Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) 2017 - 2020

[jimbee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 100mbps should be more than enough even with two 4K TVs.

+1, what audreyh1 said.

[Sojourner]

I was wondering if anyone using YTTV or Sling or Hulu (or any of the other big streaming TV services) has any thoughts on the lack of 5.1 surround sound audio. I was looking at some recent comparisons of the various services this morning and noticed that the audio stream for pretty much all of them is merely "stereo". Apparently AT&T and YTTV do offer some limited 5.1 audio, but it's not ubiquitous like with traditional cable/satellite services.

Do you miss having true 5.1 surround? Do you notice it much? Is not having high-quality surround sound for most of your TV watching a reasonable trade-off, given the cost savings? Or, are you actually getting 5.1 surround most of the time (and the premise of my post is wrong)?

[bloom2708]

I have Bose CineMate GS II 2.1 systems on both larger TVs.

We have YTTV. I think the sound depends on the channel and content (movie vs show).

I love the sound. I also put the GS II system on my parents (~75) TV. Loud and good sound profile.

There are other good soundbar+sub solutions at reasonable prices. I have an optical cable out from the TV to the Bose system.

[GalaxyBoy]

I really don't miss the 5.1 sound on YTTV for regular live TV. For movies I get 5.1 with Netfllix, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+. I wish I had 5.1 with some of my Acorn TV, but it's really not a big deal to me.

I think this is a personal preference thing, so YMMV.

[edit to add] I'm not a sports fan if that makes a difference.

[Rustic23]

For what I saved over Dish, I don't miss it at all!

[Sojourner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GalaxyBoy I really don't miss the 5.1 sound on YTTV for regular live TV. For movies I get 5.1 with Netfllix, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+. I wish I had 5.1 with some of my Acorn TV, but it's really not a big deal to me.

Hmm, yeah that makes sense. I hadn't been thinking about things like Netflix, AMZN Prime, and HBO Go, which all do stream in 5.1 surround. So when I eventually "cut the cord" and go all streaming, I'd just want to make sure to watch certain movies & shows that feature high quality surround sound via the apps/services that support it. I guess a lot of what I typically watch on "standard" TV doesn't really benefit tremendously from 5.1 surround. Thanks for your feedback.

[Sojourner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bloom2708 I have Bose CineMate GS II 2.1 systems on both larger TVs. We have YTTV. I think the sound depends on the channel and content (movie vs show). I love the sound. I also put the GS II system on my parents (~75) TV. Loud and good sound profile.

Thanks, I will check out the Bose GS II system.

[mpeirce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojourner I was wondering if anyone using YTTV or Sling or Hulu (or any of the other big streaming TV services) has any thoughts on the lack of 5.1 surround sound audio.

A lot depends on how much you really care.

Our current setup is an AppleTV driving a Yamaha receiver driving 5.1 speakers. We had the speakers installed when the house was built and it always sounds very nice.

But we're moving later this year and I wanted to see how a stereo pair of Apple HomePod speakers compared. So I set that up and can easily switch between the two.

To my 58 year old ears the HomePod sounds as good acoustically as the 5.1 system. The 5.1 system clear provides fancier spacial audio - there are times when I can hear things in movies behind me, but frankly I don't really care much about that. The Yamaha has more watts, but I never crank it up very high (I never turn up the HomePods over 50% max volume either).

So I'm very happy going back to a very high quality stereo experience for TV and movies.

I also listen to music on this setup and stereo HomePods playing a quality recording of music sounds like you are in the same room as the musicians. It's very impressive.

YMMV

P.S. DW is slowly going deaf, so she doesn't care one bit about this any more. As long the all our content has subtitles...

[Cobra9777]

I'm noticing 5.1 on some YTTV, like an on-demand PBS program a couple days ago. They announced last year that it would be increasingly available in 2020, so it's good to actually hear it on something I watch.

I have a very large 5.1 system based around some Klipsch heritage speakers, a Sony AVR, and two subs. So I like having surround sound.

But honestly, it's more important for movies, which we watch on Netflix and Prime. Most of those are 5.1, which sounds great. For the stuff we watch on YTTV, the lack of 5.1 is a bit disappointing for someone like me who has the equipment ready to go. But certainly not something that would EVER drive me back to cable or satellite.

[explanade]

I try to watch a Tivo recording from cable instead of a stream when I can, because of 5.1 sound.

The only streaming services which stream 5.1 are HBO and Showtime. Not all their shows but most of them.

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Vudu usually has good sound encoding on their streaming media.

[Midpack]

I wish my 65 yo hearing was good enough to appreciate 5.1 surround sound... We're totally happy with Hulu Live.

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack I wish my 65 yo hearing was good enough to appreciate 5.1 surround sound... We're totally happy with Hulu Live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOvLWSh8TZc

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Cosmic Avenger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOvLWSh8TZc

I'm not that bad - yet. But probably one day...

[Sojourner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cobra9777 I'm noticing 5.1 on some YTTV, like an on-demand PBS program a couple days ago. They announced last year that it would be increasingly available in 2020, so it's good to actually hear it on something I watch.

That's good to know. Hadn't read anything about that, but it makes perfect sense that 5.1 would be added to more shows as these streaming services become more popular and high-speed Internet access generally improves over time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cobra9777 For the stuff we watch on YTTV, the lack of 5.1 is a bit disappointing for someone like me who has the equipment ready to go. But certainly not something that would EVER drive me back to cable or satellite.

Sounds like you and I are similar in how we feel about surround sound, so I appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks.

[Sojourner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade The only streaming services which stream 5.1 are HBO and Showtime. Not all their shows but most of them.

Actually, Netflix and AMZN Prime Video also feature 5.1 surround sound for most of their content. I'd guess some other VOD streaming services do, too. Where it seems to be mostly lacking is with the "live TV" streaming services like Hulu, Sling, YouTube TV, etc.

[mpeirce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade The only streaming services which stream 5.1 are HBO and Showtime. Not all their shows but most of them.

I expect this is outdated info.

We watch both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video on our AppleTV and they both support 5.1 audio. Not all contents has this, but much of it does. There's a little 5.1 icon showing on shows and movies that do.

[mpeirce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojourner Where it seems to be mostly lacking is with the "live TV" streaming services like Hulu, Sling, YouTube TV, etc.

FYI: AT&T TV Now does support 5.1 on some channels - at least on AppleTV's.

[lonnie]

Rolu has been my favorite streaming platform. I recently got rid of fire tv and replaced it with another Roku. YouTube TV gets you local channels and many commonly used cable channels for 50 per month and has been rock solid for me so far. They have unlimited DVR as well. I went to all streaming about a year ago. I recommend it highly but you might have to try a few options, like I did, before finding what’s right for you. The good news is it’s easy to switch and platforms like Roku support mist of the available options

[pb4uski]

When we get back north we'll have a couple months left with Dish TV on seasonal hold, so we're going to try YTTV for a couple months and then make a decision whether or not to replace DISH TV with YTTV.