Help - getting ripped off! (Attempted "cable cut")

[Teacher Terry]

Every 2 years we switch between AT&T direct TV bundled with internet for 76/month and charter. That way we get to stay at a cheaper rate. The second year direct tv will go up 60/month. It’s a 2 year contract.

 

[Midpack]

OP could also keep just Basic With Comcast and have these channels.

Basic Comcast plus Sling would cost quite a bit more than YTTV or Hulu Live, not sure why anyone would choose that. Sling is good if you plan on using OTA or just don’t care about major networks.

 

[target2019]

Basic Comcast plus Sling would cost quite a bit more than YTTV or Hulu Live, not sure why anyone would choose that. Sling is good if you plan on keeping OTA or just don’t care about major networks.

I know nothing of Sling, and haven't commented on it.

I'm mentioning Comcast Limited Basic + Performance Internet, since the cost of that is approximately equal to Internet alone, where we live. If you just need to retain the basic channels (like for home sports), then Limited Basic + Internet works. What you add on as subscription is the next layer of programming cost to you.

So, what I've mentioned gets you a connection, a few channels, and you are free to explore and choose from there.

As you do this, provider is inventing new pricing schemes to keep raking in rising profits.

 

[Midpack]

I know nothing of Sling, and haven't commented on it.

I'm mentioning Comcast Limited Basic + Performance Internet, since the cost of that is approximately equal to Internet alone, where we live. If you just need to retain the basic channels (like for home sports), then Limited Basic + Internet works. What you add on as subscription is the next layer of programming cost to you.

So, what I've mentioned gets you a connection, a few channels, and you are free to explore and choose from there.

As you do this, provider is inventing new pricing schemes to keep raking in rising profits.

OK, you quoted my remark specifically re: Sling, that’s why I referenced Sling again. Lots of ways to get TV these days, some more cost effective than others.

 

[pb4uski]

Regarding the comment about basic cable and internet bundled price being competitive with streaming and internet... I have found that to be the case for my mother's summer home...with the added plus that she is used to cable TV.

 

[Timeisprecious]

Thanks so much for your feedback, all; it's been extremely helpful. I just purchased the Roku streaming stick; I'll be checking it out in a few days.

 

[eroscott]

Anyone use services like askTrim.com to negotiate better bills? I get tired of calling every year.


>>>>>>>
https://www.asktrim.com/?attribution_key=9400
>>>>>>
Negotiate Your Cable or Internet Bill

Getting ripped off on cable or internet? Trim can negotiate your bill down for you. Works with Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, and any other provider.

Below from: https://www.moneypeach.com/trim-review/

 

[Scrapr]

No CBS, no ABC, maybe NBC and/or Fox. So not comparable to YTTV or Hulu Live. Just to compare apples to apples.

That is what my OTA antennae is for. True it's a bit of a hassle to switch remotes and click input. I mostly use Sling for Pac 12 Network and MLB network. Pac 12 Network has horrible (Bill Walton voice) distribution. They keep promising the schools more money but the SEC keeps pulling away in the facilities race

 

[Midpack]

That is what my OTA antennae is for. True it's a bit of a hassle to switch remotes and click input. I mostly use Sling for Pac 12 Network and MLB network. Pac 12 Network has horrible (Bill Walton voice) distribution. They keep promising the schools more money but the SEC keeps pulling away in the facilities race

A viable option. I might have gone the Sling Orange route except
a) no DVR for OTA/major network programs,
b) only a 10 hour cloud DVR included (more for an extra $5/mo) and
c) DW wasn’t willing to fuss with switching source, two remotes and no unified guide.
It was worth $0/mo YTTV or $5/mo Hulu Live to avoid those shortcomings for her.

As I understand lt, Air TV can fix some/most of those issues, but a battle I wasn’t willing to fight with DW. I don’t hear AirTV mentioned here often as a way to make Sling comparable?

 

[PoorOldCountryBoy]

Good morning, all.

Okay, I'm seeking some wisdom from the savvy folks on this forum. Doubtless I'll be chastised for not doing the appropriate research on the "cutting the cable" thread, but I'm under something of a time crunch (I thought that was impossible for those of us with endless time! ) Here's the issue: Seems that here in my new retirement area cable bills are somewhat higher. Why? No idea. But - I'm now interacting with Comcast, and my cable bills are poised to go up about $40/mo or more from my previous location. Ouch! These guys seem like pirates to me! I'd certainly love to have TV provided to me via another option, but I'm not sure what's out there.

I've heard about a combined "ROKU/Netflix/Hulu" combination which costs far less, but I have questions about both the coverage and logistics. How does the content volume and quality compare to cable? Is it difficult to set up? How does the cost compare? Also, are there other legitimate options for a pretty good TV package? Any thoughts on these matters would be greatly welcomed.

We used to have the middle of the road triple play package through Spectrum, about 60 channels plus another 40 duplicates. They have the only good internet option for us, so we are stuck for internet access, but we did replace the cable package with Youtube TV. We'd never go back.

