Best cord cutting options

[Plutonius]

If you live close to a large metropolitan area, chances are over the air TV will have 30 or more channels to watch.

You don't necessarily have to live in a large metropolitan area to get OTA (over the air channels). I live 30+ miles (closer to 40 miles) from transmission towers in Massachusetts and I receive over 30 channels.

People probably will not get any OTA stations when they first plug in the antenna and it's a time consuming procedure to get it right (maximize the number of channels received).

 

[chscag]

Depends on the terrain. Have to remember that some folks live in areas where mountains or hills get in the way. Or, in some large cities where buildings reflect or block the signal. A good roof mounted antenna will pull in stations from far away and close. Indoor mounted antennas (which is what I was referring to above) generally will not do as well, which is why it helps to live in a large metro area.

 

[colodane]

My only concern is that the way the streaming services keep adding channels and increasing the prices, they will end up with hundreds of channels and same prices as cable and satellite.

Yes indeed. YTTV as it is now is great. But if it becomes another Comcast I will bail.

What happened to Google's "Do No Evil" mantra ???

 

[Beelzbub]

We got rid of DirectTV Satellite last year and went with DirectTV Now. And for the time being I am on a grandfathered plan and they have not raised my prices. My bill is $60 a month (includes the $5 for HBO) and that includes taxes. The only channel we do not get is CBS, but I can get that with a cheap over the air antenna, but to be honest we do not miss that channel. Rumor has it they have and are raising the prices of DirecTV Now by $10, and if they do that I will have to see what we want to do (stay with them or look for something else), but even if my bill goes to $70, it is still way cheaper than what I paid when we had the satellite version. I think if I did switch to something else, I would do the YouTube TV, seems to offer a decent amount of channels for a good price.

My parents tried the Hulu Live TV and they had it for a week, but ended up switching to YouTube TV & Philo for the History channel and they seem to be happy with that and still save a ton of money than what they were paying. And they get all of their locals with YouTube TV, which is nice because an antenna just doesn't work for them due to their location.

 

[Lee_Bo]

We currently have 200 meg Spectrum ($65/mo) and YouTube TV ($50/mo) for a total of $115/mo. Back when we had the Spectrum bundle plan, we were in the $300/mo range.

 

[dugbug]

philotv and hbo via the apple tv channels app is a pretty viable combo unless you need news. Also throw in the channels app with an OTA antenna for locals.

 

[Beelzbub]

We currently have 200 meg Spectrum ($65/mo) and YouTube TV ($50/mo) for a total of $115/mo. Back when we had the Spectrum bundle plan, we were in the $300/mo range.

We have fiber from a local provider for $60 a month (no data caps either) and pay $120 a month for TV and Internet. I used to pay $200 to $215 month (price always fluctuated) for both services back when I had AT&T for home internet & DirecTV for satellite. On average I am saving close to $87 a month going this route, and if DirecTV Now charges me $10 more a month like I have heard them doing to others, we would still be saving compared to what I used to pay. Not saying I am happy about the price hike, but still saving, plus I can stream data free on my iPad if need be, I don't do it all the time, but there have been times I do, like during March Madness at work since streaming is blocked on our network.

I just wish YouTube TV carried the History channel, if they had that channel I would switch to them in a heartbeat, that's the one channel we watch a lot of in my house.

 

[Beelzbub]

Went a head and switched to YouTube TV last night. We sat down and really looked at the stuff we watch on TV, and it is not much and decided we can live without a few channels from DirecTV Now because we would only watch the one program on that channel like once a year and determined it would be cheaper to just buy the season of the show we wanted on iTunes or Amazon. And in the process we gained some channels we didn't have before (like all of my locals now and the Smithsonian channel). Told my family between YouTube TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Curiosity Stream (got that one for $15 a year), if you cannot find something on TV to watch, then go do something constructive like yard work, read a book or go for a walk. Quite happy with YouTube TV, has a decent amount of channels for a decent price without any contracts.

