Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) 2017 - 2020

[JoeWras]

And as of 9AM EST, HBOMax is now available on Roku.

 

[harllee]

We have AT&T Fiber with 1000mbps service, and it makes almost no difference to us. Service is the same as our Comcast 25mbps internet service was before. We have two TV's streaming, and 2-4 mobile devices going often along with a few other WiFi household devices. You may not be missing anything unless you use bandwidth like a small-medium business...

Unless Google Fiber is completely different than AT&T Fiber?

Midpack, I am hoping that when I finally get Google Fiber to my house it will be better than the Spectrum which I have now (only thing available to me). My main complaint with Spectrum is that it goes out for hours (and sometimes a day or more) frequently (at least once a month). It goes out in the entire neighborhood and when we report it we can never find out why it is out (sometimes Spectrum says it is weather but the weather is fine or sometimes they say car accident but there is no nearby car accident). I think Spectrum knows they are in the only game in town in my neighborhood so they give us terrible service.

 

[RonBoyd]

One more reason why I like Fire TV (Cube +Recast specifically).

Amazon Adds Picture in Picture Support to Fire TV Cube with Ring Doorbells

While using Fire and someone pushes the button on the Ring Doorbell this happens: A small picture pops up on the TV screen showing who is in front of the camera. You can then tell Alexa to "Talk to <Ring doorbell>." This will turn on full screen (you can revert back to PnP) and, using the Fire Remote, speak to the person at the door. If it is a sales person or other pest, you can simply say "Go away" without getting up and continue watching your program uninterrupted.

 

[wmc1000]

Disney+ which we get mostly for the GK's is raising their price from 6.99 to 7.99 in March. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech...se-price-7-99-starting-march-2021/3894484001/ - we have been month to month but switched to the annual plan today to lock in $69.99 price for the next 12 months. Annual will go to $79.99 in March

 

[Midpack]

Midpack, I am hoping that when I finally get Google Fiber to my house it will be better than the Spectrum which I have now (only thing available to me). My main complaint with Spectrum is that it goes out for hours (and sometimes a day or more) frequently (at least once a month). It goes out in the entire neighborhood and when we report it we can never find out why it is out (sometimes Spectrum says it is weather but the weather is fine or sometimes they say car accident but there is no nearby car accident). I think Spectrum knows they are in the only game in town in my neighborhood so they give us terrible service.

That’s certainly a good reason to switch.

I was only commenting on the higher speeds with fiber internet, many/most users don’t really need more bandwidth, especially singles and empty nesters like many here. We use about 500GB month, but our actual experience between 1000 mbps fiber and 60 mbps std cable internet has been imperceptible. We only have 1000 mbps because it was $50/mo - basically the same price as cable internet. Prices are MUCH better when there’s actual competition of course!

 

[ncbill]

AT&T ran fiber (well, conduit, then pulled fiber...exciting after the contractor ruptured a large natural gas line) on the main street outside my neighborhood THREE years ago but still haven't deigned to run it down into our development.

 

[Time2]

That’s certainly a good reason to switch.

I was only commenting on the higher speeds with fiber internet, many/most users don’t really need more bandwidth, especially singles and empty nesters like many here. We use about 500GB month, but our actual experience between 1000 mbps fiber and 60 mbps std cable internet has been imperceptible. We only have 1000 mbps because it was $50/mo - basically the same price as cable internet. Prices are MUCH better when there’s actual competition of course!

I'm surprised you're not seeing a difference, my company just upped my speed from 60 to 100, it's only been a few days, but I think I'm having less buffering on Mobdro (if any now, need more time at high demand times). The company said it was a free upgrade, but I expect a rate increase soon.
Lucky tyou, I;m paying $50, for 100 MBPS.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

...our actual experience between 1000 mbps fiber and 60 mbps std cable internet has been imperceptible...

My local cable company upped their lowest speed from 100 Mbps to 150 Mbps for the same price, which I only noticed when I looked at my bill and saw the description of my service had changed. I had to be persistent to get them to first believe I wasn't getting 150 ("it varies" they said) then to admit it was because their equipment in my basement was older and was limiting the speed (the reward for being a long-time customer I suppose). They eventually came out and replaced it and now I get 150. For our use which is web surfing, streaming up to two TVs, email, etc. we see absolutely no difference.

