Cord Cutting/Live TV Streaming Services?

[robinson]

Hi everyone,

Considering cutting the cord with Comcast and going with a streaming service. Anyone have good luck with services such as Hulu TV, Youtube TV, DirectTV Now, Vue, Sling, etc? Also, what streaming device do you use (Firestick, Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV). Lastly, what speed internet do you use and any issues?

Thanks!

 

[1fujifilm]

Hi everyone,

Considering cutting the cord with Comcast and going with a streaming service. Anyone have good luck with services such as Hulu TV, Youtube TV, DirectTV Now, Vue, Sling, etc? Also, what streaming device do you use (Firestick, Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV). Lastly, what speed internet do you use and any issues?

Thanks!

I'm with you, hate Cable (Spectrum in Green bay). Prices just went up 15% for no advance reason.
We got the Fire stick and Netflix to "prepare" for a switch but it is just not as convenient as cable.

Bear

 

[600_RMK_144]

Just got the Firestick two weeks ago. Hard to go wrong for $34.99 (for the new 4k version). Works well, but you need the highest speed internet available to avoid buffering. We are going to have to upgrade ours. There are tons of "un-official" apps that can be installed which can get you access to very new movies and current TV shows. However, they HIGHLY recommend a VPN to hide behind if you do this to avoid govt. etc. seeing what you are streaming. There are copyright laws being violated if you stream things you shouldn't be. VPN hides your streaming activity from the outside world. I would never do this, just sayin. If you buy all your app's legitimately (like I have so far), then the VPN wouldn't be required. So the two "new" costs you might have are higher speed internet and (possibly) VPN. We still have Dish Network for now, doing a trial run to see if we could cut it off or not. Live sports seems to be the hardest thing to overcome. I haven't checked into app's for that, but plan to soon. So far, I don't see completely getting rid of Dish as an option for our family, but more realistically cutting it down to a cheaper package. A buddy of mine does have Direct TV Now and says it works well for them. That might be a good solution to the live sports, I just haven't looked into it yet. Good luck!!!

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I'm with you, hate Cable (Spectrum in Green bay). Prices just went up 15% for no advance reason.
We got the Fire stick and Netflix to "prepare" for a switch but it is just not as convenient as cable.

Bear

Agree 100%. Convenience of cable or dish is far and away much better than using the Firestick. It takes some getting used too and if you have an impatient family like me, they get annoyed very quickly.

 

[latner]

I've had comcast for years and have looked at "cutting the cord" a few times and what I've found is by the time you pay for high speed internet and any of the available services to get comparable shows/sports that you want, you really don't save any money. What I do is threaten to cancel service so I can get any introductory/new customer specials they might have at that time.

 

[old abe]

I've had comcast for years and have looked at "cutting the cord" a few times and what I've found is by the time you pay for high speed internet and any of the available services to get comparable shows/sports that you want, you really don't save any money. What I do is threaten to cancel service so I can get any introductory/new customer specials they might have at that time.

X2!!! They know what others will cost you. I use the threat tactic on Sirius too, works every time.

 

[ICT Sledder]

I've had comcast for years and have looked at "cutting the cord" a few times and what I've found is by the time you pay for high speed internet and any of the available services to get comparable shows/sports that you want, you really don't save any money. What I do is threaten to cancel service so I can get any introductory/new customer specials they might have at that time.

Yep. Unfortunately the same reality I've discovered as well.

All of the content on the streaming is quickly consolidating back to the parent companies and their individual subscription services. In the near future I really think it's going to be "cutting the cord" with however many of those subscriptions you're going to want and a fat internet plan totaling $150 (or whatever), or what you already have with a cable/internet setup at $150. Not much savings to be had, when comparing similar content levels.

Content creators and owners are not going to just leave money on the table. They'll get ya somehow.

 

[heckler56]

A year ago I studied the same thing. What I ended up doing is going the path of TIVO. Bought a Bolt DVR that can work on both cable & Antenna (in case I drop cable later). Then bought their "minis" for other tvs in the house.

The Bolt uses a "cable card" to get cable. All cable companies are required to provide a cable card if requested and only charge a nominal fee (mine is $2.99 per month). This gives you basic cable service. I upgrade to another level of service which costs an additional $30 per month. I bundled their TV, phone and internet and got it all for right at $100.

