Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) - 2021 version

[PaunchyPirate]

Thanks. The FCC site says the signals will be about 70 dbuV/m at my house. I assume that is db microvolts per meter but have no idea if that is good or bad. It seems to be the limit of strong.

The other site does not seem to realize there is a 14000 ft pile of iron-rich basalt between me and the transmitters it decided are best so Idon't think I trust it. At least the FCC site finds the Maui transmitters.

There are also some powerful over-the-horizon FAA radars nearby the transmitters so there could be interference.

I think I am just going to have to try it. And that's my dilemma - if I get a cheap antenna it may fail because the antenna is crap. If I splurge for an expensive antenna it may still not be enough.

Maybe you can buy from a source that lets you return it if it won’t work for you. Might be challenging in Hawaii.

 

[zinger1457]

I live in a rural area and only have 30Mbs and don't have any issues streaming, even 4K content. If you have multiple TV's streaming at the same time then it might be an issue.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions so far. I have some learning to do. For example, I can't figure out if I need a tuner to use a digital antenna on my TV. The TV apparently has a tuner but not sure if I need a digital one as well. If so, the experiment might start to get pricey.

I'm reluctant to reduce internet speed too much because I also need the intrenet for work, zoom meetings, and so forth. Plus, it's hawaii and people tend to visit so it would be nice to reliably have 2-3 streams going at once.

I could look into T-mobile but in practice it won't matter. It would come from the same tower near me regardless of who the carrier is. Verizon is my mobile provider and i am very happy with them. Plus they give me a discount on internet. I would happily pay for fiber but I don't think it will be available at my house in my lifetime.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions so far. I have some learning to do. For example, I can't figure out if I need a tuner to use a digital antenna on my TV. The TV apparently has a tuner but not sure if I need a digital one as well. If so, the experiment might start to get pricey.

If your TV is HDTV it's likely got a digital tuner. If your TV is not older than 15 years old, it likely has a digital tuner.

Google the brand and model number and find out.

 

[MichaelB]

Netflix announced an ad supported plan which will roll out on Nov 3. It’s called “Basic with ads”, the price is $6.99 per month. Initially there will be 4-5 minutes of ads per hour.

The Netflix announcement says users will have access to the same library, but also says “ a limited number of movies and TV shows won't be available due to licensing restrictions,”. Also, these users won’t be able to download content.

Netflix announcement here, report from “The Verge” here.

 

[chicamuxen]

Netflix announced an ad supported plan which will roll out on Nov 3. It’s called “Basic with ads”, the price is $6.99 per month. Initially there will be 4-5 minutes of ads per hour.

The Netflix announcement says users will have access to the same library, but also says “ a limited number of movies and TV shows won't be available due to licensing restrictions,”. Also, these users won’t be able to download content.

Netflix announcement here, report from “The Verge” here.

Video is capped at 720P, will not work for me. I prefer 4K.

 

[explanade]

Netflix announced an ad supported plan which will roll out on Nov 3. It’s called “Basic with ads”, the price is $6.99 per month. Initially there will be 4-5 minutes of ads per hour.

The Netflix announcement says users will have access to the same library, but also says “ a limited number of movies and TV shows won't be available due to licensing restrictions,”. Also, these users won’t be able to download content.

Netflix announcement here, report from “The Verge” here.

Can't download because they haven't found a good way to insert ads into downloads.

Interesting because podcasts can insert local ads.

But they probably want ads that show metrics.

Netflix is letting Nielsen measure ratings now and they may publish the data.

Obviously no 4K at $7 a month but they actually expect to net more revenues per user per month from the ad tier than the no-ad tier.

Hulu started out with a few ads and then in a couple of years they really loaded them up.

 

[Animorph]

I found instructions for building a DVR with a Raspberry pi using something called "Channels" It is free software but you have to pay $8 a month for their service. I have a lot of experience with Rpi's so I might try that route.

Has anyone used Channels?

