Apps Trying to cut the cord

[kgphotos]

Hi all. I purchased 2 Apple TVs this weekend. I would like to try to cut ties with Comcast. I’ve been reading about streaming services, but get am getting a little confused. What I would like for channels is local, then the add ons- HGTV, Velocity, TNT, TBS, AMC, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, Lifetime Movies, A&E and the big ones are the sports- ESPN, MLB and NFL. What streaming services you you guys recommend? I’ve looked at Sling, but from what I’ve read, there app isn’t great and they top out at 30 FPS and only have 1 user profile. I would like to have at least 2. The streaming service I am leaning towards is PlayStation Vue. It’s got my regional sports channel (NESN) for baseball, plus the locals and it does 60 FPS. I am already subscribed to Netflix, and Amazon Prime. What do you guys think about Hulu and the others? The one thing I don’t understand with PlayStation Vue is that the device access restrictions is limited to TV devices only work at home...what does this mean? Does this mean I can’t stream on my iPad when I am not at home?

Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[mallbritton]

If you must have live TV, then start here for a good comparison of the current live TV services: https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/phi...-vs-hulu-vs-youtube-tv-updated-february-2018/.

One thing I do recommend is, before you cut the cord test out your options first. Don't cancel the cable until you are sure you've found the solution that works best for your family.

 

[kgphotos]

Hi mallbritton. Thanks for the link. I will check it out.

 

[nburwell]

My wife and I currently have PlayStation Vue, which we’ve been subscribed to for over a year now. We don’t watch much live TV, so the cloud DVR is definitely our most used feature of the service. Also, it allows me to watch live sports as well since we only have internet with Comcast.

We also subscribe to Netflix, Amazon Video, HBO and STARZ.

We tried Directv Now, but it wasn’t as polished as PS Vue.

 

[d.steve]

Keep in mind that despite it saying it's been updated this month, that link does not list the updated channels for Youtube TV. Apparently:TNT, TBS, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, HLN, truTV, and TCM

That said, YouTube TV doesn't sound like the right package for you based on the list you provided.

I just picked up YTTV for my AppleTV the other day. There are pros and cons but will be cancelling DirecTV service today.

Biggest benefit: cloud dvr
Biggest drawback: controls are really limited on the Apple TV. FF/RW are more of a PITA than they ever should be.

 

[Apple blogger]

Www.plex.tv has an extremely well and detailed website for everything you need to know about cutting the cord. Also plex.tv app may help you a lot with everything ... I think you might like what you see on the website, and it’ll help you learn tonnes.

 

[kgphotos]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I definitely have some research to do. Lots of choices out there, just have to make the right one. Guess I can the trials and go from there.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

Hi all. I purchased 2 Apple TVs this weekend. I would like to try to cut ties with Comcast. I’ve been reading about streaming services, but get am getting a little confused. What I would like for channels is local, then the add ons- HGTV, Velocity, TNT, TBS, AMC, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, Lifetime Movies, A&E and the big ones are the sports- ESPN, MLB and NFL. What streaming services you you guys recommend? I’ve looked at Sling, but from what I’ve read, there app isn’t great and they top out at 30 FPS and only have 1 user profile. I would like to have at least 2. The streaming service I am leaning towards is PlayStation Vue. It’s got my regional sports channel (NESN) for baseball, plus the locals and it does 60 FPS. I am already subscribed to Netflix, and Amazon Prime. What do you guys think about Hulu and the others? The one thing I don’t understand with PlayStation Vue is that the device access restrictions is limited to TV devices only work at home...what does this mean? Does this mean I can’t stream on my iPad when I am not at home?

Thanks for your suggestions!

Curious if you went through with this. If so, how do you get your internet service?

 

[kgphotos]

Curious if you went through with this. If so, how do you get your internet service?

I ended up just keeping Comcast. I tried to cut the cord and just keep Comcast for the internet, but somehow the price was higher when I added in the Playstation Vue. I don't remember the exact details, but I do remember the Comcast sales rep telling me that I would be paying more with internet and and the Playstation. I think they were screwing me. I added it up and it it didn't look like huge savings. So I have Comcast and Amazon, Netflix. I'll probably cancel Netfilx at the end of my subscription.

 

[oneMadRssn]

I ended up just keeping Comcast. I tried to cut the cord and just keep Comcast for the internet, but somehow the price was higher when I added in the Playstation Vue. I don't remember the exact details, but I do remember the Comcast sales rep telling me that I would be paying more with internet and and the Playstation. I think they were screwing me. I added it up and it it didn't look like huge savings. So I have Comcast and Amazon, Netflix. I'll probably cancel Netfilx at the end of my subscription.

In my opinion, changing out one scheduled tv cable channel provider for another is not "cutting the cord." It's still cable tv, just delivered slightly differently.

To me, cutting the (cable tv) cord means not watching scheduled cable tv anymore. Only on-demand, OTA live tv, or live sports if available outside of cable tv (e.g., mlb.tv, nhl.tv, etc.) Also, cutting the cord means cleansing my media consumption of ads as much as possible. No more ads.

There are no ads on HBONow, Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu Ad-Free Subscription.
(MLB.tv used to have no ads, but they've been adding them back in which I think i BS considering the service costs a ton, but that is neither here nor there for this topic.)

