Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) 2017 - 2020

[bUU]

Bloomberg: The Days of Getting a Cheaper Cable Bill by Threatening to Leave May Be Over.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ating-your-way-to-a-cheap-cable-bill-are-over

"With internet service growing faster and more profitable, subscribers like May are becoming expendable."

"... cable executives are now focused on what they call “profitable” or “high-quality” video subscribers and less interested in cutting deals.”

"... “cleaning up the customer base” by letting go of subscribers who insist on keeping promotional prices when their contracts expire."

"As customers drop pay TV, cable companies will actually see their profit margins widen, ... Selling high-speed internet is far more profitable."

Nothing really new here, at least not to me. I've suggested that these changes are coming for several years now... Perhaps the only thing different about it now is that Cable company executives feel comfortable enough to be open and direct about it.

 

[Sojourner]

For me, a hockey puck being shot on Dish looks like:

_____________________________

When streaming, it looks more like

-----------------------------------------


I think this is due to some providers streaming at 30 frames per second instead of 60.

This has been my experience, too, but not just with sports. I tend to notice more choppiness—mostly of an intermittent nature—in the playback of streaming content than with shows I've recorded on my DirecTV receiver. But this seems to be very subjective and not experienced or noticed by everyone. IOW, choppiness is in the eye of the beholder. It's one of the primary reasons I haven't dropped my satellite TV service yet.

 

[RonBoyd]

This may help somewhat: https://www.lifewire.com/speed-up-your-internet-access-2377440

Fast and reliable Internet access can make all the difference between a good and an excruciating web experience. If you have mission-critical work to do from home, fast internet access is even more important. Get the most from your internet service at home with these tips.

 

[Midpack]

Bloomberg: The Days of Getting a Cheaper Cable Bill by Threatening to Leave May Be Over.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ating-your-way-to-a-cheap-cable-bill-are-over

"With internet service growing faster and more profitable, subscribers like May are becoming expendable."

"... cable executives are now focused on what they call “profitable” or “high-quality” video subscribers and less interested in cutting deals.”

"... “cleaning up the customer base” by letting go of subscribers who insist on keeping promotional prices when their contracts expire."

"As customers drop pay TV, cable companies will actually see their profit margins widen, ... Selling high-speed internet is far more profitable."

Nothing really new here, at least not to me. I've suggested that these changes are coming for several years now... Perhaps the only thing different about it now is that Cable company executives feel comfortable enough to be open and direct about it.

Good article thanks.

Sounds like they'll have a hard time maintaining top line but they may maintain net margin $, so workable.

I think I'm noticing internet providers (I'm shopping now) are increasing prices not by blatant increases, but by offering only higher Mbps packages at higher (entry) prices. They may phase out the lower speed/bandwidth packages many of us have relied on. You used to be able to buy a 10 mbps Comcast package where I live, now 25 mbps is the minimum you'll see without deep probing. And in another market I'm looking AT&T and Spectrum and they don't show anything less than 100 and 200 mbps (unless you dig).

Interesting...

 

[FreeBear]

I think I'm noticing internet providers (I'm shopping now) are increasing prices not by blatant increases, but by offering only higher Mbps packages at higher (entry) prices. They may phase out the lower speed/bandwidth packages many of us have relied on. You used to be able to buy a 10 mbps Comcast package where I live, now 25 mbps is the minimum you'll see without deep probing. And in another market I'm looking AT&T and Spectrum and they don't show anything less than 100 and 200 mbps (unless you dig).

Interesting...

No, not the deep probing!

Same situation here. Base xfinity/comcast was 10 mbps, upgraded to 25 mbps over a year ago. The price on the base as crept up (ignoring promo rate) a little, but I appreciate the big speed bump and the rock-solid reliablity. Reliabity has be better than electric utility, which is already excellent. Oh, xfinity has been easy to deal with, although we don't renegotiate yearly.

BTW, AT&T (fiber far way) was a complete nightmare with service, relibility, and techs. Six techs over 3 months, just to install. Service never ran well after the first few months, so abandoned for xfinity.


My big take away from this thread is to be thinkful I don't watch spectator sports or network TV at home. Besides, my neighbor has a full cable package and better booze when I want really watch something.

 

[Kwirk]

This may help somewhat: https://www.lifewire.com/speed-up-your-internet-access-2377440

"South Korea's blazing 33.5 Mbps" suggests that many of the packages with much higher speeds may be overkill.

