Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) 2017 - 2020

[bobandsherry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade That deal sounds unbelievably great. Could there be some kind of program subsidizing the price? How many units? Maybe a huge discount if they can get hundreds of households subscribing at once.

No subsidy, just part of a broader offering. A majority already used Spectrum, but locks in the entire community and for less than anyone was paying for even the smallest streaming options. But now has guarantee cash flow and prevents loss to streaming. But for $21/mo everyone ends up saving, many saving $100/mo. Perhaps could be great opportunity for larger communities to see if they can negotiate something similar. I saw that YouTube TV went to $65, I'd guess those types of service will go up just like cable did.

[jimbee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by easysurfer Good idea, Thanks. But I'm good to go . The stronger CBS station which had disappeared for about 2 weeks is now back. I'm a happy camper again, at least until next time.

Sounds good!

[Golden sunsets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobandsherry No subsidy, just part of a broader offering. A majority already used Spectrum, but locks in the entire community and for less than anyone was paying for even the smallest streaming options. But now has guarantee cash flow and prevents loss to streaming. But for $21/mo everyone ends up saving, many saving $100/mo. Perhaps could be great opportunity for larger communities to see if they can negotiate something similar. I saw that YouTube TV went to $65, I'd guess those types of service will go up just like cable did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobandsherry Heh.... Spectrum cut a deal with our HOA, entire community now gets Spectrum Bronze and basically all the Silver channels, hundreds of HD channels, along with Showtime and includes a DVR and cable box for $21/mo added to our HOA fees. And they also tossed in an AppleTV 4k device. And limits annual increases to 5%. Y'all can keep up the adventures in cord cutting, Spectrum now made this a no brainier to keep with the simplicity of cable. Or we also can stream using Spectrum app, including outside the home to sets, great putting TV on the lanai. [emoji41]. Maybe Spectrum felt it was time the disrupted became the disrupter.

Is this a condo complex or an SFD neighborhood, if you don't mind me asking? And how many units in the HOA?

And did Spectrum contact the HOA or did the HOA contact Spectrum?

Our HOA which is 16 homes if you count just our street but another 12 homes if you add an adjacent HOA. We were recently contacted by an oil/propane company to bundle for a commercial rate plus added reductions depending on how many homes sign on. It has the potential to significantly reduce our costs. (We are in the northeast where oil is the predominant source of energy and the climate means significant annual energy costs.)

At any rate our neighborhood is interested in the concept of optimizing our bargaining power.

Sorry for all of my pointed questions.

[bobandsherry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden sunsets Is this a condo complex or an SFD neighborhood, if you don't mind me asking? And how many units in the HOA? And did Spectrum contact the HOA or did the HOA contact Spectrum? Our HOA which is 16 homes if you count just our street but another 12 homes if you add an adjacent HOA. We were recently contacted by an oil/propane company to bundle for a commercial rate plus added reductions depending on how many homes sign on. It has the potential to significantly reduce our costs. (We are in the northeast where oil is the predominant source of energy and the climate means significant annual energy costs.) At any rate our neighborhood is interested in the concept of optimizing our bargaining power. Sorry for all of my pointed questions.

This is a SFD community, 600 homes. HOA in conjunction with developer negotiated with Spectrum. Developer has a total of 4,000 homes to use as leverage. We also have internet provided for $39, so this was added on for total of $60/mo including 400/400 internet service.

[Golden sunsets]

Lucky you. I can see the the shear volume is driving the deal and low price.

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobandsherry This is a SFD community, 600 homes. HOA in conjunction with developer negotiated with Spectrum. Developer has a total of 4,000 homes to use as leverage. We also have internet provided for $39, so this was added on for total of $60/mo including 400/400 internet service.

Makes sense. How many channels for $21 package though?

Definitely not premium channels?

But the other part of the equation is, is there another viable provider in the area, like another cable company or maybe FiOS?

Or municipal Internet?

[bobandsherry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade Makes sense. How many channels for $21 package though? Definitely not premium channels? But the other part of the equation is, is there another viable provider in the area, like another cable company or maybe FiOS? Or municipal Internet?

Here's list of all the channels included. Some additional Showtime channels and Music Choice channels too.

proof_pdf.jpg

Frontier is other provider in the area, I'd go with streaming before selecting Frontier

[MissMolly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by easysurfer Good idea, Thanks. But I'm good to go . The stronger CBS station which had disappeared for about 2 weeks is now back. I'm a happy camper again, at least until next time.

There was the final Phase 10 of the FCC required channel repacks that just ended in June. That's probably why you are now getting your station back.

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissMolly There was the final Phase 10 of the FCC required channel repacks that just ended in June. That's probably why you are now getting your station back.

Could be. I did do a rescan as suggested when the repack was going on. Actually, the repack made the reception weaker.

At least now, according to the signal strength on my DVR for the good CBS station is almost on the Good level.

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobandsherry Here's list of all the channels included. Some additional Showtime channels and Music Choice channels too. Attachment 35556 Frontier is other provider in the area, I'd go with streaming before selecting Frontier

Great lineup, especially for the price.

