shipping.

And that's that.
But I do it differently - That's why I like having a PC hooked up to my TV and use it way more than ROKU.
There is literally nothing I can't find on the internet, one way or another, and find it for free.
So i find the structures and limits of ROKU a bit confining.

Don't get me wrong. I ain't cussing it. I just mostly do else-wise. 

[sneakypete]

@sneakypete
That's a whole lot more than me, Sneaks... and too complicated.

I pay 70/80 bucks a month for cable access... I am subscribed to Netflix on a fam account that costs me around another 70 bucks a year... And I have Prime, which winds up incidental in cost, as the vid side of that is a perk. I would be paying for prime anyway because my business requires it for shipping.

And that's that.
But I do it differently - That's why I like having a PC hooked up to my TV and use it way more than ROKU.
There is literally nothing I can't find on the internet, one way or another, and find it for free.
So i find the structures and limits of ROKU a bit confining.

Don't get me wrong. I ain't cussing it. I just mostly do else-wise. 

@roamer_1

Not really. Other than the $8.99 a month to Roku,the rest is optional. Like I wrote earlier,I had the fees to Verizon for internet going years before I got the ROKU because I had to have them for my computer and the sat dishes I had earlier.

[roamer_1]

@roamer_1 , yeah, this is what I need.  Phone and high-speed internet without paying a fortune.  I only have one cable option, so I am hoping to find DSL service other than AT&T.

Just switched  cell service to Patriot Mobile..

Came back to ask... Is starlink available in your area?
Because I will tell you what, it is absolutely changing the landscape up here in the rural mountains.

[Cyber Liberty]

@Cyber Liberty

It's free on ROKU,but it's not very highly rated,with 2 stars out of 5.

I have the Roku app on my Amazon Fire Stick, I'll poke around it a bit...

[Elderberry]

I have one simple request right now.  I was streaming with Locast, but they were put out of business by a lawsuit.

Every service I've seen that promise all local channels never carry MeTV.  Who streams MeTV???

If you can't find MeTV, then change your search to each of the old TV series that you want to watch. I found a lot of old TV series on the Roku Channel.

[Cyber Liberty]

If you can't find MeTV, then change your search to each of the old TV series that you want to watch. I found a lot of old TV series on the Roku Channel.

The ROKU has hundreds of channels, none of which are MeTv (I liked Svengoolie).  When I was surfing the channel line up I was amazed to see there are 24/7 channels for Mystery Science 3000 and the Red Green Show.  But no MeTV.  There are a number of Fire apps that have "local channels" but for some reason MeTV is never listed.