Is it Time to Cut the Cord?

[Gmoney]

I have had Xfinity internet (best outside of fiber but it’s not available in my area) for years without cable. Flat out there are too many streaming services available for cable or satellite to be relevant anymore.

On a side note Xfinity just sent me their streaming box to try free for three months, it’s going back ASAP! UI is terrible, stop a show and it never restarts from where you left off. It doesn’t bring anything to the table that’s not available elsewhere.

"Relevant" You just hit the nail on the head with cable. Besides their service being way over priced and crappie cable box that's old and beat up. Basic cable was $7.50 a month back in the 80's comes out to $22 bucks in todays dollars. Plus your paying for Programming you don't want like, Kardashians or Spanish channels or HSN and so on. Cable is Dying a slow death I say let the Greedy bastards suffer the consequences. Sure the Programming cost are from the very Programs broadcast. You really want to pay COX, or Dish network for crappy programming say like, The Kardashians? So Kim and her nut job husband can Laugh all the way to the bank on your dime.

 

[wsieber]

The timing of this is great. I dropped my Directv hardware off at a UPS store this morning to be shipped to AT&T . When you discontinue service (and ignore their offers to stay) they will mail you a serialized list of the set top box hardware you had. You can then take the hardware to either a UPS Store, or a Kinkos (FedEx) to be shipped. You will be given a receipt for the hardware you return. Keep the receipt for at least 6 months.

 

[snakeeyes]

I could probably live with Hulu and Netflix only but I need something for NFL. I’m using the reliable but recently more expensive YouTube TV app but curious about cheaper options out there. I think I’ll look at FuboTV and Hulu TV and other options.

 

[Gmoney]

I could probably live with Hulu and Netflix only but I need something for NFL. I’m using the reliable but recently more expensive YouTube TV app but curious about cheaper options out there. I think I’ll look at FuboTV and Hulu TV and other options.

Snake, You get NFL with YouTube? that's about the only reason I stayed with my cable for so long. After this Apocalypse virus thing hit that give me a good reason to cut the cord. I'll get to watch all my teams games on over the air, FOX and CBS and NBC I get over the air but not the Monday night game ESPN app? Does the NFL have a app?

 

[snakeeyes]

Snake, You get NFL with YouTube? that's about the only reason I stayed with my cable for so long. After this Apocalypse virus thing hit that give me a good reason to cut the cord. I'll get to watch all my team in over the air, but not the Monday night game ESPN app? Does the NFL have a app?

YouTube TV is separate from YouTube. It’s a cloud based dvr with all local channels and the cable channels. However the price jumped from $50 to $65. So looking for other options.

 

[Gmoney]

YouTube TV is separate from YouTube. It’s a cloud based dvr with all local channels and the cable channels. However the price jumped from $50 to $65. So looking for other options.

I see, Thanks Snake.

 

[rsquared]

The ability to scan through commercials is an important reason to maintain a satellite or cable service that allows you to record it for later viewing. If your time is worth anything, you're not saving by watching all your video content on a streaming service. You cannot fast-forward any streamed content that I know of. I NEVER need to watch a sporting event live. Why spend about 3 hours of your time to watch 60 minutes of football. Why watch time outs and their commercials.
If the content is on "premium" services like Showtime or Amazon Prime, there will be no reason to record it for later viewing. You can watch it "on demand." Without having your time spent in the bathroom during commercial breaks.

 

[snakeeyes]

The ability to scan through commercials is an important reason to maintain a satellite or cable service that allows you to record it for later viewing. If your time is worth anything, you're not saving by watching all your video content on a streaming service. You cannot fast-forward any streamed content that I know of. I NEVER need to watch a sporting event live. Why spend about 3 hours of your time to watch 60 minutes of football. Why watch time outs and their commercials.
If the content is on "premium" services like Showtime or Amazon Prime, there will be no reason to record it for later viewing. You can watch it "on demand." Without having your time spent in the bathroom during commercial breaks.

You can actually do all that on YouTubeTV (Not regular YouTube) and the DVR is unlimited space so you never have to delete. You just tell it to record the show always. (On demand has commercials so best to just record everything ) Unfortunately they raised their price from $50 to $65 recently so it doesn’t save me anything. LOL Also shows are 2.0 audio not 5.1 so I use an upmixer on my AVR.

I’m very curious on HuluTV and FuboTV and others with local channels and sports channels. I think I can do 7 day trials.