If there are two providers able to offer comparable Internet and comparable TV packages, it pushes prices down.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobandsherry Heh.... Spectrum cut a deal with our HOA, entire community now gets Spectrum Bronze and basically all the Silver channels, hundreds of HD channels, along with Showtime and includes a DVR and cable box for $21/mo added to our HOA fees. And they also tossed in an AppleTV 4k device. And limits annual increases to 5%. Y'all can keep up the adventures in cord cutting, Spectrum now made this a no brainier to keep with the simplicity of cable. Or we also can stream using Spectrum app, including outside the home to sets, great putting TV on the lanai. [emoji41]. Maybe Spectrum felt it was time the disrupted became the disrupter.

Our association has a deal like that with Xfinity and I hate it. We do get a good deal.... not the $21/month bobandsherry get but $30-35 as I recall and 4% limit on annual increases. What we pay is about 1/2 of the full retail price.

But, owners end up forced to pay whether they want the service or not. Some owners would be perfectly happy with the 40 channels of OTA available for free in our location... or free OTA and a skinny cable package like Philo. Also, since it is embedded in my association fee we end up paying for 12 months even though we are only there for 6 months... effectively subsidizing a screaming deal for cable for the full-timers. I would rather have the freedom to do my own thing.

[Time2]

Some may be interested in this video review of a Tablo DVR. It seems to start a little slow but hang in there, at 5 minutes it starts to show all the things possible with the Tablo.
It has two tuners, allowing you to record one station while watching another or record two shows at the same time. It also has automatic commercial skip.
It has lots of useful features.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vkhG-YdUi0

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski Our association has a deal like that with Xfinity and I hate it. We do get a good deal.... not the $21/month bobandsherry get but $30-35 as I recall and 4% limit on annual increases. What we pay is about 1/2 of the full retail price. But, owners end up forced to pay whether they want the service or not. Some owners would be perfectly happy with the 40 channels of OTA available for free in our location... or free OTA and a skinny cable package like Philo. Also, since it is embedded in my association fee we end up paying for 12 months even though we are only there for 6 months... effectively subsidizing a screaming deal for cable for the full-timers. I would rather have the freedom to do my own thing.

Stuff like this is always an issue when a place has seasonal and full timers...and yes if you don't want it or can only use half the time it doesn't matter how cheap it is. In your case with half usage, you are paying rack rate for something you don't want..

[jim584672]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Time2 Some may be interested in this video review of a Tablo DVR. It seems to start a little slow but hang in there, at 5 minutes it starts to show all the things possible with the Tablo. It has two tuners, allowing you to record one station while watching another or record two shows at the same time. It also has automatic commercial skip. It has lots of useful features.

Looks good, I like the automatic commercial skip.

[Cobra9777]

Fire TV better integrates live programming on Sling, Hulu Live and YouTube TV

Back when we had PS Vue, there was a very deep level of integration within the Fire TV platform. For example, there was a traditional guide on the Fire TV home screen, a "Live" tab with all your live sources in one place, a row on the home screen with "what's on now", live stations on your "recently watched" row, voice search that included PS Vue content and recordings, and voice navigation. You could press the mic button on the remote and say things like, "tune to CBS." This functionality is also available currently with Philo, Sling, Prime live channels, and some lesser-known live streaming services.

Today's announcement indicates that this same level of integration is coming to Hulu Live and YouTube TV, starting today for YTTV. We're still on YTTV for the time being despite the recent price hike. So it will be nice to finally get this functionality back that we enjoyed with PS Vue.

I think if we were starting over today, I'd probably go with Roku. I think their devices are better and the Amazon self-promotional stuff gets old on Fire TV. But I think this live integration is a slight differentiating factor compared to Roku.

[Dave J]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim584672 Looks good, I like the automatic commercial skip.

It may be working better now, but I could never get good , constant results with it (auto commercial skip)when it was free. They started charging for it a few months ago and I did not think it was worth it. The Tablo itself has been very good and I'm happy I bought it, and would again.

[MissMolly]

We've had the 4-tuner Tablo for over 3 years now and absolutely love it. It never gives us any problems.

[GalaxyBoy]

Rescanned again today. The only stations I can get over the air are six versions of Home Shopping Network and similar. According to the FCC DTV reception map web page, I should be getting a "strong" signal for PBS and "moderate" signals for nearly every other station. If I move the target on the map one mile to the west, all stations are "strong." Such is life in an area with mountains.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GalaxyBoy Rescanned again today. The only stations I can get over the air are six versions of Home Shopping Network and similar. According to the FCC DTV reception map web page, I should be getting a "strong" signal for PBS and "moderate" signals for nearly every other station. If I move the target on the map one mile to the west, all stations are "strong." Such is life in an area with mountains.

Exactly. Our last house we got 9 channels downstairs and over 40 upstairs with the same OTA antenna!!! Moved the antenna up and downstairs several times and the discrepancy was there every time...

[jim584672]

This is my OTA lineup:

WCBS, StartTV, Dabl, WNBC, COZI, LX, FOX, Movies!, LightTV, Decades, WABC, Localish, Laff, WWOR, BUZZR, H&I, WPIX, AntennaTV, CourtTV, TBD, WNET, PBSkids, FNX, WLIW, Create, World, ALL ARTS, NYC-TV1, NYC-TV2, NYC-TV3, ION, Qubo, IONPlus, SHOP, QVC, HSN, MeTV, Grit, Mystery, NewsNetNJ, WeatherNJ, 3 FM audio only stations, Univision, BounceTV, Telemundo, Telexitos, RNN, Circle, Canal, WLNY55, Comet, Stadium, ThisTV, WMBC, Quest, Chinese, NTD, 4 FM audio only stations, Justice, UniMas, GetTV