Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) 2017 - 2020

[MichaelB]

Most internet plans I’ve seen have a 1TB (or no) data cap which is plenty for most households to stream TV IME. We have a 1TB data cap, and we’re usually around 600GB despite using our connection a LOT.

1TB should be enougn, but one key factor is HD vs SD programming. IIRC Netflix said HD used 3GB per hour of streaming (SD 0.7GB). That covers around 10 hours a day of HD. That should more than cover most needs, but I have a neighbor that turns on her TV when she gets up and leaves it on all day.

 

[Midpack]

1TB should be enougn, but one key factor is HD vs SD programming. IIRC Netflix said HD used 3GB per hour of streaming (SD 0.7GB). That covers around 10 hours a day of HD. That should more than cover most needs, but I have a neighbor that turns on her TV when she gets up and leaves it on all day.

We watch HD exclusively, though IIRC most network TV is still 720p, even 1080p isn’t that common for broadcast TV. 1TB is more than enough.

If and when 4K (UHD) becomes more readily available, then 1TB may become a barrier - but 4K content is still uncommon today (some YouTube, some Netflix-Amazon-Hulu movies, and some games?).

 

[MissMolly]

That's the game I'm in and it is old. However, we are fortunate to have a lot of competition here (ATT, Spectrum and Google Fiber). Each year, the haggle gets easier. Call them (ATT) up, ask for retention, and have a short discussion. The result is usually some miraculous 30% cut. I don't even have to threaten anymore.

However, I'm seriously considering cord cutting because even the easy haggle is old as hell. I really just need to try Roku because I currently have 3 and 4 year old Firestick and Chromecast, and these SUCK. Terrible response times, glitches, non-operable buttons, etc.

Is Roku a good choice? I am not going to replace my TVs to smart models. Got an Panasonic Plasma with an HDMI input so I'm good.

We love our Rokus. We have the cheapest streaming sticks and they work flawlessly.

 

[wmc1000]

We have firesticks both the 2nd gen regular stick and the 4K. Went the Amazon ecosystem way because it works with our HDHomerun tuners for OTA broadcasts.

We have 2 dual tuners so can feed up to 4 tv's throughout the house simultaneously.

 

[dirtbiker]

I'm ready to give up cable. 99% of my TV watching is Netflix and Amazon Prime... And my wife has found other sources for her Bravo garbage shows. I pay way too much for cable TV that I simply don't watch.

However, I'm a huge NFL fan. Is there a way to reliably stream NFL games? Specifically with the ability to cast to a television. Last year I was able to watch games on my tablet via the Yahoo Sports app, but they did not allow streaming. So it was great when I was on a drill weekend and would otherwise be missing games, but when I'm home I don't want to watch on a 10" tablet when I have a TV available.

 

[Midpack]

I'm ready to give up cable. 99% of my TV watching is Netflix and Amazon Prime... And my wife has found other sources for her Bravo garbage shows. I pay way too much for cable TV that I simply don't watch.

However, I'm a huge NFL fan. Is there a way to reliably stream NFL games? Specifically with the ability to cast to a television. Last year I was able to watch games on my tablet via the Yahoo Sports app, but they did not allow streaming. So it was great when I was on a drill weekend and would otherwise be missing games, but when I'm home I don't want to watch on a 10" tablet when I have a TV available.

We’d have to know if it’s an iPad, Android or other tablet to start. Then we can talk what streaming hardware and apps might allow you to cast/mirror to a TV.

 

[RonBoyd]

However, I'm a huge NFL fan. Is there a way to reliably stream NFL games? Specifically with the ability to cast to a television. Last year I was able to watch games on my tablet via the Yahoo Sports app, but they did not allow streaming. So it was great when I was on a drill weekend and would otherwise be missing games, but when I'm home I don't want to watch on a 10" tablet when I have a TV available.

https://www.groundedreason.com/how-to-watch-nfl-football-online/

 

[dirtbiker]

We’d have to know if it’s an iPad, Android or other tablet to start. Then we can talk what streaming hardware and apps might allow you to cast/mirror to a TV.

We have Android phones and tablets. Phones are Pixel 2s and tablet is Samsung tab A.

