Who has cut the Cable TV cord...what are you using now?

[2kwik4u]

Keep in mind when switching to a VOIP solution, that you're phone calls are now reliant on your data connection. Lose connectivity through your service provider (or a power outage) and your VOIP system no longer works. Depending on the facilities in your area, traditional voice lines have the ability to continue to work if power or internet connectivity is lost..........A hefty consideration if you are keeping a landline for emergencies only.

Not knocking VOIP, I think it's a great solution. Just trying to help others make a well informed decision.

 

[Julian]

Keep in mind when switching to a VOIP solution, that you're phone calls are now reliant on your data connection. Lose connectivity through your service provider (or a power outage) and your VOIP system no longer works. Depending on the facilities in your area, traditional voice lines have the ability to continue to work if power or internet connectivity is lost..........A hefty consideration if you are keeping a landline for emergencies only.

Not knocking VOIP, I think it's a great solution. Just trying to help others make a well informed decision.

My AT&T "landline" was actually part of their DSL service, so it would go down with DSL anyway.....

 

[2kwik4u]

My AT&T "landline" was actually part of their DSL service, so it would go down with DSL anyway.....

Yea, DSL is a finicky technology. Essentially running high frequency signals across the same infrastructure that carrys the old 90V voice signals. All kinds of "start alignment" with that technology. Cable isn't much better, it just has a newer initial roll out, so it' isn't quite so finicky. It's possible that AT&T was using a VOIP backhual for your landline, leading to the concurrent outage.

I used to be an installer for voice/data infrastructure in commercial/industrial/medical facilities. It was a frequent conversation about running voice lines alongside data lines. Contractors wanted limited cost, and to only meet the spec in the bid documents, while owners always wanted the most robust/versatile installation possible. So things like VOIP phones vs analog lines were a common thread in conversations/meetings when the opportunity arose to design the system before the bid documents went out. Spent a lot of time educating architects/engineers on how to develop a logical set of plans, and specs to give their customers a robust and economical solution.

Anyway.......Usually, when the power goes out the phone lines go out with it. This is due to the facilities being co-located on poles. So one pole goes down, and both systems are affected. However, many communities have buried utilities where the power and communications are separated. So a power failure will not necessitate the communications system failure. In this case it typically comes down to the equipment in the house. using a VOIP system typically relies on the cable modem and router to be operational, so you have a less than clear fail mode. A traditional 90V phone line will still work without electricity, as the power for the ringer and voice carriage is all self supplied.

A secondary mitigation for this is how your backup generator (or battery system) is setup. Ensuring you have your communications equipment on a circuit that is supplied from your backup power source is never a bad idea.

 

[OCMD]

I saw the post about using a college email address to get the NFL ticket streamed. Question from a tech idiot: Does this mean I can watch it on a Smart TV where I "stream" netflix? If so this is a good deal IMO. 100 bucks to watch any game I want, and on a TV not a phone or tablet. I am guessing I am correct, so I called Direct TV to see if I could get the NFL Ticket for free....tried all the usual tricks, asked if I was under contract, etc. They said "Yep, you just agreed to a one year contract 2 weeks ago." I said no I did not, and was told, "Our bad, it was automatic renewal." I bitched and said enough is enough. At the same time, the wife was yelling to me about paying next semester's college tuition, that the college screwed up the bill and didn't apply proper credits, etc...all overheard by the Direct TV rep. I apologized to the rep and told her I had enough with Direct TV "re-upping" me for another year without my permission, through their bogus "auto-renewal." And you know the rest.....Another $60 credit for the next 12 months, on top of the $60 credit I got a few months ago for bitching about something else. My Direct TV Xtra package is now $27 bucks a month for the next 1o months, when I lose the first "$60 credit" at which point I will be calling and bitching again. Direct TV is the best. No, I was unable to secure the NFL ticket for free, but I will take the 12 month $60 credit and go ahead and buy the "streaming" NFL ticket package for $100 off my kid's college email. Thank you board, once again. And all this was done while doing my regular job, didn't have to waste a second of my time when DirectTV kept putting me on hold and doing their best to keep me as a customer!

