Why Would Someone Need Cable TV Service?

[qwerty3656]

Yes, we don't have kids to do this with, but if you do, this is a great way to bring down the cost and it is within the terms of YTTV. You do it by adding an email to your family group. They get notified, then do something to sign on. Done.

Details here, directly from the alphabet company: https://support.google.com/googleone/answer/7251139?hl=en

You're supposed to live in the same household. Under "Location Requirements"

Location requirements work the same if you're sharing your YouTube TV membership with a family group. The family manager sets the home area, and each family member must primarily live in the same household.

 

[GenXguy]

You're supposed to live in the same household. Under "Location Requirements"

Location requirements work the same if you're sharing your YouTube TV membership with a family group. The family manager sets the home area, and each family member must primarily live in the same household.

Looks like the family members that don't live in the same household would need to log in there occasionally. I had read they need to login at least once every 3 months at the home location to keep local channel access.

It also says, "Family group members need to periodically use YouTube TV in your home location to keep access". I don't know how often that would be, though.

I just looked into out of curiosity - I don't have YTTV.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Yes. I understand.

I will mention that "PlutoTV," which is 100% free (ad supported), is great for background noise. It has hundreds of themed channels from music videos, to news, to classic TV to movies, to artsy stuff like aerial photos of world sites.

We like to turn it to "The Price is Right." On 24/7. Always smiling people. They smile when they win, and frown off camera when they get the tax bill for their giant wooden horse.

My background noise on Pluto is Midsomer Murders for about 6 hours every weekday, I change it up on the weekends though if I'm home. There are so many other channels to watch but I just love that show.

 

[Global Wizzo]

Recording

OK, I don't NEED cable. Someone/I, whatever. Pedants gonna pedant.

I want to get rid of cable and I would like to do all my TV viewing using my Roku via streaming services.

The ONLY thing I watch on cable that I can't get elsewhere is baseball games involving the Minnesota Twins. I can watch all other baseball games involving any other team via my paid subscription to MLB.TV but the local team is blacked out.

However, as I understand it, if my wife wanted to watch TV shows on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, PBS, or Bravo, AMC, INSP, etc. and we don't have cable she can't watch them via a streaming service because any streaming app for these networks is going to ask her to enter her username and credentials from our TV service. In our case that TV service would be Xfinity cable. Other people might get these channels using Hulu Live, YouTube TV, Sling, etc. I don't want to buy Hulu Live, YouTube TV, or Sling.

My point is I don't want to pay for any TV service provider, i.e. one that provides an aggregate number of channels.

Now, I could get the local ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS stations with an over-the-air antenna. That means commercials and no easy way of recording content to skip those commercials.

The way to do this is with a digital recorder with an antenna RG-6 input and output to the TV. It passes the signal through to the TV. You will have to find one that lets you program the Chanel’s and schedule. Other option mught be a small network server with capture cards and software That gets more complicated. Either way, at one point the systems had a commercial eliminator capability. Besides, how many ridiculous sounding drugs do you need and the lawyers to chase them. Those ads alone make me want to keep the TV off.

Good luck. I do off air antenna and wife does some streaming for movies. Local & national “news” if you can consider it news and weather meet our needs.
I’m not a sports fan so it doesn’t drive my choices.

Spectrum charges almost as much for just internet here as thery do for internet and cable. AT&T blocks some of the ports on their internet system and that doesn’t work for me. Waiting on another option. One more rate hike and Starlink becomes an alternative.

 

[Al18]

OTA and two TiVo’s has been my solution for the past 20 years. We’ve added streaming services Netflix and Paramount.

 

[rmorris50]

From a technology perspective I would think it’s on a matter of time before the traditional box approach to providing cable is dead, and it’s all provided via apps on a smart device.

So I feel like this question is going to fade into the sunset. But cable isn’t going away in the sense some provider will always bundle programming into a single platform, like YTTV.

I have paid for my mom’s traditional box cable for many years now. I recently bought her a smart tv and tried to get her to switch to YTTV. That fell completely flat on its face, she didn’t “get it”.

I feel traditional cable is just preying on those for now who aren’t adapting.

 

[GenXguy]

From a technology perspective I would think it’s on a matter of time before the traditional box approach to providing cable is dead, and it’s all provided via apps on a smart device.

Yeah, but there's a lot of infrastructure out there, so that will be years out, and will vary based on location. I wouldn't worry about that so much as what meets your needs today.

 

[iloveyoga]

DH really likes watching the cable channels and there are a few things I like too. I also do Netflix when something good is on and we currently have Peacock too. We get our internet through our cable company. Works for us.

 

[athena53]

Spectrum charges almost as much for just internet here as they do for internet and cable. AT&T blocks some of the ports on their internet system and that doesn’t work for me. Waiting on another option. One more rate hike and Starlink becomes an alternative.

