Cutting the cord.

[dribble]

After seeing my Xfinity cable / internet bill go to $275 per month I am done. 70 percent of the TV we watch is available over the air. I picked up an antenna and received 58 OTA channels more clearly than I do on cable. Now I’m looking at streaming devices. I’ve narrowed it down to Amazon Firestick and Roku. Also looked at You Tube TV but that’s 89 bucks a month. Looking to get some input on what people are using and how they like it.

 

[Mandelon]

We have a firestick and a couple ROKUs. There's a lot of content out there.

A Smart TV that gets the web gives you tons of options too.

There's more than a couple "pirate" sites that you could log on to or even use your phone's internet browser then cast to the TV.

 

[rivergames]

I haven't had cable in a LONG time. Probably been over 10 years now. Hell, I barely watch TV anymore. Just need Wifi and I'm set

 

[Kachina26]

I have an AppleTV and a SmartStream box. I watch a lot of Netflix. Prime comes with Amazon and it's good. The StreamBox covers what I wish I could get with an Antenna. Get whatever streaming device you like the interface of and rock that. I imagine they're all about the same. My apple just interfaces with our phones in a way I like.

 

[ChrisV]

Starlink and Apple TV.

 

[t&y]

Yup, dropped the cable provider a few years ago. We do subscribe to a few different services, but nowhere near the cost of what cable was charging. I've only semi-regretted it when trying to get Live News. Once you know what channels to go to, that problem goes away pretty fast.

 

[mjc]

I have Starlink/Roku with a roof antenna. We only pay for Netflix, Amazon, discovery shared with a friend and Hulu with my son. And there a lots of free channels out there.

 

[Mike Honcho]

I just did the same thing about month ago. I have smart tvs but was using Direct tv at home and the river house and just stopped it all most tvs were smart tv and I had to buy a roku or two for older units. However I have been using apps like channel 5 and 2 for news and 7, as for tv shows I use roku, prime netflix and pluto, tubi, etc. and they are all free.

 

[Desert Whaler]

I hear ya . . . our bill with Spectrum was bumping $300 before we cut it, and got an antenna / Roku.
Sling isn't bad . . . I subscibe for certain events etc. , then unsubscribe for a while.
I hate paying for streaming crap.
We're right around $100 / month ... plus sling if I'm subscribed.

 

[TimeBandit]

First off cable boxes reduce the signal to 1080i.

You will never get 1080P or 4K if you have a cable box connected. Yes antenna is better than a cable box that's what I use in my toy garage.

We use Roku ultra boxes at home to manage things like Amazon prime Netflix and whatever other apps you want to load onto it. and of course the "RDP boxes" that gets pay-per-view and movies that are streaming now for money.

The RDP magic box actually gets any channel you can think of, almost 1,000 channels.

Our new Hisense TV has Google TV which works pretty well our LG TV has its web browser which we don't like at all and a Samsung TV in the kitchen is older so it's web browser is painfully slow.

Roku with volume controls and a nice muting button on the side are the go-to in our house.

 

[Bpracing1127]

We cut the cord when we moved to Utah.

We use fire stick and we have subscriptions to
Hulu + (what I watch 80-% of the time)
Netflix
Prime
Paramount
Peacock

Total for all of these is less than 100/month

 

[Dan Lorenze]

I've ran the numbers over and over again. You guys that "Cut the cord" still pay for High Speed Wifi, then a la carte streaming services. Netflix, Hulu, Apple, Youtube etc.. All those services add up quickly.. I'm at $159 a month with Spectrum cable and fast Wifi, I have 15 premium channels and lots of other channels.. What's Starlink alone, $120? Then you start adding all those streaming services. Youtube TV alone is $82.99 a month.

Starlink in my area is $474 initial fee (congestion fee included) then $120 a month and I have to install it myself, don't get me wrong I love those projects but Starlink is expensive.

*Edited....

 

[rivrrts429]

I've ran the numbers over and over again. You guys that "Cut the cord" still pay for High Speed Wifi, then a la carte streaming services. Netflix, Hulu, Apple, Youtube etc.. All those services add up quickly.. I'm at $159 a month with Spectrum cable and fast Wifi, I have 10 premium channels and lots of other channels.. What's Starlink alone, $120? Then you start adding all those streaming services. Youtube TV alone is $82.99 a month.