I logged onto their website yesterday and noticed they added a 100 Mbps "essential" tier for $10 less per month. Of course they don't make an effort to tell you that. I need to call them and change my tier, I suppose.

 

[Time2]

That’s certainly a good reason to switch.

I was only commenting on the higher speeds with fiber internet, many/most users don’t really need more bandwidth, especially singles and empty nesters like many here. We use about 500GB month, but our actual experience between 1000 mbps fiber and 60 mbps std cable internet has been imperceptible. We only have 1000 mbps because it was $50/mo - basically the same price as cable internet. Prices are MUCH better when there’s actual competition of course!

Have you verified you are getting the 1000MBPS?

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Pluto TV now has a free Showtime Selects channel with 250 hours of uncensored originals that premiered Dec 1st. The idea is to coax viewers into signing up for the paid service.

This morning I got an e-mail, they are now also offering a 30 day free trial.
Try Showtime® FREE for 30 days with every series, entire seasons and no ads.

 

[Midpack]

Have you verified you are getting the 1000MBPS?

I have checked many times but is a good question, and I should explain. The fastest I've ever seen is about 750/750 down/up Ethernet (WiFi is usually about half the Ethernet), so not 1000 but still 10x faster than my old 60 mbps cable internet. And it varies all over the place - just checked and had 620/115 down/up.

Again, even though we use about 500 GB/month, we see no appreciable difference in performance/quality/uptime with ATT Fiber 1000 mbps and Comcast Cable 60 mbps. Maybe that's why ATT is only charging us $50/mo for 1000 mbps figer - they know it's nowhere near what they're actually providing...

 

[explanade]

No prospects for getting fiber here any time soon.

May have to move.

But Verizon is advertising home 5G a lot and I tried their site but still not available at my address.

I got a mailer indicating that Verizon has applied to install a radio on top of a street lamp near my home. I got the notice because it's within 500 feet. I'm not a VZ customer but I'd look into it if they could deliver good speeds and no data caps here.

 

[ivinsfan]

Well I've been back at Sling for almost a month after a two year absence. I'm not thrilled with it. It was a more robust platform as to movies, being able to watch recent shows without DVRing, them sports and they had added a crap ton of commercials.

Now I do acknowledge they are holding steady on price, I had buy a month for 30 and get a month free. Don't think I will be renewing with Sling at the end of the second month. I could get behind both Youtube TV and Hulu if they could just come to an agreement and have regional Fox Sports.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

if they could just come to an agreement

Best joke of the day, right there.

 

[ivinsfan]

Best joke of the day, right there.

It looks that way doesn't it,,Fox regional sports is holding tough. I'm expecting to see a separate streaming pay service from them soon.,

 

[Midpack]

Well I've been back at Sling for almost a month after a two year absence. I'm not thrilled with it. It was a more robust platform as to movies, being able to watch recent shows without DVRing, them sports and they had added a crap ton of commercials.

Now I do acknowledge they are holding steady on price, I had buy a month for 30 and get a month free. Don't think I will be renewing with Sling at the end of the second month. I could get behind both Youtube TV and Hulu if they could just come to an agreement and have regional Fox Sports.

YTTV and Hulu don't seem to be the problem? I guess they can get higher sub revenue from cable vs satellite and streaming. Makes sense in that cable subscribers must know they are paying (way) more for TV.

First, though, I’m not aware of any cable providers cutting FSSW, but in the past year alone, over-the-top (streaming) and satellite providers Dish Network, Sling, Fubo TV and most recently YouTube TV and Hulu have stopped offering FSSW, as well as the other 20 Fox regional sports networks across the country.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

It looks that way doesn't it,,Fox regional sports is holding tough. I'm expecting to see a separate streaming pay service from them soon.,

Seems like that is how it's going. We went back to "the cord" about a year ago and have noticed there are a few channels that run a scrawl about how "DirecTV" or "Dish" is taking the channel away and you should take action NOW!