 

[mlseiber1976]

I just hit the five year anniversary of our cord cutting and have not designs to go back. My opinion would be to just look hard at what you can live with or without and see what services give you the most for what you seek at the lowest price. I watch our pennies as well and I was the one who was the hold out on cutting the cord as my wife was ready. When I realized that I was either watching dvds or shows I was dvring, I made the change. I also have two kids and was nervous on what they watched but when we made the move, we got an Apple TV 3rd Gen and also a Roku since Amazon was not on Apple. It is rarely used, if at all. I was not happy with our internet provider, so we switched to a local one that was cheaper plus offered fioptics and that price has held for most of the five years. I just call them around the year mark where my price goes up and negotiate a cheaper rate. It usually goes up a little but no where near as much as it should. We use Netflix primarily but have added Hulu in the last year. We have Amazon but we don't watch as much it as we order more stuff on it than anything. I can usually hold off until shows get added as there is enough stuff on the streaming companies to keep me or my family entertained during the year although I buy via Itunes the handful of shows I cannot wait to see. I use to have MLB tv but dropped that this year as did not watch it as much as I use to (doesn't help when the team you follow hits a rebuild and will probably add it back in a year or two). I use an OTA for football mainly and borrow a friends directtv login for ESPN and other sports as I am a sports fan. All in all, I spend around $100 a month on all we use. And if you really like movies, check out the local library. They are free and depending on their selection and rules, can be kept a week or longer compared to rentals for 48 hours. that has saved us money as well. But like said before, best thing you can do it look at what makes the most sense and gives you the most savings. No one person does it the same

 

[MEJHarrison]

We finally did it. Ended up ditching Comcast/Xfinity for internet and went with FIOS. It's less than half what we had been paying without any data caps. With 4 people in the house (with a fifth moving in soon), 1 terabyte just wasn't going to cut it. Had we done unlimited with Xfinity, we would have been paying triple what we're paying for FIOS.

For TV, we went with Hulu Live TV. Again, less than half what we had been paying to DirecTV. Even with all the various add-on stuff we picked up.

It's only been about 5 days now, but so far everything is going well and people are happy with the service we have. So I'd call it a success at this point.

 

[Tech198]

I created this thread with tips on saving money on your ISP/cable bills and cord cutting in general.

The best way to figure out what you should get is to figure out what you can do without. If you are happy with basic streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc., then I would go with a cheap internet with your new ISP (100Mbps would be more than adequate for streaming on multiple devices), and stick with the basic streaming apps. You will save a lot of money like that.

If you have access to multiple ISPs, don't do contracts, and switch every time your current ISP's introductory rates go up. I do this, and have switched over a dozen times since 2011.

Remember that it is easy to sign up and cancel streaming services. If you like a few TV shows on HBO, but your favorite show ever is Game of Thrones, only sign up for HBO when the new season of GoT is on, while you are at it catch up on all the other shows you watch and cancel after a few months. Then do it again next season. You can do this will all the other streaming services too.

If you can live without Live TV, then do it. Right now, that is the most expensive service, so much so, that it is getting to the same price as a cheap Cable TV package.



This is important mostly for people that like Live TV.


This will limit your access to the newer Live TV services, but if you like stuff like Netflix, HBO, Prime Video, etc., then the ATV3 would be okay to use.

While the ATV3 is pretty old now, I actually prefer the ATV3 version of apps over the tvOS version of apps. The tvOS version of apps look modern, and aesthetically pleasing, the functionality and intuitiveness sucks compared to the ATV3's version of the apps.
[doublepost=1553488669][/doublepost]If you want to do Live TV, which I would recommend not to if you can, here are a list of the popular ones out there with some features:

DirecTV Now
@ $50 a month, allows multiple device streaming (2), includes HBO. DirecTV Now use to be the best one imo, but with a 43% increase over 8 months, and losing a bunch of channels on the lowest tier, it is overpriced.

Hulu + Live TV
@ $45 a month, includes all of Hulu's content, allows multiple device streaming (2), multiple profiles.

YouTube Live TV
@ $40 a month, allows multiple device streaming (3), multiple profiles, unlimited DVR, YouTube originals.

Sling TV
@ $25-$40 a month, decent channels, good for sports fans, allows multiple device streaming (1-3 depending on package), and a special right now with 40% off for 3 months.

