Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) 2017 - 2020

[jim584672]

I'm going to guess that just about any small multi-directional antenna is going to work for us.

If things work that well with an improvised antenna, sounds like you should have no problem with a "real" indoor antenna.

 

[RonBoyd]

if things work that well with an improvised antenna, sounds like you should have no problem with a "real" indoor antenna.

 

[RonBoyd]

Having said that, it appears this is not necessary for us. For another test, I connected a coax from the TV to a metal anchor from a holiday lawn decoration in the shape of an "H" (16" tall by 6" wide). Placing this metal "antenna" on the fireplace mantle, we can pick up 50+ stations. A lot of subchannels on the main (.1) channels.

Where are you located?

Sounds to me like you are where there are (and you are close to) many major local OTA TV broadcasters. If that is the case, you could probably do just as well by connecting your finger to the TV's Antenna input port.

 

[JoeWras]

Where are you located?

Sounds to me like you are where there are (and you are close to) many major local OTA TV broadcasters. If that is the case, you could probably do just as well by connecting your finger to the TV's Antenna input port.

So we've come full circle, back to the 60s.

One holiday, I remember watching Thanksgiving cartoons (Mr. Magoo?) where we had to get one of the young cousins to hold the antenna so the picture would come through.

 

[statsman]

Where are you located?

Sounds to me like you are where there are (and you are close to) many major local OTA TV broadcasters. If that is the case, you could probably do just as well by connecting your finger to the TV's Antenna input port.

Suburb of Austin. Some things that may be working in our favor:

• We're not too far from the main network transmitters (17-18 miles).
• We're about 150-200 feet in elevation higher than the base location of the transmitters (HAATs are about 250-300 feet higher than our house).
• The elevation from us to the transmitters generally slopes downward, rising back up a bit closer to the transmitters. No hills in between.
• The direction from the house to the transmitters crosses the street in front of us, and there are no houses on the other side of the street in that direction. We're at least 150 feet from my makeshift antenna to the nearest tree or house in the direction of the transmitters.

Your comment about touching the antenna input on the TV is close to the mark. When playing around with the coax connected to the TV and the other end with a 1.5" section stripped to the center copper wire, just holding it and moving it around improved the reception.

Quick question: If I change the antenna at all or its location, should I re-scan the channels even if the reception appears to be stable? I believe we are seeing all the major channels at this time.

 

[REWahoo]

Quick question: If I change the antenna at all or its location, should I re-scan the channels even if the reception appears to be stable?

No need to re-scan unless your initial scan missed a channel you know you should be receiving.

 

[Cobra9777]

Cord-Cutting Accelerates. Many Traditional Cable Networks Won’t Survive.

I thought this was a very interesting read. Basic premise is that the pay-TV industry is "a victim of sports inflation as non-sports fans abandon ship." Non-sports fans leave due to high prices, prices have to go up to keep the sports programming, even more people leave, rinse and repeat.

Another driver is "content redirection" where the highest quality entertainment content is now being shifted from traditional networks to DTC (direct-to-consumer) streaming services like HBO Max, Peacock, Disney+, etc. This further dilutes the appeal of traditional pay-TV services, so even more people leave to chase better content.

Another point is that virtual cable bundles (like YTTV and Hulu Live) are not immune from these same trends, with non-sports fans now leaving these services due to high prices and others chasing better content on the newer DTC platforms.

At the moment, we are still YTTV subscribers, mainly because we both love baseball. But at $65 ($70 with tax), we're probably going to abandon ship and just watch highlights on free YouTube, minus the never-ending beer commercials. Switching to Hulu doesn't really change anything. It's not about $10/mo. It's about paying for a bunch of stuff I don't want, just to get the one thing I do. That's why I left cable originally.

 

[JustVisitingThisPlanet]

Cord-Cutting Accelerates. Many Traditional Cable Networks Won’t Survive.

Another point is that virtual cable bundles (like YTTV and Hulu Live) are not immune from these same trends, with non-sports fans now leaving these services due to high prices and others chasing better content on the newer DTC platforms.

Of about 40M that have left CableCos/SAT/TraditionalPayTV since 'cord cutting' started well under 30% have moved sideways to virtual 'LiveTV' (YTTV, Hulu Live, etc). SVOD (Netflix, Prime, HBO, etc) and AVOD (Pluto, Tubi, etc) are good enough for most. I don't do LiveTV anymore as I refuse to pay for ads, unwatched channels and no longer into sports. There's so much free content out there now and plenty of pay content with no ads. Don't miss traditional linear TV at all.

A good way to see most streaming services in a consolidated view is with JustWatch.com or ReelGood. The ReelGood app on FireTV is quite nice but JustWatch website is even more robust.

 

[JoeWras]

At the moment, we are still YTTV subscribers, mainly because we both love baseball. But at $65 ($70 with tax), we're probably going to abandon ship and just watch highlights on free YouTube, minus the never-ending beer commercials. Switching to Hulu doesn't really change anything. It's not about $10/mo. It's about paying for a bunch of stuff I don't want, just to get the one thing I do. That's why I left cable originally.

