Off topic - cable TV, etc help needed

[Markbo]

We are looking to change cable TV companies. Purely due to ever increasing cost. I have a couple of questions. Where we live there are only 2 cable providers so what about alternatives? Can anyone comment on how happy they are with Direct TV?

My othef question is about Netflix. Are they a provider or do they supply "only" movies? What about internet service with these 2? I am happy with my current wireless and don't want slower service. I live in SE Texas and it rains here. A lot.

I appreciate any input, experience and advice.
Thanks
Mark

[44man]

I have Dish, expensive but cheaper then cable or Direct.
We lose TV with clouds of course. Not enough to worry about. I don't know about Netflix. My Daughter gets it on Dish and I don't know if it costs more.

[bubba.50]

I have Dish & pay about 80 bucks a month to watch probably less than 2 dozen channels but, they now have what they call a flex-pack where ya pay 40 bucks a month for 50 channels plus one "package" of channels that are broke down in groups. the extra packages(such as sports or local channels or news packs) cost 6 to 10 bucks & can be added, dropped, or changed from month to month at your choosin'. and if ya don't want any of the packages you can get the 50 channels for 30 bucks per month. I'm changin' mine to the 30 buck pack & puttin' an antenna on the TV for local channels.

[2wheelDuke]

Cable has a monopoly here, but the phone company has a TV service too. It's terrible from what my uncle told me. I'm not fond of the cable service either. I had DirecTV before, and I hated it. If it was cloudy, the picture would freeze here and there. If it was raining, forget it. I had a DVR to record shows, but it got really old watching a recorded show because the signal was out, only to find that the recording was just pixelated gibberish because it was raining when the show recorded.

Netflix is for movies and TV shows. You won't see anything really current on there.

[bob208]

we dropped all tv 10 years ago. we just use one of the antennas. as for movies we have net flex. we get three movies at a time. if you watch and mail them back right away you get three more. we have had as many as 6 a week. you don't have to mail all three back at one time.

[OS OK]

We swapped over to Roku and have more than we had with Dish...only without all the commercials. It's wifi, we have a separate phone no. just for the wifi connection.

[longranger]

Have not had cable or satellite for 5 yrs. now. I went with ROKU and Apple TV. All you need is a wifi connection,I will explain how it works and the ups and downs as I see them.
Apple TV, Only reason I have Apple TV is for my iTunes and is connected to my stereo and 50" digital smart T.V. I prefer the Apple T.V. for my purchased movies as opposed to buying DVD's or renting DVD's.Do understand that you never really own anything you purchase from Apple either music or movies, you basically have unlimited use of the purchases.If you have a huge CD collection as I do you can upload them to iTunes and have it available on any Apple device that supports iTunes.Apple channel selection is not as prolific as ROKU but it does have a few decent channels.There are subscription channels for both Apple and ROKU.prices vary from $2.00 to $10.00 a month per channel with both having free channels as well.
I prefer ROKU for general T.V. watching and subscription channels,ROKU just keeps getting better every day with some free live streaming channels such as CBS. I watched the debate last night on ROKU/CBS. I generally dislike most letter channels if not all of them,I make exceptions for important events.
More and more channels you are familiar with are adding channels to ROKU and to lesser degree Apple T.V. I was able to watch the Super Bowl last year on CBS/Sports on ROKU, it is a free streaming channel and no subscription.
ROKU also has a channel called SLING for $20.00 a month you get 20+ live streaming channels the only letter channel is CNN the rest HGTV, couple ESPN's,HX, a few other known channels. I tried it a few mos. and decided it was the same **** I was wanting to get away from.The only subscription channels I have are MLB,LevinTV,Showtime and the BLAZE.Amazon has a decent channel for movies if you have Amazon Prime 90% are free and newer are for rent or purchase.If I have a complaint it would be once in a while the wifi gets a bit weak and some channels have difficulty streaming but is usually short lived.Overall I am very satisfied with less than $40.00 a month for what I want to watch when I want.I have been checking out a new channel PLUTO that has about 20 live streaming channels I've never watched and is a free channel. This the future of television as more and more people cut the cable and go ala carte,pay for what you actually watch. Hope this makes sense and is helpful.