You need WiFi regardless so that’s negligible. You can get away with the Starlink $50 per month plan.

Then you can share apps streaming with family and friends for many of them. That’s what I do with the DirecTv app and in turn share apps with others.

 

[Outdrive1]

First off cable boxes reduce the signal to 1080i.

You will never get 1080P or 4K if you have a cable box connected. Yes antenna is better than a cable box that's what I use in my toy garage.

We use Roku ultra boxes at home to manage things like Amazon prime Netflix and whatever other apps you want to load onto it. and of course the "RDP boxes" that gets pay-per-view and movies that are streaming now for money.

The RDP magic box actually gets any channel you can think of, almost 1,000 channels.

Our new Hisense TV has Google TV which works pretty well our LG TV has its web browser which we don't like at all and a Samsung TV in the kitchen is older so it's web browser is painfully slow.

Roku with volume controls and a nice muting button on the side are the go-to in our house.

I love the Roku platform. The remotes are easy and work on all the TV’s. If I can’t find a remote I pull up the app on my phone and do it from there.

 

[185EZ]

I've ran the numbers over and over again. You guys that "Cut the cord" still pay for High Speed Wifi, then a la carte streaming services. Netflix, Hulu, Apple, Youtube etc.. All those services add up quickly.. I'm at $159 a month with Spectrum cable and fast Wifi, I have 10 premium channels and lots of other channels.. What's Starlink alone, $120? Then you start adding all those streaming services. Youtube TV alone is $82.99 a month.

Starlink in my area is $474 initial fee (congestion fee included) then $120 a month...

Both our T Mobile phones are $118 a month
It includes Netflix and Hulu
Optimum internet is $25 a month
Stream all day long on Roku
61 regular channels on antenna
When we are away at our vaca home we use the unlimited data and hotspot for the smart tv from our phones

 

[Ragged Edge]

We have Roku and Hulu/Disney +, the free Prime Video that comes with Amazon Prime and F1 TV. All for far less then what Spectrum wanted to charge. Plenty to watch and most of it works good with the exception of the Hulu cloud based DVR which sucks. Will randomly record shows we did not ask for while not recording shows we set up, which is why I got the F1 TV.

 

[gqchris]

Youtube premium is all I need. So much good content people are creating.

Wife needs every dang streaming platform, so we have those also lol

 

[cofooter]

Not a big TV watcher but we have Amazon Prime and rotate every few months between Discovery, Paramount, Apple, etc depending on what we feel like watching or whats new. Thats $25/mth. And we have kick ass internet through the city for $59 bucks/mth. Also an antenna for local news and sports. All I need and its a bargain.......

 

[HNL2LHC]

We dumped cable 6 months ago. With the two homes that was $300ish a month savings.

Keep in mind YouTube allows 5 users. If split that is only $10 each a month.

 

[jetboatperformance]

Dumped Satellite years ago internet only now , Have a half dozen TVs in the house and all are "Smart TVs or Rokus" more TV than I could ever watch or record . We get Sling , Amazon and Netflix

 

[Echo Lodge]

Both our T Mobile phones are $118 a month
It includes Netflix and Hulu
Optimum internet is $25 a month
Stream all day long on Roku
61 regular channels on antenna
When we are away at our vaca home we use the unlimited data and hotspot for the smart tv from our phones

For those on Optimum (I have it at the river) check your bill. Back in Aug my $25 100 mbps went to $40. I had it on autopay and just now caught it.

 

[rivermobster]

After seeing my Xfinity cable / internet bill go to $275 per month I am done. 70 percent of the TV we watch is available over the air. I picked up an antenna and received 58 OTA channels more clearly than I do on cable. Now I’m looking at streaming devices. I’ve narrowed it down to Amazon Firestick and Roku. Also looked at You Tube TV but that’s 89 bucks a month. Looking to get some input on what people are using and how they like it.

Do you have Any interest in buying a new smart TV?

If so, that eliminates a lot of your issues right there. Most all of the new ones come with the Google streaming device built in, so you don't need to make a decision on what streaming device to use.

Do you already have a Prime account?

If so, you already have access to all kinds of movies and original content. You'll can easily be happy with just that!

Protip: All of the streaming movie channels ROTATE the movies that play. So if it's not on Max but on Netflix, just wait 60 days or so. It will also eventually rotate to Prime as well.