Same for us, although DW likes a few network programs (This is Us). But maybe we go old school and just watch it live OTA? At least with YTTV or hulu, you can join for a month during a critical run, maybe the playoffs with sports, or the season finale for a network show. Then just pause for a good chunk of the year.

We are sports fans for one team. DW and I were talking about it today and maybe we'll just listen on the radio, then watch highlights.

Two things have poisoned sports for me:
1) Coronavirus. Found out life without sports isn't so bad.
2) Politics in sports. The increasing integration of politics and sports are a turn off for me. Literally.

 

[pb4uski]

Same for us, although DW likes a few network programs (This is Us). But maybe we go old school and just watch it live OTA? ...

If I could get OTA I would add a DVR off the OTA and drop YTTV.

 

[JoeWras]

If I could get OTA I would add a DVR off the OTA and drop YTTV.

If we decide we can live without sports, then this is my next project. I'm considering YTTV a transition.

When I look at Philo + Netflix, that's more than I ever need. Add OTA DVR and it is gold... except for those damn regional sports networks.

 

[RunningBum]

Same for us, although DW likes a few network programs (This is Us). But maybe we go old school and just watch it live OTA? At least with YTTV or hulu, you can join for a month during a critical run, maybe the playoffs with sports, or the season finale for a network show. Then just pause for a good chunk of the year.

Can you stream from the network site or network app on a fire or roku stick? You might have to wait a few days before it's available, but I think after that they are usually free, probably with some ads.

 

[kcowan]

I dropped the sports bundle owing to few sports. Experimenting with Cinema HD to drop Netflix.

 

[MissMolly]

Same for us, although DW likes a few network programs (This is Us). But maybe we go old school and just watch it live OTA? At least with YTTV or hulu, you can join for a month during a critical run, maybe the playoffs with sports, or the season finale for a network show. Then just pause for a good chunk of the year.

We are sports fans for one team. DW and I were talking about it today and maybe we'll just listen on the radio, then watch highlights.

Two things have poisoned sports for me:
1) Coronavirus. Found out life without sports isn't so bad.
2) Politics in sports. The increasing integration of politics and sports are a turn off for me. Literally.

You know you can get Hulu without live tv and she could watch This Is Us the next day. Almost all the network shows are available the next day. And a huge on demand library of movies and shows for only $5.99/month

 

[statsman]

If I could get OTA I would add a DVR off the OTA and drop YTTV.

We've determined we can get OTA without much of a problem. Our issue is DW doesn't watch much on network TV, so it makes it hard to justify the expense of an OTA DVR. Those aren't cheap.

At the moment, DW can name two shows she watches from network TV. One from CBS, and one from Fox. If we do go with Sling Blue + Total TV (that combination has all of the non-OTA channels DW requires/wants), Sling claims were in a viewing area that gets our local Fox affiliate.

So, we would only have to deal with DVR-ing that one show with CBS (at the moment). If DW could watch that or any other network show the next day on Hulu's basic service ($5.99), that would work.

 

[wmc1000]

We've determined we can get OTA without much of a problem. Our issue is DW doesn't watch much on network TV, so it makes it hard to justify the expense of an OTA DVR. Those aren't cheap.

At the moment, DW can name two shows she watches from network TV. One from CBS, and one from Fox. If we do go with Sling Blue + Total TV (that combination has all of the non-OTA channels DW requires/wants), Sling claims were in a viewing area that gets our local Fox affiliate.

So, we would only have to deal with DVR-ing that one show with CBS (at the moment). If DW could watch that or any other network show the next day on Hulu's basic service ($5.99), that would work.

CBS.com makes most of its prime time shows available for free for a limited time on the day after it is shown.

 

[pb4uski]

We've determined we can get OTA without much of a problem. Our issue is DW doesn't watch much on network TV, so it makes it hard to justify the expense of an OTA DVR. Those aren't cheap.

At the moment, DW can name two shows she watches from network TV. One from CBS, and one from Fox. If we do go with Sling Blue + Total TV (that combination has all of the non-OTA channels DW requires/wants), Sling claims were in a viewing area that gets our local Fox affiliate.

So, we would only have to deal with DVR-ing that one show with CBS (at the moment). If DW could watch that or any other network show the next day on Hulu's basic service ($5.99), that would work.

Check out suppose.tv Neat tool to put in your "must-haves" and see what streaming packages will meet your needs.

For the CBS show you could do CBS All-Access... IIRC $6/month with commericals and $10/month commercial-free and it has some other unique shows... especially if you are a Star Trek fan it has Star Trek: Discovery and Picard.

 

[JoeWras]

You know you can get Hulu without live tv and she could watch This Is Us the next day. Almost all the network shows are available the next day. And a huge on demand library of movies and shows for only $5.99/month

I did not know. That's why I follow this thread!

We rarely watch it live because we rarely watch TV past 9pm. So this is fine.

