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ATV4 - one step closer to cutting the cord?
- Thread starter iMas70
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As far as cord-cutting, I don't think the new ATV adds much more than the previous model. It adds a better remote, the promise of a better UI, and apps! The apps are cool, but I don't really think they nudge the cord-cutting along much, unless we start seeing networks and content provider apps that we didn't see before.
Was a cord-cutter years ago, but signed on for basic cable a few months back, because they made the bundle very cheap. I think it adds something like $40 to our Ultra high speed Internet, including HBO & Showtime. It also lets me access lots of content online through AMC, etc. And, every now & then, I can actually watch an NFL game that I'm interested in. I'm also not quite as active on torrent and what-not any more, so it's convenient. But I wouldn't pay much more than I am now, for the service.
Was a cord-cutter years ago, but signed on for basic cable a few months back, because they made the bundle very cheap. I think it adds something like $40 to our Ultra high speed Internet, including HBO & Showtime. It also lets me access lots of content online through AMC, etc. And, every now & then, I can actually watch an NFL game that I'm interested in. I'm also not quite as active on torrent and what-not any more, so it's convenient. But I wouldn't pay much more than I am now, for the service.
I think the definition of cord-cutting is also a bit murky now. I haven't hooked up a set top box to a TV in at least 5yrs. But I started paying money to a cable provider for something other than just Internet access, a couple months ago. This is because the rate they're charging me above my Internet access is about what I'd pay to subscribe to individual services like HBO & ShowTime. Well, maybe a bit more, but I get access to other good stuff as well.
But Set top boxes are yesterday's news.
But Set top boxes are yesterday's news.
There's no *one* answer to that. It completely depend on what you need/want to be watching and how. I personally have been a cord cutter for about 6 years now and never looked back.
If you're a big fan of watching live sport you might be in trouble. If you absolutely have to watch the new episodes of your TV show the exact moment it's aired, you might be in trouble. Otherwise, why not give it a shot? You can always go back if you don't like it.
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It makes it much easier. Thursday I wanted to watch V for Vendetta because duh. I went to my computer library and it wasn't there! I guess I haven't re-ripped it yet. So I told Siri to find V for Vendetta. It was on HBO, so it played from there with me barely knowing or caring it was from HBO.
This part of the OS is done so well it makes me want to cry. This is exactly the type of usage I wished for, allowing you to just know what you want to watch and not care from where you get it.
The sports apps gaining this feature will be nice, especially as more become available without a TV package. I'm assuming this would get incorporated into an Apple TV service, which might make me mess myself. "Watch Georgia football." It then brings up on demand listings of previous games and asks if I want to set a reminder for a live game coming up on ESPN. Also including things like a coach's show and maybe a special on a player would be tough but also awesome. Then if there were local news segments pegged through the search, yowsa.
This part of the OS is done so well it makes me want to cry. This is exactly the type of usage I wished for, allowing you to just know what you want to watch and not care from where you get it.
The sports apps gaining this feature will be nice, especially as more become available without a TV package. I'm assuming this would get incorporated into an Apple TV service, which might make me mess myself. "Watch Georgia football." It then brings up on demand listings of previous games and asks if I want to set a reminder for a live game coming up on ESPN. Also including things like a coach's show and maybe a special on a player would be tough but also awesome. Then if there were local news segments pegged through the search, yowsa.
I’d love to cut the cord, but the mega powers of Sky and Virgin here in the UK just make it so hard to! Especially when you have a wife who is too set in her ways to give it up!
Like I’ve had a deal sent to me from Virgin that I can add all the channels that I currently get with Sky (and then some additional ones) for 80 pence extra month for an entire year onto my current Phone/BB-only subscription and save myself £40 in the process by getting rid of Sky. And Virgin will have all the catchup content available as well.
How can anyone say no to that?
Like I’ve had a deal sent to me from Virgin that I can add all the channels that I currently get with Sky (and then some additional ones) for 80 pence extra month for an entire year onto my current Phone/BB-only subscription and save myself £40 in the process by getting rid of Sky. And Virgin will have all the catchup content available as well.
How can anyone say no to that?
You CAN most definately cut the cord.
Subscribe to something like HBO Go (using a VPN of course), or ditch sky for NOW TV, much cheaper and no contract.
Sky's satellite TV subscription model is dated and on borrowed time.