PS Vue
@ $45 a month, allows multiple device streaming (5), multiple profiles (10), unlimited DVR, great for a large family.

Philo Live TV
@ $16 a month, the cheapest plan, and some decent channels, allows multiple device streaming (3), unlimited DVR.

Although this is all good, that's excluding you ISP bill as well to do it. When ISP factors in, i will have severe effect.

I doubt many would be 'easily to give up their internet speeds' over 'what steaming service we can do without.' Just sayin'

I'm on 50MPBs and pay $79.. a month.. I would be more likely to get Netflix an Hulu if i was paying only $25 for Internet access, than $79 partially due to price throughout.

I guess it's all relative .

 

[Juicy Box]

I guess it's all relative .

It is, as people's prices are usually determined by their location, and the price I pay at my home, could be very different than the price you pay at yours, which could be very different than everyone else on the forum.

The people with only one ISP tend to have it the worse, as there is no competition to keep the ISPs in check.

But, there is still things one could do to reduce their cable/ISP bills.

When ISP factors in, i will have severe effect.

I am not sure if I understand what you are stating here. Is your statement in response to this?:

The best way to figure out what you should get is to figure out what you can do without. If you are happy with basic streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc., then I would go with a cheap internet with your new ISP (100Mbps would be more than adequate for streaming on multiple devices), and stick with the basic streaming apps. You will save a lot of money like that.

If so, I know that not everyone's situation is the same. Some unlucky people are at the mercy of their Cable/ISP. There might still a few things that could be done to lower their bills for these people too.

It just won't be as easy.

I doubt many would be 'easily to give up their internet speeds' over 'what steaming service we can do without.' Just sayin'

I am not really understanding this statement either.

Are you saying that people will not be willing to lower their internet speed to save money?

If so, I understand that some people will feel this way. They need to prioritize what is important to them.

But, I will add that many people pay for internet speeds that they will rarely or ever utilize. In my area, many people are paying FiOS and Comcast for Gigabit download speeds, but the most they will ever use it for is Netflix streamed at 1080p.

I think that the average customer of ISPs don't know any better, and go by the recommendations of the ISPs. The ISPs ask questions like "how many devices do you have in your home" and then make recommendations based on a flawed scale. I switch ISPs very often (relatively), and I get asked this all the time.

I'm on 50MPBs and pay $79.. a month..

That would be high in my area, but similar to many people on the forum.

I am curious, do you only have one choice of ISP?

I would be more likely to get Netflix an Hulu if i was paying only $25 for Internet access, than $79 partially due to price throughout.

Again, this all comes down to personal priorities and choices.

if i was paying only $25 for Internet access,

$25 a month would be pretty cheap in my area and probably most of the US, but normal in some places around the world.

Although, I had a deal last year with Comcast for 60Mbps download @ $30 a month for 12 months with no contract.

I didn't know it at the time (because Comcast stop advertising they upload speeds), but it only had a 5Mbps upload speed, which wouldn't work for my media server. I called to cancel my brand new service, and they offered to bump me up to their "blast" plan, which was 300Mbps down and 15Mbps up. Way more download speed than I need.

So, @ $30 a month, that was the best deal I have ever gotten for internet.

Right before my Comcast rates were going to increase, I switched back to FiOS for a 100Mbps down and up @ $40 a month for 12 months with no contract.

than $79 partially due to price throughout.

I am not sure what you mean. Do you mean your $79 a month is for internet and cable?
[doublepost=1557965323][/doublepost]

It's only been about 5 days now, but so far everything is going well and people are happy with the service we have. So I'd call it a success at this point.

Awesome.

I like to hear about stories where people lower their media and ISP bills. Too often I hear stories about people paying $200+ a month to their cable companies, and they complain about it, but they rarely do anything to lower their bills and keep paying it.

 

[Tech198]

I am not sure if I understand what you are stating here. Is your statement in response to this?:

Yes..

If so, I know that not everyone's situation is the same. Some unlucky people are at the mercy of their Cable/ISP. There might still a few things that could be done to lower their bills for these people too.

It just won't be as easy.