Switching from Comcast cable to PSVue doesn't reduce the amount of ads you see, nor does give you any more control over the programming. It's the same cable tv bs under a different brand.

 

[PowerGala]

I'm pretty sure all services have some sort of free trial. Try them out and keep the ones you want. If you get bored with one, you can cancel and use something else for a while. Personally, the only Live TV type thing that I have is the WWE Network for the PPVs.

I really like Hulu and it's free with my phone subscription. I also like HBO Now, but I'm only subscribed when Westworld or Game of Thrones is on.

 

[nburwell]

Comcast really loves selling the crap out of their bundles. They always tried to talk me into doing basic cable and internet when my promotional period expired. I was ultimately fed up and went to FiOS and am paying $50/month for 100/100mbps internet. We also have PS Vue, Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now and Amazon Video. It works perfectly for my wife and I.

Plus we have yet to deal with the sporadic “outages” that plagued Comcast.

 

[Mjoshea148]

Recently dropped Fios Local TV, upped the speeds to 100/100 and subscribed to YouTube TV for $40/mo. So far so good.

 

[KPandian1]

I ended up just keeping Comcast. but I do remember the Comcast sales rep telling me that I would be paying more with internet and and the Playstation. I think they were screwing me. I added it up and it it didn't look like huge savings. So I have Comcast and Amazon, Netflix.

Comcast really loves selling the crap out of their bundles. They always tried to talk me into doing basic cable and internet when my promotional period expired.

Comcast does love doing this bundling and touting a lower price. They sold me on this in April, where just adding $5 gave me the most basic cable Tv with 75Mbps internet. After the end of the month, they sent me a bill that included another $15.75 as programming fee. They started adding this from September 2017 (I found on web-search) immediately after Pai removed the NN. They refused to remove this fee saying that it wasn't negotiable!

Pointing out that it was not revealed to me, I cancelled the cable part and have 100Mbps (Performance Blast) internet only from them. I keep getting phone calls from them in these 2-3 weeks selling additional Cable Tv! When asked about the "programming" and "regional" sports fees, they said those will be added!! I stopped them there.

So, lookout for those Cable Tv fees in the next cycle or talk to them to see if you need to cut them.

I have OTA via TiVo with DTV NOW promo. I won't need DTV NOW after the World Cup Football.

 

[StarShot]

IF you don't have local news or get a worthwhile daily newspaper, how are you going to keep up with local news? Most local papers have slid down the slope to meaningless due to cutbacks, mainly caused by craigslist which killed the major source of revenue from classified ads.

My recommendation if you have to cut the cable is to try an outside antenna for locals. Unless you live in a flat area, you'll be lucky to get more than a couple of channels, but it's something. I live in a hole with hills all around, but with a flat indoor antenna, I'm able to pick up at least 3 channels. I'm still on DTV, but if I were to lose the signal, I would have limited access to a few locals.

A more expensive option would be to subscribe to the lowest package in your area. I think DTV has a streaming service for about $35 monthly. Add a Netflix to it and you have more programming than you can find time to watch.

 

[KPandian1]

IF you don't have local news or get a worthwhile daily newspaper, how are you going to keep up with local news? Most local papers have slid down the slope to meaningless due to cutbacks, mainly caused by craigslist which killed the major source of revenue from classified ads.

If you were addressing me because of my post above, I have OTA-TiVo. So I get all the major local channels with the convenience of time-shift, Netflix and (consequential) Prime Video. I did miss the ATV 4K offer from DTV NOW earlier this year, but got it this month.

 

[thisismyusername]

how are you going to keep up with local news?

The same way I keep up with all the rest of my news... the internet. For example, news.google.com includes local news.

I've had an OTA antenna for years and of course can watch local news channels but I don't remember the last time I got my news from a traditional TV station.

 

[oneMadRssn]

IF you don't have local news or get a worthwhile daily newspaper, how are you going to keep up with local news? Most local papers have slid down the slope to meaningless due to cutbacks, mainly caused by craigslist which killed the major source of revenue from classified ads.

My recommendation if you have to cut the cable is to try an outside antenna for locals. Unless you live in a flat area, you'll be lucky to get more than a couple of channels, but it's something. I live in a hole with hills all around, but with a flat indoor antenna, I'm able to pick up at least 3 channels. I'm still on DTV, but if I were to lose the signal, I would have limited access to a few locals.

A more expensive option would be to subscribe to the lowest package in your area. I think DTV has a streaming service for about $35 monthly. Add a Netflix to it and you have more programming than you can find time to watch.

For the few folks that live far from an urban center and thus have poor OTA reception: It's a pain and a cost at first, but getting a quality antenna mounted high up on a tree or the roof of a house makes a huge difference. Those flat indoor antennas are really meant for people living in or near an urban area, near a city. They don't work well outside of areas with good signals.

I know someone that lives in the boonies - over 60 miles from the nearest towers with some hilly terrain in between - and they got this antenna receiving almost all the channels the nearest city has: https://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Omni-directional-Reception-Amplifier-Waterproof/dp/B077ZNYQL6/ Granted, the antenna was not cheap, and getting it all hooked up and distributing the signal to all the coax plus in the house was not cheap. However, over the course of a few years, divided up monthly, the cost becomes deminimum and totally worth it over cable or one of the online subscription services.