Before I went with Google Fiber I called Comcast/Xfinity, my provider, and asked about internet-only service. It cost MORE than Internet plus programming. Buh-bye, Comcast.

 

[GenXguy]

Before I went with Google Fiber I called Comcast/Xfinity, my provider, and asked about internet-only service. It cost MORE than Internet plus programming. Buh-bye, Comcast.

Interesting. My Comcast internet 75Mbps service is $52/mo as of this year by using my own cable modem and auto pay. That includes a free Flex box and Peacock Premium, although they are finally taking away free Peacock late next month.

 

[JoeWras]

You're supposed to live in the same household. Under "Location Requirements"

Location requirements work the same if you're sharing your YouTube TV membership with a family group. The family manager sets the home area, and each family member must primarily live in the same household.

Yeah, I don't know much about it since only DW is in my family group. I believe she still lives in the same house as me.

 

[JoeWras]

Oh, I couldn't handle any games shows on, even as background noise. lol I tend to jump into XUMO more than PlutoTV, but I'm usually checking the news channels and don't watch much else on them.

That's what makes life interesting, we all have different tastes. I'd rather have splinters driven under my fingernails than put the news on.

Now, I do like to put WeatherNation on in the background for noise. I guess that is a kind of news.

A shout out to WeatherNation on PlutoTV. They recently enhanced the experience to give real, local views for the top 25 markets or so. All free. Local radar, local conditions. All the time on the sidebar, or full screen every 10 minutes. Awesome! It is better than viewing it with their own native app. It is very much as if you are watching The Weather Channel in 1998, before they became a reality show station. WeatherNation's announcers are slowly getting better too.

My background noise on Pluto is Midsomer Murders for about 6 hours every weekday, I change it up on the weekends though if I'm home. There are so many other channels to watch but I just love that show.

I think the point is that PlutoTV, Xumo The Roku Channel and a few others all provide a ton of free stuff if you need noise or nostalgia. The Roku Channel (no Roku device required) also is starting to slip in quite a bit of original content. The Weird Al movie wasn't bad. Not sure about some of their latest series like "Slip", but hey, the price is free.

 

[The HalfBreed]

One of these days, someone will combine all of these pay streaming networks and call it "Cable TV"...what a novel idea !

 

[pb4uski]

That sounds like a great solution. Unfortunately, the Fire TV Recast with DVR is no longer available to buy from Amazon. Also, support will end in 2026 for existing units. Finally, we're deep into the Roku hardware for our streaming experience. But I can see that it would be an awesome system.

Yes, if someone wanted that setup they would have to buy a used Fire TV Recast and thank their chances on support.

If you're deep into Roku the perhaps a different OTA DVR would be better for you.

 

[Duke of Sands]

I have a spare Recast if anyone wants one for $40 plus postage (or pick up, am near Ann Arbor). Just the box, you would also need a FireStick or FireTV to use it. Worked fine the last I tried it. PM me if you want it.

Our other one works great even though we are on the OTA fringe, using a nice antenna and amp installed free by Dish a few years ago when they were having contract problems with Fox I think!

 

[isisdave]

I just dropped Spectrum Choice. It is $30 a month as you say, PLUS $22 FOR LOCAL BROADCAST SURCHARGE. At least in my area. You don't have the surcharge?

Sorry, don't know; I've only seen the ads.

On the one hand, it doesn't surprise me as those fees attach if you have cable TV. On the other, it's not carried as a cable channel but as streaming.

 

[isisdave]

I do already know this, but I have two 4K TV's in the house, three phones, two tablets, four computers, and various other devices. Now consider I have neighbors that are also on my cable run with at least as many devices and I get a bit concerned about speed at peak usage times. Yes, 800 mbps is probably a little overkill but I'm OK spending a bit more for the peace of mind.

I see why you prefer it this way, but for the sake of others trying to cut their Internet bill, the numbers cited above are correct. I've visited a lot of rural places in Europe with 5mbps DSL, and they can stream one FHD TV stream just fine.

Most folks don't understand what "speed" means, and the providers market to this ignorance. My metaphor is a baseball pitcher -- if he can throw a 100-mph fastball every ten seconds, he delivers the same amount as if he throws 50-mph pitches every 5 seconds, or 200-mph pitches every 20 seconds.

That's fine if the target is the nearby catcher. But the catcher puts the ball on a conveyor belt, which may be faster or slower than the pitch, and delivers it to a faraway bullpen, where another pitcher picks it up and throws it to a local catcher. Any delay along the transfer-conveyor-transfer process slows the throughput it a way that the original pitcher -- the website you're streaming -- and the final catcher -- you -- have no control over.

If things are really bad, a ball occasionally falls off the conveyor and doesn't arrive, or arrives too late to use. You see this as pixellation on the video image, or your app has to ask for the pitch to be sent again.

