Cutting Cable?

[Rasmuff]

Hey Folks,

 

My parents are looking to cut cable because it's expensive and for whatever reason, the responsibility of figuring out their solutions falls to me?

 

Anyways, question remains, what are the best ways to cut cable and still have a lot of services? (Both services and devices to stream them with)

I do not follow this part of the tech world very closely so I am at a loss in helping them.

 

Thanks.

[Jtalk4456]

I haven't had cable in like 4 years. I pay for decent internet, use smart tv's with netflix hulu and youtube. I don't miss Cable at all

[markr54632]

I did this about two years ago and havent looked back. For devices I am using roku 3s in the main living areas and roku sticks in guest areas. They seem to have the best feature set and reliability for the money.

 

A good antenna is necessary if you want local and news.

 

As for services hulu has gone to scrap with their new billing methods and poor attempt at live streaming and dvr.

 

Netflix is well the same old Netflix.

 

Amazon prime is useful for newer releases and some exclusives.

 

Crunchyroll and funimation are useful for anime.

 

Roku has a decent media player app that leaves some to be desired. Really my main complaint.

 

If you want open source and customizable android is useable, but go with nvidia shields, or a high quality brand name box. Most of the Chinese boxes for 100 or under leave alot to be desired.

 

The last option is to go with media center pcs for each tv. Look on craigslist for older dell, hp, or lenovo sff pcs and add a cheap low profile graphics card and your set for most cases at 1080p or lower. This would not be for gaming.

 

Unless Chrome cast has changed I didnt care for streaming through a phone or tablet and having two devices tied up.

 

The Amazon firestick and fire tv units I have were significantly slower than the roku units, but very similar in functionality.

[mariushm]

Don't you have a lot of OTA HD channels where you live (over the air, free digital tv etc ) ... just buy a high gain HD TV digital antenna and install it somewhere outside if you can, here's an example : http://amzn.to/2oOvRHn

 

That should give you the local news and a few other channels and you could supplement that with netflix and others.  And there's always torrents for other tv shows.

 

[JoostinOnline]

A few notes, as I recently cut cable for my mother:

1. If you get Internet through your cable company, they will almost certainly raise your Internet price.
2. If you want to lower it, speak to customer service.
3. Be NICE to customer service.  Not flirty, but very nice.  These people are yelled at every day, and any kindness is likely to be rewarded.  I'm saving $30 a month because I was really nice to the lady I spoke to.

[AngryBeaver]

3 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

A few notes, as I recently cut cable for my mother:

1. If you get Internet through your cable company, they will almost certainly raise your Internet price.
2. If you want to lower it, speak to customer service.
3. Be NICE to customer service.  Not flirty, but very nice.  These people are yelled at every day, and any kindness is likely to be rewarded.  I'm saving $30 a month because I was really nice to the lady I spoke to.

I tend to not settle for anything less than what I am asking for. This tends to land me promotions they only extend to new customers.

 

The difference is that I do have a few internet options so when I threaten to leave if i don't get XYZ.. I am prepared to do so... and have. Generally a few days after you cancel service retention will give you another courtesy call with a much better offer. Unfortunately for the cable company I can get a 1gb fiber line for $39.95. So now they will likely not see me again.

 

As for cutting the cable.

Netflix

Amazon prime

you can also buy the premium channels from amazon now btw

then you have a la cart tv providers like sling.

I also have a decent amount of OTA HD so I have a decent antenna.

[JoostinOnline]

Just now, AngryBeaver said:

I tend to not settle for anything less than what I am asking for. This tends to land me promotions they only extend to new customers.

 

The difference is that I do have a few internet options so when I threaten to leave if i don't get XYZ.. I am prepared to do so... and have. Generally a few days after you cancel service retention will give you another courtesy call with a much better offer. Unfortunately for the cable company I can get a 1gb fiber line for $39.95. So now they will likely not see me again.

You catch more flies with honey.  I always get those promotions, and I've never had to leave.  People have even bent the rules for me, without me asking.  Newegg employees have told me I'm nice and given me $5 credit, even after I said it was my mistake.  Ironically, that's all because people like you make them feel bad, and they want to feel appreciated.

