Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) - 2021 version

[Time2]

My Recast is in the attic. Sometimes the "gumming up" isn't something that can be resolved from my fire cube, and it seems to happen periodically.

So I have a smarthome-controllable plug up there and a simple routine that automatically powers off the Recast in the wee hours of the morning every N days or so (3 maybe?), waits a minute, then turns the power back on. I've been happier with the Recast --- or at least less unhappy --- since I set that up.

I'm confident that at some point I'll replace the Recast; it's never felt really finished, nor do I guess that it's something that Amazon believes in or is working on. But for now, it will do.

We have had our recast for 10 months and I only recall resetting it once.
Maybe if I had it in a hard to reset position, I would have to do it more, but mine is just on a shelf under the TV. My wife records her soaps 5 days a week and an occasional other program, we are pretty happy with it. And, they didn't come out with a new model as soon as I bought mine!

 

[SoReady]

My Family Cinema

Does anyone know anything about the service/app "My Family Cinema"? Someone asked me and I have not heard of it. Looking it up quickly there is a video tutorial on how to get it on a firestick. Which entails downloading a "downloader" app and then putting in a URL to get the "My Family Cinema" app. Seems roundabout to me. But wondering if anyone else has experience with this and if it is worth looking into further.

Thanks!

Bob

 

[Midpack]

Does anyone know anything about the service/app "My Family Cinema"? Someone asked me and I have not heard of it. Looking it up quickly there is a video tutorial on how to get it on a firestick. Which entails downloading a "downloader" app and then putting in a URL to get the "My Family Cinema" app. Seems roundabout to me. But wondering if anyone else has experience with this and if it is worth looking into further.

Thanks!

Bob

Looks like it aggregates content that you already have access to IF it’s available on a (so far) very limited cloud storage account you’ve already established. For $3.49/month I can’t imagine it would do much else.

With My Family Cinema, you can play your own content from your cloud account right away. No loading problems and zero ads, offering you the best experience.

DISCLAIMER

Recently, the MFC team has received some complaints about media content piracy. For such comments is that we would like to restate that My Family Cinema is a personal media player software which only offers cinematographic information. This means that it DOES NOT provide any media content. Our team firmly advocates the fight against piracy in order to build the best multimedia platform.

 

[SoReady]

Hmmm... interesting. I missed that. This would not be anything I would need then. Thanks!

 

[pb4uski]

My Recast is in the attic. Sometimes the "gumming up" isn't something that can be resolved from my fire cube, and it seems to happen periodically.

So I have a smarthome-controllable plug up there and a simple routine that automatically powers off the Recast in the wee hours of the morning every N days or so (3 maybe?), waits a minute, then turns the power back on. I've been happier with the Recast --- or at least less unhappy --- since I set that up.

I'm confident that at some point I'll replace the Recast; it's never felt really finished, nor do I guess that it's something that Amazon believes in or is working on. But for now, it will do.

What I've sometimes done for things like that is to use a plug with a remote like one might have for Christmas lights where the switch is in an inconvenient location to turn the lights on and off... a somewhat lower tech solution but it works well.

But I'm not sure that I can recall if resetting from the Fire TV stick has ever not worked.

 

[youbet]

I don't know whether to call myself a "cord cutter" or not. I've been following along with this thread and the so-called "cord cutting" process for some time. Here's where I am right now.

Infinity - I have it on "vacation hold" which cuts my bill by about 80% but also cuts most of the channels.

OTA - Here in Chicago there are a bunch of OTA channels to watch. Right now I'm getting them off of the Infinity "vacation hold" connection but will put a good outdoor antenna up as soon as the weather breaks and then will likely drop Infinity. (You can only be on vacation hold for six months a year.)

Streaming - I refuse to subscribe to an expensive streaming channel. Why bother cutting out Infinity cable ($85/month when in full service mode) and replace it with pay streaming adding up to almost as much? Silly. So I'm limiting my streaming to free services (surprisingly good) and PBS ($60/yr), Amazon Prime (which we have anyway) and Marquee Network ($38/year) to watch the Cubs.