[waksupi]

Try Amazon Prime with a Blueray player. Free shipping on just about anything you buy, plus movies, TV shows, music, books, cloud storage. With my Sony Bluray, I have quite a few free internet movie, entertainment, weather, Pandora, etc, channels. All for $99 per year.

[DerekP Houston]

I dumped tv until this year. Xfinity gave us a better deal on faster internet than AT&T would even offer, cable came bundled as part of the package. I still rarely watch it, I use netflix, amazon prime, or hulu for a majority of my shows and the DVD player we have connects to all the services for free. Once the promotion is over we will cancel again and switch back to internet only.

Roku is a good alternative if you want to access those free app's and don't have a smart tv or dvd player with them built in already. You still have to pay for a separate internet connection to use it.

[dragon813gt]

I was an early cord cutter. Signed up for Netflix streaming the week it went online. If I only I had followed my gut and invested everything I had in their stock :mad:

Anyway, you still need internet service. Netflix is mostly TV shows of some sort. Lots of bad shows and documentaries on there. They are a year behind on shows. So when season three goes on the air season two is available on Netflix. There is a ton of stuff to watch but like I said. A lot of it isn't worth your time. Almost forgot their original programming has a lot of good shows.

I subscribe to Hulu, Amazon Prime and HBO Now as well. Hulu is good for current season TV shows. It's worth the extra $3 for commercial free. They have a large selection of movies and original programming that is good. You can also add Showtime and a few other services for more money.

I have Amazon Prime for the shipping so the video service is a bonus. Prime is limited compared to their full catalog. You have the option of renting and buying movies which you don't have w/ Netflix or Hulu. They have a good selection of children's programming if that's of interest to your family. They have access to a lot, but not all, HBO original series. Sopranos, Deadwood and Curb Your Enthusiasm to name a few.

HBO Now is self explanatory. It costs the most out of all the services and has the smallest library. But that's the price I pay to watch Game of Thrones. Same movies available they run on cable but on demand. I think it should cost less but oh well.

Roku is a great option to stream all of these services and hundreds more. Most of them want to much money for extremely limited content. But it will give you access to YouTube, Crackle and music services like Pandora. Vudu is a great channel. If you buy a DVD/Blu-Ray these days you usually get a code for a free digital version. Vudu is where you access them. You can also buy/rent movies that just came out and are available for rental at Redbox. But you pay $5 per rental. I drive the half mile to Redbox and get one out of the machine for $1.59 :)

I can't speak about the satellite services because I've never had one. My total cost comes out to less than what basic cable/internet plus HBO would cost. It's not a big savings but I have access to a lot more content, nothing is on a schedule and all but a few are commercial free. The only things you give up are live sporting events and propagandized news. I could go into detail on each service as well as how to access them but this is already long winded.

[KA0811]

I have recently cancelled my cable TV again and went back to internet based TV. There are many options now. Amazon prime. Netflix ,Hulu. PlayStation VUE has liveTV and DVR and you pick the channels you want. Same with Sling from what I've been told. Theres a bit of a learning curve depending on how you set it up. If you don't have the programs built into the TV set itself you'll need something like Chrome Cast for instance to stream to the TV from your PC phone or tablet. That's how I used to use Netflix Hulu etc. Now I use my ps4. I had AT&T uverse for last two years but finally ended it month or two ago.

[longranger]

You still have to pay for a separate internet connection to use it.
No you don't,just have internet wifi capababilty as nearly all internet connections have very good wifi.Connects like any other wifi device. I have 2 Roku's,Apple T.V.,my Sony T.V.,phone,laptop, hell my garage door opener and refrigerator are all connected to 1 wifi connection.

[DerekP Houston]

No you don't,just have internet wifi capababilty as nearly all internet connections have very good wifi.Connects like any other wifi device. I have 2 Roku's,Apple T.V.,my Sony T.V.,phone, hell my garage door opener and refrigerator are all connected to 1 wifi connection.

Sorry I didn't mean a "separate" internet connection, just one in general.