I have a "low" Verizon FiOS speed of 50 mbps and never feel that anything faster would be a day-to-day improvement. Everything except occasional very large file downloads seems instantaneous. For now I'm certainly not willing to pay more for a faster speed.

Above a certain point, other factors are probably more important than raw bandwidth. A poor ping time (round trip time), high packet loss (data that goes missing on the way), or poor DNS (domain name server that translates text addresses into actual numeric addresses) response can make computer usage, especially gaming, just as miserable as very low bandwidth.

Honestly, I think ISPs are taking advantage of customers with the prices they charge for higher tiers of internet service. The real benefit is quite minimal. (But, I've been wrong before.)

 

[retire48in2018]

When you think of speed & bandwidth, you also should consider how many devices you have that connect outside your internal home network and how your home might become more of a smart home over time.

Already, we have an internet connected thermostats, smart TVs, alexa devices, Smart BBQ grill, several light switches, web cams, door cams, as well as personal devices - smart phones, tablet, readers, watches, etc.

We've had over 40 devices connected at times, each taking their share.

We have fiber here (1 GB, 1000 Mb/s) - so no issues, but we noticed a lot of problems when we had comcast cable before (50 mb/s).

I think over time, technology is driving us to be more connected and take more bandwidth, rather than less.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

"South Korea's blazing 33.5 Mbps" suggests that many of the packages with much higher speeds may be overkill.

I have a "low" Verizon FiOS speed of 50 mbps and never feel that anything faster would be a day-to-day improvement. Everything except occasional very large file downloads seems instantaneous. For now I'm certainly not willing to pay more for a faster speed.

Even to stream 4K video, 25Mbps is more than enough, and you might be OK with 15-20, as long as your other metrics were good; as you say, ping time, packet loss, and an optimal route are sometimes more important than raw speed.

 

[RunningBum]

This may help somewhat: https://www.lifewire.com/speed-up-your-internet-access-2377440

As I said a couple pages ago, I have 100Mbps internet, measured to 95 or over, and when I run quality tests they say they are good. It's not my internet.

 

[Kwirk]

We have 32+ devices currently connected (each with an assigned IP address), including 4 phones, 7 tablets, 5 notebooks, 4 desktops, 2 streaming tuners (HDHomeruns), an XBox, 2 Nintendo Switches, an Nvidia Shield, televisions, amplifiers, disk players, Alexas, 4 wireless access points, and a network printer. (We're a 3 generation household and, obviously, we like gadgets.) Everything works just fine with 50 mbps.

Decent quality equipment and network layout probably keep congestion to a minimum. Our primary router is a Netgear R7000 Nighthawk. All desktops and access points are wired to the network.

I retired and now work for free as a home network administrator.

 

[RonBoyd]

We have 40 devices using our LAN at all times. Some of them are pretty bandwidth intensive, PCs in particular but not the only ones. At 50mbps, I have never experienced a slow down -- buffering, for instance.

FWIW, I use Fing to monitor my network. https://www.fing.com/

Here is screenshot of Page One of my monitored devices:

 

[timo2]

While I don't know what the problem that you are experiencing is, I don't think it is the stream... I've watched 3 Stanley Cup games recently on Fitzy TV on my Kindle Fire stick and the video quality has been fine... a friend who is an avid Bruins fan has watched them with me and had not complaints at all.

I have researched this quite a bit because it bugged me so much. The consensus among internet experts is the source of the stream is usually the culprit.

 

[GTFan]

We do. House configured with Ethernet at each set of TV outlets when we built it. So our two Apple TVs are directly connected.

Average folks don't install Ethernet, the denizens here are outliers as usual. I have GigE run all over the house too but when I got an Xbox One X last year I just used WiFi and it has excellent latency and no lag issues, and I play stuff like Battlefield V where you'd notice right away.

Dual-band 802.11ac works great in the average house, with no wiring, for almost every use case.

 

[jim584672]

Cancelled YTTV, the $35 to $50 a month jump was too much. Looking for some other options to try.

 

[REWahoo]

Looking for some other options to try.

Here's a great place to see what might work for you: https://www.suppose.tv/tv

 

[RonBoyd]

Here's a great place to see what might work for you: https://www.suppose.tv/tv

Nice find.

 

[RonBoyd]

We have been "on-the-road" now for three days stopping in Amarillo, Novoro, and (tonight) in Dallas. We have watched so far (According to AT&T) 15.28 GB of video. (That was two episode of "Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries" -- 2 hours each -- and Season 1 Episode 1 of "Keeping up Appearances" the first night and the lengthy new version of "A Star Is Born" (great movie BTW) last night.

