Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) 2017 - 2020

[mountainsoft]

"Equally horrible" makes it sound like you're choosing between two forms of execution. Both options offer you entertainment - i.e., something you enjoy. So they are "equally good". They may not be as good as you want, but this wholesale distortion of reality, seeing good as "horrible" because it isn't great, is a big part of the problem.

Huh? How is paying for 98% of channels I don't want to get 2% of the channels I want anything but horrible? That's like buying a box of 100 candy bars and only 2 of them are edible? Hey, you're getting two good ones, so you should be happy with your purchase, right?

Want to buy a couple of shirts? You have to buy 98 additional shirts to get the two you want.

All that you have to consider is whether it is worthwhile to pay $125 for five channels. If not, then live without.

That's exactly why I do not pay for cable or streaming.

What you outlined isn't "simplicity" - it's sub-optimization of revenue potential.

Revenue Potential. Another term for Greed.

 

[bobandsherry]

So I just happened to be in Walmart browsing TV's as I'm in the market for a newer TV. When I went down the aisle that has Roku equipment I began looking at the products when a ROKU rep happened to be in the aisle! I explained my dilemma with watching sports via my current set up. Of course he is going to promote the Roku, but what I thought was interesting is he said that Firesticks use compression where Roku doesn't (or isn't as much?). Which is a reason he says you don't get the jitter issue with Roku. I need to investigate furthe on his statement, but I thought I'd share that here.

It could get costly to trade out all my Firesticks. I may just pick the TV I watch sports on the most and try that.

As a suggestion, try setting your "video resolution" to 1080 60Hz. (Settings -> Display & Sounds -> Display -> Video Resolution). It's probably set to "Auto" right now.

 

[zinger1457]

Of course he is going to promote the Roku, but what I thought was interesting is he said that Firesticks use compression where Roku doesn't (or isn't as much?). Which is a reason he says you don't get the jitter issue with Roku. I need to investigate furthe on his statement, but I thought I'd share that here.

The firestick or Roku is just a host for apps that pull video from a source, if anything is doing the compression it would be the the source of the video. I haven't had the need to watch sports on my 4K firestick yet but have watched 4K videos, the quality is impressive. If you have very old firestick or Roku hardware it may not handle some of the better video sources.

 

[Qs Laptop]

When I stream Thursday night NFL games via Amazon on either 4K Firestick or directly on the Amazon app on my TV the jumpiness and buffering is bad. I always end up watching the game on FOX via OTA HD antenna.

I have a similar problem with Comcast and programming on NBC, especially sporting events. There is some sort of signal compression going on--only on the NBC affiliate--that results in severe pixelation and blurring of the picture during fast motion scenes. Not usually detectable on regular programming but on sporting events it's intolerable. When I want to watch Sunday Night Football I switch over to the OTA HD antenna and the picture is noticeably better. Not just on NBC but on ANY local TV station--CBS, PBS, ABC, etc--the picture quality is much improved. Plus I get surround sound audio, which for some reason I don't get with my TV on Comcast.

 

[pb4uski]

I don't know if I'm a unicorn then... Lol. But I pay $72/mo for my cable, basically all channels, over 300, doesn't have the movie channels such as HBO. I have mutli-room viewing and I can record up to 6 shows at same time or watch in multiple rooms. I have out of home streaming.

I used Suppose.TV to pull together options to configure a streaming package with channels and features I want and best I found was $69.99 with YTTV as primary provider and supplemented with Philo. So my savings would be a couple bucks a month.

One thing that is also a plus for cable. The internet in Community I live will occasionally go out, could be for several hours. When internet goes out I can still watch my TV and access my recordings.

So as you had said, everyone's circumstances can be different than another person and why there is no one best answer to this discussion.

We may be unicorns too... Dish TV at home with 2 TVs and a skinny programming package is ~$55/month including tax and Xfinity cable in Florida is $46/month ($36/month for basic HD cable in HOA fee plus $10 upgrade for a DVR).

Per suppose.tv, the cheapest streaming with the 4 major networks and HGTV (manadatory per DW) is YTTV at $50/month or Hulu with live TV for $55/month... so $$$ savings would be negligible.

