Cutting cable TV

[BWR1953]

My cable bill has gotten to be ludicrous in cost. It’s gone up over 150% since Spectrum took over several years ago. :mad-new:

My current bundled CATV service:

• No premium channels.
• Whole house WiFi.
• Whole house DVR
• Three cable boxes, including 1 DVR.
• Landline phone.
• 100MBPS internet

My TV setup:

• One Roku TV in the living room.
• One TV in the master bedroom.
• One TV in the second bedroom.

Mind you, I positively LIVE on the DVR. And have been doing so for nearly 40 years. Of course, in the old days it was a VCR. The idea that I'd have to go back to watching "live" TV or miss out completely is so 1960s to me!

I record everything that I watch. News, TV shows, movies, whatever. That way I can view content whenever I feel like it without concern about missing what I like. And I can zip right through commercials.

In addition to that, I also like buffering live shows while I’m doing something else.

After paying my most recent bill last week, I positively NEED to make some changes.

I’ve been “testing” my existing Roku and am unimpressed. Some of the channels have lower quality video that I used to get with rabbit ears back in the day.

No DVR service like I’m used to is available for streaming.

Thoughts and suggestions?

 

[alldodge]

Build your own DVR and options are more then you would need

Can install multiple capture OTR cards and video cards for streaming. I would have built one a long time ago if I was able to get OTA channels. I'm stuck with streaming or Satellite. I use Dish and Roku

Can get Hulu or Sling (sling is dish) and use their equipment and cloud storage. There is a bunch of info out there just need to read up

I bought a Tivo DVR for my Mom but never used it because life happens. Its a good unit for OTA

 

[BWR1953]

Build your own DVR and options are more then you would need

Can install multiple capture OTR cards and video cards for streaming. I would have built one a long time ago if I was able to get OTA channels. I'm stuck with streaming or Satellite. I use Dish and Roku

Can get Hulu or Sling (sling is dish) and use their equipment and cloud storage. There is a bunch of info out there just need to read up

I bought a Tivo DVR for my Mom but never used it because life happens. Its a good unit for OTA

I've BEEN reading up! And asking on here is also reading up! :thumb:

I'm out of range for OTA, which sucks because i'll lose my local channels. Can't see me erecting a 50' tower with a Yagi antenna hanging on it either. How 1960s can ya get?

And I'll never use satellite again. Did that 20 years ago and it doesn't work here during the summer. Too many strong thunderstorms.

Hulu, Sling, Netflix, etc. have nothing that interests me really. Plus, they're not free either. There's a new one called Philo but I've read their channel lineup and... meh.

DIY DVR? Not me. Ain't gonna happen.

Basic internet here is $50/mo. I'm not sure if it comes with whole house WiFi or not. :noidea:

Yesterday, while driving down the road at 70MPH, I was live streaming my favorite business show on my phone and listening. It wasn't much different from the old days with commercial interruptions all the time. Other than driving, natch.

Thus far, I haven't found a DVR which can really do what CATV does.

Makes me sad. :blue:

 

[alldodge]

They do sell ready made ones, I need to look them back up
Look for home theater DVR and the like
I know witrh roku you can get cbs all access or other things, and the roku box is better then the smart tv with roku. Now the roku tv is better then both.

 

[BWR1953]

They do sell ready made ones, I need to look them back up
Look for home theater DVR and the like
I know witrh roku you can get cbs all access or other things, and the roku box is better then the smart tv with roku. Now the roku tv is better then both.

Yah, I do have a Roku TV. But there are only so many times I can watch "My Favorite Martian." :lol:

I've been looking at a variety of commercial DVRs, but haven't found one that can do it all. Yet.

Research continues...

 

[JASinIL2006]

We've been grappling with a similar issue. We really like our DVRs (we have been Tivo users since not long after they came out), and I think the viewing experience of recorded DVR show vs. that of a streaming program is just not comparable. For example, watching a sporting event recorded on DVR is much nicer than on a streaming service; control over skipping commercials, rewinding briefly to catch something you missed, etc., is so much better on a DVR.

