Direct TV alternatives ?

[Grayone]

Roku here as well. Giving DirectTV the boot after 21 years. Too woke for me. I am not missing anything.

[gc45]

living far away from cable and also high speed internet, we depend on our Dish TV and Dish Internet service. Yes I hate their high prices but one must pay for what one wants and I like getting stations like sports channels, Newsmax, Fox on occasion although the Sons of Rupert Murdoch are Libs who have changed much of Fox programming I like Varney and and a few others. My Wife and I enjoy Christian Tv like Sunlite Broadcasting and John Haggee. We like the Western Channel and it's old movies, the Outdoor channel, Golf channel and a few others I can't think of..I dislike watching movies or anything that moves on a computer, it is bad for the eyes. ya I could hook up to my TV but without a high speed connection no cigar. We enjoy the country more than having conveniences so are happy with out Dish TV. My only dissappointment is not getting my favorite baseball games and also the occasional dropped tv channels due to money issue contracts.

[Three44s]

Roku, Sling and Friendly (extended) plus air channels off an antenna.

Three44s

[BD]

We have had an antenna on the roof since we built our home in 1986. At the time I asked the local cable provider if we could get cable where we are and he said, "nope, never gonna either". So far we cannot "see" any satellites either. Over the years I have worked out of town quite a bit, occasionally for a few years at a time. I've had cable of various types and dish TV once, and the reality is that there is really nothing on TV that is worth paying money for. You can get the "news" from Fox, CNN, Newsmax, or NBC/CBS/ABC on line much more efficiently than sitting through their broadcasts. Since going digital the picture from the antenna is better than cable ever was, and it is free.

[Baltimoreed]

I overpay for direct tv and have a Genie that I do like and use all the time. I prerecord multiple channels and most of the shows, movies and news that I watch and fast forward through all the junk. Had whatever spectrum cable was before, maybe warner? and hated it. Always kills me when spectrum talks crap about the satellite dish in my yard but they get their feed via satellite dishes in their yard.

[warren5421]

Anyone know anything about Apple TV on mac's? Looking at a new laptops and seen it on a MacBook Pro

[gkainz]

Apple TV (the app) as opposed to Apple TV (the hardware) has been around for years.
I’m researching dropping cable tv and using Over The Air and internet TV only. I bought an Apple TV 4K hardware device and subscribed to Apple TV+ app, which provides movie, TV, etc content.
I’m still trying to get a handle on what provides the things I want to watch.
Apple TV 4K allows download of multiple apps, free and subscription to air almost anything one would ever care to watch.

[schutzen-jager]

still looking + comparing - turned off on Dish practices yesterday - called for a price + asked about installation given a good price + multi perks + discounts, clearly stated that i would call back with decision - hour later i get an email stating that my new installation would be on Tuesday - called them back + was told that it was scheduled + at a price $20. + more than quoted - took 1/2 hour on phone to cancel something i never ordered !!

[pworley1]

Roku and YouTube TV.

[GregLaROCHE]

I get everything I need from the internet (Starlink). Nothing else is available here. Most of the major news outlets have YouTube channels these days. It drops out from time to time, but nothing I can’t live with. It’s very fast. Nothing like our old satellite company. Fifty bucks a month I can live with.

[MrWolf]

I get everything I need from the internet (Starlink). Nothing else is available here. Most of the major news outlets have YouTube channels these days. It drops out from time to time, but nothing I can’t live with. It’s very fast. Nothing like our old satellite company. Fifty bucks a month I can live with.

I am still waiting on Starlink for over two years now. Equipment cost bumped up to around $500 if I remember right and monthly will be around $100. Would gladly pay that versus this Frontier garbage I have now. I will admit my outages have gone down significantly since I had to go with their "bonded" wire (coincidence?) but the speed is still very slow.

[ascast]

Roku here , DSL through Frontier on fiber optic line. Requires me to have my own wireless hub which is OK. I think the hub will support 6 devices simultaneously, and operate from my barn 100yds away. I have no neighbors within 1/2 mile so no security risks. Frontier speed is dismal compared to what they advertise. Spectrum is my other option. We ALL HATE Spectrum. flat out crooks with great connections. Must have smart TV. Once on Ruko, you can get a lot of other free channels, and loads of pay stuff.

[Ithaca Gunner]

We pay for internet and also have Roku, the wife added a few pay channels for stuff she just can't live without which add up to around $40.00 a month maybe. Roku or Fire Stick is the way to go. Pick what you want free, ignore what you don't want, pay for any extras. It's about as close as you're gonna get to T.V. liberty.

[MUSTANG]

I get everything I need from the internet (Starlink). Nothing else is available here. Most of the major news outlets have YouTube channels these days. It drops out from time to time, but nothing I can’t live with. It’s very fast. Nothing like our old satellite company. Fifty bucks a month I can live with.

How are you getting $50.00 per month with Starlink? Is it because it's outside of US (France) and you get a better billing - or is it because of a subscription rate I am not using here in Montana? Prices I am seeing for Star Link is $110. monthly plus a $600. hardware procurement. (Higher for RV options).

Currently the SPOT BEAM does not cover our Montana House (Although a spot beam does currently cover our Nevada House in the Desert North of Las Vegas) This is why I am looking at March or later in 2023 to procure as they indicate "Coming in 2023" for out Montana Address.

[MaryB]

I live in an area where an antenna is not an option. Almost zero reception here. (mountains, trees etc.) so that idea got shot down. But we have discussed the idea of dropping Direct a lot. We do enjoy a FEW regular channel programs,,, and we could stream stuff. But my better half says she's not so sure.
See,,, I'm technology challenged & can screw up just about anything with a remote thingy. Too darn many buttons & trying to figure out which one does what & how.
We have 3 remotes sitting by our chairs,, and it's EASY to hit the wrong button on the wrong remote at the wrong time.

Too bad we don't have a 10 yr old to run such stuff for me.

SlingTV carries all the "cable" channels for less than half the price of DirecTV, add on packages if you want sports, outdoors etc

[MaryB]

Amazes me more don't have fiber by now... I live in the middle of nowhere and have 1gigbit fiber! I can stream 4k TV...

Living alone the TV is noise, otherwise the house is to quiet... tiny town of about 100 houses so traffic is minimal unless it is harvest season

[GregLaROCHE]

I am still waiting on Starlink for over two years now. Equipment cost bumped up to around $500 if I remember right and monthly will be around $100. Would gladly pay that versus this Frontier garbage I have now. I will admit my outages have gone down significantly since I had to go with their "bonded" wire (coincidence?) but the speed is still very slow.

The equipment has gone up, but the monthly rate has gone down to around fifty bucks per month. And it is really fast. You just need to be careful you don’t have big trees close to interfere.

My son in Alaska was supposed to get one last year, but didn’t. I think they sent all available to Ukraine.

[Bored1]

I suggest getting an Amazon firestick. As long as you have a good internet connection you can add all sorts of streaming apps for free. Pluto plays quite a bit in our living room. The "channels" are actually tv shows like Survivor, NCIS, Andy Griffin, Love boat, etc. They will play episodes in order of the season then repeat after 3 or 4 whole seasons have played. Last time we went through them it was an amazing amount of tv of basically anything wed want to watch. The even have themed movie channels like James Bond all the time. Commercials play about as often as over the air tv. You can also watch the daily local or national news from different major cities.