I use Channels extensively using a QNAP NAS server. You can also use a PC or RPi or other options. It will only be useful if you can receive OTA broadcasts (via an HDHomerun or similar compatible tuner) or subscribe to a "live TV" service like Sling TV that gives you access to "TV Everywhere". I use OTA and cable-enabled TVE. That is capable of replacing my Tivo when it gives up the ghost. But with no cable/live TV service/OTA you'll have nothing to record.

If you want a minimal system, a Tivo Stream 4K ($30 on sale frequently) with an added hard drive/SSD can actually act as a server and client. I used that for travel for a short time. Much easier than RPi I would think.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I use Channels extensively using a QNAP NAS server. You can also use a PC or RPi or other options. It will only be useful if you can receive OTA broadcasts (via an HDHomerun or similar compatible tuner) or subscribe to a "live TV" service like Sling TV that gives you access to "TV Everywhere". I use OTA and cable-enabled TVE. That is capable of replacing my Tivo when it gives up the ghost. But with no cable/live TV service/OTA you'll have nothing to record.

If you want a minimal system, a Tivo Stream 4K ($30 on sale frequently) with an added hard drive/SSD can actually act as a server and client. I used that for travel for a short time. Much easier than RPi I would think.

Thanks! I'm going to PM you because you mentioned some of the technologies I am looking at! I'd like to run some things by you.

 

[JoeWras]

Alphabet/Google has lost their mind!

Hi Joe,

We created YouTube Premium to provide an uninterrupted YouTube experience, so you can get closer to the videos, creators, and music artists that you love. To continue delivering great service and features, we will be increasing your Premium family plan price from $17.99/month to $22.99/month

Google can go fly a kite.

Now I know most of you cord cutters out there don't do YT premium. I came into it via the old Google Music. It was reasonable, something like $8 a month for unlimited music. The app was good, you had good playlists. Then they deprecated the old app and came up with Youtube Music app. It stinks. It is broken on many accounts compared to the old Google mustic.

Then they forced adding Youtube to it (no commercials). Over time, price rises, then this massive rise upcoming.

All for a service where people mostly provide content free, without pay. I am also going to remove my content, this after finally producing a video that has 100k hits. I'm really, really steamed right now.

I have to restrain myself from swearing right now. Maybe I'll just go back to listening to my CDs, or perhaps spotify, or just listen to XM.

Google is crazy and this really pisses me off.

 

[TripleLindy]

Google can go fly a kite.

Now I know most of you cord cutters out there don't do YT premium. I came into it via the old Google Music. It was reasonable, something like $8 a month for unlimited music. The app was good, you had good playlists. Then they deprecated the old app and came up with Youtube Music app. It stinks. It is broken on many accounts compared to the old Google mustic.

Then they forced adding Youtube to it (no commercials). Over time, price rises, then this massive rise upcoming.

All for a service where people mostly provide content free, without pay. I am also going to remove my content, this after finally producing a video that has 100k hits. I'm really, really steamed right now.

I have to restrain myself from swearing right now. Maybe I'll just go back to listening to my CDs, or perhaps spotify, or just listen to XM.

Google is crazy and this really pisses me off.

If you’re a Prime member, you get Amazon Music for free. It’s pretty good, but some of the songs I want require the $10/month Unlimited upgrade. I also like the free Pandora version. Very few commercials for the amount of music - maybe 5 minutes of ads per hour. For some reason, I never hear commercials when playing Pandora through the Roku, but I tend to listen from my phone more often than the Roku.

 

[zinger1457]

Besides offering ~50X more songs the other big benefit with Amazon Music Unlimited is the quality of the songs (HD, UltraHD), noticeable difference if you're listening on quality headphones or stereo system.

 

[Trailwalker]

YouTube is going to kill the golden goose. I've cut way back on watching the ad-supported version because the videos have become unwatchable with all of the ads.

$276/year to watch Youtube without ads? Who are the people who spend that?

 

[W2R]

YouTube is going to kill the golden goose. I've cut way back on watching the ad-supported version because the videos have become unwatchable with all of the ads.

$276/year to watch Youtube without ads? Who are the people who spend that?

Not me, that's for sure!!! That's more than I'll ever want to pay. Even though I don't watch movies, I do like listening to various other youtube videos but refuse to listen to the ads.

