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

[dnicholas47]

Here is a screenshot of the direcTV now guide off my phone. The fire stick and appleTV are similar. Guide is in alphabetical order. There is also a watch now feature that highlights several channels. It seems like it learns what you watch and starts with those channels. Then, as you watch other shows, it will act as your flashback to go back and forth between shows.

 

[MattFX4]

This is very interesting to hear. I've always toyed with the idea of trying cutting the cord, but I fear the added headaches would drive me nuts, plus the lack of user interface would drive the kids and wife away to where they wouldn't even use it most likely. You just can't beat the user interface of Directv.

Think about how much you use this and then weigh that against what you pay. It's like other things we hate to spend money on but are a huge part of our lives, i.e. a mattress. How many change their mattress every 7 years like is suggested? Or buy a cheap mattress? We spend a lot of time in our cars, on our beds, and watching TV.....why skimp on the cost of these items?

My thoughts exactly. Not worth it to me to cut to save maybe $100 a month. Nothing aggravates me more when at a friends house who is too cheap for cable and trying to figure out how we are going to stream a football game he doesn't get. Last time this happened we went through 4 different people's phones before we got it to work. I love my directv service with 4 tv's and DVR. I am about to finish my basement and going with a sports bar theme. Plan to have multiple tv's down there so I can watch several different games at a time. It would be a pain to try to stream in that situation and the internet required to do so would cost too much.

 

[dnicholas47]

To each his own, but we have 2 TV’s in the basement and haven’t had an issue streaming on both. With apps like Fox Sports and ESPN we often get more games than we would have with old directv satellite service. In full disclosure both TV’s are also hooked up to OTR antenna (converted old directv dish to antenna) so if one game is on ABC for example I will use that because that is always the best picture.

 

[Peelz]

no unsurvivable issues so far really. Wifey got frustrated a few times... but shes adapting. We don't watch disney. Don't miss it. My older son doesn't even like to watch tv at all. I noted when and how much we watch tv per week... it isnt that much like 5 hrs over 4 days. Unless its a cold rainy/snowy weekend, maybe.

we had 4 receivers, costing 150. one not even being used.... We are now paying 65. here are JUST our personal pros and cons.

pros:

-overall cost
-cost vs content(value). we have less channels but more channels I actually want, vs 100's I dont.
-i just cleaned a HUUUUGE wire mess out from behind our tv stand. it was glorious. total of 7 outlets opened up for all receivers. no coax!
-direct tv sent me a box, easy to pack up and ship.

cons:

-There is a little "hassle" of learning the new ways, like some channels not live...or what to watch on what app. (This is what I was resisting for the longest time)
-ease of tv use gone. like I'd flip on the daily show to help nod off. but, every house hunters is on there at my finger tips. and nothing puts you to sleep like listening to people bitch about countertops and OMG "entertaining" L-O-L or Larry King interviews!
-internet use up, but we're unlimited.
-Youngest son watched the Simpsons or the middle(great show bummer its gone) religiously before bed. No hulu streaming in his room yet so he cant, and now comes to our room lol. well give him old apple tv when we get new one.


really there's always something to watch.... like too much. really. if youre not paying a large amount for satellite, Id just keep it-for now.

 

[Peelz]

I am just excited that someone else wife still likes a couple MTv shoes for guilty pleasure. I thought we grew up! They have like 4 challenges going on at one time, can't keep up.

bahahaha! no kiddin! Not so much the challenges any more but the teen mom ones. I can watch about 5 minutes and there's a couple little moms and dads I wanna throatpunch. One or two in particular that make me leave the room LOL

totally mindnumbing, but I get it. Shes a retail executive, works long hours with the public, AND whiny employees....It Shuts her brain off for 45 minutes. go for it.

 

[Julian]

My thoughts exactly. Not worth it to me to cut to save maybe $100 a month. Nothing aggravates me more when at a friends house who is too cheap for cable and trying to figure out how we are going to stream a football game he doesn't get. Last time this happened we went through 4 different people's phones before we got it to work. I love my directv service with 4 tv's and DVR. I am about to finish my basement and going with a sports bar theme. Plan to have multiple tv's down there so I can watch several different games at a time. It would be a pain to try to stream in that situation and the internet required to do so would cost too much.

I was concerned it would limit our viewing, it actually did the opposite. Now watch way more different things on Netflix and Amazon than we did before. Our bill was $250 a month for 7 TVs. Now I only pay $40/month (have 3 TV connected and just $50 to buy more Rokus to add more TVs). Admitedly my neighbor and I share services....he uses my YoutubeTV and I use his HBO and Netflix. Works out great. Haven't had any situations where the wife or daughter have said they miss cable!!! $210/month in savings!!! BOAT GAS BABY!!!! LOL

 

[Peelz]

I was concerned it would limit our viewing, it actually did the opposite. Now watch way more different things on Netflix and Amazon than we did before. Our bill was $250 a month for 7 TVs. Now I only pay $40/month (have 3 TV connected and just $50 to buy more Rokus to add more TVs). Admitedly my neighbor and I share services....he uses my YoutubeTV and I use his HBO and Netflix. Works out great. Haven't had any situations where the wife or daughter have said they miss cable!!! $210/month in savings!!! BOAT GAS BABY!!!! LOL

oooh hadnt exactly converted it into "boat dollars" I need to get a blue tooth receiver.... Its quite obvious we wont ever be going back from streaming music either... And Im Still Using a pioneer cd player with 3.5" aux input... Just realized that with the new phone, I haz no headphone jack.

direct realignment of funds now im extra happy about the decision.