Going this route gives me the cable channels I want, a DVR and the ability to watch whatever on any of the satellite TVs. The Bolt will also surf for programs using internet services like Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc.

As long as the government does not change the requirement that they provide these cable cards for a nominal fee I should be good. If not, at least it will work on antenna or internet streaming services.

You will have the capital outlay to buy their equipment which pays for itself in less than two years. With your TIVO subscription they include Bolt replacement should it fail. Just my 2 cents on starting to cut the cable...

 

[Tracker]

i use PLUTO TV app....its cable but they have to name the show differently than say, oak island, it will be call sea treasure or something like that....and its a PIA....until you get used of it....and it had TV and movies also....but its harder since nothing is familiar....so whatever app you use they make it hard so cable is much easier...I haven't dumped cable yet because of this....sports...even harder....bottom line is they want you to pay....and I can see if you want it all like your cable it will probably end up costing more...fire stick...I don't use any more.....I have great speed but buffering still occurs.....PIA....I also use SONY/CRACKLE for movies but again....trying to find a new movie....forgetaboutit

 

[harvest1121]

I have Direct Tv and internet for $90 a month tax included. Just have to fight with a little bit they need to get a la carte

 

[Northstar]

I made the move to a streaming service about a year and half ago and never really looked back. I had Dish and was supporting 2 houses and a Cabin on the account, 6 total TVs and 3 DVRs so that added up. They also go through the game of jacking up the pricing every year and you have to give them the angry calls to get them to settle it down again. But it was still creeping up over $100. I was already paying for internet in each house so moving to a streaming service seemed like a no brainer at less than 1/2 the cost. I looked over YouTube, Hulu Live, Sling and DirectNow, DirectNow seemed to have the most bang for the buck with a lot more regular channels and the local network channels as well. Though at the Cabin since it is out of the billing Zipcode I either get no local or even have seen local channels out of Minneapolis, no biggie because I am not worried about Chicago while I am up there.

Went with all Roku devices on each TV, pricing is good and the performance on even the lower end units is perfectly fine. No buffering with any of the streaming services. And the main thing is it is a single remote and a single interface for the better half to have to navigate. I got some refurbished units and some free bees for trying both Sling and DirectNow. I also tried the Chromecast but that at the time you almost needed a PC or Laptop to drive it.

DirectNow was $40, now $45 since they added a 20hr built in DVR. I expect that to go up overtime especially when the CEO of AT&T stated that the service is grossly under priced. But they need to build Market and compete with the others like Dish(Sling) and Comcast. Time will tell.

The only problem I have with DirectNow is that they have some sort of issue with Scripps. If you have a TV provider you should be able to stream content from their website or Roku App, good to get to older shows or missed shows the next day. Works fine with AMC, History and FX but some reason DiscoveryNow will not accept DirectNow as a provider.

 

[eagle1]

Stream sports on Reddit.com. Watched Brewers playoff run this way when I couldn't make it to sports bar.

 

[buddah2]

... But it was still creeping up over $100....

Not to be "mouthy" but cry me a river....our DirecTV bill is over $200 / mo...3 HD receivers and whole-home DVR....streaming is not an option at this point....living in the middle of a national forest best I can do is 6Mb DSL and I'm at the extreme physical limit for even that....at that speed you can't watch virtually anything without several buffering pauses...


Edit: P.S. We have a fiber backbone runs right down our road and even under my drive entrance but not enough customer base to support expense for switching gear to implement....pizzes me off no end........

 

[uncle_ed]

Cut the cord a couple ofyears ago and went back to a roof top antenea for over the air programming. If your in a larger city you will get your basic abc, cbs, nbc, fox, pbs, and a miriad of other channels. I get about 15 or 20 in the metro detroit area and they are broadcast in HD which is also uncompressed unlike what is sent to a cable box so I think the picture is even better than some cable networks.
I supplement some movie channels with netflix which works great at home with high speed interenet and surprising works great up at the cabin where all I have is DSL without buffering problems.

Thinking about youtubetv next college football season foe those months at $40/month which gives you about 60 channels including btn, fox sports and espn

 

[srt20]

Not to be "mouthy" but cry me a river....our DirecTV bill is over $200 / mo...3 HD receivers and whole-home DVR....streaming is not an option at this point....living in the middle of a national forest best I can do is 6Mb DSL and I'm at the extreme physical limit for even that....at that speed you can't watch virtually anything without several buffering pauses...


