Cord Cutting
DW and I cut the cable cord in October 2017. We opted to use the wireless network in my home to deliver all signals, including over the air, to the televisions. Hardware solution is:
1) Linksys Velop 3 node high speed wireless mesh network. Supports televisions, laptops, tablets and smart devices throughout the home.
2) Spectrum Cable internet connected to high speed modem and mesh network. We have 100 mbps service but 50 mbps would be sufficient.
3) GE antenna outdoor antenna ($40) installed in attic and connected by cable to Silicon Dust HD Homerun Quattro. We receive 26 crystal clear digital channels of free over the air programming from transmitters 30-50 miles away
4) Silicon Dust HD HomeRun Quattro. Broadcasts over the air television signals from the antenna across the mesh network to televisions and other devices (laptops, smart phones, tablets)
5) Apple TV. One for each television in the home. Receives internet and over the air (via attic antenna and HD HomeRun) signals from the Linksys Velop wireless network.
Software solution:
1) Hulu Live TV is our primary provider. Streams 50 live channels plus Hulu's on demand movie and TV show library. Appears as an App on the Apple TV home page. Cost $40 per month.
2) Amazon Prime - Streaming library of shows and movies. Appears an an App on the Apple TV home page. Cost $90 per year and includes a number of other services including free shipping on Amazon, music streaming, and ebook downloading.
3) PBS app - Appears as an App on the Apple TV home page. A $60 annual tax deductible contribution to PBS gives access to on demand streaming of thousands of current and past PBS shows.
4) Netflix - Netflix stream library delivered via app on Apple TV. Cost $11.00 per month.
5) Channels app on Apple TV. Delivers all of the over the air programming from the attic antenna. Includes a very nice programming screen showing what shows are currently airing as well as upcoming shows. Other devices (laptops, cell phones, tablets) receive over the air through an HD Homerun app.
6) YouTube - App on Apple TV. There is a huge amount of free on demand programming on YouTube.
HD Homerun and Hulu have DVR options. We have not executed them because we are streaming almost all programming. Our viewing habits have changed since cutting the cable TV subscription. Today we watch very little live programming.
Almost all of the programming we currently watch is movies or TV shows streamed from Amazon Prime, Netflix, YouTube and PBS.
Our cable TV bill was $105.00 (television only) per month before we cut the cord.
We are extremely happy with the switch. Streaming video allows us to watch commercial free as well as take breaks and resume programming in progress. The Apple TV's are networked so we can start streaming a show in the family room, suspend watching it, and resume watching in the bedroom or kitchen just by clicking the show's image on the home page. I take a laptop to my basement shop and watch "how to" videos on YouTube when working on a project. The system will also easily link directly with apps on smart TV's, without having to use an external Apple TV box. We use the Apple TV's with our smart TV's so we have the same interface throughout the house and the ability to easily transition from one TV to another wherever we are watching a show.
Running this system with multiple video streaming devices requires 50 mbps internet service at $59 per month and a high speed wireless network. We have up to 4 televisions, 4 laptops, 1 desktop computer, 3 cell phones, 4 Apple TV's, smart thermostats, and multiple security cameras on the network. The Linksys Velop mesh system does a terrific job handling all of these devices and routing the signals so we have trouble free streaming of video and data. It can handle 50 devices so if we add additional smart devices (speakers, smart appliances) in the future we will have capacity.
As to technical problems Hulu Live occasionally freezes. Seems to be a Hulu problem. It is easily resolved by changing channels and then switching back to what we are watching but it is annoying. We also suspect our cable system throttles internet service occasionally but Spectrum denies it. Coincidentally or not, when data download speeds seem slow on the computer, if we run the speed test on Spectrum's website our service suddenly speeds up for several days.
We went with the Apple TV because we were already in the Apple ecosystem (computers, tablets, smartphones). If we hadn't wanted to integrate into the seamless Apple ecosystem we would have gone with Roku for streaming to the televisions.