Of course I can, but the key thing here is the BB connection. That I have with Virgin and would obviously need that to use the streaming services you've mentioned.
So for them to offer all the channels I currently get, get additional channels that I currently don't have with Sky, have access to all on demand content from the UK channels and save £40 a month, why wouldn't I go that route?
There is such a thing as life without subscription TV. I ditched Sky years ago in favour of FTV and I am being absolutely honest when I say we have not missed Sky TV and we still struggle to watch everything we record.
I do think it can also depend on ones demographic. Sky offers nothing to the more mature viewer, our family have no interest in 'chick flicks' 'rom coms' or pointless 'teen gore'. It was for us then an easy choice to make. We now have a very competitive phone and unlimited BB contract and have saved a shed load of money into the bargain.
Sadly ATV is only a full feature product if you live in the U.S. so although I currently own an ATV2 I won't be rushing out to buy the new model anytime soon.
While I could perfectly live off of Freeview, the wife is a different matter entirely.
As I said, the key thing is the BB connection. As it stands I have a Virgin Media Phone/BB connection on the XL Tariff. For 80p extra a month, they are offering over 200 channels, access to channels that I don’t have with Sky, access to the on demand content not available on the ATV, and I’d save the cost of having Sky. And that is not having Sky Sports or Movies.
All I’m saying that it’s not technically that easy to cut the cord as there are other factors in play.
True cord-cutting will be hard to achieve until we get rid of the authentication of every app. It drives me nuts that the networks make you have a cable subscription, yet I can flip over to the tuner on my tv and watch it all for free. Because of this, I don't think the ATV4 is any closer to the dream than the ATV3.
We cut the cord a couple years ago, but not really. Now we just freeload off other people, using their logins for ESPN and AMC, etc. If not for that, we would be on Sling TV, mainly for ESPN.
We cut the cord a couple years ago, but not really. Now we just freeload off other people, using their logins for ESPN and AMC, etc. If not for that, we would be on Sling TV, mainly for ESPN.
I didn't want to run a line to my kitchen TV so I tried an over the air antenna. Could only get some basic channels and the reception wasn't great. Plus I couldn't get the Today Show in the morning. Most of the DTV channels that I watch are between 269 and 289 plus ABC, NBC and CBS.
I don't think the AppleTV 4 gets one any closer to cord cutting than the AppleTV 3 did. What I mean is, if you weren't willing to cut the cord with the AppleTV 3, you're still not going to cut the cord with an AppleTV 4. My wife and I cut the cord years ago and have never regretted that decision (granted, we don't watch sports). Now, the idea of paying for a traditional cable TV package seems so foreign to us.
I think what a lot of people forget is that cutting the cord isn't just about saving money. It's also about changing the way you watch TV and reducing the amount of crap you watch. If you go into it with the attitude that you must be able to watch everything you currently watch with a cable TV subscription, then you'll either be unhappy or you'll wind up paying as much or more since you'll wind up subscribing to every service available. However, if you're willing to change your TV viewing habits and only pay for a couple/few services, you can save a bunch of money and be happier.
I think what a lot of people forget is that cutting the cord isn't just about saving money. It's also about changing the way you watch TV and reducing the amount of crap you watch. If you go into it with the attitude that you must be able to watch everything you currently watch with a cable TV subscription, then you'll either be unhappy or you'll wind up paying as much or more since you'll wind up subscribing to every service available. However, if you're willing to change your TV viewing habits and only pay for a couple/few services, you can save a bunch of money and be happier.
I cut the cord in August when I finally created an Netflix account and HBO Now. I also use Hulu. I have VZ Fios. When NFL allows live games on the NFL app, No more fiOS.
What I did to bring it home to the wife was I asked her to keep a record of every programme she watched on Sky over a 4 week period. When she saw how little it actually was and the amount we were paying it was she who said phone and cancel.
Might be worth a try?
Honest admission but shocking nonetheless. There is so much good material to watch on Freeview that I can't understand why we didn't do it sooner. You actually get some of the programmes you would get if you had Sky, it's just that you get them later down the line.
Not yet. Still no football solution and there is no way I'm paying what CBS wants for one stinking channel. That's crazy. I'm hopping Apple finds a way to get people channels they can put together a la carte for a price each month, but I'm not holding my breath.