Ditching Cable - Suggestions?

[colodane]

I'm close to the cord cutting, but a couple of items still problematic. Between Apple TV, Netflix and Hulu all the movies and series I'm interested in can be had on a delayed basis. OTA can provide NFL on NBC and CBS. I can do without ESPN - can always go to a bar for Monday Nite Football if it is a big game.

What i'm stuck on is CNN and NBC Sports. Any ideas how to get them without cable or satellite?

 

[satcomer]

I'm close to the cord cutting, but a couple of items still problematic. Between Apple TV, Netflix and Hulu all the movies and series I'm interested in can be had on a delayed basis. OTA can provide NFL on NBC and CBS. I can do without ESPN - can always go to a bar for Monday Nite Football if it is a big game.

What i'm stuck on is CNN and NBC Sports. Any ideas how to get them without cable or satellite?

Yes! Make sure you scan your local stores for iTunes Gift cards since many stream paid services on the new Apple TV can take iTunes accounts for logon those streaming services!

You can see what I'm speaking about!

 

[BlandUsername]

I thought about dropping cable as well, but need certain sport channels like espn etc and local sport channels. Too bad you can't just subscribed to those separately in something and truly just pay for what you want.

One Word, SLING

You get ESPN and ESPN 2 for 20 bucks with a bunch other channels.
[doublepost=1454949591][/doublepost]

I'm close to the cord cutting, but a couple of items still problematic. Between Apple TV, Netflix and Hulu all the movies and series I'm interested in can be had on a delayed basis. OTA can provide NFL on NBC and CBS. I can do without ESPN - can always go to a bar for Monday Nite Football if it is a big game.

What i'm stuck on is CNN and NBC Sports. Any ideas how to get them without cable or satellite?

NBCsports is probably only channel that I cant get, the NHL app gets everything but the games NBC has. Would love to see the NHL grab those games on their app as well.

We all need curling on in the bar

 

[JBaby]

One Word, SLING

You get ESPN and ESPN 2 for 20 bucks with a bunch other channels.
[doublepost=1454949591][/doublepost]

NBCsports is probably only channel that I cant get, the NHL app gets everything but the games NBC has. Would love to see the NHL grab those games on their app as well.

We all need curling on in the bar

I love curling! I have like 4 matches saved on my mom's Hopper. What I don't get is why the NBC Sports app doesn't have curling matches? They are only there during the Winter Olympics. Curling and volleyball are the only sports I care about. I know I'm weird.

 

[nightcap965]

No cable TV, no antenna (won't really work well where we are). Internet only connection, through which we get HBO Go, Prime, Netflix, and CBS. Tons to watch until Comcast decides to impose a bandwidth cap.

 

[ILowry82]

I cut the cord 6 months ago. Here is my set up:
1) I have subscribed to all the main streaming services: Netlix, Hulu and Amazon Prime
2) A friend of mine lets me use his cable login so I have access to Staz, HBO Go, Showtime, Watch ESPN, A&E...basically any cable service that has an app.
3) I have an outdoor antenna for basic channels. I use an HD Homerun Extend and the channels app. I have also subscribed to the DVR Beta. I use a WD Mycloud for storage.
4) I installed Kodi and use that to get basically any TV show or movie that I want. I also use Kodi to access my recordings from the DVR.
5) For sports, I use the reddit sports streams (you can find them through google search). They are easy to find and in perfect HD quality. Any team, any sport. Because of this I no longer need to subscribe to MLB at Bat or NHL Gamecenter.

 

[Binarymix]

I wish we had more options in Canada for cord cutting.

I download every show I want to watch, but I also have a full cable subscription, so that's OK with me. If I dump cable I wouldn't feel ok about it.

I live in a hole of a city (literally) and I could probably only get 3 channels OTA and they suck...

*sigh*

Anyone in Ontario that has any cord cutting suggestions? Especially regarding live tv?

 

[aneftp]

To play devils advocate here. Before cord cutting. One needs to consider the cost of "unbundling". Meaning how much the cost of Internet only service will be.

If you have zero competition for high speed internet. Your broadband internet provider may jack up your internet bill with stand a lone service.

Competition is the key.

I was paying $150-155 a month for Brighthouse triple package (no premium channels) with their 35mpbs speed (now 50mpbs).

After wards. With stand a lone internet. It cost me $75/month for the 35mpbs and with taxes it was $83/month just for internet.

That's a very high price to pay for internet only. They have a base internet 15mpbs for $54 plus taxes. Didn't feel 15mpbs was fast enough for 4K streaming.

So with no competition. U are gonna to be overpaying for internet once u unbundle.