 

For almost half the US, there is only one choice of ISP, so it's not even like you have somewhere else to go.  The rest of us have two options, and usually one is much slower.

[handymanshandle]

37 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

I haven't had cable in like 4 years. I pay for decent internet, use smart tv's with netflix hulu and youtube. I don't miss Cable at all

Frankly, Netflix doesn't have everything.

In our case, we pay roughly $60-$70/mo for 12mbps down/7 mbps up with CenturyLink. We get more like 15mbps down/0.80mbps up.

 

For the first year at least with Comcast, we'd get more channels than what we got with Sling and recent episodes of shows, and faster internet for roughly the same price.

 

Certainly after the first year with Comcast it'd get more expensive, how much more expensive. I don't really know, I don't really care. If my mom wanted to, she could find something that'd work for her and get it in her name. Otherwise after the first year, it'd be done and she'd either go back to CenturyLink or find someone else.

[AngryBeaver]

1 minute ago, JoostinOnline said:

You catch more flies with honey.  I always get those promotions, and I've never had to leave.  People have even bent the rules for me, without me asking.  Newegg employees have told me I'm nice and given me $5 credit, even after I said it was my mistake.  Ironically, that's all because people like you make them feel bad, and they want to feel appreciated.

 

For almost half the US, there is only one choice of ISP, so it's not even like you have somewhere else to go.  The rest of us have two options, and usually one is much slower.

I have been in that position before myself. I would still gladly make my point by going with the slower option until I have a better option.

 

People forget that these big companies are support by us. They are suppose to be winning and earning my business... not doing me a favor by letting me have internet. Too many people forget that without customers these companies would not be able to exist. One day enough people will get tired of these activities and things will change. Until then I use my freedom of speech and speak with my wallet.

[JoostinOnline]

1 minute ago, AngryBeaver said:

I would still gladly make my point by going with the slower option until I have a better option.

So probably never.  I don't know where you live, but ISP's aren't expanding in the US.  They stay in their territory and charge whatever they want.

 

It's up to the OP on who's advice he follows.  But my way has a 100% success rate (in my experience), while yours could end with sucky Internet service.

 

@Rasmuff It's your choice on which route you take.  Nice person or asshole.  As someone who's worked in customer service, and who has saved a lot of money by being nice to others, I can tell you which one I suggest.

[AngryBeaver]

1 minute ago, JoostinOnline said:

So probably never.  I don't know where you live, but ISP's aren't expanding in the US.  They stay in their territory and charge whatever they want.

 

It's up to the OP on who's advice he follows.  But my way has a 100% success rate (in my experience), while yours could end with sucky Internet service.

 

@Rasmuff It's your choice on which route you take.  Nice person or asshole.  As someone who's worked in customer service, and who has saved a lot of money by being nice to others, I can tell you which one I suggest.

Or someone who has been extremely successful in life so far and still has a lot left. This was done by not taking no for an answer and not accepting the garbage these companies push.

 

Now I currently have comcast, centurylink, and a local fiber option (don't want people to pinpoint where i live). It currently offers 1gb fiber for about 40 a month. For 240 a month you can get a 10gb fiber connection.  Now my own personal contribution to fighting comcrap.. is I have expanded my wifi network with a completely isolated wifi setup using high gain antennas. I can provide at least 50mbps up/down anywhere within about 2 blocks of my home (assuming they invest in a good antenna too). I am currently providing internet to about 5 households who are tossing me $20/m  So I am making money and they are getting better service for a great price.

 

They fortunately don't have much usage, but for the 100/m I am making from them I could easily get a 5gb connection. I do have some QoS stuff in place to make sure they get a decent amount of bandwidth without killing my network too lol. Then again I didn't even care about the money on this project and would have given this to them for free just to get them away from comcrap.

[Jtalk4456]

44 minutes ago, wcreek said:

Frankly, Netflix doesn't have everything.

In our case, we pay roughly $60-$70/mo for 12mbps down/7 mbps up with CenturyLink. We get more like 15mbps down/0.80mbps up.