So far my biggest issue is sports. For example, I was able to watch most of the NCAA basketball championship games using hints I found on the Internet including free trials and deleting and reinstalling apps. But on the night of the NC vs Kansas championship game, no deal. Couldn't find a way to watch it. Also, no Big Ten network. And some others. It seems like the streamers really know how to split up the sports broadcasting between them so you can't get it all with one low cost package. Sigh.........

So anyway, once my antenna is up this spring and Infinity is gone, I'll be down to about $100 total per year streaming subscription fees and will just have some sports issues to solve. I look forward to any discussion on solving the "sports problem."

 

[ElizabethT]

It has taken time, but we are now down to just one hour of TV in the evening, plus the very occasional movie if we're home on a Saturday night. We have Netflix, which is free courtesy of our TMobile 55+ plan (we pay $70 a month, all in, for two cell lines with unlimited text and data, plus the free Basic Netflix subscription), the free version of PBS, though we can watch many of their programs live and for free on TV's YouTube channel, and pay just for Hulu. So $12 a month put of pocket, on top of $55 a month for our unlimited AT&T WiFi, without which we could not stream of course.

We have never watched TV during the day, so that was a non issue when we cut the cord, and slowly weaned ourselves off of it in the after-dinner until 8pm time bracket. We now read and listen to jazz after dinner on on the YouTube music channel, plus I practice my guitar, until 8pm. Watching one show takes us to 9pm, at which point we head to bed. We are up between 5 and 5:30 am most mornings, in order to enjoy a nice long wake up before heading out to our daily event(s).

We rarely watch the news, so that is not an issue, though our local channel's news programs can all be streamed live for free. (Research this if you weren't aware- it's pretty common). Instead we read our news, which is incredibly less stressful than having to hear and see it. I highly recommend.

 

[JoeWras]

So far my biggest issue is sports. For example, I was able to watch most of the NCAA basketball championship games using hints I found on the Internet including free trials and deleting and reinstalling apps. But on the night of the NC vs Kansas championship game, no deal. Couldn't find a way to watch it. Also, no Big Ten network. And some others. It seems like the streamers really know how to split up the sports broadcasting between them so you can't get it all with one low cost package. Sigh.........

Yes. Quite simply, sports watching is the #1 issue with cord cutting. It is also the #1 reason cable is so expensive.

Worse yet, "cable-like" streamers like YouTubeTV and Hulu+Live have abandoned regional sports networks (RSNs) which show a lot of local teams for the 3 major sports outside of NFL. YTTV and Hulu+L used to have them, but don't anymore.

My solution? I watch those sports that are on OTA, and explore something else besides sports with my newfound time. I've reduced my consumption.

I am an NHL fan, and instead of subscribing all year long, I subscribe to DirectTV Stream during the end of the year and playoffs. D-Stream is the last remaining cable-like stream that has RSNs. During the year, we use the saved money to see a few games live. We also listen to the radio and then watch the highlights minutes later on official free services. I don't use pirate streams.

This whole thing is still in flux and we haven't seen it all unwind yet because many of the sports leagues are now creating streaming exclusive events or games. So even cable viewers get shut out unless you buy a specific service.

 

[Dawg52]

Streaming - I refuse to subscribe to an expensive streaming channel. Why bother cutting out Infinity cable ($85/month when in full service mode) and replace it with pay streaming adding up to almost as much? Silly. So I'm limiting my streaming to free services (surprisingly good) and PBS ($60/yr), Amazon Prime (which we have anyway) and Marquee Network ($38/year) to watch the Cubs.

My Xfinity package was going up to $185/mo for cable and internet. Now with YTTV and internet my cost is $110/mo. Plus I'm getting a lot more quality channels with YTTV. Pretty nice saving imo. Sure I could lower my cost if just went with an antenna and free streaming stuff but I'm not interested in that.

 

[euro]

Yes. Quite simply, sports watching is the #1 issue with cord cutting. It is also the #1 reason cable is so expensive.

Worse yet, "cable-like" streamer.