Consequently I've become quite adept with the "mute" function on my computer taskbar. That's not quite as good as having no ads at all, but (for me) it helps.

 

[audreyh1]

Google can go fly a kite.

Wow, $22.99 a month!

I only watch the free YouTube videos and use Apple Music for music.

 

[JoeWras]

If you’re a Prime member, you get Amazon Music for free. It’s pretty good, but some of the songs I want require the $10/month Unlimited upgrade. I also like the free Pandora version. Very few commercials for the amount of music - maybe 5 minutes of ads per hour. For some reason, I never hear commercials when playing Pandora through the Roku, but I tend to listen from my phone more often than the Roku.

It may be an option. We have to try.

One reason we've been reluctant to try it is because the free version stinks. It isn't so much the missing songs as it is the substitute songs . We heard a Brothers Johnson song that was an embarrassing re-recording 40 years after their hit years in the 1970s. Their voices were shredded and they sang with no emotion. Terrible. I swore off Amazon music after hearing that trash .

Perhaps the paid version plays the actual hits. We'll give it a try.

 

[YB88]

I'm getting Paramount+ now via T-Mobile. This is a "$4.99/month value", but you can't upgrade it --- i.e., you can't add in the difference to upgrade to the commercial-free version.

I tried it last night. Once I picked a show and then wanted to look at a particular season for the (episodic) show, I had to endure a commercial before I could even look at the episodes, and unless I misunderstood the interface, I couldn't easily just pick a particular episode to watch, it launched me into the start of episode one for that season.
Then the periodic commercial interruptions along the way. At one point I wanted to fast forward a bit (while watching the show, not while in a commercial) but at least via the FireTV app, fast forward was very fast --- jumped me ahead into the next commercial before I could stop it. Then it would not let me rewind --- can't fast forward OR rewind when in the middle of a commercial.


I watched a couple of episodes, but just got more and more annoyed in the process.
Not sure I'll be watching this anymore. I guess I've been spoiled by Netflix and Amazon Prime. And by my DVR, where I can fast forward through commercials (or, of course, rewind !).

 

[Qs Laptop]

I'm getting Paramount+ now via T-Mobile. This is a "$4.99/month value", but you can't upgrade it --- i.e., you can't add in the difference to upgrade to the commercial-free version.

You probably should have simply paid the $9.95 a month for the commercial free version. Go directly to Paramount plus website to purchase don't buy it through your cable company or your cell phone provider. A friend of mine bought the commercial free version of Paramount plus through Comcast cable and it cost $14.95 a month

I tried it last night. Once I picked a show and then wanted to look at a particular season for the (episodic) show, I had to endure a commercial before I could even look at the episodes, and unless I misunderstood the interface, I couldn't easily just pick a particular episode to watch, it launched me into the start of episode one for that season.
Then the periodic commercial interruptions along the way. At one point I wanted to fast forward a bit (while watching the show, not while in a commercial) but at least via the FireTV app, fast forward was very fast --- jumped me ahead into the next commercial before I could stop it. Then it would not let me rewind --- can't fast forward OR rewind when in the middle of a commercial.

You should have been able to find the episode list and watch whatever episode you wanted. Also, there are variable fast forward rates, depending on your device.

What is your streaming device? Fire stick?

 

[YB88]

You probably should have simply paid the $9.95 a month for the commercial free version. Go directly to Paramount plus website to purchase don't buy it through your cable company or your cell phone provider. A friend of mine bought the commercial free version of Paramount plus through Comcast cable and it cost $14.95 a month



You should have been able to find the episode list and watch whatever episode you wanted. Also, there are variable fast forward rates, depending on your device.

What is your streaming device? Fire stick?

I think I'll be fine without Paramount Plus.
My recollection is that after I watched (or perhaps just started) the first episode I could then select some different episode, but it's hard to learn the nuances of the UI when they play another commercial between almost any action !
I find that my free Vix+ subscription has commercials too (which I didn't understand when I signed up), but at least they let you get well into the content and don't make even user interface actions trigger them as Paramount+ does ... that's definitely a step too far for this consumer.