Most of my favorite shows are on Discovery+.

Netflix has some Amazing original content. And their original stuff gets better every time.

Hulu is an Excellent option IF you need live TV. Their original content is lame, but they rotate a whole lot of movies as well.

Apple TV is super lame. Their original content is good, but you can watch all of it in a few days. But, they do make the best streaming device! Absolutely zero doubt about that.

Sharing is caring. Always remember that, when it comes to streaming accounts.

The Firestick does come in a 4k/Atmos version. It used to be called the FireCube. Not sure what it is today.

The Google device in a new TV will be 4k/Atmos.

Apple device is also 4k/Atmos.

Roku, I have no clue.

If you don't have a OLED or Mini LED TV, and a surround sound system, these things won't be important to you.

Happy shopping!

 

[185EZ]

For those on Optimum (I have it at the river) check your bill. Back in Aug my $25 100 mbps went to $40. I had it on autopay and just now caught it.

I do have to negotiate every year. Last year I was $19. Then they said they would upgrade me to 300 mbps for free
I don't think they have anything under 300 now. Then they charged me for 300 lol.
It's a game and you do need to watch it

 

[Hypnautic]

Gone through several iterations of cutting the cord.

First setup was a lower speed internet (when kids were younger and I was not working from home) with DirecTV. Internet was, I think about $100/mo plus DTV was over $250/mo (was bundled with phone svc, etc)

Dropped that to a slightly higher speed internet ($110-115ish) and added Hulu (promo price for 2 years at 49.99/mo

Then Hulu got expensive (doubled in price) and I started working from home. So now we are at $150/mo for top speed internet. Dropped Hulu and run MagicBox only. Wife does buy Peacock and Discovery or Paramount (cant remember which one) cause she likes to watch her shows when traveling.
We have Prime also but there movie options really declined when they went to a more buy/rent platform.

Our TV's (Samsung) also have the TV Hub or whatever they call it that gives a few local, movie, weather, news, etc channels.
I like the MagicBox cause I like to watch the news from Hawaii and then watch some news in TN.

 

[Meaney77]

Finally cut the cord in January too, I was tired of paying for Direct TV and not watching anything they offer. Agree with @Dan Lorenze ; you have to be careful because the subscription fees can add up quickly and you end up spending as much if not more than you do with a service provider.

We have Firestciks on almost all of the TV's, and have had good luck, but we still subscribe to Netflix and Peacock.

This guy walks you through jailbreaking a firestick, and you can find just about everything under the sun to watch.

newtechevolution

jailbreak firestick fully loaded firestick and all other streaming news and best content

www.youtube.com

 

[HBCraig]

I'm still with directv. Maybe after the kids are done playing in college I will switch. But, I need full access to espn as many of their games are on.

 

[Berdes]

No mention of the "magic box" as sold by mike on this site ? Got it, happy with it. Just wish there something to watch on tv.

 

[HTTP404]

Youtube premium is all I need. So much good content people are creating.

Wife needs every dang streaming platform, so we have those also lol

LOL same boat here.

 

[Echo Lodge]

I do have to negotiate every year. Last year I was $19. Then they said they would upgrade me to 300 mbps for free
I don't think they have anything under 300 now. Then they charged me for 300 lol.
It's a game and you do need to watch it

Yes, like all services you constantly have to keep going to retention to keep the price down. Because I am at 100 I do not believe they offer that anymore. I'm not sure if it's worth a call or not.

 

[mjc]

I have the Starlink which I take with me in the RV, which gets me all the same as home while traveling. I also use Plex for some stuff, my son downloads whatever I want to his Plex server that runs in his home office.

 

[thedan]

Have antenna with TiVo Roamio ota dvr in AZ. Love having a dvr. Paid for the lifetime guide channel subscription. I can schedule recordings from my phone.

 

[HB2Havasu]

After seeing my Xfinity cable / internet bill go to $275 per month I am done. 70 percent of the TV we watch is available over the air. I picked up an antenna and received 58 OTA channels more clearly than I do on cable. Now I’m looking at streaming devices. I’ve narrowed it down to Amazon Firestick and Roku. Also looked at You Tube TV but that’s 89 bucks a month. Looking to get some input on what people are using and how they like it.