Edit: P.S. We have a fiber backbone runs right down our road and even under my drive entrance but not enough customer base to support expense for switching gear to implement....pizzes me off no end........

Cry me a river, I live inbetween Milwaukee and Madison, the 2 biggest cities in WI, on the edge of a 25,000 person town, and cannot even get DSL. Cellular or worthless satellite internet only. Directv, wireless internet, and phones are over $500 a month......

 

[misty_pines]

I quit cable about 15 years ago and haven't looked back. I have a full sized antenna in my garage rafters with a cord running into the house to all my TVs and that gets me all local shows in high definition.

As others have indicated, I already have internet so that isn't any extra cost. I have 20 mbps internet speed and it works just fine for streaming high def content. If you get any fairly new TV or a Roku TV, they seem to all be be smart TVs and have streaming capabilities built in so there is no need for any extra device like Apple TV, Firestick, Chromecast, etc. My paid for streaming apps are Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. With these streaming services and a bunch of over the air channels, I have more than enough excellent content to watch.

 

[wisco-mb]

I cut Directv 2 years ago. I used sling for 1.5 years, just their orange package(was only $20, now $25). Worked good, since we do not watch a lot of tv.
I now have switched to Youtube tv and love it($42). Biggest switch because of Brewer games on FSN(and MLB network for playoff run) and Badger football/basketball on BTN.
Youtube tv has better DVR options. And can watch up to 5-6 tvs. You can get some of that if you upgrade to orange + blue on sling, but still missing BTN. Youtube has local stations as well. I have OTA, but sometimes they do not come in the best.
You need to compare all and see what works best for you.

 

[robinson]

Thanks everyone! I have been comparing and we are currently between Hulu TV and Youtube TV. They both have the majority of the channels the family needs and/or wants. My biggest want in particular is Fox Sports North to get all the Minnesota Wild games (obviously a priority in Minnesota). It seems like many of the service providers are good about including the local networks as well. Likely going to do the trial-runs for a few and go with what works best/have the best experience with.

 

[ICT Sledder]

What are you streamers seeing as a minimum internet bandwidth required (assuming 720/1080 content, not 4K)? Is it like 5 Mbps per TV you want to watch concurrently?

 

[acase27]

What are you streamers seeing as a minimum internet bandwidth required (assuming 720/1080 content, not 4K)? Is it like 5 Mbps per TV you want to watch concurrently?

I have DSL that averages about 12 Mbps. I had to back my 4K Apple TV down to 720 just to get anything to stream. At 12 Mbps I will still run into buffering occasionally. The biggest disappointment is watching sports in 720 after you've seen them in 4K.

 

[5_spot]

I cut the cord this past April and have not looked back. I save $50/mo just not having 5 cable boxes at $10/ea. Overall saving about $100/mo. I still have Comcast/Xfinity for internet, $80/mo for 150mps. We have a household of 5 with an avg of 20 devices connected at a time, phones, tablets, steaming devices, etc. and the speed has been fine. I researched all of the services and did all of the free trials, a large part of the decision is which service offers a reasonable package with the channels you want. Direct TV was was the best match for our family and it worked well. I say "worked" because I have since switched to a service which is not heavily marketed. Xfinity offers their own streaming service called Instant TV, only available to their internet customers, which is why you don't see it on any of the comparison articles. Plus, they would rather keep you as a cable customer, which they still try to do when you request the service. Instant TV is $10/mo for basic, which is locals & a few others, but have a promo for free showtime, starz & cloud dvr included. Add on packs are $10-$15. I have the entertainment pack which is $15 & has all E, Bravo, Animal Planet, Discovery, etc.

As far as devices, I have Roku's, Firestick and Chromecasts. When I initiated the services, Direct TV now and Instant TV apps were only available on Roku, not sure if that's still the case. I did do some fiddling and sideloaded xfinity to the firestick, but it does have limited capabilities. Either way, Roku is by far the winner in our house. The biggest difference is control is all scrolling with any choice, no numbers on remotes to directly enter a channel. Other than a few wifey complaints here and there, I don't regret it one bit.