It won't, but price plays a part, but depends on weather we have much competition as well

 

[AMTYVLE]

Now that Apple has updated their TV app across their devices, what about Apple TV Channels? I'm also on DirecTV Satellite and looking to cut the cord as well. Would it be worth it to put together a list of channels I want and subscribe to each Channel individually with Apple TV Channels? I own the Apple TV 4k.

Edit: Looks like there aren't that many Apple TV Channels available to subscribe to really. So that's out.

 

[circatee]

Shortly, we are moving. With this in mind, I have been thinking for ages to look into cutting off ATT U-Verse.
Currently, paying $200 a month, including internet. Plus, we have Netflix, too...

Alas, I need to seriously consider what channels we need. Then, to consider which streaming option to use.

 

[RLT]

We're getting ready to move in about a month. Currently, we have DirecTV and a giant bill to go with it. So this seems like a good time to see what other options are out there. And we're looking to maybe cut the cord. We're currently paying around $200 for pretty much everything (I miss the days when you could just go online and change your package!). We'd like to pay a lot less than that obviously. Shouldn't be too hard I'd guess.

We don't watch sports or news. ABC/CBS/NBC, HGTV, DIY, Syfy, Discovery, etc. HBO is a nice to have, but not a deal breaker.

We have an Apple TV 3rd Generation.

I see people asking about DVR capabilities. Why is that necessary if you have streaming? What questions should I be asking? What features should I look for?

I do know it would be nice to use something that integrates well with the Apple TV. And I know Monday there will be a new player in town. Beyond that, I'm not sure where to start beyond Googling "cutting the cord". Which doesn't sound like a half bad idea now that I think of it. But as an Apple TV person, I thought I'd start here.

[doublepost=1562460557][/doublepost]Streaming is live. If you want to watch it later you need to DVR it. We have YouTubeTV and love it, but it has all sports channels which we love. Plus unlimited DVR storage and keeps for nine months. I think all have free trials so check them out. I suggest you forget Directv/ATT. streaming and we had Directv for 2 years before cutting the cord.

 

[Tech198]

We're getting ready to move in about a month. Currently, we have DirecTV and a giant bill to go with it. So this seems like a good time to see what other options are out there. And we're looking to maybe cut the cord. We're currently paying around $200 for pretty much everything (I miss the days when you could just go online and change your package!). We'd like to pay a lot less than that obviously. Shouldn't be too hard I'd guess.

We don't watch sports or news. ABC/CBS/NBC, HGTV, DIY, Syfy, Discovery, etc. HBO is a nice to have, but not a deal breaker.

We have an Apple TV 3rd Generation.

I see people asking about DVR capabilities. Why is that necessary if you have streaming? What questions should I be asking? What features should I look for?

I do know it would be nice to use something that integrates well with the Apple TV. And I know Monday there will be a new player in town. Beyond that, I'm not sure where to start beyond Googling "cutting the cord". Which doesn't sound like a half bad idea now that I think of it. But as an Apple TV person, I thought I'd start here.

DVR is a FAD (sort off)

I mean it's BUT only if you get to KEEP the content forever.

Now days you have DVR in the cloud for convenience, of course like everything is, but the trade off they remove it after a certain time... May be longer than streaming content is,but it still expires.

Even Foxtel had DVR in its local set top boxes the IQ2, but you never kept that either. these are all good, but if you have time shift channels no need fr a DVR as you can watch them later..

If you must have DVR because "you miss all of the repeats" then you work too much.

All have is Apple TV 3'rd gen , iTunes and Stan... No netflix, and none of what you mentioned. If you cut out the fact i hardly even rent anything and only watch purchases on iTunes, the its only $10 a month. I do have iView here, but that's free... Used to watch SBSOndemand, but got rid of it on ATV because they now require an account (This was the only app they didn't need to login on until a few months ago). and my privacy is more important. I figured SBS is not really an issue lossing, but if there is something i Must see, so i'll login on Mac.

Most news channels are "live" which is good, but unfortunately, that's the only things. (eg.. Eurovision is not live) for example

 

[960design]

Why is that necessary if you have streaming? What questions should I be asking? What features should I look for?