[higgins]

I've had Direct TV for three years now. I'd had cable in our other house for about 30 years. We moved to a semi-rural area and I knew I didn't want Charter cable TV because of bad service quality. When my new subscriber discount period with DTV ended, I waited a couple of months and called them to see if they could offer me a better price than the full-cost price. They tried to downgrade my package, but I told them I didn't want to do that. I told them I had other options and I wanted to give them a chance to keep my subscription. I already had a Charter email address on my DTV account, so they knew that was a real option. They transferred me to another department, and the person there put me back on the introductory price for my existing package for 12 months, which was about $30/month less. At the end of the 12 months I'll try the same thing again. If they won't budge I'll probably drop DTV and go the ROKU route. You should be able to negotiate a good discount with whoever you go with because satellite and cable companies are losing so many subscribers to streaming services.

I've been happy with DTV service. the only time we lose the signal is when there's very hard rain, which seldom lasts more than a few minutes. I've never experienced losing signal just because of clouds. My wife and I have tried the free Netflix trial, and weren't all that thrilled with it. We will need some of the TV channels carried by satellite and cable providers to amuse us. I have a disabled friend who loves Netflix because he binge watches all the original programming they provide.

Both of my sons have cut the cable. One has Netflix and broadcast channels, and the other goes with Netflix, broadcast channels, and subscribes to Sling TV during football season for the sports channels. The small antennas that receive broadcast channels are nothing like the old rabbit ears or even rooftop antennas. Pictures are crystal clear. Both already had high speed internet with a wireless router, so no big deal there.

[xs11jack]

Had cable a long time ago, it was bad. Switched to Direct TV it is very good, I only loose the signal in a hard rainstorm. No one in my neighborhood has Dish or Charter cable.
I don't watch TV but my wife would kill me if she couldn't watch Fox News and of course game shows and mushy movies on Hallmark.
Ole Jack

[Markbo]

Wow, a lot of unexpected i formation! Derek I am in Tomball so have those same chices. Ive never heard of ROKU and we dont have a smart TV so I am guessing all the streaming services are out? Can you receive streaming and get it to an older/tube TV?

I have AT&T + now and the 2 year "special" from Xfinity is literally $5 less/month for the same total number of channls AND they don't offer Sportsman or Outdoor channels. They all want to offer sport packages and stuff I don't care about. I watch football. Broadcast and ESPN cover that. Golf on broadcast occasionally and I could care less about Tennis, MLB, NBA, etc which they are both pushing.

If you could confirm what I can get/use with a dumb TV I can check them out from there. FWIW i have never heard the word ROKU before. So are they, Netflix, Hulu, etc all movies and specialty? i.e. I still have to have a provider for broadcast and all the others like history, sci fi, nat geo, etc?

[dragon813gt]

Roku is a box like you're cable box. But instead of having channels it has apps on it. The apps are essentially channels. It's very easy to use. Only one of the models has analog outputs. They literally just announced a new product lineup yesterday. They aren't all out at this time.

[bdicki]

I cancelled my cable phone and TV and kept only the internet. $52 a month. They have to keep the cable connection to the house for the internet, so basic cable is still there. Just need a splitter to connect the TV

[rancher1913]

I must be still in the stone ages, we have an antenna and get several channels but have to have one of those government converter boxs to make it work with our tv.

[bdicki]

I must be still in the stone ages, we have an antenna and get several channels but have to have one of those government converter boxs to make it work with our tv.
http://www.maggiore.net/greenacres/images/e181.jpg

[MaryB]

I have had DTV since it began. They are pricing themselves out of the market in my opinion. They knocked $30 mo off my bill for 6 months because of how long I have been a customer but when it goes back to $97/mo I will be dropping it for internet based services and spend another $20 and take my internet to 30mb download speeds.

[trails4u]

I'm with rancher......most of what I just read made little sense to me.

[Handloader109]

Well, I do wish I could cut the cable and go with Internet based channel. But my satellite Internet is ****. But the only game I could get. Att does do dsl out here yet, 3/4 mile from cable so that is out. So satellite TV and cell phone Internet is it.... 50 gb a month goes fast.

[dragon813gt]

50 gb a month goes fast.