Hmm. Never thought about that but in retrospect it is obvious. This is why cord cutting has been so exceptionally painless for me over the past 6 months. We watch basically zero sports anyway, so we are not missing out on anything at all. Well, I did expect to miss cable news, but to my surprise, I don’t miss that either.
Between OTA, Recast, Netflix, Britbox and Prime, we truly have more than we ever need and the whole process required so little adjustments in viewing habits that it was completely painless for us. To top it all off, we finally got Google fiber access, so the internet connection is not a Charter monopoly anymore.

 

[JoeWras]

Hmm. Never thought about that but in retrospect it is obvious. This is why cord cutting has been so exceptionally painless for me over the past 6 months. We watch basically zero sports anyway, so we are not missing out on anything at all. Well, I did expect to miss cable news, but to my surprise, I don’t miss that either.
Between OTA, Recast, Netflix, Britbox and Prime, we truly have more than we ever need and the whole process required so little adjustments in viewing habits that it was completely painless for us. To top it all off, we finally got Google fiber access, so the internet connection is not a Charter monopoly anymore.

Yeah, I should have said it is the #1 impediment for some people (sports fans) to cut the cord, and it is unfortunately a reason that the no-sports fan population is paying the price to subsidize the sports fans. Anyone not interested in sports really needs to consider cord cutting.

 

[Chuckanut]

Between OTA, Recast, Netflix, Britbox and Prime, we truly have more than we ever need and the whole process required so little adjustments in viewing habits that it was completely painless for us.

+1 Between Internet Service (fiber), Netflix and Prime I pay about $75 a month. This year I added HULU for 99¢ a month (+ tax). I will get rid of HULU at the end of the one year deal. I don't like the commercials. And I live close enough to the big city to get FREE! OTA broadcast TV. With my DVR I can FF and sometimes skip through the OTA commercials.

I also get Kanopy free using my library card. Kanopy features movies for 'thinking' people. I'm not sure what that means but I find about one movie a month I like to watch on it. And speaking of the library I also get DVDs for free. (Yes, I realize I pay for both with my property taxes.)

I literally don't have enough time to watch everything I have now. Why pay for more?

 

[JoeWras]

The world of TV continues to change. Everyone is going to feel the fallout from recent events.

- Disney wanting to enhance revenue from streaming
- HBO/Discovery merger

And so on.

In today's bad news, Disney decided to force people off of OTA ABC by putting "Dancing With The Stars" exclusively on Disney+ next year. To me, this is a big F.U. to the loyal older audience. My mom and dad lived for this show. They have since passed, but if they were still here, there's no way they could deal with streaming.

Of course, the suits at Disney see it as a way "to expand our demographic reach." Right. Anyone over 60 doesn't spend money. We all know that. /s

And in another twist, Disney is partly blaming this on the fact that Monday Night football would conflict with the DWTS timeslot. What a crock of <>. Just change the day.

I'm not a fan of this show, only watched it under duress when visiting my parents. But this is a sign of things to come. And it isn't good.

https://deadline.com/2022/04/dancing-with-the-stars-leaving-abc-disney-plus-season-31-1234996886/

One last quote from the article:

As we’re significantly expanding our unscripted slate at ABC, this is a great opportunity to introduce this show to a whole new generation of fans on Disney+

Right. So that whole new generation of fans didn't know how to tune into ABC? Right...

 

[GenXguy]

I don't know whether to call myself a "cord cutter" or not. I've been following along with this thread and the so-called "cord cutting" process for some time. Here's where I am right now.

Streaming - I refuse to subscribe to an expensive streaming channel. Why bother cutting out Infinity cable ($85/month when in full service mode) and replace it with pay streaming adding up to almost as much? Silly.

Most people call themselves cord cutters when they get rid of cable even if they subscribe to a bunch of expensive streaming with Amazon Prime, Netflix, SlingT V, Hulu, etc. Not me. True cord cutting for me means no cable, using an antenna, and what I can stream for FREE and not requiring me to purchase expensive cell phone plans, Amazon Prime, or such. I canceled cable many years ago, and my total streaming services cost over all these years is a total of $0.