Yeah I cut the cable years ago when our bill hit $125. It's been a minute, lol. Yore still going to need an internet connection to run firestick or roku as far as I know???

 

[28Eliminator]

We did the same about a year ago... got ridiculously expensive.

Antenna (40 some channels), Roku with Netflix, Disney and Hulu (less than $50 month total). We also have a Superbox

 

[mesquito_creek]

How do you say boomer without saying boomer…. Cable TV/DishTv

… cut the chord so long ago and don’t remember

 

[rivrrts429]

I'm still with directv. Maybe after the kids are done playing in college I will switch. But, I need full access to espn as many of their games are on.

I have all of the ESPN channels streaming. They have their own app too. It’s an option if you ever want to look at switching.

 

[samsah33]

Hitting about $200 per month for cable/internet/landline (plus $.99 per mo for Hulu for 12 mos...!). Yes, you read that correct: landline. I still have the old monitored alarm, so I need a landline, plus it will cost me more to un-bundle... My cheap wife () calls up every few months and get some type of temporary pricing then calls again when it ends, so it's a managed cost...

 

[mash on it]

2012.
That's more than a dozen years ago.
Some 60 OTA channels.
Started with a Roku. YouTube with NHRA.
Eventually Amazon prime.
Netflix.
Discovery (cancelled, IYKYK).
Motor Trend (NLA).
Paramount (Yellowstone).
Way to much programing for me.
Radio in the shop has AM classic country. Only classic country.
And now you know the rest of the story.

Dan'l

 

[Dan Lorenze]

You need WiFi regardless so that’s negligible. You can get away with the Starlink $50 per month plan.

Then you can share apps streaming with family and friends for many of them. That’s what I do with the DirecTv app and in turn share apps with others.

That’s like saying I already have electricity at the house so charging my EV is negligible.

Many guys on here make a point of 4k streaming, you’re gonna need some bandwith for all the streaming that’s going on in the house. You stream a sporting event in 4k while the wife is in the next room watching Yellowstone while the kids are downstairs streaming their video games. You’re not gonna subscribe to a cheapo WiFi package and neither am I. You’re gonna upgrade and pay for it.

Starlink with its 200mbps for $120 is nothing spectacular. I pay $40 more for internet speeds three times faster than Starlink plus 15 premium channels, local channels and a shit ton of other programming. I’d love to have Starlink but I don’t see it as a very good deal compared to Spectrum cable.

Btw, this isn’t direct at you. Just having fun with the discussion.

 

[Angler]

That’s like saying I already have electricity at the house so charging my EV is negligible.

Many guys on here make a point of 4k streaming, you’re gonna need some bandwith for all the streaming that’s going on in the house. You streaming a sporting event in 4k while the wife is in the next room watching Yellowstone while the kids are downstairs streaming their video games. You’re not gonna subscribe to a cheapo WiFi package and neither am I. You’re gonna upgrade and pay for it.

Starlink with its 200mbps for $120 is nothing spectacular. I pay $40 more for internet speeds three times faster than Starlink plus 15 premium channels, local channels and a shit ton of other programming. I’d love to have Starlink but I don’t see it as a very good deal compared to Spectrum cable.

Btw, this isn’t direct at you. Just having fun with the discussion.

Call out thread?

 

[Dan Lorenze]

Call out thread?

lol not at all…..

 

[Orange Juice]

When you have two homes, and one is in the woods, we ended up with dish, and Prime.

Streaming at our cabin area got a little better, but slows down on Saturday nights noticeably, hence the Dish.

 

[Track Man]

I live off grid with no Internet service at all. I used to have Hughesnet POS. Then I had DIRECTV POS. Then Starlink came out, changed my life out here. Now I can stream anything I want and my phone also works through Starlink wi-Fi calling. Bought a new Samsung smart TV with built in App Store. There’s a lot of free stuff on the Samsung smart TV, but never watch it. I have T-Mobile for my phone so we get Netflix. I have a Plex app for movies. There’s a lot of free movies on there and you can buy some but I have a buddy that let me join his Plex app. He has over 6000 movies on there. I mainly watch a lot of stuff on YouTube. seems like everything in the world’s on YouTube. Last weekend I was watching live Jackson Hill Snowmobile Hill climbs live, which I haven’t finished watching boat racing in Lake Ming. I have a lot of subscribers. I was Starlink at $120 a month. That’s all I pay. I just don’t have that much time to watch TV. I have friends that’s all they do is watch TV. They don’t have a life.