 

[Paracelsus]

With the CBS problems with Directv, I've been watching my channels OTA. Found out that OTA reception here is very good and that there are a lot of secondary channels that weren't available on Directv - this wasn't true twenty years ago. I really wasn't recording much besides OTA content on my Tivo through Directv (DirecTivo). I cancelled my Directv and am now using a Tivo for recording OTA reception. I haven't explored the extra services like Netflix, Hulu, Prime, etc. yet.

 

[RonBoyd]

With the CBS problems with Directv, I've been watching my channels OTA. Found out that OTA reception here is very good and that there are a lot of secondary channels that weren't available on Directv - this wasn't true twenty years ago. I really wasn't recording much besides OTA content on my Tivo through Directv (DirecTivo). I cancelled my Directv and am now using a Tivo for recording OTA reception. I haven't explored the extra services like Netflix, Hulu, Prime, etc. yet.

I am unfamiliar with TIVO. How does TIVO get the signal from your TV Antenna? Does the cable connect to the TIVO device?

 

[Jeffman52]

However, I'm a huge NFL fan. Is there a way to reliably stream NFL games? Specifically with the ability to cast to a television. Last year I was able to watch games on my tablet via the Yahoo Sports app, but they did not allow streaming. So it was great when I was on a drill weekend and would otherwise be missing games, but when I'm home I don't want to watch on a 10" tablet when I have a TV available.

I had NFL Game pass last year and my largest critique was not being able to cast that to the TV. BUT.... it looks like Roku has access to NFL Gamepass... so I should be able to watch whatever games I want with the caveat that the games have to be over so you wont be watching them live.

 

[mpeirce]

I am unfamiliar with TIVO. How does TIVO get the signal from your TV Antenna? Does the cable connect to the TIVO device?

Yes. It just plugs in.

 

[Paracelsus]

RonBoyd, mpeirce got it right, the antennae plugs into the Tivo, I have the Tivo Bolt OTA https://www.tivo.com/products/ota-detail.

 

[RunningBum]

I had NFL Game pass last year and my largest critique was not being able to cast that to the TV. BUT.... it looks like Roku has access to NFL Gamepass... so I should be able to watch whatever games I want with the caveat that the games have to be over so you wont be watching them live.

That's a huge caveat! Most fans wouldn't accept that. I wouldn't.

Before letting go of your cable or satellite, I suggest any sports fan do a trial run of any streaming service before committing. Some of them stream at a lower frame rate, so the action is choppy. If you can live with that, no problem. On my previous attempts I didn't like it. I'm going to try again this fall now that I have faster internet but I'm not all that optimistic.

 

[dirtbiker]

https://www.groundedreason.com/how-to-watch-nfl-football-online/

Thanks for this link!

 

[MissMolly]

RonBoyd, mpeirce got it right, the antennae plugs into the Tivo, I have the Tivo Bolt OTA https://www.tivo.com/products/ota-detail.

We have a Tablo that works the same way. The antenna plugs into the Tablo and the Roku has a Tablo "channel" we use to watch/record OTA TV.

 

[JoeWras]

That's a huge caveat! Most fans wouldn't accept that. I wouldn't.

Before letting go of your cable or satellite, I suggest any sports fan do a trial run of any streaming service before committing. Some of them stream at a lower frame rate, so the action is choppy. If you can live with that, no problem. On my previous attempts I didn't like it. I'm going to try again this fall now that I have faster internet but I'm not all that optimistic.

That's been a problem for me.

Remember Amazon did a few NFL games a year ago or so? I tried watching them with the Firestick compared to the regular cable.

Pure crap. There were some weird compression artifacts that made the game look artificial. Maybe it was just my old-ish Firestick.

Additionally, I've had to use FoxSportsGo on occasion for my NHL games and was unhappy with the quality, mostly reliability of the stream. It was OK, but not good enough.

So, this is why I'm preparing with the Roku, and potentially YouTubeTV. I'm going to give this a run for the first month or so of NFL/NHL before cutting any cords.

 

[dirtbiker]

I had NFL Game pass last year and my largest critique was not being able to cast that to the TV. BUT.... it looks like Roku has access to NFL Gamepass... so I should be able to watch whatever games I want with the caveat that the games have to be over so you wont be watching them live.