 

For the first year at least with Comcast, we'd get more channels than what we got with Sling and recent episodes of shows, and faster internet for roughly the same price.

 

Certainly after the first year with Comcast it'd get more expensive, how much more expensive. I don't really know, I don't really care. If my mom wanted to, she could find something that'd work for her and get it in her name. Otherwise after the first year, it'd be done and she'd either go back to CenturyLink or find someone else.

never said it had everything, but it has more than enough combined with hulu and youtube to do what i want. Edit: we are considering paying for HBO bundled with hulu, want to see what all the hbo hype is and whether it's at all worth it

[Lurick]

Surprised nobody has mentioned some of the other streaming options like:

PSVue

DirecTV NOW

Sling

 

They've all got their pros and cons but if you have regular TV you want to watch they can all be good options, and depending on your preferences they can get you what normal TV you want for much cheaper than cable.

[Tsuki]

i havent paid for cable in 15 years.

between netflix, Roku, and my plex server(which is setup to record OTA television) i dont need it.   and if there is any one-off show that i cant get with those, it just gets pirated..

[dcgreen2k]

I'd recommend getting an Amazon Fire TV, it worked really well for us.

[JoostinOnline]

45 minutes ago, Tsuki said:

my plex server(which is setup to record OTA television)

Do you mind telling me how you did this?

[Tsuki]

43 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

Do you mind telling me how you did this?

Plex Pass has DVR support as long as you have a compatible tv tuner.

More info HERE

But it was really easy to setup. 

 

Im using one of THESE in my computer to do it all.

[Canada EH]

5 hours ago, Rasmuff said:

Hey Folks,

 

My parents are looking to cut cable because it's expensive and for whatever reason, the responsibility of figuring out their solutions falls to me?

 

Anyways, question remains, what are the best ways to cut cable and still have a lot of services? (Both services and devices to stream them with)

I do not follow this part of the tech world very closely so I am at a loss in helping them.

 

Thanks.

Android Boxes or Pirated Cable/Sat which Metro did an article on, but thats where it ends.

[derr12]

Roku for all its flaws does have access to a Plex client. Plex is superior to Xbmc in all ways imo. Roku was good to me. I’m making do with chrome cast to my smart tv for everything else. Plex, Netflix, utube and amazon has me covered for now. Anybody know of a streaming service that has a good library of documentaries? 

[Donut417]

6 hours ago, Rasmuff said:

Hey Folks,

 

My parents are looking to cut cable because it's expensive and for whatever reason, the responsibility of figuring out their solutions falls to me?

 

Anyways, question remains, what are the best ways to cut cable and still have a lot of services? (Both services and devices to stream them with)

I do not follow this part of the tech world very closely so I am at a loss in helping them.

 

Thanks.

Been a cord cutter since last June. We use PSVue, its ok ish. The only thing about being a cord cutter, is you have to think about Usage caps if your ISP is an ASS. Comcast for instance in many area's has a 1TB cap. OTA TV can help keep you with in the cap. But Id check out PSVue, Youtube TV, Sling and or Hulu live. You might also check out HBO Now if you need HBO content. 

[Psittac]

Haven't read all of the replies, figured I'd just throw out my experience

 

I haven't watched broadcast television in easily over 10 years and have tried to watch it on numerous occasions since. Ex: Watching the dog's at my parent's while they're on vacation; you spend SO MUCH time just watching commercials, I don't know how I ever did it.

 

Anyway's I have almost no commercials in my life. Pandora One, Youtube Red, Netflix, Amazon Prime, redbox or my own personal collection (being converted to plex). The only commercials I hear are during work hours while listening to the comedy radio station.

 

The real difficulty here is how to get your parent's to migrate away from broadcast.  I haven't used it in so long that I have zero desire for what ever benefit it may have.  But my parent's are still caught up in it. Granted I'm in front of my computer more than my TV.

 

I haven't figured out a solid way to get them into a more interactive platform as they aren't tech savy.  I will have to go back and read everyone's idea's.

 

edit: random thought, recently saw my friend use his nvidia shield..... could be simple enough and friendly enough for both my mom and dad to use.

 

#citybasedhighspeed #fuckcomcast