However, if we end up turning service on and off regularly as we snowbird, it might be attractive because we don't have bother to return equipment each time turn off service or get equipment each time we start service (assuming we leave the internet on 12 months a year which we do for security and monitoring).

 

[bUU]

Revenue Potential. Another term for Greed.

Only among those who care more about baseless whining than about reasonable consideration.

 

[jim584672]

I have a similar problem with Comcast and programming on NBC, especially sporting events. There is some sort of signal compression going on--only on the NBC affiliate--that results in severe pixelation and blurring of the picture during fast motion scenes. Not usually detectable on regular programming but on sporting events it's intolerable. When I want to watch Sunday Night Football I switch over to the OTA HD antenna and the picture is noticeably better. Not just on NBC but on ANY local TV station--CBS, PBS, ABC, etc--the picture quality is much improved. Plus I get surround sound audio, which for some reason I don't get with my TV on Comcast.

OTA picture and sound quality will always the best, no compression.

 

[MichaelB]

This is an interesting thread - how about leaving the snark at home and keeping it friendly.

 

[bobandsherry]

We may be unicorns too... Dish TV at home with 2 TVs and a skinny programming package is ~$55/month including tax and Xfinity cable in Florida is $46/month ($36/month for basic HD cable in HOA fee plus $10 upgrade for a DVR).

Per suppose.tv, the cheapest streaming with the 4 major networks and HGTV (manadatory per DW) is YTTV at $50/month or Hulu with live TV for $55/month... so $$$ savings would be negligible.

However, if we end up turning service on and off regularly as we snowbird, it might be attractive because we don't have bother to return equipment each time turn off service or get equipment each time we start service (assuming we leave the internet on 12 months a year which we do for security and monitoring).

You might check with Comcast, they have a "seasonal billing" option. Not sure if it's in FL area, but would seem like a logical place to offer this.

https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/My-Ac...-Billing-from-Xfinity-and-how-to/ta-p/3045741

 

[MichaelB]

We did the seasonal stops with Comcast until we installed security cams. Then we needed the Internet on while we were away and Comcast was unwilling to do a seasonal stop only for tv - it was both or neither. I chose neither, continue with Comcast internet and stream our TV programming. FitzyTV has been a big advantage.

From this thread and others like it, it’s pretty clear cable programming pricing differs wildly around the country, and OTA reception also varies greatly, so there’s no way to blindly or easily build an approach that applies to everyone.

 

[JoeWras]

From this thread and others like it, it’s pretty clear cable programming pricing differs wildly around the country, and OTA reception also varies greatly, so there’s no way to blindly or easily build an approach that applies to everyone.

+1

It also depends on the options you have and the deal you can negotiate (even if that is painful). We have Spectrum Broadband Cable, Google Fiber, and Uverse Fiber to my house. It is fairly easy to lay the hammer on the retention department because of that to negotiate a pretty good deal.

 

[SoReady]

I have a similar problem with Comcast and programming on NBC, especially sporting events. There is some sort of signal compression going on--only on the NBC affiliate--that results in severe pixelation and blurring of the picture during fast motion scenes. Not usually detectable on regular programming but on sporting events it's intolerable. When I want to watch Sunday Night Football I switch over to the OTA HD antenna and the picture is noticeably better. Not just on NBC but on ANY local TV station--CBS, PBS, ABC, etc--the picture quality is much improved. Plus I get surround sound audio, which for some reason I don't get with my TV on Comcast.

I totally agree OTA is better than any streaming or cable option, but i only have 1 TV connected for that right now. I'm now seripously considering the Dish installation as explained here.

I did do the Nerd stats from YTTV and it looks like it is receiving at 60fps while I watched hockey last night. I did notice 2 dropped frames, but went out and back in and no dropped frames.

I also did BOBandSherry's suggestion "As a suggestion, try setting your "video resolution" to 1080 60Hz. (Settings -> Display & Sounds -> Display -> Video Resolution). It's probably set to "Auto" right now." with no changes in the results.

Since I may get a new TV to replace the main sports TV I'm going to wait on any further testing.

 

[RunningBum]

I'll watch hockey next chance I get and let you know what I see. Hockey moves faster than football so problems are more noticeable.