Cut the cord about 15 years ago. We currently have 3 AppleTVs. A 4k for the living room, and two 4th generations. One 4th gen for the office and another for travel and work.
We have Netflix and HBO ( $28ish a month ). We have Amazon Prime for the shipping, but also includes Amazon Prime TV which has some pretty great stuff. Most of our video time is spent watching Movie/TV shows we purchase / rent through AppleTV. The rest of the time we spend binge watching Netflix. Things like Season 3 Stranger Things.

I have never DVR'd anything in my life. If I cannot watch it on my schedule, it just does not get watched. I'll never leave a nice sunset and half a glass of wine to catch an Uber home to 'watch that show'.

We occassionally watch things like Orville via the free FOX app, but more often than not just purchase the season when available via iTunes.

 

[KG87]

Going to add something here that I haven't seen mentioned - and app called Locast.

I am a big Cubs fan and many of their games are on WGN, which isn't available on any streaming services but can be accessed via an antenna. When I switched to a newer Vizio TV last year I lost the cable-in and lost my ability to watch the Cubs on WGN.

I've used Locast for about 12-18 months without donating and it worked well but you get interrupted every 15 minutes with a message asking to donate. Last month I finally decided to donate $5 a month and the service is phenomenal. You get all of the channels you'd normally get over an antenna without needing an antenna - and it works on iPhone and iPad too. The biggest downside, in my opinion, is that you need to AirPlay to the TV as they don't have a native AppleTV app at this point.

 

[mallbritton]

The biggest downside, in my opinion, is that you need to AirPlay to the TV as they don't have a native AppleTV app at this point.

Really? I just found it in the App Store on my Apple TV 4k.

 

[KG87]

Really? I just found it in the App Store on my Apple TV 4k.

I feel dumb now....

I don’t think I’ve searched for it in a long time. That’s great news. Even better.

 

[mallbritton]

Maybe it's a more recent addition to the store.

 

[KG87]

Maybe it's a more recent addition to the store.

I downloaded last night and the AppleTV version doesn’t work at all for me. I live in Chicago and selected Chicago as the local network and it won’t let me watch anything. Works perfectly as an Airplay app though.

 

[malexandria22]

For me, I prefer DVR because a lot of the cable shows that can be streamed contain commercials that can’t be skipped (or even better, you can’t FF at all, even during the show), FF/REW can be clunky, and sometimes not all episodes of the current season of a show to be available for streaming.

I'm in a Corporate Apartment right now and don't have control over my Cable and can't use my Tivo, so I had to try some of these streaming services. None of them are as good as a real DVR and Cable.

I tried Hulu Live and it drove me crazy. They charge $45 for the Live, plus $10 for DVR and another $7 for fast forward and skip. But what they put in small print is not all networks actually let you use these features and it just happens that the 3 or 4 Networks that I watch don't.

For example I'm an Oxygen, Dateline fanatic and it drove me absolutely crazy that I was still forced to watch Commercials and whenever you fast forward or rewind (the rare occasions it even "worked") it would automatically play 2 or 3 minutes of unskippable commercials and it's usually the same 3 or 4 commercials shown 5 or 6 times during a 45 minute tv series. Now imagine you are watching several hours of these networks. You can see the same commercial literally 8 times in a 3 hr period. Made it unwatchable and they have the gall to charge EXTRA for these "services." Then the DVR doesn't even record certain networks and shows. I'm a fan of CW Network and the DVR didn't work with that network. I detest Hulu's interface and their business practices (but it's really the Cable Networks fault), but I love their programs, so now I just pay $11 for their exclusives. Just really disappointing

 

[JBGoode]

I cut the cord recently. I'm with Spectrum and ditched the cable TV but opted to retain a skinny bundle of streaming channels for $25. It has all local channels/networks plus 10 cable channels of my choice. I get about 30 channels total.

Internet $75
Spectrum Streaming $25
Netflix $15
Amazon Prime $10
HBO $15
I will certainly subscribe to the Disney channel when it comes out.

For free streaming I highly recommend Pluto TV. It probably has close to 100 channels and I can always find something good to watch.