Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) 2017 - 2020

[pb4uski]

One very cheap cord cutting option for those who do not watch much live TV and can live with a single live channel is CBS All-Access, which gives you a live stream of your local CBS affiliate broadcast for local news and local NFL broadcasts and a wide variety of on-demand content.

$6/month with ads or $10/month without ads... I recommend the without ads.. well worth the extra $4/month IMO.

 

[MissMolly]

Right now you can get Starz through the Roku channel for .99 a month for two months. I am catching up on Outlander and the Spanish Princess and then I will cancel it until next year. It's a Roku channel exclusive offer.

 

[timo2]

So Pluto had a data breach. Back in 2018. Apparently they never reported it until now. Here is the notice I received just now. I got a message from 'have I been pwned' and from Fire Fox (which uses 'have I been pwned').

 

[JoeWras]

Man, that's a bummer. I didn't even know Pluto had the ability to create an account! Maybe because I only use my Roku for it.

With the exception of banks, social security admin, etc., I always give a birthday that is somewhat off. Even for Facebook (especially for Facebook!) They don't need that info. They also don't need your gender, and most now allow an option to not give it.

 

[timo2]

Man, that's a bummer. I didn't even know Pluto had the ability to create an account! Maybe because I only use my Roku for it.

With the exception of banks, social security admin, etc., I always give a birthday that is somewhat off. Even for Facebook (especially for Facebook!) They don't need that info. They also don't need your gender, and most now allow an option to not give it.

Yes, I also have a special birthday I use only on the internet. Brewery and wine sites alway want the birthday, plus other site have legit reasons, so th fake bday comes in handy.

Regarding Pluto, it is just a login almost for no reason, it remembered preferences or something like that, with only an email info to sign up, no other info. Not a major deal. Unless a person used their Pluto password for everything else on the internet.

 

[euro]

Well, I’ve been an avid reader of this thread for some time now, but never really felt the available local options warranted “the cut” for me.
Now, things are changing: Google fiber is coming to my street and will offer some REAL internet choice. So, I’m back in the cord cutting pool
Any suggestions on where to start? DVR capabilities for ad skipping are my top priority. I have a OTA antenna on order - we live in a bit of a dead zone (back in the 1990-ies, we got zero reception (yes, zero) in our downstairs TV room - hope that things have improved over the past 30 years!

 

[stephenson]

euro,

Easy to check OTA by going to tvfools.com, input your address and it will very accurately represent your various expected channels and strengths.

 

[Ready]

Well, I’ve been an avid reader of this thread for some time now, but never really felt the available local options warranted “the cut” for me.
Now, things are changing: Google fiber is coming to my street and will offer some REAL internet choice. So, I’m back in the cord cutting pool
Any suggestions on where to start? DVR capabilities for ad skipping are my top priority. I have a OTA antenna on order - we live in a bit of a dead zone (back in the 1990-ies, we got zero reception (yes, zero) in our downstairs TV room - hope that things have improved over the past 30 years!

At one point it looked like Google was going to expand it’s fiber offerings throughout the country. Then they completely stopped the rollout. It sounds like they are slowing starting up again. For now it looks like they only offer service in 17 localities throughout the country, so congratulations on being one of them.

For DVR’s with ad skipping it’s hard to beat TiVo. But Amazon’s DVR also does a decent job and costs less. You will need to see how many channels you can pick up first though.

 

[harllee]

euro, I am jealous you are getting Google Fiber. It is about a mile from me and I can't wait until it gets here. In the meantime Spectrum is my only choice for internet and it is awful.

We dropped Spectrum cable last year and use Youtube TV and it is very good (except they no long carry the Regional Sports channels). Youtube TV has a very good built in DVR. We record most shows and then just fast forward through the commercials.

 

[REWahoo]

Well, I’ve been an avid reader of this thread for some time now, but never really felt the available local options warranted “the cut” for me.
Now, things are changing: Google fiber is coming to my street and will offer some REAL internet choice. So, I’m back in the cord cutting pool
Any suggestions on where to start? DVR capabilities for ad skipping are my top priority. I have a OTA antenna on order - we live in a bit of a dead zone (back in the 1990-ies, we got zero reception (yes, zero) in our downstairs TV room - hope that things have improved over the past 30 years!

I can relate. It wasn't until our Electric Coop ran fiber to our rural subdivision in early 2019 that cord-cutting became a real possibility for us. It has been great.

