Cutting the Cord…

[nevets88]

13 hours ago, k-troop said:

Cool info--thanks. I was thinking of using the mini as a media server and downloading content to it and streaming over my local network. That seems like the best way to access the most content through a single device. I may PM you for advice if/when I decide to get one. will have to make a call before football season next year. I might subscribe to sling just during football season. 

I use Plex to stream from the Mac to laptops and mobile devices. Pretty easy to setup. It finds and categorizes your videos and the mobile apps that receive the stream are pretty good. But Plex doesn't work with videos you buy off iTunes or Amazon, only content recorded off the OTA antenna or ripped Blu-rays.

[Dave2512]

Finally done with cable but more of a half cord cutter being I subscribed to Sling for the orange package. Still it's a $110 a month savings and that was after I beat down Comcast a couple times after I go the mysteries bill bump. I was already using Roku from the dark days when I didn't have a smart tv.

If I didn't live in a small town I'd be done with Comcast internet but the fastest alternative isn't close at 12 Mbps. The asshats in their customer loyalty department gave me two different quotes in a day and I had to go into a local office to get them to back it down to the promo price. Loved their strategy of trying to retain my account by bouncing me $15 a month then telling me the package I was offered just hours before doesn't exist. It took bringing the modem to them and saying disconnect me to back them up.

[Strandly]

I haven't had cable for 10 years and quit watching it several years before that.  Internet is all that is needed now-a-days and I'm pretty proud of how I was so far ahead of the curve on that. 

Anyway, cable companies controlling internet access is a real concern but I'm glad to see various municipalities around the country are starting to building their own fiber networks.  You definitely don't want some garbage company like Comcast to have you by the balls.

[Dave2512]

Surprisingly I am using the antenna more than anything. May be time to drop internet at home. I've always enjoyed classic TV and movies and there is a lot of that out there. Getting away from the cable news madness has definitely lightened the mood at home.

When I do watch TV, which isn't often not having to choose from hundreds of channels makes it more enjoyable. Most of it was shit anyway, I've seen enough BeachBody and blender infomercials in this life. We pick something and watch just that instead of surfing during commercials. The remote is hardly in my hand and it's a good thing. Channels I thought I'd miss, Golf and a few others I really haven't noticed it. Most major cable and local channels stream content the day after it airs and I'm good with that even if I have to watch it on my phone.

[Braivo]

My netflix subscription lapses because I got a new credit card. I haven't even been inclined to login and update it. I think those days are done. Antenna it is. 

[Dave2512]

I bought the super cheap Mohu for the small TV's in the bedrooms and it rocks. Picked up 50ish channels with the $19.87 25 mile antenna and I am well beyond that from the source.

[dennyjones]

After the kids leave next week, I'm returning the cable boxes to Charter.   I can live with Roku and a PS3.   I believe with Netflix, Hulu and Crackle we will have enough to keep us busy.  I'm still going to investigate digital antennas.

 

[nevets88]

2 hours ago, dennyjones said:

After the kids leave next week, I'm returning the cable boxes to Charter.   I can live with Roku and a PS3.   I believe with Netflix, Hulu and Crackle we will have enough to keep us busy.  I'm still going to investigate digital antennas.

 

Use http://www.tvfool.com/ to see what's in range and where to place it. People talk a lot about the antenna, the quality of your tuner makes a difference as well, but that's not exactly something on your mind when you buy a TV and tough to test. I actually have two antennas going into a splitter, one is a rabbit ears, the other, those $20 triangular jobs. Here are the Wirecutter's recommnedations: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-indoor-hdtv-antenna/

You have to laugh at the incongruity of a giant expensive flat panel attached to a $20 antenna and it gets a beautiful picture - and then a helicopter flies over you just as the game winning play is being made and you get pixellation. OTA is actually a better picture than the compressed picture from your cable company.

When Hulu first came online, selection was awful and it was an organizational mess. Same with Netflix streaming. People complain about Netflix and the like now, they really stunk in the beginning. A lot more sports events are only available through cable, no more OTA, but you can buy a streaming package just for the duration of your event. Now, there's just too much good content out there. HBO still rules though.

[dennyjones]

I can still watch ESPN online via my computer and stream it to my TV.   I'll live notice to your suggestions.   Thanks.

[dennyjones]

Well...

I cut the cord this week and surprise, surprise.... I was wrong about streaming ESPN.   I can stream it from my android phone to the TV but it uses data.   If I use wifi, it forces me to log-in to my Charter account which tells me I don't have access...

I have a Roku 3, Netflix and Hulu and believe me, that should be enough but I'd still like to find a real good digital antenna for local TV.    I bought a cheap one from Best Buy that didn't get our local ABC station and I'm not happy with it.  

Can I get some suggestions for a good digital antenna.   The TV stations closest to my house are around 50 miles.   

Thanks.

[Braivo]

5 hours ago, dennyjones said:

Well...

I cut the cord this week and surprise, surprise.... I was wrong about streaming ESPN.   I can stream it from my android phone to the TV but it uses data.   If I use wifi, it forces me to log-in to my Charter account which tells me I don't have access...