 

[JoeWras]

1057 Channels and Nothing On (my apologies to Bruce Springsteen)

I'm no fan of Bruce, but his song 57 Channels and Nothing On is brilliant. You never hear it anymore. It is unconventional for him. Still, it is poetic, prescient and as relevant today as ever.

I'm saying all this because as I'm cutting the cord, I'm realizing I've fallen out of love with TV. I've fallen out of love with sports. News is poison: the only way to watch is to have the ability to fast forward for weather or crucial events.

So, my new plan is this:
- Philo: I get Science and AXS, two channels I miss. Hallmark for the holidays, and some trash TV on TLC and ID to realize my life is better than everyone else's.
- Netflix: for movies
- Prime: because it is there
- Tablo DVR: record the local news for fast forwarding and some network shows
- Unpause YTTV or Hulu Live when I really need to watch sports

DW and I realize for much of the sports season we can live with radio listening and YouTube highlights.

The Tablo will pay for itself in a few months if we pause YTTV or Hulu Live.

So the question is for you Tablo users: how do you like it? The dual tuner should be fine. I'm considering the Tablo Dual 128GB OTA DVR for $170. No messing with an extra drive. 80 hrs of HD is enough.

I know there are "roll your own" OTA DVR solutions out there. I honestly don't want that project right now.

 

[Dave J]

So the question is for you Tablo users: how do you like it? The dual tuner should be fine. I'm considering the Tablo Dual 128GB OTA DVR for $170. No messing with an extra drive. 80 hrs of HD is enough.

Joe, I switched to a TABLO dual tuner without HD built in a little over two years ago. It has done just fine. I added a HD I already owned that I was using on my computer as I wanted to upgrade it for my computer. I would advise doing that. Also, be aware that if you want the 2 week TV guide that makes recording in the future much easier you have to pay for the guide. $5 a month, $50 bucks a year or $150 for "lifetime". I did 2 months month to month and then went with the lifetime.

 

[bloom2708]

Recast

We have a similar strategy.

Philo
Netflix
Prime
Hulu no commercials (Off and on)
Fire TV Recast DVR

The Recast integrates with our Fire TV boxes. Each TV gets over the air and DVR.

Wife loves Hallmark. I like AMC and American Pickers.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

1057 Channels and Nothing On (my apologies to Bruce Springsteen)


- Tablo DVR: record the local news for fast forwarding and some network shows

The Tablo will pay for itself in a few months if we pause YTTV or Hulu Live.

So the question is for you Tablo users: how do you like it? The dual tuner should be fine. I'm considering the Tablo Dual 128GB OTA DVR for $170. No messing with an extra drive. 80 hrs of HD is enough.

I know there are "roll your own" OTA DVR solutions out there. I honestly don't want that project right now.

If all you want is local news and some network shows, then 80 hours should be fine. We went with the 2 tuner and purchased a 1 TB hard drive. Constantly over 90% full. Some channels have a binge of an old show. That can be many, many episodes. For example, we recorded over 100 77 Sunset Strip, 80 Outer Space, 200 Tales of Wells Fargo, 80 Poldark, and a host of others. As always, YMMV.

 

[statsman]

Check out suppose.tv Neat tool to put in your "must-haves" and see what streaming packages will meet your needs.

Sorry I missed this the first time around. I had been using the suppose.tv website, which is how I determined we could not get DW's desired channels anywhere near as cheap as with Sling Blue plus their Total TV addon. Outside of the local channels, this combination has everything, including some extra channels not on DW's must-have list, but she is pleased to see them anyway.

Only concern is whether the 50 hour cloud DVR (part of the Total TV addon) is going to be enough.

We just need to wait 2 1/2 months until our Uverse promo expires unless we want to pay the opt-out costs.

For the CBS show you could do CBS All-Access... IIRC $6/month with commericals and $10/month commercial-free and it has some other unique shows... especially if you are a Star Trek fan it has Star Trek: Discovery and Picard.

At the moment, DW isn't watching CBS. Their show of interest isn't in season yet. And even if it were, I don't think $6/mo for a single show is money well spent.

For that cost, she is more than willing to go the Hula route and watch the show the next day or soon after. As a backup, it seems we are able to easily watch our local channels OTA.

 

[kcowan]

Joe, I switched to a TABLO dual tuner without HD built in a little over two years ago. It has done just fine. I added a HD I already owned that I was using on my computer as I wanted to upgrade it for my computer. I would advise doing that. Also, be aware that if you want the 2 week TV guide that makes recording in the future much easier you have to pay for the guide. $5 a month, $50 bucks a year or $150 for "lifetime". I did 2 months month to month and then went with the lifetime.

Do you get to choose what channels appear on the 2 week TV guide? How does it compare to EPG?

 

[RonBoyd]

If I could get OTA I would add a DVR off the OTA and drop YTTV.

As mentioned several times. Depending on your opinion of the legitimacy of Locast.org, that and Plex would give you what you want for $5,00 a month.