Yeah, that won't cut it w/ streaming services. I will check the monthly average when I get home. But I know it's over 1 terabyte. I don't have a 4k TV but 4k streaming uses even more data.

Another option is a TV w/ Roku built in. I believe Hisense makes them. They start around $250 for a 30 class. That's a really good deal when you consider the cost of a Roku player and a HDMI cable is $100. For someone that isn't tech savy and has an old TV this would the easiest possible route.

[bandsmoyer]

I have DTV for over 20 yrs. No complaints

[DerekP Houston]

Wow, a lot of unexpected i formation! Derek I am in Tomball so have those same chices. Ive never heard of ROKU and we dont have a smart TV so I am guessing all the streaming services are out? Can you receive streaming and get it to an older/tube TV?

I have AT&T + now and the 2 year "special" from Xfinity is literally $5 less/month for the same total number of channls AND they don't offer Sportsman or Outdoor channels. They all want to offer sport packages and stuff I don't care about. I watch football. Broadcast and ESPN cover that. Golf on broadcast occasionally and I could care less about Tennis, MLB, NBA, etc which they are both pushing.

If you could confirm what I can get/use with a dumb TV I can check them out from there. FWIW i have never heard the word ROKU before. So are they, Netflix, Hulu, etc all movies and specialty? i.e. I still have to have a provider for broadcast and all the others like history, sci fi, nat geo, etc?

I check my grandpa's house, he used roku before he passed and it is probably sitting there unused. Will shoot you a pm, won't be in town til Friday to look.

[Markbo]

So Roku is a streaming service. Do I have to keep AT&T wifi or does Roku provide That? Can I hook Roku up to a dumb TV & another upstairs?

[DerekP Houston]

So Roku is a streaming service. Do I have to keep AT&T wifi or does Roku provide That? Can I hook Roku up to a dumb TV & another upstairs?

Yes you will need to keep your wifi. IIRC roku hooks up via an hdmi cable to an existing tv. Just press the "input" button on the remote until it shows up. You would need 1 box for each tv.

[MrWolf]

Yes you will need to keep your wifi. IIRC roku hooks up via an hdmi cable to an existing tv. Just press the "input" button on the remote until it shows up. You would need 1 box for each tv.

Roku will work with either hdmi or the rca inputs. Don't remember if it depends on which model you get but I do know it has both as I use them on different tvs. Try the over air antennas first. If they don't work just return them but I have gotten some great results. Best results are from a boosted set of rabbit ears that a friend gave me awhile ago.

[dragon813gt]

Roku will work with either hdmi or the rca inputs. Don't remember if it depends on which model you get but I do know it has both as I use them on different tvs.

Not all of the older ones have analog outputs. I referenced this already. W/ the new product lineup only one of them will have analog outputs. W/ the low prices of TVs I'm surprised anyone still has an old CRT.

[Markbo]

Why spend $1,000 +/- to replace something that looks and sounds great that you dont have room to put up anyway? I have a newer flat screen in the bedroom but it is not a 1-2 year old smart/4k ulra hd TV. That's my reasons, i.e. I can't afford a new TV.

[solderboy]

If you live within range of broadcasters, I'd put up a good antenna and bump up the signal with a amplifier if needed, and avoid all the Pay TV options. I get about 30 channels, 3 of which, are movie channels all from Broadcast.

[tim338]

I cut the cable a couple of months ago. All I have is Internet and Netflix and Hulu. I am saving about $85.00 a month and dont miss cable TV at all.

[dragon813gt]

Why spend $1,000 +/- to replace something that looks and sounds great that you dont have room to put up anyway? I have a newer flat screen in the bedroom but it is not a 1-2 year old smart/4k ulra hd TV. That's my reasons, i.e. I can't afford a new TV.

I understand if you can't afford one. But they don't cost over $1,000. You can get a TV that has Roku in it for $250. Prices have plummeted on them over the past few years.