I don't like the not watching live part of this. I get too many texts from friends during games. Sometimes if I'm running late or something comes up, I'll record a game and then watch it later, and I basically have to hide my phone. LOL.

 

[dirtbiker]

That's been a problem for me.

Remember Amazon did a few NFL games a year ago or so? I tried watching them with the Firestick compared to the regular cable.

Pure crap. There were some weird compression artifacts that made the game look artificial. Maybe it was just my old-ish Firestick.

Additionally, I've had to use FoxSportsGo on occasion for my NHL games and was unhappy with the quality, mostly reliability of the stream. It was OK, but not good enough.

So, this is why I'm preparing with the Roku, and potentially YouTubeTV. I'm going to give this a run for the first month or so of NFL/NHL before cutting any cords.

I was actually really happy with the quality of games on Amazon. My only complaint is that they didn't offer many, and the ones they offered usually weren't ones I cared about much. I watch Amazon through my smart TV. Maybe that's the difference, as there isn't a third party device plugged in to the TV? I also have good internet (500 mbps), which can obviously make a big difference.

 

[explanade]

I'd be wary about caps. Comcast has a very questionable accounting of how much data I use.

Not surprisingly, when I was trialing Hulu and Direct TV Now, my usage more than tripled according to Comcast.

But I wasn't watching them that much.

I've heard other people have had disputes with them about how much data they used with third-party streaming services.

 

[JoeWras]

I was actually really happy with the quality of games on Amazon. My only complaint is that they didn't offer many, and the ones they offered usually weren't ones I cared about much. I watch Amazon through my smart TV. Maybe that's the difference, as there isn't a third party device plugged in to the TV? I also have good internet (500 mbps), which can obviously make a big difference.

I think it was the hardware. I have an old Firestick and I think it was choking on the decompression.

I didn't like the game selection either, I was just assessing the whole streaming idea.

Time to try new hardware and reassess.

 

[ivinsfan]

I'd be wary about caps. Comcast has a very questionable accounting of how much data I use.

Not surprisingly, when I was trialing Hulu and Direct TV Now, my usage more than tripled according to Comcast.

But I wasn't watching them that much.

I've heard other people have had disputes with them about how much data they used with third-party streaming services.

Yep I have a friend steaming and getting constant calls about his cap and how he should upgrade his cap.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I think it was the hardware. I have an old Firestick and I think it was choking on the decompression.

I didn't like the game selection either, I was just assessing the whole streaming idea.

Time to try new hardware and reassess.

The Firestick runs on a version of Android OS so after so long, it's just obsolete. Like a smart phone, it may continue to work after a few years, but after that...the performance is seriously degraded. I have figured out that spending $35 every couple of years for a new stick keeps it fresh and working well. Is it annoying? Yep. Is it how things are these days? Yep.

 

[RunningBum]

I was actually really happy with the quality of games on Amazon. My only complaint is that they didn't offer many, and the ones they offered usually weren't ones I cared about much. I watch Amazon through my smart TV. Maybe that's the difference, as there isn't a third party device plugged in to the TV? I also have good internet (500 mbps), which can obviously make a big difference.

I'm not sure what the difference is. I've read that many sites stream at 30 frames per second, which comes out choppy for anything with fast motion such as running, throwing a ball, shooting a puck, etc. 60 FPS is a lot better. Maybe some of it is consumer hardware. Even if it is, I'd say that's still a case for trying it out before committing. And maybe plan on upgrading your sticks.

This is the biggest frustration I have with the cord-cutting story. It's so easy, everyone says, just make sure your internet is at least 2MB, or 5MB--changes through the years with HD, then 4K. But then you try it, and it doesn't work well, and somebody says, oh, you really need 25K. BS like that, it's all so easy, but the requirements keep changing, always a little bit higher than what you have when you find out it just doesn't work that well.

There's a lot more than just getting X vs Y number of channels, or more specifically the channels you want, for $Q or $Z/month. There's also DVR, specifically how long you can keep those recordings; whether you can skip commercials; whether you can watch things live or close to live, and so on.

 

[MissMolly]

Rokus get regular software updates. So far we've been using ours > 2.5 years without issue. Don't really know how long they will last. We just have the cheapo streaming sticks.