Fortunately ATT just dug and installing gigapower speeds in my neighborhood. Low and behold. Brighthouse let me have 100mpbs/$35 a month promo for 12 month as stand a lone internet.

Gotta love when you have more than 1 internet service provider in ur area. Dramatically can lower the cost.

 

[2010mini]

Curious what kind of setup everyone has that does NOT have cable? We currently have Fios with all the channels and there is "nothing ever on". Tired of wasting the money. What would be the best way to get all the great tv without cable?

Currently have Netflix, Hulu+, Prime and Plex. I would miss SyFy, HBO, SHO and FX (American Horror Story).

Looking for some ideas. The plan is to either ditch cable altogether and do ATV4's throughout or have basic on one tv and ATV4 all over.

When cutting the cord you really have to stop thinking of tv in the format of channels and instead focus on individual content. You mentioned "nothing is ever on" which I think you means: after the season is over for the shows you watch, you lose interest.

Get a list of the shows you do watch and buy seasons. Apple TV has MLB, NBA, Soccer, Cricket, Tennis and NHL covered.

 

[ckorhonen]

Ditched cable last year when the new ATV arrived, for the most part managed fine with Netflix/Hulu and the various apps from the cable providers.

One thing which really made a difference was the HDHomeRun Extend and the Screens app. It's a device that you connect to an over-the-air antenna and to your router, and it enables you to watch free live HDTV from devices on your network. The Screen's app adds the feature to pause/rewind live TV on the Apple TV. In addition HDHomeRun is working to build a DVR feature, so you can record via. a computer/NAS similar to a normal DVR.

The Extend was ~$130 and the Screens app for ATV is $14.99 - well worth it IMO if you're serious about cutting the cord but still want access to most content.

 

[d21mike]

Ditched cable last year when the new ATV arrived, for the most part managed fine with Netflix/Hulu and the various apps from the cable providers.

One thing which really made a difference was the HDHomeRun Extend and the Screens app. It's a device that you connect to an over-the-air antenna and to your router, and it enables you to watch free live HDTV from devices on your network. The Screen's app adds the feature to pause/rewind live TV on the Apple TV. In addition HDHomeRun is working to build a DVR feature, so you can record via. a computer/NAS similar to a normal DVR.

The Extend was ~$130 and the Screens app for ATV is $14.99 - well worth it IMO if you're serious about cutting the cord but still want access to most content.

Do you mean the "Channels App" instead of the "Screens App"? If so, it is now $24.99. It is an excellent app. We use it on multiple tv's for "hours" every day.

 

[jdag]

Ditched cable last year when the new ATV arrived, for the most part managed fine with Netflix/Hulu and the various apps from the cable providers.

One thing which really made a difference was the HDHomeRun Extend and the Screens app. It's a device that you connect to an over-the-air antenna and to your router, and it enables you to watch free live HDTV from devices on your network. The Screen's app adds the feature to pause/rewind live TV on the Apple TV. In addition HDHomeRun is working to build a DVR feature, so you can record via. a computer/NAS similar to a normal DVR.

The Extend was ~$130 and the Screens app for ATV is $14.99 - well worth it IMO if you're serious about cutting the cord but still want access to most content.

This is similar to Tablo. Tablo already has DVR functionality and has apps for every major platform. They are supposedly working on a native ATV4 app, but they've not promised a date yet.

Currently, to watch Tablo on via ATV, you either use Airplay or Plex (there is a Tablo plug in for Plex that works surprisingly well).

 

[ckorhonen]

Do you mean the "Channels App" instead of the "Screens App"? If so, it is now $24.99. It is an excellent app. We use it on multiple tv's for "hours" every day.

Yes, Channels - http://getchannels.com - getting my apps confused!

 

[aneftp]

Maybe i am lucky. I have a few close friends. I give them them my espn insider and Netflix 4k user name and password. Along with my people magazine and other digital subs

They create Comcast and verizon sub accounts for me. So I can always autinicate espn nfl network nbc live extra.

So we share accounts.

 

[cdavis11]

Curious what kind of setup everyone has that does NOT have cable? We currently have Fios with all the channels and there is "nothing ever on". Tired of wasting the money. What would be the best way to get all the great tv without cable?

Currently have Netflix, Hulu+, Prime and Plex. I would miss SyFy, HBO, SHO and FX (American Horror Story).

Looking for some ideas. The plan is to either ditch cable altogether and do ATV4's throughout or have basic on one tv and ATV4 all over.

Attic mounted VHF/UHF antenna, coax fed into a Motorola 4 port DBAS4 signal booster. 3 output lines from that booster feeding 2 Silicon Dust HDHR tuners, and one HDHR Extend tuner.