As far as sports, the only sport I care to watch at all is NFL, and there are plenty of games broadcast on air to suit me including most Bears games and most KC games. And I'm even trying to cut back on the time wasted on NFL. So, I'm good.

 

[euro]

Most people call themselves cord cutters when they get rid of cable even if they subscribe to a bunch of expensive streaming with Amazon Prime, Netflix, SlingT V, Hulu, etc. Not me. True cord cutting for me means no cable, using an antenna, and what I can stream for FREE and not requiring me to purchase expensive cell phone plans, Amazon Prime, or such. I canceled cable many years ago, and my total streaming services cost over all these years is a total of $0.

As far as sports, the only sport I care to watch at all is NFL, and there are plenty of games broadcast on air to suit me including most Bears games and most KC games. And I'm even trying to cut back on the time wasted on NFL. So, I'm good.

Well, you do have a coax cord running from your antenna to the TV, right? Also, it seems that calling FREE streaming “cutting the cord”, whilst calling PAID streaming NOT cutting the cord is a bit artificial. But, I get the point: the piper (content producer) will have to be paid in the long run, or you have to be willing to accept vastly reduced service. You seem ok with the latter and that is fine. Given that this is the “cord cutter’s thread”, chances are that most participants ARE looking for angles to maintain more than 1960-ies level of service at the best possible price.

 

[JoeWras]

True cord cutting for me means no cable, using an antenna, and what I can stream for FREE and not requiring me to purchase expensive cell phone plans, Amazon Prime, or such. I canceled cable many years ago, and my total streaming services cost over all these years is a total of $0.

Yes. It is the difference between being a fan and a fanatic.

But seriously, your point is good. People should check out what is available for free. You may have to eat a few commercials, but it is free. Even if you don't cut the cord, you can use these sources for extra content.

Use: https://www.justwatch.com/ to find your movie

A few services that I use:

- Tubi: has complete trash movies, but also really good quality movies. You just have to find them.
- Pluto: same for movies. Pluto's biggest strength is the live streams of old stuff. Watch all kinds of old shows like "The Price is Right", "Amazing Race", etc. Most content is uncut, so if the F-word or nudity offends, be careful. There are also a bunch of music channels that play music videos 24/7. Remember those?
- Peacock: they still have a free level. I'm currently watching the "Battlestar Galactica" reboot.

There are many more. It is hard to run out of choices with just those three, so I haven't explored the massive amount out there.

 

[GenXguy]

Well, you do have a coax cord running from your antenna to the TV, right?

No, the HDMI from my home theater PC connects to my TV. I DVR most anything from the antenna.

ARE looking for angles to maintain more than 1960-ies level of service at the best possible price.

Heck, I would even pay for services if the alternative for free was 60's level service. In the late 60's, we got 3 channels, in standard definition, not always very clearly, no recording, no time shifting, no on-demand. Most everything I get now is in HD, including OTA that I DVR (no subscription), and a plethora of free streaming and on-demand, much of it in HD, particularly the stuff I watch.

- Peacock: they still have a free level. I'm currently watching the "Battlestar Galactica" reboot.

I've used those all at some point. My internet provider gives me Peacock Premium, which still has commercials, but they don't run for 3+ minutes like most broadcast channels, so it's quite tolerable. I've never watched Battlestar Galactica, but I did add that to "my stuff" a while back thinking I might check it out one of these days.

 

[JoeWras]

I've used those all at some point. My internet provider gives me Peacock Premium, which still has commercials, but they don't run for 3+ minutes like most broadcast channels, so it's quite tolerable. I've never watched Battlestar Galactica, but I did add that to "my stuff" a while back thinking I might check it out one of these days.

I find that most of the freebies don't run as many commercials as OTA. Peacock has the breaks, but they run anywhere from 0:15 to 1:30, typically. I get a lot of 0:15 breaks which are almost shocking. Not enough time to refill my drink. Their ads also have a timer countdown.

PlutoTV has the worst commercial breaks on the their live shows. After all, they are filling up the time to the level originally shown. Their on-demand stuff has shorter breaks.