[Markbo]

The next TV I buy will be worth th money. A 4K UHDTV with a 55"-65" screen. The last TV I ever have to buy.Tim is Hulu all current content? Can you get HBO on it? My wife cat live without Game of Thrones. :D

[KA0811]

You can use chrome cast... You don't need a smart TV just a TV with HDMI or usb. There may be others I can check... Then you pay your subscription to streaming service and basically use your phone or PC or iPad/tablet as your guide/remote. Pick what you want and hit send to TV. It sounds like alot but you get used to it fast. Chrome cast costs about $20-30 one time fee for the device.. which looks like a memory stick kind. there is another company that dose the same but I can't think of the name right now.

[dave524]

I have a program called Kodi with several different add ons installed on my computer, works great if I want to watch something and my wife has the regular TV monopolized. Need a high speed internet connection and no cap.

[KA0811]

To answer about Hulu.. it is fairly current depending on which shows/channels fox shows are always curret. For HBO you would need HBO Go. HBO has their own Streaming service if you want to watch their current shows.

[trebor44]

I don't have 'cable' TV but I do have cable. Without it I get no TV reception and Cell phone coverage is spotty in the house and yard. I would like to dump the cable but can't, due to the lack of coverage for both wi-fi and dsl. So, cable it is for phone and internet. ROKU does provide a lot of entertainment opportunities but you have to pay for 'quality' programming. However, you can subscribe to Netflix, Acorn etc on a month to month basis and choose the optimal time to subscribe for your favorite series. There is still a lot of 'junk' out there for filler material so the vendors can boast about how many programs they offer. Also some 'NEWS' channels offer live streaming but that can be a very 'iffy' proposition and you still get the ads even on a computer that has the Ad blocker installed!

[Markbo]

OK little update. I told my wife about all the new stuff I was learning and how Xfinity would basically cost the same because you have to pick a package, i.e. you can't tell them exactly what you want. I told her I thought it would take me a few days more research to decide.

So since we knew already we wanted to dump our home phone she decided to call AT&T right then. Well 30 minutes later, we had 100 more channels, way faster internet AND larger data plan on our cellphones all for $80 less than we have been paying.

Funny how things work out. But this will give me a year to be totally educated on other options. AND I was off today and basically spent th day on the new Sportsman & Outdoor channels. Whooo hooo!

[WILCO]

http://www.bing.com/s/loading_lg_w.gifhttp://www.bing.com/s/loading_lg_w.gifhttp://freedesignfile.com/upload/2015/01/Confetti-and-colorful-balloons-birthday-background-vector-04.jpg

[shooterg]

I don't understand much of the above ! But I see Walmart has a 50" Roku TV for $398 ! I'll have to look into this, but I'd still have to keep internet with cable.

[DHurtig]

We have 3 months left on a 2 year contract with Direct TV. Absolutely the worst service I have ever had. Rain= no service, snow = no service, wind = service comes and goes. They accept no responsibility for their service or equipment, meaning no warranty of any kind. We get messages almost daily that internet connection has been lost, check this , reset that, constant headache. They are the most predatory company I have ever dealt with financially. Every 2 to 3 months they try to raise the rate or add on equipment charges or surcharges of some kind. We are on a minimum plan now just to get to the end of the contract, so we get a couple local channels, a few kids channels and about 100 infomercial and shopping channels. For all practical purposes our service in unusable. 9 months into our contract our server went bad and had to be replaced. When the new one came, we returned the old one in the same box.with their pre addressed label. They tried for months to bill us for the old one saying they never received it back. Last rep I spoke to says our contract was extended until Sept 2017 because they replaced the server. I told them I will pay until December and they are getting their stuff back and they will never get another dime from me. When I see someone talking to their reps at the kiosk in our local Sams Club I tell them to stay as far away from DTV as possible.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

"Direct TV" ... " They are the most predatory company I have ever dealt "

I have to agree with this.
I've never done business with them, except one time....sort of? During the Digital signal conversion, when the Government was handing out the $40 coupon to buy a converter, I ordered one from Direct TV, as theirs was the only one I found that advertised a programmable timer and TV Program guide [GuidePlus] built into the converter's software. Technically, I didn't buy it, as the government coupon covered the entire price plus shipping. That was about 2006, and since then, I have been getting advertising junk mail from them, at least once a week.