 

[adrianp89]

I just downloaded the Sunday Ticket App to my Apple TV. Doubt a regular smart TV will have the option. Let us know how it works out - I won't have it this year since I have season tickets to the bucs - and my other Sundays will be out on the boat!

 

[Arcadyus]

Haven't had cable 2 years now. We use admitme.tv and YouTube.tv pkus Amazon prime and Netflix.

 

[Whisky]

I cut the cord about 6 years ago (with a little break in the m,iddle to convince the now fiance when she moved in)

I've mostly used Netflix since then, in the bar/tv room I have a Samsung Smart TV and just use the Netflix app on it... on the occasion that I am craving something not available on Netflix it can almost always be rented or found through the web browser. I will also use CraveTV on this TV, but that is a Canadian exclusive, similar to Hulu but more limited.

Upstairs we are generally just playing something easy watching and use a chomecast and google home so we can just tell it to play our favorites (eg. Hey Google, play Brooklyn 99). if we want something specific we can always cast it from our phones.

On occasion I do miss some live events... Olympics, sports, news and such, but in general we dont miss it, and that money went straight into our boat fund!

 

[boudin]

We cut cable TV about 4 years ago, and have been with several of the providers since:

• Initially had OTA (over-the-air) TiVo, which worked pretty good, until the major internet TV providers started local channels. Now we dropped the TiVo.
• Have dumped all Roku's, Apple TV, Chromecast in favor of Amazon Fire TV for consistency. For new releases we just rent/buy movies exclusively from Amazon now. Just so easy.

Providers:

• Initially used SlingTV for a while. I don't remember why we switched--probably got fed up with buffering and a bad interface.
• DirecTV Now -- worked pretty well for about 2 years, but had serious login issues in June, 2018. Could not login for a week, and support kept tell us it was a widespread problem and they were working on it. We dumped them and moved to Hulu.
• Hulu -- our current provider, but does not allow FireTV connections in two physical locations (only mobile phone/tablet, and the app disables Airplay and HDMI connections from the mobile device). With home base and the lake house, the one location is an issue. DirecTV had no problem with that. We'll probably be switching back to DirecTV Now.

Bottom line: The competition in the space, and ability to switch and only get dinged for one month is great for us as the consumers. Don't be afraid to switch, or just pay two providers for a month and make a decision. It's not like the satellite or cable that locks you in for 2 years.

-Greg

 

[swatski]

Bottom line: The competition in the space, and ability to switch and only get dinged for one month is great for us as the consumers. Don't be afraid to switch, or just pay two providers for a month and make a decision. It's not like the satellite or cable that locks you in for 2 years.

The issue is basically no competition in the ISP space (it is a mono/duoply where I live).

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[boudin]

The issue is basically no competition in the ISP space (it is a mono/duoply where I live).

It used to be like that at our lake house. Windstream DSL at 1.5mbps, going down for hours whenever it rained. Could barely stream Netflix.

Mobile hotspots will go 8mbps, except they have data caps.

A new wireless company entered the market about a year ago, started putting up towers and introduced 7mbps uncapped using Ubiquiti airMax devices. Decent speed, rarely goes down, and is cheaper per month than the crappy Windstream DSL. I was the first in the neighborhood to switch, now most of my neighbors have also switched.

-Greg

 

[Snofire]

We had Spectrum/TWC for years with 15mbps internet and cable, rate about $140 w/ taxes. They wanted to jump up to over $160. So we upped to 100mb internet and now pay $5 per stream with over 300 channels plus all PPV, MLB, NHL, NBA, 24/7 channels. Now with that and internet we pay under $95 a month. Won't turn back.

 

[swatski]

We are on the second week of "life after cable TV". Never watched much TV but still, was a bit weird for a couple of days with kids.
Fast forward a week, spectrum with Google wifi three pod mesh (solid 200Mbps throughout the house), Fire sticks, and Amazon Prime subscription - wow! It is awesome.

Just finished watching the first episode of ALF ever (in my life), didn't know what I was missing!!!! I'm still hurting, haven't laughed so hard in months.

