Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) - 2021 version

[Ctarborist]

I use the smart part of all our tv's.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I do like that they added all of the channels, and you can hide the ones you won't watch. BUT, we now have a problem with our antenna picking up the wrong channel. Channel 15.1 is coming through as channel 15.3. It's really annoying since 15.1 is NBC, but 15.3 is a local channel. Hoping for a fix soon.

I have a similar problem with PBS channels 23 vs 24 however upgrades are being done in the area and both are new channels within the last couple of months so I assume that the updated correct channel information has not been reported or uploaded to some central TV guides database system. At this point I will live with it until all the work is complete and hopefully it will resolve itself.

 

[Morgan22]

I have a similar problem with PBS channels 23 vs 24 however upgrades are being done in the area and both are new channels within the last couple of months so I assume that the updated correct channel information has not been reported or uploaded to some central TV guides database system. At this point I will live with it until all the work is complete and hopefully it will resolve itself.

Problem was fixed a couple of days ago. We have NBC back.

 

[SmallCityDave]

We currently have:


Philo @ $20 per month -- this is the best value
Hulu @ $2
Playon was $30 for a lifetime service


Trying Peacock for free but I have yet to watch anything on it, I thought it would be great but it doesn't have a DVR feature.


I might have to spend some real money soon as the shows I'd like to watch are on Fox, FS1, NBC and NBCSN - I'm not sure I can find something for a better price than YouTube TV for $65 per month.

 

[Midpack]

Trying Peacock for free but I have yet to watch anything on it, I thought it would be great but it doesn't have a DVR feature.

Others may disagree, but why would I need a DVR for any content that is available on demand? Increasingly I’m finding you can’t FF through ads with cloud DVRs anyway, so no benefit over on demand? And with Hulu, it alerts me whenever there’s a new episode of any of “My Stuff.” I can see DVRs becoming obsolete, replaced by on demand.

I don’t use DVR anymore, but DW hasn’t caught on yet...patience.

 

[SmallCityDave]

Others may disagree, but why would I need a DVR for any content that is available on demand? Increasingly I’m finding you can’t FF through ads with cloud DVRs anyway, so no benefit over on demand? And with Hulu, it alerts me whenever there’s a new episode of any of “My Stuff.” I can see DVRs becoming obsolete, replaced by on demand.

I don’t use DVR anymore, but DW hasn’t caught on yet...patience.

Peacock broadcasts live sports programs so if you miss it it's gone.

 

[pb4uski]

...Trying Peacock for free but I have yet to watch anything on it, I thought it would be great but it doesn't have a DVR feature. ...

Try watching a few episodes of Yellowstone with Kevin Costner... you'll be hooked.

If after watching a couple of episodes of Yellowstone you are hooked then pay the extra $5/month to go ad-free... it will be the best $5 that you'll ever spend.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

We currently have:


Philo @ $20 per month -- this is the best value
Hulu @ $2
Playon was $30 for a lifetime service


Trying Peacock for free but I have yet to watch anything on it, I thought it would be great but it doesn't have a DVR feature.


I might have to spend some real money soon as the shows I'd like to watch are on Fox, FS1, NBC and NBCSN - I'm not sure I can find something for a better price than YouTube TV for $65 per month.

Highly recommend Yellowstone on Peacock on demand

 

[JoeWras]

Others may disagree, but why would I need a DVR for any content that is available on demand? Increasingly I’m finding you can’t FF through ads with cloud DVRs anyway, so no benefit over on demand? And with Hulu, it alerts me whenever there’s a new episode of any of “My Stuff.” I can see DVRs becoming obsolete, replaced by on demand.

I don’t use DVR anymore, but DW hasn’t caught on yet...patience.

Midpack: I think that's a Hulu+Live bias. In my trial I found some shows inexplicably would force feed ads, even if DVR'd.

On Philo, you can 100% skip any and all commercials if you DVR them. Philo will sometimes try to serve you up an episode that is VOD instead of DVR, so you have to push a button to find "all showings" and assure you got the one that DVR'd. Once you do, you are golden. FF and Rev work fine.

 

[steelyman]

Finally did something I should have done a LONG time ago: joined PBS Passport.

My monthly cost for streaming will creep up a little bit but the value received is far higher.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

The Travel Channel? Oh yeah, that's the one that has nothing to do with travel...unless you are going to visit some haunted place.