And I am also seeing some shows being removed from Hulu that with be "exclusively" available on another streaming service.

 

[ivinsfan]

YTTV and Hulu don't seem to be the problem? I guess they can get higher sub revenue from cable vs satellite and streaming. Makes sense in that cable subscribers must know they are paying (way) more for TV.

It's obviously Fox regional that's the problem but I meant both Youtube and Hulu offered regional sports back in the day. As this point they dont seem interested in doing that going forward.

 

[GTFan]

What pisses me off is Comcast jacking the RSN fee every year because they're heavily in the RSN business themselves, forcing everyone to pay for it. These channels should've been moved to the sports tier long ago, they have no contractual ties to Fox networks AFAIK.

 

[Midpack]

It's obviously Fox regional that's the problem but I meant both Youtube and Hulu offered regional sports back in the day. As this point they dont seem interested in doing that going forward.

I’m sure they would like to add RSN’s back to their lineup, Fox is making it a poor value proposition for Dish Network, Sling, Fubo TV, YouTube TV and Hulu. I’d pin in on Fox, evidently you see it otherwise. We agree to disagree - no problem. Same thing happened with ViaCom and streaming platforms, and there’s going to be a back and forth while live TV options evolve.

 

[ivinsfan]

I’m sure they would like to add RSN’s back to their lineup, Fox is making it a poor value proposition for Dish Network, Sling, Fubo TV, YouTube TV and Hulu. I’d pin in on Fox, evidently you see it otherwise. We agree to disagree - no problem. Same thing happened with ViaCom and streaming platforms, and there’s going to be a back and forth while live TV options evolve.

We don't disagree not about this! I've already said that the price Fox regional wants isn't in the cards right now for Hulu and Sling and youtube. I'm most optimistic about Sling because they are bundling things so you can pick and choose major stuff, for example Golf Channel, ie you want it you pay for it. I'm mainly a baseball fan and would have no problems paying extra for baseball the entire season.

 

[REWahoo]

Vidgo is currently offering new and returning customers two months of their $55/mo live streaming service for $10/mo.

85+ CHANNELS NOW JUST $10 A MONTH FOR THE FIRST 2 MONTHS of VIDGO

This is great timing for me as I was looking for the best deal I could find on a service offering ESPN so I can watch the (surviving) college bowl games and playoffs.

 

[statsman]

Vidgo is currently offering new and returning customers two months of their $55/mo live streaming service for $10/mo.

85+ CHANNELS NOW JUST $10 A MONTH FOR THE FIRST 2 MONTHS of VIDGO

This is great timing for me as I was looking for the best deal I could find on a service offering ESPN so I can watch the (surviving) college bowl games and playoffs.

That looked promising, given it's $55/mo cost vs Sling's Blue + Total TV $50/mo cost. Then I took a closer look, and see of DW's 14 non-local channels on her wish list (some more required than others), all of which are on the Sling combination package, half are missing from Vidgo.

This has always been the issue with cutting the cord for us, and why we re-upped for one more year, although I suspect AT&T Uverse TV services will not be around for much longer.

 

[RonBoyd]

Vidgo is currently offering new and returning customers two months of their $55/mo live streaming service for $10/mo.

85+ CHANNELS NOW JUST $10 A MONTH FOR THE FIRST 2 MONTHS of VIDGO

This is great timing for me as I was looking for the best deal I could find on a service offering ESPN so I can watch the (surviving) college bowl games and playoffs.

We subscribed to VIDGO for over a year and a half and was quite satisfied with them, particularly their "help" desk -- even on Sundays they gave instant response.

My only complaint was the Closed Captioning -- the lack of adjustment. However, most folks are turned off by the lack of a DVR function.

Anyway, we subscribed solely to get FS2 (Horse Racing) and when Sling added that for $10 a month less, we switched. In any event, you will not be dissatisfied (well, any more than usual) with VIDGO.

 

[RunningBum]

VIDGO has no NBC or CBS if that matters, and not all ABC markets. No cloud DVR but has 72 hours of playback of most channels, and on demand for some programs.