It's gonna be hard to cut the cable, if we ever can manage. In the meantime, we might try to trim our package, perhaps eliminating the landline phone. Maybe we'll give up Tivo and use a Comcast DVR. But I don't yet see a solution for dropping cable entirely.

 

[southkogs]

Television has never been a huge deal for us, so we've never had cable TV. But for the last twenty years, I've typically carried a high speed internet connection. We've tried ROKU and Smart TVs, but wound up going back to what we've always used which is an Apple TV. I can access anything between that and our mobile devices. We have a DVD player for some things, but we also stream a lot too.

I think we're subscribed to four content providers now, but as the kids are moving out we're starting to look at paring that down.

 

[gm280]

We cut cable, with the exception of internet, many years ago now, and for the same reasons. We presently get 29 OTA channels and with the internet, we watch more YouTube then nearly anything else. Almost any interest you can think of has something on YouTube to view. And it is free in respect to paying for digital TV channels via cable TV. Works for us. Digital cable TV is about gone now...and it is their very own fault as well. How they can demand you to pay for TV with commercials, is beyond me...

 

[BWR1953]

We've been grappling with a similar issue. We really like our DVRs (we have been Tivo users since not long after they came out), and I think the viewing experience of recorded DVR show vs. that of a streaming program is just not comparable. For example, watching a sporting event recorded on DVR is much nicer than on a streaming service; control over skipping commercials, rewinding briefly to catch something you missed, etc., is so much better on a DVR.

It's gonna be hard to cut the cable, if we ever can manage. In the meantime, we might try to trim our package, perhaps eliminating the landline phone. Maybe we'll give up Tivo and use a Comcast DVR. But I don't yet see a solution for dropping cable entirely.

You’ve summed it up nicely. I use the DVR in the same way and that’s why I’m in the current quandary. Our cable bill has climbed up to $250/mo. Cutting my land line phone only saves $2/mo., so it’s a non-issue.

My research thus far:

I’ve discovered a Spectrum plan for only $30/mo (plus internet & DVR and extra cable boxes) which includes all local channels plus my choice of 10 cable channels. Almost like a la carte. The total for that plan with all the extras would still be less than half of what I’m paying now. I’ll be investigating that one more.

There’s another Spectrum plan which includes 125 channels, internet and phone for $99/mo but the DVR and extra cable boxes would be add-ons. Even so, it’s also less than half of my current bill. The problem is that it’s only available to new customers. I may be able to force the issue with customer service though. Maybe. Spectrum has a reputation of letting grandfathered customers leave. And I have no doubt that the price would go up after a year.

My wife was discussing the issue with a co-worker yesterday and was told by the co-worker that her cable bill had climbed to over $400/mo.! So they cut the cord and went with internet only.

I've also checked into using our phones with a hotspot, but reception here is poor. I only get -121dBm on my phone while sitting in the living room. And I can't watch or cast channels that I'm not already subscribed to with my provider. So if I don't have CATV, I can't watch online.

Yeah, there are Yagi antennas with amplifiers to increase reception but again, it's soooo last century.

 

[alldodge]

I have 4MB DSL and I can stream shows on netflix (grand sons)

Basic internet here is $50/mo. I'm not sure if it comes with whole house WiFi or not.

Get basic internet and install your own $100 wifi router and your good. Routers are easy to setup and most walk you thru it

 

[gm280]

Wireless router is what we use and it serves the house and shop perfectly. And we've had that setup for years without any issues. However, recently I noticed that the cable internet has been dropping out a lot. And coincidently, the cable company has been stuffing the mailbox and commercials on TV with how you can upgrade your internet speed for a mere few dollars a month more. Odd how the internet drops out and now they are marketing upgrades for extra money. Makes one wonder if they are throttling access to push customers to the next level, for more profit of course while you get exactly what you had before they started throttling access. What a clever and totally illegal scam... If I only had the proper equipment to prove it, I would!