 

[rivrrts429]

That’s like saying I already have electricity at the house so charging my EV is negligible.

Many guys on here make a point of 4k streaming, you’re gonna need some bandwith for all the streaming that’s going on in the house. You stream a sporting event in 4k while the wife is in the next room watching Yellowstone while the kids are downstairs streaming their video games. You’re not gonna subscribe to a cheapo WiFi package and neither am I. You’re gonna upgrade and pay for it.

Starlink with its 200mbps for $120 is nothing spectacular. I pay $40 more for internet speeds three times faster than Starlink plus 15 premium channels, local channels and a shit ton of other programming. I’d love to have Starlink but I don’t see it as a very good deal compared to Spectrum cable.

Btw, this isn’t direct at you. Just having fun with the discussion.

I’m not taking it personal at all. It’s all in good fun and worthy of a discussion. This stuff adds up each month and you gotta figure out what works best for your household.

 

[Mrs. HTTP404]

to be fair to wife (Me) , We pay for YouTube TV the rest all come with other stuff. Prime comes with Amazon. Disney, Hulu & ESPN come with Verizon/Phone and paramount comes with Walmart. Peacock we get for free because for some reason, there was already a log on our new Roku device.

 

[rrrr]

I don't watch much TV, I read books. I'm on the second of a four volume set about George C. Marshall, who was US Army Chief of Staff during WWII. Each book is about 450 pages. They were written by Forrest Pogue, one of the most well regarded American historians of the 19th Century.

Marshall was born in 1880. He was Chief of Staff to General John J. Pershing, who commanded all American forces in Europe during WWII. In the interwar years, Marshall rose in rank, and in 1939, Roosevelt selected him to be Chief of Staff. At that time, the US Army had less than 200,000 men in uniform, a hodgepodge of obsolete weapons, a few dozen tanks, and about 400 airplanes, most of them ancient biplanes.

The country was gripped in the vise of rigid isolationism. Even though Hitler was overrunning Europe, and Japan had captured much of Northern China, Congress refused to allocate funds to meet the emergency.

By the end of WWII, there were almost 15 million troops in uniform, with 8 million of those being frontline fighters, and the United States was producing more than 50% of all manufactured goods on Earth. General Marshall was elevated to five star rank, and the title General of the United States Army.

After his career in the Armed Forces and before Marshall retired, he served as Secretary of State, and later Secretary of Defense. His initiative to provide loans to the shattered countries of Europe so they could rebuild war damage changed the path of European history and became known as the Marshall Plan. He died in 1959, after serving his country for over sixty years. George Marshall is one of the giants of American history.

Reading these books is a much more instructive and stimulating challenge than watching Netflix, but I've always enjoyed reading. Another subject I have been revisting is nuclear physics, particularly the Manhattan Project. The more I learn about the wartime effort, the more I respect the initiative of those midcentury pioneers.

Our country's successful pursuit of the most consequential scientific problem in mankind's history is the story of a gripping mystery and incredible genius. The stories about the people surrounding the efforts of those scientists, like Oppenheimer, Marshall, and others, are fascinating.

 

[TimeBandit]

DEI?

I was browsing the spectrum cable options and noticed Spanish is $25 a month for basic and English is $40 a month.

WTF?

 

[BabyRay]

DEI?

I was browsing the spectrum cable options and noticed Spanish is $25 a month for basic and English is $40 a month.

WTF?

Is that even legal?

 

[TimeBandit]

Is that even legal?

I don't know but there is some serious f****** going on with the spectrum cable bill.

My goal today is to reduce the bill, we are legacy customers so that means they put it in extra deep.

 

[rivermobster]

DEI?

I was browsing the spectrum cable options and noticed Spanish is $25 a month for basic and English is $40 a month.

WTF?

I think we all need to see the link to this!

 

[TimeBandit]

I think we all need to see the link to this!

I just typed in an address and did some browsing. Now, after a frustrating in-person visit to Spectrum I have the prices and list of channels in hand.

The website sucks. I could not figure out any choices no matter how hard I searched. They want to keep you in the dark.

TV Stream Latino, $25. 51 channels

TV Stream (English) $40. 93 channels

500 mbps internet $80.