 

[UpNorth]

Youtube TV is really no different than a normal cable guide. You have a channel line up listing and can flip up or down through the channels and "surf". If the program you land on is one that you've added to your "Library" (effectively your DVR), then it gives you the option of "Watch from start". I will add that some channels force some commercials on you no matter what...which was annoying when they began doing it (IE, you can't skip the commercials).

@UpNorth how much is DirectTV Now? I may have to try a trial to see how it compares to YoutubeTV. That is the great part about these services, you can try them out, start/stop whenever you want.... (YoutubeTV gives you 2 weeks free)

I went with the second package - $55 a month. Knocked down to $40 a month due to being an AT&T customer.

I admit I was a huge skeptic myself. We have great internet and zero buffering issues.

He is the list of packages...

https://www.directvnow.com/tv-packages

 

[Julian]

I went with the second package - $55 a month. Knocked down to $40 a month due to being an AT&T customer.

I admit I was a huge skeptic myself. We have great internet and zero buffering issues.

He is the list of packages...

https://www.directvnow.com/tv-packages

Do they have any DVR capability? I didn't see it mentioned.

 

[mark_m]

Do they have any DVR capability? I didn't see it mentioned.

Dvr in the cloud. I think it’s no charge to use it. It does have a somewhat aggressive rolloff schedule. I think maybe 1 month.

 

[2kwik4u]

......Think about how much you use this and then weigh that against what you pay. It's like other things we hate to spend money on but are a huge part of our lives, i.e. a mattress......

I put this same thought process through on a LOT of purchases. Same reason why every car I buy must have comfy seats, an interior look I like, and a decent stereo. I spend enough time there, that I want it to be pleasant while I'm there. Work boots, Tools, Furniture, and a myriad of other things get this same analysis. Hence why we're considering going back to cable.

These other guys have provided some great alternatives though, so we're going to try those out for awhile and see where we land, but with a 2yr "new subscriber" type deal from the cable company it might still come out on top. Will have to see.

 

[J-RAD]

Update:
Sling now offers The Discovery Channel. Essentially they have 2 packages to choose from. Orange and blue or both combined. The blue carries Discovery and allows for streaming on up to 3 devices.

 

[2kwik4u]

I put this same thought process through on a LOT of purchases. Same reason why every car I buy must have comfy seats, an interior look I like, and a decent stereo. I spend enough time there, that I want it to be pleasant while I'm there. Work boots, Tools, Furniture, and a myriad of other things get this same analysis. Hence why we're considering going back to cable.

These other guys have provided some great alternatives though, so we're going to try those out for awhile and see where we land, but with a 2yr "new subscriber" type deal from the cable company it might still come out on top. Will have to see.

I'm going to reply to my own post here.

We haven't tried anything. Everytime I sit down to figure out what TV pacakage we should get I get distracted with something else to do. Must mean I don't really need TV that bad eh?

Also, Google just told me I spent 53hrs in the truck last month......Thanks google for confirming I drive too much. Could've lived without that knowledge.

 

[Dean P]

We cut the cord about 3 month ago. I purchased the Roku along with YouTube TV app. The only thing I miss is the time display on the Spectrum DVR. We also subscribe to Netflix and Amazon.
Spectrum we pay $89 for the 400/20 speed (only getting 200/20 on PC and 400/20 on laptop - can't figure out why the difference) and $40 for UTV.

 

[Bruce]

only getting 200/20 on PC and 400/20 on laptop

How is the PC connected to your router. That is the most likely issue.

 

[Dean P]

How is the PC connected to your router. That is the most likely issue.

Was on the phone with Spectrum and couldn't figure it out. I disconnected the CAT cable from the PC and plugged it into my laptop and got 400. Maybe the card is not capable??? IDK...

 

[Bruce]

At the end of the year we said goodbye to DirecTV after an increase from $150 to $200 a month for four TVs with premium movie channels.

We chose to use Hulu for Discovery, History and local channels. We already had Netflix and Amazon Prime which we are using now.

We find that we have more choice than we did before and have no shortage of content that we enjoy watching.

We will be buying some HBO series for $20 a season instead of $15 a month.

The only thing I do not like about Hulu is the limited DVR storage. I may switch to YouTube TV once they add Discovery and History.

Also https://curiositystream.com/ has a lot of great content. I subscribed to a ridiculously inexpensive contract with them.

 

[Bruce]

Was on the phone with Spectrum and couldn't figure it out. I disconnected the CAT cable from the PC and plugged it into my laptop and got 400. Maybe the card is not capable??? IDK...

Most PCs have 100 Mbit network cards. 1 Gbit network cards are more recent. I suspect you have a 100 Mbit network card running in full duplex mode on the PC.

 

[Dean P]

Most PCs have 100 Mbit network cards. 1 Gbit network cards are more recent. I suspect you have a 100 Mbit network card running in full duplex mode on the PC.

Below is what I have. Do you know of anything else I could try/check?



Sorry everyone, not trying to hijack the thread onto a different subject. Would love to know how to correct this. Drives me crazy!!!!

 

[Julian]

Below is what I have. Do you know of anything else I could try/check?

View attachment 87557

Sorry everyone, not trying to hijack the thread onto a different subject. Would love to know how to correct this. Drives me crazy!!!!

I assume you are plugging into the same cable?