Tubi varies. They announce the ad is coming with a 10 second countdown, then when the ads show, it is shown as "x of y" so you know how many to tolerate.

As for BSG: I missed it when it was showing because my parents were ill and I didn't have the time. I'm watching it now after too much Star Trek. BSG is closer to reality, darker, and not all problems are solved with a wave of the tricorder or a trip backward in time.

 

[Chuckanut]

Right. So that whole new generation of fans didn't know how to tune into ABC? Right...

Maybe, but the younger folks don't seem to tune-in anyway. When I put in my antenna to get OTA TV, I remember a young guy asking me if it was legal. Apparently he equated it with the illegal tapping into the cable company's wired network like some people used to do

 

[JoeWras]

Maybe, but the younger folks don't seem to tune-in anyway. When I put in my antenna to get OTA TV, I remember a young guy asking me if it was legal. Apparently he equated it with the illegal tapping into the cable companies wired network some people used to do

Later that day, that young guy was featured in the Youtube video showing an attempt at using a rotary phone -- all the time wondering if the Feds will come after him for phone tapping.

 

[Midpack]

The world of TV continues to change. Everyone is going to feel the fallout from recent events.

- Disney wanting to enhance revenue from streaming
- HBO/Discovery merger

And so on.

In today's bad news, Disney decided to force people off of OTA ABC by putting "Dancing With The Stars" exclusively on Disney+ next year. To me, this is a big F.U. to the loyal older audience. My mom and dad lived for this show. They have since passed, but if they were still here, there's no way they could deal with streaming.

Of course, the suits at Disney see it as a way "to expand our demographic reach." Right. Anyone over 60 doesn't spend money. We all know that. /s

And in another twist, Disney is partly blaming this on the fact that Monday Night football would conflict with the DWTS timeslot. What a crock of <>. Just change the day.

I'm not a fan of this show, only watched it under duress when visiting my parents. But this is a sign of things to come. And it isn't good.

That horse left the barn more than a year ago. ABC/Disney is just following the trend started by Discover-Discover+, HBO-HBOMax, NBC-Peacock, CBS/Paramount-Paramount+, ESPN-ESPN+, CNN-CNN+, etc. - none of them offer their complete library on either platform. All of them are splitting their content to 2 or more sources trying to get you to buy both services. On the bright side, some of these streaming cousins have/will flop - CNN+ has been a disaster in terms of subscriptions/revenue so far...they've never recover what they've already invested. It's up to customers to resist subscribing...

 

[Venturer]

Joewras( As for BSG: I missed it when it was showing because my parents were ill and I didn't have the time. I'm watching it now after too much Star Trek. BSG is closer to reality, darker, and not all problems are solved with a wave of the tricorder or a trip backward in time.) But what about Captain Kirk, Scotty, Chekov, Vulcans, Klingons ect. You don't get those on BSG!!

 

[GenXguy]

Joewras( As for BSG: I missed it when it was showing because my parents were ill and I didn't have the time. I'm watching it now after too much Star Trek. BSG is closer to reality, darker, and not all problems are solved with a wave of the tricorder or a trip backward in time.) But what about Captain Kirk, Scotty, Chekov, Vulcans, Klingons ect. You don't get those on BSG!!

I'm actually still making my way through the original Star Trek being shown weekly on MeTV. Surprisingly, I either haven't seen quite a few of the episodes, or it has been so long that I just don't remember them, so I'm enjoying them like it's the first time, even if it isn't.

 

[Turbo29]

Later that day, that young guy was featured in the Youtube video showing an attempt at using a rotary phone -- all the time wondering if the Feds will come after him for phone tapping.

For those who don't know how...

 

[JoeWras]

Joewras( As for BSG: I missed it when it was showing because my parents were ill and I didn't have the time. I'm watching it now after too much Star Trek. BSG is closer to reality, darker, and not all problems are solved with a wave of the tricorder or a trip backward in time.) But what about Captain Kirk, Scotty, Chekov, Vulcans, Klingons ect. You don't get those on BSG!!

I like both. Sometimes you need a break from utopia and go to a dark place with alcoholics and cancer victims.