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[Peelz]

forgot i was conversing in this thread. FWIW we killed our direct tv last month and have gone with HULU-live/netflix/amazon prime! Hulu adding live was the final kicker. We already had the other two.... Now, for a total of 65$ i think we have most channels? vs $150 for 4 receivers. I just watched my premiere league soccer match on my phone at work on HULU!

We use apple tv for the interface. Need newer apple tv for hulu live. We have good one in fam room, and use an old one in the bedroom, so no live there. but thats fine. Im usually only good for 20 minutes after my head hits the pillow case lol

I TRIED to live with the lower price offered by Direct tv and went down to 2 receivers... But at the time I mistakenly thought they had suspended service while we tried it, so I didn't pay it. MY FAULT. bunch of late fees, and full cost because i didn't stay current lol I owed them like 200$ i was like nah. were done here. Sad really. Been customers since year one. Dad And I bought a bunch and installed them for family members. 1996? Save for a year when we moved and went dish-which sucked.

so far im not regretting it overall. Little bummed about having to watch repetitive ads...but... oh well theyre relatively short. And couple shows unavailable live... But thats a first world problem... and, i bet it wont be long until this changes. Also, lost local news. but... honestly... aren't we all a bit tired of news most days?! lol

Had a friend suggest Youtube tv. looks good.. found out its not available in our area it gives you multiple users, and infinite DVR

 

[Snofire]

We cut the cord back in July and haven't looked back. We still have Spectrum for our internet but use IPTV, which I now sell. I have tried Hulu (limited channels), and SlingTV (decent but overpaid for all the content we were getting). Then a neighbor showed me his IPTV system and I tried that for awhile. After trying a few other providers I found the one that I currently sell. For US/CAN programming it is $12 a month for 2 connections (simultaneous connections) with over 5000+ VOD, 2000+ channels including - NFL/NBA/NHL/MLS/MLB/PPV Events, Regional Sports channels, Local/Regional channels, Music, Adult, and others. We can take it on the go anywhere as it works on Amazon Firestick/TV, Android devices, Apple products, Nvidia Shield, Windows laptop/desktop/tablets. It has been great not having a $200+ cable bill, now just $65 for Spectrum internet. If this is something people want to try out I offer free 24hr trials along with instructions on how to get it up and running. If anyone is interested you can send me a PM here or check me out on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/xFirestreamz/).

 

[Julian]

@Snofire does it have local channels?

 

[Snofire]

@Snofire does it have local channels?

Here is all the channels you can get: http://www.subportal.io/channellist/Webplayer

 

[Julian]

That is a strange channel line up view. Game of Thrones is listed as a category (also mis spelled "Thorones") for example. It has 2 Raleigh stations though, but not my wifes fav....we'll keep an eye on it. Until then we're using YouTubeTV, expensive at $40/month, but gives us what we need, we trade with our neighbor....he uses our Youtubetv, and trades us his Netflix and HBO. Works well!

 

[Snofire]

Some of them are a Series and then then there are 24/7 channels. The Big Bang Theory has a series and 24/7 as do a few others.

 

[Peelz]

funny story here. I convinced my mom to also do this... but. I didnt take one certain fact into consideration. She is retired, lives alone and watches AT LEAST 20 crime/cop shows religiously. (she was a dispatcher for 20 yrs)

she texted me friday. "can you tell me why im already getting a message Ive reached my limit of 250g, happened last month too after I switched"

me: "ummm its december 7th. Someone stealing your wifi? how the hell did you use 250g in only a week? that's like 20 hrs of tv......oh...that's right. you'd better upgrade ma."

we had already gone unlimited. I told her it would use more data, I just wasn't aware how much tv an old lady can watch. LOL

 

[Steve Risley]

We cut the cable a few years ago. Even with our so, so internet option (Hargray) we use Play Station Vue and stream via an Amazon Fire Stick or Apple Play Unit. We still get all the local channels and enough of the sports channels to keep everyone happy and we are saving lots of money, that can be used for the boat