I have a Roku 3, Netflix and Hulu and believe me, that should be enough but I'd still like to find a real good digital antenna for local TV.    I bought a cheap one from Best Buy that didn't get our local ABC station and I'm not happy with it.  

Can I get some suggestions for a good digital antenna.   The TV stations closest to my house are around 50 miles.   

Thanks.

 

Sling TV offers ESPN as part of their $20/month package. 

As for an antenna, I bought something like this a few years ago and it works well, I am about 35-40 miles out. 

https://www.amazon.com/1byone-Amplified-HDTV-Antenna-Performance/dp/B00IF70T4M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472758620&sr=8-1&keywords=antenna

[nevets88]

6 hours ago, dennyjones said:

Well...

I cut the cord this week and surprise, surprise.... I was wrong about streaming ESPN.   I can stream it from my android phone to the TV but it uses data.   If I use wifi, it forces me to log-in to my Charter account which tells me I don't have access...

I have a Roku 3, Netflix and Hulu and believe me, that should be enough but I'd still like to find a real good digital antenna for local TV.    I bought a cheap one from Best Buy that didn't get our local ABC station and I'm not happy with it.  

Can I get some suggestions for a good digital antenna.   The TV stations closest to my house are around 50 miles.   

Thanks.

I use the 1byone 35 miles (the one in post above is 50 miles which needs power) and I would say its range is less than that.

Wirecutter recommends this, but I would go for a more powerful version.

 

[dennyjones]

Thanks for the suggestions.

[jkelley9]

My wife and I will be attempting to cut the cord once again due to weekly weekend tour golf tournaments being broadcast on NBC. 

And for local football, I'll be able to use the HD antennae. 

Also (and this is the main reason why the wife is allowing us to try cutting the cord again) SlingTV now offers USA as a channel in the $25/mo package.

It's just stupid that my wife and I pay an extra $90 per month for cable when we seriously only watch maybe 4 channels. 

Right now we pay $135 for gigabit fiber internet and cable together. We'll pay ~$72 for the internet alone now plus $25 for SlingTV. We already have netflix and hulu subscriptions anyways, and we have Roku 3's on all our TVs. So we'll be saving roughly $37 per month and it will feel so good :) Not so much the money savings but kicking the damn cable company to the freaking curb.

[boomer15]

I wish Sling would get the Golf Channel.

[dennyjones]

We bought another Roku.     I'm not missing cable.    We can watch almost anything.   I've saved close to $100 / month.  It makes it easier to justify my golf!

[jkelley9]

The only issue I'm having now is that my over-the-air antennae (which works great, actually) has to have the audio run through the coax cable and has to be then output from the TV via a digital audio port which my TVs do not have. They're ~5 year old LED 1080p TVs but they didn't come with this port. So I can't use my receiver to go to nicer speakers.

Might be buying new TVs for the house on Black Friday/Cyber Monday anyways though so it may be a moot point. 

Bt I actually got GREAT reception out of a $15 antenna. 

[nevets88]

On 9/16/2016 at 1:47 PM, boomer15 said:

I wish Sling would get the Golf Channel.

YMMV, but I'm fine w/just watching the videos on the website or its social media feed. GC puts a lot of video on its site. It may not be realtime, but recent enough.

1 hour ago, jkelley9 said:

The only issue I'm having now is that my over-the-air antennae (which works great, actually) has to have the audio run through the coax cable and has to be then output from the TV via a digital audio port which my TVs do not have. They're ~5 year old LED 1080p TVs but they didn't come with this port. So I can't use my receiver to go to nicer speakers.

Might be buying new TVs for the house on Black Friday/Cyber Monday anyways though so it may be a moot point. 

Bt I actually got GREAT reception out of a $15 antenna. 

Maybe this might help w/the audio: 

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Analog-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO

I used this the other way though, optical out from the tv to an ancient stereo but guessing you could go RCA in to the tv, and optical in to the converter.

I always thought it incongruous when people have a tv that's thousands of dollars hooked up to a $20 antenna and the picture is beautiful - OTA - NO COMPRESSION!

On 9/16/2016 at 6:44 PM, dennyjones said:

We bought another Roku.     I'm not missing cable.    We can watch almost anything.   I've saved close to $100 / month.  It makes it easier to justify my golf!

I bought another FireTV stick for almost 1/2 price when Amazon had its flash sale, I lost count of how many streaming sticks I have.

This is why CABLE SUCKS:

• Commercials -  about 20 minutes for each hour.
• Commercials
• Commercials
• Sh&*#ty F*$&#ing slow poorly designed set top box interface that shills 
• Poor closed captioning options. White on black blocky pixels? Look at the closed captioning options streaming provides. Choose your font, font size, placement, etc...
• Annoying animated graphics during the telecast. That annoying digital graphic on the corner.
• Always have to be looking for hidden fees.
• On Demand works poorly. Sometimes doesn't even work.
• STB sucks more electricity than a streaming device.