 

[dingbat]

However, recently I noticed that the cable internet has been dropping out a lot. And coincidently, the cable company has been stuffing the mailbox and commercials on TV with how you can upgrade your internet speed for a mere few dollars a month more. Odd how the internet drops out and now they are marketing upgrades for extra money. Makes one wonder if they are throttling access to push customers to the next level, for more profit of course while you get exactly what you had before they started throttling access. What a clever and totally illegal scam... If I only had the proper equipment to prove it, I would!

I think you'll find that everyone working and schooling from home is putting a very heavy load on the network infrastructure. 10 gpm through a 6 gpm hose

I have 100/100 service. Ping rate are getting upwards of 10-15mS during the day. Logged network activity for a while. Congestion drops off considerably after 8 pm eastern. Ramps back up after 9 am in the morning

 

[gm280]

I think you'll find that everyone working and schooling from home is putting a very heavy load on the network infrastructure. 10 gpm through a 6 gpm hose

I have 100/100 service. Ping rate are getting upwards of 10-15mS during the day. Logged network activity for a while. Congestion drops off considerably after 8 pm eastern. Ramps back up after 9 am in the morning

I totally agree with your assessment about so many using the net at the same time. However, our drop out issues seem to occur in the evening about 7:00 PM on. The daily drop out is near about nonexistent.

 

[BWR1953]

I have 4MB DSL and I can stream shows on netflix (grand sons)
Get basic internet and install your own $100 wifi router and your good. Routers are easy to setup and most walk you thru it

DSL is so slow compared to our basic 100MBPS cable internet. And on top of that, it has to come in on a phone line, which I don't even have. Plus I don't want to pay AT&T exorbitant prices for home phone service.

I installed a router in my garage several years ago and it works fine.

But I can't use basic internet to watch/stream/record the shows that I want.

If I cut cable completely and only go with basic internet, it means a big negative change for us. :grumpy:

 

[dingbat]

I totally agree with your assessment about so many using the net at the same time. However, our drop out issues seem to occur in the evening about 7:00 PM on. The daily drop out is near about nonexistent.

I had the same issue a while back. Thought we where being throttled because of the dropouts but log files turned up a significant number of packet losses.

Called with our service provider (Verizon) to help troubleshoot the problem. Turned out to be combination of issues. Verizon did a hard reset of the external unit (fiber to Ethernet) and I had to install a firmware update on my router to rectify the problem.

Everything has been good since except the traffic delays noted above.

 

[alldodge]

Plus I don't want to pay AT&T exorbitant prices for home phone service.

My DSL comes from a rural phone service (ATT not involved). My house has a land line and DSL ($68) but my vacation rental has only DSL ($42). Both have 4MB and can get 8MB for $20 more a month

From what I understand you have to have cable. Things like YouTube, Hulu, and others won't work

 

[BWR1953]

My DSL comes from a rural phone service (ATT not involved). My house has a land line and DSL ($68) but my vacation rental has only DSL ($42). Both have 4MB and can get 8MB for $20 more a month

From what I understand you have to have cable. Things like YouTube, Hulu, and others won't work

Right. Regular old TV & movie streaming doesn't get me the shows we like. :blue:

 

[BWR1953]

My DSL comes from a rural phone service (ATT not involved). My house has a land line and DSL ($68) but my vacation rental has only DSL ($42). Both have 4MB and can get 8MB for $20 more a month

From what I understand you have to have cable. Things like YouTube, Hulu, and others won't work

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that my stepson does the online gaming thing, so he needs a lot of bandwidth.

He's plugged directly into the ethernet port on our modem and he knocks down 105+ MBPS, which is probably more than he can use with his current computer. :lol:

 

[alldodge]

What about cable for internet only and use satellite for TV?
Might cost less and you still get DVR

 

[BWR1953]

What about cable for internet only and use satellite for TV?
Might cost less and you still get DVR

Satellite doesn't work well here because of all the thunderstorms we get. I've had it before and it just doesn't cut the mustard.