HDHR tuners connected cabled via switch to my mac running EyeTV3. EyeTV records and transcodes a few shows on a schedule, and custom scripts import those to iTunes, tag metadata and update artwork. Script also emails me when the show is ready to view.

The HDHR extend feeds the wonderful new Channels app on the ATV4. $15 well spent for "Channels" - allows me to watch OTA sports and news.

 

[dbwie]

Unfortunately this is not accurate. They do lock you out of channels you do not subscribe too (in this case ESPN u and news). You can pay $5 a month more and get access to both of these channels which I do and I am very happy with it and sling tv as a whole. It gives me access to everything on the ESPN networks which is huge for any sports fans. It also has several additional channels you can access as a bonus.

I would also like to give a +1 to the tablo. It is a great little device that is networked as mentioned. They offer 14 days of guide date for $5 a month, but they will give you 24 hrs of guide data free with the device which is all I care about so it is free for me.

I also enjoy Netflix and Amazon prime. As others have said, you must have some patience as a cord cutter and it's always best to not get hooked on new shows if you can help it.

[doublepost=1456836524][/doublepost]Actually, everything I said WAS accurate, AND everything you added about ESPN U and ESPN News is also accurate (about paying $5 extra for the sports package). I was only referring to ESPN, ESPN 2, and some of ESPN 3 in the base package. Another thing I have discovered is that with Sling App on my Mac, I can Airplay it to my Apple TV, so I do not need a streaming device (Roku or XBox One, for example) to watch Sling on my TV.
[doublepost=1456836766][/doublepost]

To play devils advocate here. Before cord cutting. One needs to consider the cost of "unbundling". Meaning how much the cost of Internet only service will be.

If you have zero competition for high speed internet. Your broadband internet provider may jack up your internet bill with stand a lone service.

Competition is the key.

I was paying $150-155 a month for Brighthouse triple package (no premium channels) with their 35mpbs speed (now 50mpbs).

After wards. With stand a lone internet. It cost me $75/month for the 35mpbs and with taxes it was $83/month just for internet.

That's a very high price to pay for internet only. They have a base internet 15mpbs for $54 plus taxes. Didn't feel 15mpbs was fast enough for 4K streaming.

So with no competition. U are gonna to be overpaying for internet once u unbundle.

Fortunately ATT just dug and installing gigapower speeds in my neighborhood. Low and behold. Brighthouse let me have 100mpbs/$35 a month promo for 12 month as stand a lone internet.

Gotta love when you have more than 1 internet service provider in ur area. Dramatically can lower the cost.

I'm saving about $40 a month with cord cutting vs. my prior cable bundle. This is basically the cost of giving up my DVR box and some channels I never watch. For some people this is not worth the $40 savings so cord cutting is not for everyone. The one additional benefit of cord cutting is that, for example with HBO NOW, I can unsubscribe in the middle of summer when I'm not watching it as much, and then subscribe again in the fall when I might be watching more and catch up on what I missed.
[doublepost=1456836992][/doublepost]

One Word, SLING

You get ESPN and ESPN 2 for 20 bucks with a bunch other channels.
[doublepost=1454949591][/doublepost]

NBCsports is probably only channel that I cant get, the NHL app gets everything but the games NBC has. Would love to see the NHL grab those games on their app as well.

We all need curling on in the bar

You can get CNN with Sling TV, and I believe (need to check this) that you can get NBC Sports through Slings sports extra package which adds $5 per month onto the base $20 price. I then run Sling App on my Mac and Airplay the screen to my Apple TV. You can also get a dedicated sling app for Roku, Xbox One, and I believe Amazon Fire TV, but I find that Airplay from my computer works best. Check SlingTV website for more info about all of this.

 

[Woodstockie]

Ditched cable several years ago replacing it with an indoor HD OTA antenna that has great reception for 95% of the time. Have an ATV 4th gen mainly for Netflix and Hulu. Had also a Roku for Amazon and Sling, but didn't watch it that much and didn't want to have 2 boxes. Maybe if Amazon and Sling become available on the new ATV, I will upgrade the ATV. Couple months back also bought my own cable modem to bring the costs down even more. For now everything works great and save a lot of money each month.