Yes, the travel channel took over some of Destination channels programming. The Destination channel used to show the paranormal, but not anymore.

 

[Midpack]

Peacock broadcasts live sports programs so if you miss it it's gone.

Midpack: I think that's a Hulu+Live bias. In my trial I found some shows inexplicably would force feed ads, even if DVR'd.

On Philo, you can 100% skip any and all commercials if you DVR them. Philo will sometimes try to serve you up an episode that is VOD instead of DVR, so you have to push a button to find "all showings" and assure you got the one that DVR'd. Once you do, you are golden. FF and Rev work fine.

I don’t disagree. My broader point was with anything on demand, the need for a DVR is reduced or eliminated.

The poster I quoted said “Peacock for free...but it doesn't have a DVR.” Live content is only with paid subscriptions.

 

[explanade]

https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/peacock-original-shows-and-movies-ranked/

The Capture was good.

Brave New World was their headline original series but they've canceled so there won't be a season 2. It was okay.

 

[Markola]

It’s funny how during ER I have more time to save money! I figured out that we were accidentally subscribed to HULU ($5/month for seriously annoying commercials) and Apple Music ($9.99/month but we only use Spotify these days.) I have been seeing the monthly charges in my bank statements but they were for “Apple”, not the underlying services, so I just assumed it was my DW renting movies and series on Netflix.

It was simple to fix. On the iPhone:
Settings
Name
Subscriptions, then delete the services you aren’t using. I also stopped a $1.99/month charge for extra Google storage, which I don’t need anymore since I got a new phone.

Nice to find some change in the cushions.

 

[JoeWras]

I don’t disagree. My broader point was with anything on demand, the need for a DVR is reduced or eliminated.

The poster I quoted said “Peacock for free...but it doesn't have a DVR.” Live content is only with paid subscriptions.

Got it. <thumbs up>

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Thanks. About a year ago, someone posted something about Hoopla (sign up at my local library). You only get 5 free movies/shows a month but it had some good content - Foyle's War, 19-2, Inspector Lynley. Got my money's worth. What else is good on Hoopla? I watched the series Keeping Faith - not good, but after you are hooked....

Had a paid Acorn TV ($4.99 per month) subscription for about 6 months. Good stuff. DW wore it out.

Verizon gave me a year free Disney +.

Yesterday, I signed up for Discovery + free for 6 months courtesy of Verizon. HGTV, Food, True Crime and a host of others.

5 minutes ago, I signed up for the Peacock free. Will I go for the Premium or Premium plus upgrades? Probably not.

I have had Netflix (paid), Tablo (OTA DVR), Prime Video (Amazon Prime). Use them regularly. I have the CNBC channel - free 10 minutes a day. I use it for market updates. Not that I do anything with the info.

I have Pluto, Youtube, Film Noir, Crackle, Dark Matter and Tubi, but I don't/haven't explored them much. Oh, I occasionally find a gem on Youtube.

 

[SmallCityDave]

Try watching a few episodes of Yellowstone with Kevin Costner... you'll be hooked.

If after watching a couple of episodes of Yellowstone you are hooked then pay the extra $5/month to go ad-free... it will be the best $5 that you'll ever spend.

Trying it now.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I watch YouTubeTV on an AppleTV HD (current hardware, current OS) but am really getting annoyed at the sluggishness of the device. Especially when fast forwarding/rewinding as it freezes for maybe 5 seconds before it allows me to swipe left or right. Often once it does respond, the preview thumbnail will go blank after moving ahead several minutes.

Changing channels is also sluggish, but more easily tolerated.

Is this normal? Would I be happier with another streaming service or hardware device?

[edit to add: it's not a buffering problem, and I have a 200Mbps internet connection verified at >150 Mbps at the AppleTV using the Speedtest app.)

Thanks!

(As an aside, I guess we need to update our terms "rewind" and "channel" LOL.)

 

[jcgc50]

Thanks. About a year ago, someone posted something about Hoopla (sign up at my local library). You only get 5 free movies/shows a month but it had some good content - Foyle's War, 19-2, Inspector Lynley. Got my money's worth. What else is good on Hoopla? I watched the series Keeping Faith - not good, but after you are hooked....

Had a paid Acorn TV ($4.99 per month) subscription for about 6 months. Good stuff. DW wore it out.