 

[pb4uski]

You might check with Comcast, they have a "seasonal billing" option. Not sure if it's in FL area, but would seem like a logical place to offer this.

https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/My-Ac...-Billing-from-Xfinity-and-how-to/ta-p/3045741

We did the seasonal stops with Comcast until we installed security cams. Then we needed the Internet on while we were away and Comcast was unwilling to do a seasonal stop only for tv - it was both or neither. I chose neither, continue with Comcast internet and stream our TV programming. FitzyTV has been a big advantage.

From this thread and others like it, it’s pretty clear cable programming pricing differs wildly around the country, and OTA reception also varies greatly, so there’s no way to blindly or easily build an approach that applies to everyone.

Actually, seasonal stops work against us. The first year that we were here some friends did a seasonal stop because they didn't want to return the equipment and get it again when they got back... we didn't do a seasonal stop because we were more comfortable returning and reinstalling the equipment and didn't want the pay the modest monthly fee while we were gone.

We both got back about the same time and restarted service. We qualified for promotional discounts offered to new customers because we had stopped service... my friend did not. We figured it out one day when the subject of internet/cable bills came up and we were comparing bills.... mine was a lot lower so he went down to the Xfinity store the next day and found out that was why.

We did put in a security camera, but I pay a year-round neighbor $60 for the off-season to link my security camera onto his wi-fi... not only is it cheaper than keeping the internet on but by doing so I also qualify for promotional discounts when I return and turn it on again.

I've used Fitzy TV to avoid the cost of boxes for 2 infrequently used TVs at home... saving us $17/month and to fill in at home for some channels that we don't get on our skinny Welcome Pack from Dish but do get as part of the HOA Xfinity basic cable in Florida (like USA, TNT, Golf Channel, ESPN, etc.)

 

[Chuckanut]

When I want to watch Sunday Night Football I switch over to the OTA HD antenna and the picture is noticeably better. Not just on NBC but on ANY local TV station--CBS, PBS, ABC, etc--the picture quality is much improved. Plus I get surround sound audio, which for some reason I don't get with my TV on Comcast.

OTA is giving the viewer HD in all its glory. The cable companies often compress the signal thus degrading the quality of the HD image. I use an OTA antenna for much of my viewing. A number of people have asked me how I get such a better image than they do. My answer, "It's free via my antenna"

https://www.howtogeek.com/428815/why-free-ota-tv-beats-cable-on-picture-quality/

Emphasis added.

It sounds ridiculous, but free broadcast TV offers noticeably higher visual quality than expensive cable. But they both operate at a 1080p resolution, so what gives? Why does a simple antenna get you a better picture than pricey cable TV?

The problem is the extra bandwidth is only used to host more channels. While OTA TV places just one channel on each 6 MHz band, cable companies use aggressive compression algorithms (like MPEG-4) to shove around 20 channels on each 6 MHz band. As you’d expect, this aggressive compression leads to a dramatic loss in quality. It’s kind of like shoving 20 movies on a single DVD.

 

[stephenson]

Hi All,

Last year I got the $0.99 a month deal on Hulu (with commercials). Got that value out of it for sure, but don’t think I can rationalize $7 a month. So, I terminated it before the rate increase at the one year point.

Anyone heard of any deals to come this year in Hulu or any of the content providers?

 

[Calico]

I got an email from Roku a couple of weeks ago
Dear Roku customer,
Thanks for being a longtime Roku streamer. We see that you own a classic Roku player that’s many generations behind our newest devices. We’re reaching out to let you know that, as of November 15th, this Roku player will no longer receive new software updates, and to extend a special offer to keep you streaming well into the future.
What does this mean?
You can continue to enjoy this classic Roku player and stream your currently available channels. However, this Roku player will no longer get new features or streaming channels, updates to existing channels, or other software-related updates. You may also potentially lose existing channels if our partners decide to update their channel in the future.
Your exclusive offer for a new Roku player
We want you to enjoy streaming to the fullest with the latest features and channels, so today we’re providing this special replacement upgrade offer: a Roku Express+ for just $15 — a discount of 50% off the regular retail price. Click here.
High definition streaming made easy
Roku Express+ delivers a faster HD streaming experience and includes optional composite cables if you’re connecting to an older TV. Best of all, your Roku Express+ will receive support for the newest software updates and channel releases, like the newly launched Apple TV channel and the Apple TV+* premium streaming service.
We hope you take advantage of this exclusive offer to enjoy all the benefits of the Roku streaming experience.
https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/roku-is-ending-support-for-older-models/

Thanks for your post.