 

[mlseiber1976]

We ditched cable a few years ago and have not looked back although our cost has started to rise with adding speed on our internet connection. But at least I know I am only paying for what is watched in our house. I got a MOHO Leaf antenna with a boaster and this gets me all the local channels although I mainly use it to watch sports or PBS for our kids when we need something quick. Although Comet TV has some good, old science fiction on it. We then have Netflix and is our primary source of shows. We pay for Amazon Prime but in our house, it is mainly used for shipping as we order a ton of stuff during the year. It gets watched occasionally. A friend gave us her cable log in, so I can access ESPN, Fox Sports on my ipad, NBC Sports, and a few other channels to watch items right after they air on ABC. We also buy a few shows during the year that we cannot live without on itunes but this maybe totals 4 or 5 shows during the year. I personally watch a couple of shows on CBS but I just wait the week until they are free on the CBS app for my ipad. I also subscribe to MLB tv for my baseball fix. This works since I am not a huge fan of the Reds (we live in Ohio) and I can watch Texas year round. From a monthly standpoint, with just internet, we are still saving $30 or $40 a month from what we were paying, and it is probably more now than Time Warner was offering. I think it all goes to what you want to watch and what sources you are able to either get them via paying or swapping logins with others.

 

[jljue]

Last month I just turned off U-verse TV service and have 18Mbps Max Plus Internet service, but I'm in the process of switching to Comcast Xfinity Blast! internet service. I still needed the ESPNs and SEC Network (for me), Disney Jr. (for the toddler), and HGTV and Food Network (wife), so I use SlingTV and added the sports package and family package for $5 each for a total of $30 ($20 base). I also have a Tablo DVR for the OTA antenna. I use a Roku 2 (free with 3 months prepay of Sling TV) to watch Sling TV, Tablo DVR, Amazon Prime, and a free Chinese Channel app for my mother-in-law. I use the Apple TV for anything else that we find to airplay from iMac, iPads or iPhones and for HomeSharing of movies and videos stored or purchase via iTunes on the iMac. The iMac, which sits in the office, iPhone, or iPad can also watch those same sources when not in front of the main TV.

In the process, we also discovered the episodes on the Watch Disney App that don't require a login, Boomerang, BabyTV, and other available streaming services that don't require a fee. We also learned that we really don't miss most of the channels available on the U300 service.

 

[imaccooper]

[doublepost=1456836524][/doublepost]Actually, everything I said WAS accurate, AND everything you added about ESPN U and ESPN News is also accurate (about paying $5 extra for the sports package). I was only referring to ESPN, ESPN 2, and some of ESPN 3 in the base package. Another thing I have discovered is that with Sling App on my Mac, I can Airplay it to my Apple TV, so I do not need a streaming device (Roku or XBox One, for example) to watch Sling on my TV.
[doublepost=1456836766][/doublepost]

You can open the WatchESPN app on your Apple TV (2nd, 3rd, or 4th generation), authenticate by choosing "sling tv" as your provider (in the additional providers section), log in with your sling TV credentials, and you can watch all of ESPN on your Apple TV.

Sorry to assume your words actually meant what you said. You cannot get all of ESPN unless you pay for the additional channels with the sports pack as I said (this still does not include longhorn network just to be clear.)

 

[colodane]

You can get CNN with Sling TV, and I believe (need to check this) that you can get NBC Sports through Slings sports extra package which adds $5 per month onto the base $20 price. I then run Sling App on my Mac and Airplay the screen to my Apple TV.

Thanks, dbwie, for the info. If this is valid, then it is great news. If I could get CNN and NBC Sports for $25 per month I would be very happy with this in addition to what I can get OTA and on Apple TV apps. ESPN not important to me. If you or others have more info on this, I'd be interested. Thanks again.

 

[imaccooper]

Thanks, dbwie, for the info. If this is valid, then it is great news. If I could get CNN and NBC Sports for $25 per month I would be very happy with this in addition to what I can get OTA and on Apple TV apps. ESPN not important to me. If you or others have more info on this, I'd be interested. Thanks again.

CNN is correct and is included in the base pack so only $20. No NBC sports unfortunately. Full list of channels available here.

 

[colodane]

CNN is correct and is included in the base pack so only $20. No NBC sports unfortunately. Full list of channels available here.

Thank you for the link. CNN is the only channel there that I watch regularly.

But for the first time in years I'm starting to feel optimistic that some sort of ala carte package can be cobbled together in the near future. Lots of new announcements lately, including ATT today coming out with direct TV offerings over the internet. I'm guessing that within a year I will be able to put together a package of apps and services that will give me the channels I want for less than the $80 a month I'm spending at Comcast now.

 

[satcomer]

Here is a video of Pluto TV:

I suggest the Attenas Direct ClearStream 4 if you live semi far from broadcast towers.


Also look at this video:

 

[rluvbeach]

Pluto has a nice selction of channels that i like so it helped alot.

Also don't forget there is an Amazon prime app for iphone and ipad so it is easy to stream to the apple tv. seem to work find on my slow att uverse home network.