Note, Youtube TV is a streaming service ($49/month) and you need a gmail address to create an account with them. We use a ROKU stick to stream which is a $29 one time expense, but you'll likely need to replace it every few years as they don't last forever.

What we gained for a little bit of savings (Maybe $20/month net of everything) was:

1. Better channel selections (We lost Golf and TCM recently on Spectrum but got them back with Youtube TV) Smithsonian is an addition we enjoy too.

2. Customizable live TV menu --this is a huge help, we just place our favorites at the top of the list and save thousands of clicks!

3. All our channels are viewable on any device that streams - think cell phone, PC, and TV. Very handy when visiting the relatives and you don't like their choices! [Most cable providers also allow this with an app, but with Youtube TV you just need an up-to-date internet browser like Firefox or Chrome.]

4. DVR without the box (cloud based DVR). You can designate your favorite shows and it will automatically save every episode for a year. We don't need to be anywhere at the top of the hour, we just start the show from the beginning and then fast forward through some (but not all) of the commercials.

An additional note about the phone service - We're considering additional savings with Magicjack replacing the Spectrum phone service (which we like). That would likely save us another $100/year if it works as advertised. In the past you needed a computer on all the time for the MagicJack service, but no longer with the new sticks. If anyone has good or bad experiences with them in 2019 I'd love to hear about it.

 

[Midpack]

4. DVR without the box (cloud based DVR). You can designate your favorite shows and it will automatically save every episode for a year. We don't need to be anywhere at the top of the hour, we just start the show from the beginning and then fast forward through some (but not all) of the commercials.

Still extremely generous but it’s 9 months unless the YTTV website is wrong. We’re finding we use more on-demand and less DVR as time passes anyway. DVR may become entirely redundant one day, and ads won’t change that.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Perhaps, perhaps not. As I recall he lawsuit against Aereo went all the way up to the SC - hard for me to say if the lower courts will dismiss out of hand or if it will end up in the Supreme's docket again. Until the courts decide, Locast is available for use

I love my Locast service. I'm set up for an automatic $5 monthly donation to them so I don't get bugged with donation requests. Locast really is a lifesaver for those of us who can't pick up OTA signal due to to mountains that block the signal and it's well worth that cost to get all the local broadcasts plus others. I get 38 channels, both in Spanish and English. I think they have a good argument for the courts and I hope they are allowed to stay in business.

 

[Cobra9777]

Speaking of Locast...

We have no OTA access and currently subscribe to YTTV for $50/mo. Locast was recently expanded in our market to include all 35-40 broadcast stations, not just the 5 major networks. Granted, there are a lot of junky channels in that line-up. But some that I really like, such as a PBS sub-channel called Create TV.

Anyway, I was just watching Locast today and thinking... I could pay the $5/mo "donation" to avoid the nagging every 15 minutes. Then pay FitzyTV $5/mo for cloud DVR. Then subscribe to something like Philo for $20/mo. Philo is dirt-cheap because it has no broadcast networks and no sports. But it has about 60 traditional "cable channels", including all 3 of DW's beloved Hallmark channels as well as several other channels that YTTV does not, such as A&E, History, and Science.

We would watch everything (Philo and Locast) using the FitzyTV interface, guide, and cloud DVR. Total cost would be $30/mo, which is $20/mo cheaper than YTTV and includes a bunch of channels that we lost when we switched from PS Vue to YTTV. Downside is no regional Fox Sports. That would be a huge problem during baseball season. I can live without the likes of ESPN and CNN.

I might do a 7-day free trial of Philo and FitzyTV DVR just to see if everything actually works as expected. All I risk is the $5 for Locast, although I suppose I could test everything with the nagging and then pay the $5 if we decide to go this route.

 

[PoorOldCountryBoy]

Still extremely generous but it’s 9 months unless the YTTV website is wrong. We’re finding we use more on-demand and less DVR as time passes anyway. DVR may become entirely redundant one day, and ads won’t change that.

Sorry for the error - not sure if it was 12, I might have just thought "for an entire TV year" and rounded up.

 

[Time2]

For the last year I have been paying $45 for internet service with 60 MBPS. I have 3 FireTV Sticks. On the sticks I have installed Mobdo, Cyberflix and Pluto TV and a few other APKs. With Mobdro I get almost all the regular cable channels I got when I had cable. All the 24 hr news networks, Nick, Discovery, MTV, VH1, USA, TNT, OWN AMC, the list is very long. It also has a movie section and a Show section, many shows have there own channel and run 24 hrs, and a sports section. This is the main app I use, But Cyberflix has a search engine and you can find most movies and TV series on it. Pluto TV has 100+ stations, but the are not your regular stations, although they have many of the shows from your regular stations.
Streaming is different than flipping channels it takes a couple of weeks to get used to deciding what to watch and when to watch it. You no longer have appointment TV, You can watch what you want anytime, and that is a hard adjustment for many people. The info on how to do this is on the net, but Youtube has made it more difficult to find on Youtube, it is competition for their service. 60MBPS is plenty to stream on all 3 sticks, use my computer and stream my internet radio.