We are using an AT&T thingemabob (whatever AT&T calls their AirCard) and in all that time there was never any buffering or interruption of any kind. I just ran a Network Check and found that it is 8.28 mbps up and 14.87 mbps down. (I was expecting AT&T to throttle down my usage but apparently not yet -- I do have an unlimited data plan.)


We are using a ROKU Ultra (I believe, but it could be a Premier).


I don't see any reason for me to complain.


(FWIW, AT&T is still having some difficulties caused by the weather event last week.)

 

[REWahoo]

We have been "on-the-road" now for three days stopping in Amarillo, Novoro, and (tonight) in Dallas.

Not familiar that particular town. Where is it located?

 

[RonBoyd]

Not familiar that particular town. Where is it located?

Oops, that was a place holder... I meant to go back after looking it up. It was really Nacona. (Age may be catching up after all. <chuckle>

FWIW, they claim to be the classic car capital of the world.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Already, we have an internet connected thermostats, smart TVs, alexa devices, Smart BBQ grill, several light switches, web cams, door cams, as well as personal devices - smart phones, tablet, readers, watches, etc.

We've had over 40 devices connected at times, each taking their share.

riving us to be more connected and take more bandwidth, rather than less.

retire48in2018 I would be interested in some of those non-standard devices on your network. I have 26 devices on my network. Thought I had it all. Want to hear about Smart BBQ grill, light switches, door cams, etc. I have all the rest. Would you consider a separate thread discussing the newer technologies and whether they are useful or just a toy?

Kwirk You had some interesting gadgets, too. You and I have similar routers. I have the Netgear R7800 Nighthawk.

RonBoyd What interesting toys do you have on your network?

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

retire48in2018 I would be interested in some of those non-standard devices on your network. I have 26 devices on my network. Thought I had it all. Want to hear about Smart BBQ grill, light switches, door cams, etc. I have all the rest. Would you consider a separate thread discussing the newer technologies and whether they are useful or just a toy?

Kwirk You had some interesting gadgets, too. You and I have similar routers. I have the Netgear R7800 Nighthawk.

RonBoyd What interesting toys do you have on your network?

I know you didn't ask me, but I do have a Kasa TP-Link outlet controlling a light, and I'm really happy with the app. It has a "vacation" mode, where you can tell it to turn on randomly during any time span (say 7pm to 11pm), so even if someone is watching it doesn't look like you're using a timer. It also knows when sunrise and sunset is for your zip code, so you can tell it "sunset to 11pm". It wasn't too expensive either, I paid $38 for it.

 

[RonBoyd]

RonBoyd What interesting toys do you have on your network?

I am not at home right now. When we return in a couple weeks, I will try to make a list.

in the meantime, you will note that I post page 1 of my 40 connected devices a copy messages ago. http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/update-on-cord-cutting-cable-tv-87375-90.html#post2247596

 

[Z3Dreamer]

I am not at home right now. When we return in a couple weeks, I will try to make a list.

in the meantime, you will note that I post page 1 of my 40 connected devices a copy messages ago. http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/update-on-cord-cutting-cable-tv-87375-90.html#post2247596

I read about the Fingbox and the Harmony Hub. Not sure I would use them. Would be fun to play with, though. Also, you have 2 NAS devices. I have a NAS. Seems like folks are storing in the Cloud so NAS are a thing of the past.

Other than the above, you and I have similar devices. I have a hub that grabs data from my 3 weather stations/monitors. I also have a Tablo OTA DVR.

 

[RonBoyd]

you have 2 NAS devices. I have a NAS. Seems like folks are storing in the Cloud so NAS are a thing of the past.

I don't know about that. I do use Dropbox extensively but... I have, for instance, over 2 TB of image files I store on local hard drives. I have tried several time to upload them to the "cloud." The fastest so far would take over a week to accomplish... I gave up. TBH, it does take several hours to transfer them between Hard Drives.

 

[FreeBear]

I don't know about that. I do use Dropbox extensively but... I have, for instance, over 2 TB of image files I store on local hard drives. I have tried several time to upload them to the "cloud." The fastest so far would take over a week to accomplish... I gave up. TBH, it does take several hours to transfer them between Hard Drives.

Yep, upload to the cloud is still much slower than download unless you have fancy fiber service. Also, how much does TB of cloud storage cost? What if the cloud service closes? Old school stack of hard drives for me...

Ideally, I’d only keep my best photos, but I’m a photo hoarder. Even then my archival photoshop panoramas can be 1-2 GB each.