I use a second generation Fire Cube as my streaming device.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I think I'll be fine without Paramount Plus.
My recollection is that after I watched (or perhaps just started) the first episode I could then select some different episode, but it's hard to learn the nuances of the UI when they play another commercial between almost any action !
I find that my free Vix+ subscription has commercials too (which I didn't understand when I signed up), but at least they let you get well into the content and don't make even user interface actions trigger them as Paramount+ does ... that's definitely a step too far for this consumer.

Ahh, I understand now. When you leave an episode to look at the menu, a commercial plays. Got it. Yeah, no way around that with the free version.

I use a second generation Fire Cube as my streaming device.

I'm not familiar with the remote on this device, but when trying to fast forward at higher speeds, you might try pressing the fast forward button once, then twice, then maybe three times in a row to get to the higher speed levels. At least that's how it works on many streaming services.

 

[JoeWras]

Watch your auto renews!!!

Perhaps you signed up for something last year during the black Friday sales. Perhaps you signed up for a good deal on a yearly subscription.

Watch it! Now is the time to cancel so you don't get auto-renewed for something maybe 4x or 5x higher in price.

That was the case with me and AMC+. I canceled. Don't like the service, yet the auto renew would be insane.

Also be ready for monthly changes. Hulu's deal expires. There have been ways to get the deal again on the next black Friday. (Changing to your dear spouse's email, for example.)

However... This is just me, Joe, talking. I think Hulu won't have a good deal this year. Disney just announced terrible corporate financials, and blamed it all on streaming. Uh oh.

 

[Midpack]

We let HBOMax and Apple TV+ lapse. Watched most of what we wanted to see, and the series we wanted haven’t started new seasons - e.g. The Gilded Age, Ted Lasso, Morning Show among others. We might subscribe and binge watch for them if they complete seasons, but not likely to subscribe ongoing. We’re fine with “just” Hulu+Live (including Disney+) and Netflix. Ever changing streaming landscape so we reevaluate as needed. Still way cheaper than comparable cable or satellite. We also have ESPN+, never watch it…

 

[Trailwalker]

Perhaps you signed up for something last year during the black Friday sales. Perhaps you signed up for a good deal on a yearly subscription.

Watch it! Now is the time to cancel so you don't get auto-renewed for something maybe 4x or 5x higher in price.

That was the case with me and AMC+. I canceled. Don't like the service, yet the auto renew would be insane.

Also be ready for monthly changes. Hulu's deal expires. There have been ways to get the deal again on the next black Friday. (Changing to your dear spouse's email, for example.)

However... This is just me, Joe, talking. I think Hulu won't have a good deal this year. Disney just announced terrible corporate financials, and blamed it all on streaming. Uh oh.

I cancelled Hulu recently, not wanting to pay the higher rate and putting myself in position to take advantage of the Black Friday special. If it doesn't happen, no big deal. I didn't use Hulu very much during the past year. Just couldn't resist the good deal.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Perhaps you signed up for something last year during the black Friday sales. Perhaps you signed up for a good deal on a yearly subscription.

Watch it! Now is the time to cancel so you don't get auto-renewed for something maybe 4x or 5x higher in price.

Good advice. I will add that I make it a practice to put an alert in Google Calendar two weeks away from when the promotional subscription rate is about to expire. Once I get that alert I put another alert in for a two days before the subscription expires. This way I won't get caught flat-footed when the renewal anniversary date rolls around again.

The two week buffer also gives me a chance to see if there is anything on the streaming service I might want to watch before I quit the service and move the home screen icon down the priority list. "Cut the cord" is an apt description of getting rid of cable. There ought to be a descriptive term for when you relocate a streaming service's icon off the main home page to a lower tier.

 

[Dawg52]

I'm dropping YT TV as I've found I just don't watch as much on it anymore. I get Peacock Premium for free(I do pay $5 for no ads) by having Xfinity internet and I find it a decent substitute for The Golf Channel. Has a lot of golf coverage there along with other sporting events. With the major networks via antenna I get enough sports to satisfy me. Play to subscribe to Netflix and maybe one other streaming service. So with all that along with all the other free stuff on the net via Roku Channel and others there is plenty to keep me satisfied at a minimal rate.