[MaryB]

DTV is okay for TV, the satellite internet sucks the rear end of a donkey.... never had an issue with the TV side or an issue with my bill. But they DO raise rates way to often and for that reason I am done with them when my courtesy credit runs out($30/Month off for a year). TV is progressively becoming less and less worth watching in my opinion... sitcom humor to me is 6th grade at best, all the reality stuff gets old fast, and the rest of it is all infomercial or religious channels I have no interest in.

Some company needs to come out with a web TV streaming service that offers all the same channel in an online format from one sign up and bill(right now there are a dozen services and that means a dozen bills). I am to old and to poor to do a startup and do it myself!

[retread]

I had Direct TV a number of years ago. I lost the neutral leg to the house and of course it fried everything electronic in the house. I have two DT receivers that I paid $99 when I signed up. I called them and asked if I could send them in for repair. They gave me a price of about $400 for the repairs and I said "WHAT!" Needles to say I dropped them like a hot horseshoe! They kept calling me for years trying to get me to come back. Each time I told them what had transpired and if they wanted me back they could send me two new receivers, free of charge. Each time they said no, but they kept calling! Some people just don't get it.

[A pause for the COZ]

I have been after a cheap way to DVR over the air signals for a couple years now.
There is one feature I cant live with out and has kept me with Dish or Direct tv for years.
I like to pause live TV to answer the wife, phone what ever. Then hit play when I am ready.
Recording programs is some thing I like but was not the major consideration.

The over the Air DVR options that I had seen work but cost a bunch of money. Some even want to charge you a subscription fee.

Nope, not what I am after. I just want to pause live TV to take a pee.

Well this little bugger does just that. If you add a USB memory stick or in my case a USB drive.
It will Pause live tv, Just hit pause and its paused.

Record shows on one channel while watching another. Time recording, ect.
Most of the basic features.
They are not as easy to use. You need to know the channel and date/time. Sort of like the old VCR recordings. But it can be done and done cheap.

$29 w/ free shipping.

haven't used it enough to figure it all out yet. But I have a show paused right now while I am typing this. So YEA!!!

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/Kelly2215/101_0094_zps3agd6otd.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/Kelly2215/101_0095_zpspc2f2afl.jpg

As soon as they turn the fiber up so I can upgrade my internet. I will get Sling TV to get cable channels.
https://www.sling.com/takebacktv?cvosrc=DRTV.DB.DO_LW_DR_ACQ_001000000T_ SEP2016_DTCRO30&utm_medium=DRTV&utm_source=offline&utm_campaign=DO_LW_DR_ACQ_001000000T_SEP2016_DTCRO 30

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have been after a cheap way to DVR over the air signals for a couple years now.

SNIP...
That is why I wanted the programmable tuner I mentioned above. I had a Polaroid brand DVR that required a analog signal. Mostly I wanted the capability to record the movies that were broadcast in the middle of the night, But since Digital broadcast has made it possible for networks to have several channels/sub-channels, there are now 3 movie channels that broadcast movies like some cable channels do, and they repeat them several times during a month of schedule...So I have lost interest in recording movies, there is almost always some movie on, when I want to watch a movie...Or I rent a DVD, if I want to watch a new one. So I gave my DVR and converter to my friend, who sadly is unable to figure the DVR out...It was quite complicated as it could do almost everything, except fry bacon LOL, the manual is a couple hundred pages long.

[DerekP Houston]

DTV is okay for TV, the satellite internet sucks the rear end of a donkey.... never had an issue with the TV side or an issue with my bill. But they DO raise rates way to often and for that reason I am done with them when my courtesy credit runs out($30/Month off for a year). TV is progressively becoming less and less worth watching in my opinion... sitcom humor to me is 6th grade at best, all the reality stuff gets old fast, and the rest of it is all infomercial or religious channels I have no interest in.

Some company needs to come out with a web TV streaming service that offers all the same channel in an online format from one sign up and bill(right now there are a dozen services and that means a dozen bills). I am to old and to poor to do a startup and do it myself!

I'm with you there, I get more entertainment value from this site than I do from most sitcoms or reality shows. We still only have a single tv hooked up to it, and its not in the living room. I won't miss it when the free subscription runs out but my wife might.

[Markbo]

So you're not going to turn her.on to Castboolits.com? :D