DTV or comcast (with tivo's)

[cardfan]

So this cutting the cord isn't exactly working out. We're paying as much or more now with less options. I think we'll give directv a couple of years as this stuff matures (signing up through costco seems to be best discount). But was looking at tivo's too. I'm not sure i want to pay full price for them not knowing if they'll be relevant in the future (cable cards) and probably will never be 4k capable. I could almost live with youtube tv if they had an atv app and didn't require airplay.

I basically just want to record certain shows and watch them later. I don't really watch live tv much at all.

 

[JWort93]

If you don't watch live tv at all, and don't watch a ton of shows, why not just purchase the seasons of the few shows you do watch via iTunes or some other service? Depending on the number of shows you watch, it could be cheaper than cable/satellite. You'd also have the advantage of no commercials, and excellent picture quality then. If you watch sports though, that may be an issue, unless you are in an area with good antenna reception, and only watch sports that are available on your local channels.

If you care about picture quality, and still want live cable/satellite, I would go with DirecTV. They seem have much better PQ than Comcast and other cable companies. Google Fiber and Verizon FiOS are the only two that beat DirecTV PQ wise.

I've had a TiVo Bolt setup with a few TiVo Mini's, and while the experience is great, love the commercial skip features, I couldn't get past how bad Spectrums Cable picture looked on my 4K TV's after I upgraded my TV's, so I ended up cutting the cord and use DirecTV Now and iTunes TV purchases. It's not really any cheaper than I was paying before, but the PQ is MUCH better.

 

[cardfan]

I'm happy with the itunes thing but wife just watches the cable channels moreso. Looking at comcast, forget that...too many fees. Broadcast fee, sports fee, hassle with cable cards. I'm thinking 24mth contract then hopefully directv now or something has gotten better.

 

[JWort93]

Yeah, I agree, it sounds like Comcast may be going all IP for the cable boxes soon too, which would mean the death of Cable Cards for their service. Do you have AT&T for cell phone service? If you do, or are willing to switch, then you can lock the DTV price in for 2 years, instead of the normal price jump that happens with the second year of the normal DirecTV contract. You'll also get free HBO, and $25 off a month for DTV if you sign up for AT&T's Unlimited Plus plan.

 

[archer75]

Cut the cord, get logins from friends and family. Done. Look in to sonarr, thank me later.