If OTA add skipping DVR is a priority, looks like the best option is this: https://www.channelmaster.com/TiVo_Edge_OTA_DVR_p/rd6f50ls.htm

 

[pb4uski]

Well, I’ve been an avid reader of this thread for some time now, but never really felt the available local options warranted “the cut” for me.
Now, things are changing: Google fiber is coming to my street and will offer some REAL internet choice. So, I’m back in the cord cutting pool
Any suggestions on where to start? DVR capabilities for ad skipping are my top priority. I have a OTA antenna on order - we live in a bit of a dead zone (back in the 1990-ies, we got zero reception (yes, zero) in our downstairs TV room - hope that things have improved over the past 30 years!

For OTA, what I did and it worked out well so I would suggest it is to buy a couple of antennas and try them and see what you can get. Over a 4 month period I ended up trying 4 and returning 3. The first two I bught at Walmart and the second two from ChannelMaster... (the only bad thing about ChannelMaster is that the buyer has to pay for return shipping and neither antenna was better than what I had so it cost me $14 to return them). Ironically, the simplest and cheapest antenna worked best. I also added a ChannelMaster signal booster.

I get CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, Fox and the CW and a bunch of sub-channels... 29 in all even though according to the digital tv maps I am in a weak signal area.

IF you can find an antenna that works for you then I highly recommend the FireTV Recast OTA DVR... the functionality is very similar to the Dish TV Hopper we previously had... since we have FireSticks on all our TVs on the same wi-fi network then any tv in the house can watch live TV using the antenna or any show recorded on the Recast. The other thing that I like about the Recast is that other than the upfront equipment cost (I paid $150 as I recall) the ongoing monthly cost is $0.

If OTA doesn't work for you then I suggest you stream with YouTubeTV... we used YTTV for most of the summer and I thought it was very good... every bit as good as the Xfinity basic cable provide by our HOA with DVR that we have at our winter condo.

Both the Recast or YTTV would include the DVR and ad-skipping features that you desire.

ETA: If OTA doesn't workout and you end up streaming check out suppose.tv You enter your area and "must-have" channels and it shows the streaming packages that best meet your needs.

 

[RonBoyd]

Any suggestions on where to start? DVR capabilities for ad skipping are my top priority. I have a OTA antenna on order - we live in a bit of a dead zone (back in the 1990-ies, we got zero reception (yes, zero) in our downstairs TV room - hope that things have improved over the past 30 years!

Your choices are many.

Just about all the streaming boxes have some form of DVR and all of them include ad-skipping. For instance: I like Tablo for OTA (although the newer version included subscription services). Fire TV Cube Recast does an excellent job. We have the ChannelMaster Stream+ Media Player and OTA DVR. PlayOn does a fantastic job using your computer and hard drive as a DVR.

In addition, I believe most subscription services include some form of DVR. I can only speak to the two we subscribe to, ATT TV NOW and Sling. ATTTVN uses a "cloud" storage device. We us an Air TV device for Sling (primarily because it provides an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) that combines the OTA and Streaming Channels for easy access to both. The Air TV gives us the choice of both types of storage for recorded files -- Cloud and local hard drive.

Of course, if you really want to get involved, SageTV is the way to go. But be warned it is for Tinkers only.

 

[RunningBum]

The nice part of the Fire Recast or similar OTA recorder is that you can put it where you get a good antenna signal. Then you stream from the recorder to your TV. That way it doesn't matter if you can't get an OTA signal from your basement, you just need a decent home wifi signal there.

I definitely recommend suppose.tv to find the best streaming service for the content you want. Many include local stations too, so you may not need the OTA antenna and recorder. I got it anyway, so I can sleep the streaming service when the sports I watch are out of season.

 

[JoeWras]

I have Tablo for OTA. It is very easy. The downsides are it is somewhat slow on initial channel changes (needs to buffer compressed content) and does not have the best in class tuners.

That said, I'm very happy with it. If you are a tinker person, then other options may work better. For ease of use, Tablo is great. It paid itself back after 3 months. We watch all kinds of content at our convenience.

 

[RonBoyd]

The nice part of the Fire Recast or similar OTA recorder is that you can put it where you get a good antenna signal. Then you stream from the recorder to your TV. That way it doesn't matter if you can't get an OTA signal from your basement, you just need a decent home wifi signal there.

I forgot about that but that is an important issue. We have 10 Silicondust) tuners (https://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/) that are installed close to the antenna and then the signal is broadcast (via LAN) to the devices located throughout the house -- some wired, some wi-fi. In other words, you can put your tuner (in this case, the Recast unit) close to the antenna and not be concerned where the TV is placed... or, for that matter, how many TVs.

Speaking of SiliconDust, their HDHomeRun streaming service is pretty useful and includes a rudimentary DVR system.

 

[JoeWras]

I forgot about that but that is an important issue. We have 10 Silicondust) tuners (https://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/) that are installed close to the antenna and then the signal is broadcast (via LAN) to the devices located throughout the house -- some wired, some wi-fi. In other words, you can put your tuner (in this case, the Recast unit) close to the antenna and not be concerned where the TV is placed... or, for that matter, how many TVs.