I purchased the second version (I think) of Roku ever made, and it has worked just fine for me for all these years.

However, just recently it has been "acting up" and randomly stopping in the middle of programs. I sometimes have to reboot it to get it back online. If this happens often enough I may be forced to upgrade whether I like it or not.

And I don't recall the courtesy of receiving an email from Roku like the one you received.

 

[REWahoo]

And I don't recall the courtesy of receiving an email from Roku like the one you received.

Are you still using the email address you used to register your Roku all those years ago? I did get the email but it went to an email address I haven't actively used for quite a while and only occasionally get anything addressed to it.

Another possibility: the message went to your spam folder.

 

[RunningBum]

Amazon has the Fire TV Recast on sale for $129/$179 (2-tuner 500 GB/4-tuner/1 TB). This lets you record OTA TV with no additional cost. I'm likely to pause my YTTV after college basketball season until the start of football season. 4-5 months without that cost more than pays for the Recast. Previously with Dish I was downgrading my package during this time as I found I rarely watched anything not on the networks.

ETA: btw, Fire TV Recast only works with Amazon streaming devices, like the Fire Stick. It does not work with Roku or smart TVs. Might be some exceptions.

 

[RonBoyd]

That's one unusual thing. Sounds like you may have a specific box, rather than a more generic smart TV, Roku, Firestick, or similar. With those (Fire stick for me), I power them up with the TV, and they go to the home screen where I have to scroll down a couple times and then over to app I want to start, then do whatever I need to do within that app to get the show I want.

Now, there may be some things on the start up home screen that I can select directly, and I have the limitation that YTTV doesn't integrate at all with the Firestick home screen (Amazon vs. Google), but some of that home screen just looks like ads for shows I may or may not ever watch.

Sorry it took so long to respond... got distracted a little.

Yes, as I mentioned in the post, the ATT TV NOW subscription does include a proprietary "Box" (Optional, however, since you can access the service with, for instance, ROKU or Shield) and you do need the "box" to do what I described. I was merely using it as an example of how simple streaming can be.

I, of course, am one of those who like (even enjoy) the (very) complicated aspect of streaming. <chuckle> I have many devices that I use to stream with -- ROKU, Shield, Tablo, AirTV, HDHomeRun, SageTV, Channels DVR, PLEX, PlayOn, etc.. I might, also, mention that although all of our TVs are "Smart," but I have never used them to stream -- utilizing them only as "monitors."

 

[RonBoyd]

My point was - this could be a more useful thread if folks would lay out some assumptions along with their praise, critiques and choices. As it is, we might was well discuss favorite colors with no bounds...

I have tried to be very forthcoming, in my posts, about both my experience with streaming (services & devices) and with my utter lack of experience with cable satellite use. Is there more I could add?

 

[Midpack]

I have tried to be very forthcoming, in my posts, about both my experience with streaming (services & devices) and with my utter lack of experience with cable satellite use. Is there more I could add?

Then the post wasn’t aimed at you...

 

[RonBoyd]

In an honest attempt to determine which service truly is best, we've compared Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, and Disney+ head-to-head in 14 categories that cover everything from current programming and access to popular movies to the number of premium add-ons available and the ease of navigating each interface. Which service came out on top?

https://www.tvguide.com/news/what-i...hulu-amazon-apple-disney/?ftag=NLS-04-10aaa2i

 

[Midpack]

IIRC some here have had stuttering issues with YTTV, don’t know if this sheds any light. FWIW.

https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/youtube-tv-confirms-unusual-buffering-affecting-spectrum-customers/

 

[pb4uski]

Just wanted to confirm my understanding of streaming. We have two homes and spend about 1/2 year at each. If I dropped Dish at main home and Xfinity at second home and just had a single streaming package with locals and, say, 3 simultaneous streams:

Could we "watch tv" at both homes at the same time as long as there were not more than 3 simultaneous streams logged in under the account?

I assume that the locals that I would get would be the locals applicable to the area that I am watching from... right?

And I would have just one "tv bill"?