 

[FedRetired50]

For those that are stuck with one internet provider, if you have good AT&T service you can set up a business account (tell them you have a sole proprietorship and then you don't need to give them an EIN). I have an unlimited data package for $65/mo. One downside, they downgrade high-def video so I also use a VPN which adds a few more bucks/mo. I use a router that includes a cell modem, plus a separate router to run the VPN. This setup requires some fiddling at times, but unlike cable you can take it with you on trips.

I was with Directv for about 15 years, dropped them and set up a quad Tablo with dual antennas (an OTA DVR) but still didn't get reliable OTA signal after trying multiple antenna locations. Some channels were always perfect, others came and went.

Got a Roku (which I still love) and tried Youtube TV but it refused to stream in high-def and they couldn't figure out why. YTTV includes remote DVR service.

Dropped YTTV and went with Fubo + Philo as a replacement (on Roku), but at the time the Fubo interface was buggy and it drove me nuts. Philo was fine. Both include remote DVR service.

I trialed YTTV again and they fixed their problem so I dropped Fubo/Philo and moved back to YTTV (on Roku). I've used them for several years now. It has most of the channels I watched on DTV and I don't miss the ones it doesn't have. I could add Philo again to fill in the holes but it isn't worth it to me.

This doesn't include the add-ons I've had for years like Netflix, HBOMax, etc. Even with those my overall cost is lower than DTV was, and is more-reliable during snow and rain storms. Also I can grab my Roku and take it with me, unlike DTV. "Cutting the cord" has been quite a journey for me, but worth it in the end.

 

[Donno]

I recently dropped Spectrum cable and internet after close to 40 years due to the constant price increases, which raised my bill to nearly $250/mo. I went with AT&T internet and a DirectTV Stream package for right at $125/mo.

I was addicted to using Tivo's for the ability to easily skip commercials, and resisted going to a streaming option until I found a software package called Channels DVR. Without going into a lot of details, it uses a HDHomeRun OTA tuner for local channels and uses TV Everywhere technology to record streaming channels. The software runs on a variety of devices like NAS servers, PC's and Mac's and has an app for each TV to view live TV or recorded TV. It's not perfect but works great for me and fills the gap between Tivo and streaming service recording.

 

[jim584672]

ATSC 3.0 "NEXTGEN TV Certified" tuner box available July 2023 $79.99 on pre-order.

TV Tuner: Both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 NEXTGEN TV
Maximum Supported Resolution: 2160p (4K)
High Dynamic Range (HDR)
Dolby AC-4 Audio
Wi-Fi: Dual Band 2.4G/5G 2T2R
Bluetooth 5.0
Remote Control Unit
Power Adapter

https://shop.adth.com/products/adth-nextgen-tv-box

 

[JoeWras]

ATSC 3.0 "NEXTGEN TV Certified" tuner box available July 2023 $79.99 on pre-order.

TV Tuner: Both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 NEXTGEN TV
Maximum Supported Resolution: 2160p (4K)
High Dynamic Range (HDR)
Dolby AC-4 Audio
Wi-Fi: Dual Band 2.4G/5G 2T2R
Bluetooth 5.0
Remote Control Unit
Power Adapter

https://shop.adth.com/products/adth-nextgen-tv-box

Just sayin'... It might be better to buy a new TV. This device has no recording or buffer that I can see.

This ATSC 3.0 rollout has been really rough. It has not been well accepted.

 

[jim584672]

Just sayin'... It might be better to buy a new TV. This device has no recording or buffer that I can see.

This ATSC 3.0 rollout has been really rough. It has not been well accepted.

The problem is the ATSC 3.0 spec hasn't been totally finalized so early adopters are taking some chances now. At least this tuner is supposed to be "NEXTGEN TV Certified".

 

[JoeWras]

The problem is the ATSC 3.0 spec hasn't been totally finalized so early adopters are taking some chances now. At least this tuner is supposed to be "NEXTGEN TV Certified".

I'm a Certified Drywall Installer. All because of a 6 hour class I took at the local community college.

What does that mean? Nothing. The uncertified guys who do this for a living can install, tape, and sand rings around me.

 

[jim584672]

I'm a Certified Drywall Installer. All because of a 6 hour class I took at the local community college.

What does that mean? Nothing. The uncertified guys who do this for a living can install, tape, and sand rings around me.

It is supposed to be the consortium that is defining the spec so getting a "certification" from them means it conforms with what they have defined. Still early days.

 

[JoeWras]

It is supposed to be the consortium that is defining the spec so getting a "certification" from them means it conforms with what they have defined. Still early days.

I know, I know. Sorry, I was being a wise guy.

My old job was nothing but developing software to standards, like VOIP stuff like H.323, SIP and ethernet and IP protocols. I had a good friend who traveled internationally to participate in ITU and IEEE protocol standards voting and editing.

I, unfortunately, couldn't help myself looking at my "drywall installer" certificate as I type. Sorry for the confusion. I need to get off the computer and work in my garden.