Verizon gave me a year free Disney +.

Yesterday, I signed up for Discovery + free for 6 months courtesy of Verizon. HGTV, Food, True Crime and a host of others.

5 minutes ago, I signed up for the Peacock free. Will I go for the Premium or Premium plus upgrades? Probably not.

I have had Netflix (paid), Tablo (OTA DVR), Prime Video (Amazon Prime). Use them regularly. I have the CNBC channel - free 10 minutes a day. I use it for market updates. Not that I do anything with the info.

I have Pluto, Youtube, Film Noir, Crackle, Dark Matter and Tubi, but I don't/haven't explored them much. Oh, I occasionally find a gem on Youtube.

You may have already heard of this but another library provider is Kanopy. My own library gives us access to both Hoopla and Kanopy. Kanopy is less clunky when selecting and playing than Hoopla. There is good content on both.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Thanks, jcgc50. Will pursue.

 

[boog]

Galaxy, we have YouTube TV on an AppleTV 4K. The response is brisk and FF works instantly on DVR’d shows. Just our experience.

 

[JoeWras]

News flash! This isn't necessarily good news or bad news. Just news. OK, probably mostly bad...

This morning AT&T announced that they are sunsetting AT&T TV NOW (formerly Direct TV Now) and are directing all new AT&T TV NOW customers to AT&T TV. The old NOW customers will eventually be moved, but are currently in some sort of grandfather situation. AFIAK, Uverse is still going along without changes, but for how long?

This also comes with changes to AT&T TV. There will be an option not requiring a box, hence, streaming only. There will also be no-contract options. Packages have been shuffled and prices changed.

The big question and problem for us cordcutters has been: "How do I get my RSNs now that YTTV and Hulu+Live dropped them?" Well, AT&T TV has them on their $85 per month package (plus tax, who knows what that add will be).

The good news? A no contract option for people who need their regional sports. You get HBO Max "for free" for one year. The bad news? Puny sized DVR and $85 per month sucks.

In my opinion, the timing on this is no accident. The NHL starts tomorrow and streamers are cut out, except for this option.

More reading: https://thestreamable.com/news/breaking-att-shuts-down-att-tv-now-to-new-customers

Official from AT&T: https://www.att.com/buy/bundles/?product_suite=NDTVN&contract=EDSP

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

The evolution of this thread (as taken with the pre 2021 version, too) has shown how much of a pain this has all become. At one time, people would explain their "cord cutting" plan and it could be done in a sentence or two. Now, it's multiple paragraphs!

I am not saying this to be negative to the posters, but to illustrate how complex this has gotten. On one hand, it would seem to be a good sign...lots of choices available but then again a bad sign...you have to cobble together several services/options to get the varied programming you want.

And people think it takes too much time to maximize reward card points, etc. I think that you could save time/energy by doing the once every couple of year "haggle" with the cable pig and save a lot of time instead of moving streaming services every couple of months.

 

[JoeWras]

I am not saying this to be negative to the posters, but to illustrate how complex this has gotten. On one hand, it would seem to be a good sign...lots of choices available but then again a bad sign...you have to cobble together several services/options to get the varied programming you want.

Well, I agree.

But you forgot one thing. Traditional cable people are getting swept up into the mess too. There's no escaping this madness.

For example: want to watch Star Trek: Discovery? Gotta sign up and pay for CBS All Access and stream. Want to watch the full complement of shows on Discovery networks? Now you have to sign up and pay for Discovery+ to see what used to be included on the linear cable distribution. Mandalorian on Disney cable? Nope.

Insanity!

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Well, I agree.

But you forgot one thing. Traditional cable people are getting swept up into the mess too. There's no escaping this madness.

For example: want to watch Star Trek: Discovery? Gotta sign up and pay for CBS All Access and stream. Want to watch the full complement of shows on Discovery networks? Now you have to sign up and pay for Discovery+ to see what used to be included on the linear cable distribution. Mandalorian on Disney cable? Nope.

Insanity!

That is true. I think this has REALLY been highlighted with the Discovery+ "deal"...gotta have both to maximize the content. I would think eventually people would get sick and tired of this game (I sure have!) but as a society we have become a month-to-month "can I afford the monthly payment" instead of the big picture. I would guess very few folks figure out how much they spend on an annual basis to just watch TV.