I didn’t have a good experience with ATT TV (DirectTV Now). The dvr didn’t work well and missed shows plus the sound on commercials was super loud.

 

[Verdinut]

The dvr didn’t work well and missed shows plus the sound on commercials was super loud.

I've been noticing for a while that commercials get excessively loud, something like at least 10-12 dB louder than the program sound level. Even music added to some TV series is at times louder than the dialogues.
Governments in both Canada and the US should pass laws to forbid such ridiculous practices. Sometimes, I'm drowsing in front of the TV and I get woken up by the silly commercials.

 

[lovinthehd]

I've been noticing for a while that commercials get excessively loud, something like at least 10-12 dB louder than the program sound level. Even music added to some TV series is at times louder than the dialogues.
Governments in both Canada and the US should pass laws to forbid such ridiculous practices. Sometimes, I'm drowsing in front of the TV and I get woken up by the silly commercials.

The US did pass such a law several years back for broadcast commercials for OTA services, they don't control the others. Haven't had broadcast tv in ages myself, tho.

 

[alaskadaisy]

I cut the cord 4 months ago. I went with AT&T TV which is a streaming service that works just like cable. I get all the same channels I had before for only $55.00 a month plus HBO is included. Dish was $164.00 a month. I also have Peakcock the free version and Netflix. Netflix is free with my mobile subscription. I have a smart TV and a fire stick. I love all the options without the huge bill.

 

[rsquared]

I've never had any recordings missed that were scheduled. One of my 2 receivers can record up to 5 channels at the same time. That used to be great when there was live sports. But now??
One of the new features that is troublesome now is that local commercials are injected from the internet into commercial breaks in some channels. Often that action disturbs the ability to accurately time out the place where the regular content comes back.

 

[Gmoney]

The US did pass such a law several years back for broadcast commercials for OTA services, they don't control the others. Haven't had broadcast tv in ages myself, tho.

That is a true statement they did pass a law that the Commercials can't be louder than the programming. But do they Follow the law to the letter? Doubtful.

 

[Verdinut]

That is a true statement they did pass a law that the Commercials can't be louder than the programming. But do they Follow the law to the letter? Doubtful.

The advertisers' lobbying is successful. What a joke?

 

[Huey645]

We cut the cord a little over a year ago and have never been happier, for the most part. We saved quite a bit of money each month, plus the quality is never been better. We have commercial free Hulu, Netflix, Prime, Disney+, CBS All Access, and Comedy Central. We also had HBO, and I can never remember if it was GO or NOW, but dropped it when we couldn't get HBO MAX. We didn't watch HBO that much, although I was looking forward to the deeper library with MAX, but until they start offering it through either Prime, my Sony player or Roku, I guess it isn't for me.

 

[panteragstk]

I could probably live with Hulu and Netflix only but I need something for NFL. I’m using the reliable but recently more expensive YouTube TV app but curious about cheaper options out there. I think I’ll look at FuboTV and Hulu TV and other options.

Don't forget Philo and Sling TV. Both can be very cheap depending on what you watch.

 

[snakeeyes]

Don't forget Philo and Sling TV. Both can be very cheap depending on what you watch.

The sling might work for me. They have my local fox channel.

 

[highfigh]

The main questions that need answers are:

What do you watch?
How much are you willing to pay for it?
Do you want to be a slave to TV programming?
And the heretic in me wants to ask "What could you be doing, rather than watching TV?".

 

[panteragstk]

And the heretic in me wants to ask "What could you be doing, rather than watching TV?".

This one has had me thinking for a week or so (heard somewhere else). What could I really be doing in stead of watching TV?

I don't watch until the kids are asleep, but I've got a lot of projects that need doing. Could I do some while they're in bed? Maybe.

I spend all day in front of a PC for work, so I'm done with that once the end of the day happens. Watching TV is my winding down before bed time. Plus, there are SO many good things to watch. I like being able to be a lot more picky about what I watch.

Still need to get those projects done though.

 

[VMPS-TIII]

And the heretic in me wants to ask "What could you be doing, rather than watching TV?".

Very good question. I find Netflix is lacking. Not much new stuff and good percentage of it is garbage. Amazon Prime has stuff on there that should be "C" rated not even "B" movie quality. Hulu is good for a few months then you have seen it all too.

The Pandemic has taken new movie content to a new low. It leads to releases of the lord helmet Van Dyke show in color and other reformatted old stuff. It might be time for less TV watching and more music browsing?