Speaking of SiliconDust, their HDHomeRun streaming service is pretty useful and includes a rudimentary DVR system.

Tablo too.

I can't emphasis enough how convenient this is. And you can pull it up on other devices too, if you want. Sometimes when I'm surfing the web, I pull up Tablo to track local news/weather at the right time.

Just one antenna, and you are done.

 

[pb4uski]

Yes, right now I have my Recast in a room that has a window with the best OTA signal... and that room doesn't even have a TV in it but it doesn't matter.

In Vermont I have my antenna in the attic and thought of putting my Recast in the attic as well but you do sometimes have to reboot it so I didn't.... I might reconsider that once I have more experience with it.

 

[euro]

Thanks @pb4uski, @JoeWras, @RonBoyd, @RunningBum, and all others!
Lots to try out!
I do hope that I'll be able to get OTA channels - PBS, PBS-ex are crucial for me and very few streaming options seem to have it. Thanks to those pointing out that I can potentially locate the antenna upstairs (much better reception there) if I use a DVR solution. I hadn't thought of that...

 

[REWahoo]

Thanks to those pointing out that I can potentially locate the antenna upstairs (much better reception there) if I use a DVR solution.

Or even better, the attic? Or even better than better, outside?

 

[ncbill]

Attic at a minimum if transmitters are more than 20-25 miles away.

Had to add a preamp to my attic antenna when the main transmitter failed on my PBS local (under 20 miles away)...the backup operates at only ~25% the effective radiated power of the main.

 

[Midpack]

Thanks @pb4uski, @JoeWras, @RonBoyd, @RunningBum, and all others!
Lots to try out!
I do hope that I'll be able to get OTA channels - PBS, PBS-ex are crucial for me and very few streaming options seem to have it. Thanks to those pointing out that I can potentially locate the antenna upstairs (much better reception there) if I use a DVR solution. I hadn't thought of that...

Have you already used one of the online tools to predict what channels you might expect at your specific address. There are better ones, but this is the second one I found. What you'll get can be very location specific, even which floor or your house (our old house we got 9 channels downstairs and 40+ upstairs). If you're in a rural location, or otherwise far from broadcasts towers, you may not get anything OTA.

We got excellent reception for PBS, 4 channels! Good luck.

https://www.overtheairdigitaltv.com/tv-station-locator-tool/

 

[RunningBum]

As previously noted, you'd probably want the attic to be easily accessed in case you need to reboot the player. I'm not sure I've done that yet in the months I've had it, so maybe it's not a concern. You also need to worry about how hot it gets. And if you're doing it solo, it's hard to point your antenna while checking signal strength. Maybe you'd want to run a cable out of the attic to a more convenient place to put your player.

I'm getting a better signal with my leaf antenna on my main floor than I did with an antenna mounted in the attic above the upper level. Not sure I had that antenna pointed optimally.

 

[RonBoyd]

As previously noted, you'd probably want the attic to be easily accessed in case you need to reboot the player.

There are several remote control electrical plugs that would eliminate the need to be "on-site." This is one I have used -- https://wyze.com/wyze-plug.html

 

[euro]

Have you already used one of the online tools to predict what channels you might expect at your specific address. There are better ones, but this is the second one I found. What you'll get can be very location specific, even which floor or your house (our old house we got 9 channels downstairs and 40+ upstairs). If you're in a rural location, or otherwise far from broadcasts towers, you may not get anything OTA.

We got excellent reception for PBS, 4 channels! Good luck.

https://www.overtheairdigitaltv.com/tv-station-locator-tool/

Yes, I have used some of these tools, but as you say things can be quite specific. I'm in the middle of the City here and well within reach of many towers (PBS is supposedly 12 miles away, for example and that is one of the farther ones). However, our particular house appears to be in a bad spot - back in the early 90-ies, I could not get ANY signals with indoor antennas on the first floor at all, and only one or two stations on the 2nd floor. Going to the attic didn't help much. I haven't tinkered with it since, so perhaps technology has improved. The same is true for cellphone signals, actually. Very weak signals.
Anyway, we'll see when I get my first antenna delivered.


As an aside, we have a small cabin in a pretty rural area of the Blue Ridge mountains and I'm able to pull in probably about 20 stations (albeit with an outdoor antenna). So rural vs urban doesn't always seem to mean much....

 

[RunningBum]

There are several remote control electrical plugs that would eliminate the need to be "on-site." This is one I have used -- https://wyze.com/wyze-plug.html

Good idea! Any smart plug would work well, how did I miss that?