Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) 2017 - 2020

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If Vibe had TCM, i'd bite! Would pay the extra $5 for a DVR, so it would be $15. Just about right for us, BBC News, Hallmark, HGTV, etc, except missing TCM.

Kind of similar to Philo.

TCM must cost a lot, since many streaming services don't have it.
 
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Scrapr said:
Maybe take a look at Sling. I just resubscribed to watch some football. Waiting for Pac 12 to get going. There was a couple of Fox channels on my package (Orange & Blue)
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Unless it's changed recently, Sling is really choppy for sports. I guess their stream of the various sports channels is 30fps, even though many/most of those channels are native 60fps.
 
My tivo appears to be on its last legs. Do they still have Black Friday sales? Tech support referred me to weaknees.com & channel master. Is there a better / cheaper option to record OTA tv shows? Gotta have my daily Jeopardy fix, especially to see Alex's last show.

I declined last year's Black Friday hulu offer & wish I hadn't. Hoping for a do-over this year.
 
HtownRose said:
...Is there a better / cheaper option to record OTA tv shows? Gotta have my daily Jeopardy fix, especially to see Alex's last show.

I declined last year's Black Friday hulu offer & wish I hadn't. Hoping for a do-over this year.
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We have a Fire TV Recast and I really like it... $0 cost after buying the box and the free guide is pretty good. I got the basic 2 tuner model but in retrospect I would spring for the 4 tuner model. Not perfect but pretty darn good for the price IMO. Only thing is you need a Fire TV stick or Fire TV box for each TV... but we already had all that.
 
mpeirce said:
Tablo just came out with a model that connects directly to your TV (the Tablo DUAL HDMI) rather than having to be used with an Apple TV or a Roku.

I switched from TiVo and really like to use one Tablo with multiple TVs, but this new model is closer to a TiVo.
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It directly connects, and still allows access on other TVs via the apps. Nice.
 
pb4uski said:
We have a Fire TV Recast and I really like it... $0 cost after buying the box and the free guide is pretty good. I got the basic 2 tuner model but in retrospect I would spring for the 4 tuner model. Not perfect but pretty darn good for the price IMO. Only thing is you need a Fire TV stick or Fire TV box for each TV... but we already had all that.
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We, too, have Fire TV Recast. We, also, have a Tablo Quad -- which runs through a streaming box, such as ROKU or Shield. I suspect the new Tablo will operate similar to the SageTV HD300.

The difference between the two (Tablo/Recast) is most striking in the replay of recordings -- the Tablo is miles ahead. This, however, is not a serious difference but still...

The main advantage to Recast is that in addition to your OTA channels, you also have access to all of the other networks (as you would with ROKU or Shield) with a single device. The other advantage being that it is all voice activated (well, if you choose). For instance all you need do is Say "Alexa, go to TABLO TV" and it will open the TABLO App. Or say "Alexa, go to Guide" and you get a EPG of your local channels. Or simply say "Alexa, go to channel thirty one dot (or point) one" and it will play local (OTA) channel 31.1.

All in all, I am really impressed with Recast. I am, however, a little irritated that too many of the adjustments (including adding Apps) can only be done within the Amazon Website.
 
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HtownRose said:
My tivo appears to be on its last legs. Do they still have Black Friday sales? Tech support referred me to weaknees.
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Which Tivo? Replacing the drive is easy and the Tivo will reload the OS automatically, so you may not have to get another box.
 
After living with the new Chromecast with Google TV, I'm less impressed. The networking on this thing stinks. Some of the android apps are buggy and not reliable. The device requires more resets than my Roku.

Roku still wins in speed and reliability. The interface is nicer on the CCWGTV. Roku loses in HBO Max non-support.

I guess I'll use my Roku most of the time, and check HBO Max on the CCWGTV when the idea hits me.
 
If you have a smart TV, you can download the app for HBO Max. Works very well. Of course, you have to pay for HBO.
 
RonBoyd said:
We, too, have Fire TV Recast. ....

All in all, I am really impressed with Recast. I am, however, a little irritated that too many of the adjustments (including adding Apps) can only be done within the Amazon Website.
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What I really like about the Recast is that all of our 4 tvs can access the Recast and manage recordings watch recorded shows (since each tv has a Fire Stick and they and the Recast are all on the same wi-fi network). Also, for us it is a "one remote" solution since the Recast DVR is so well integrated with the Fire Stick menu so with the Fire Stick remote we can turn the tv on and off, change the volume, watch TV, DVR or stream content.

We previously had Dish TV with the Hopper and had similar functionality in that any tv in the house could watch tv and/or access the Hopper DVR and we really like that functionality but we didn't like the cost. The Recast is actually better in that if we want to watch streaming content we don't have to change sources or inputs.

I am hoping that they come out with a new and improved version of the Recast in early-mid 2021.
 
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Speaking of black Friday, anyone know of any other deals? Rumor has it that Hulu usually has a deal for the classic version (not live).
 
HtownRose said:
It's a TiVo Roamio OTA 1 TB DVR bought in 2017.
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Drive replacement:

Some of the OTAs had issues with power supplies, you can get a replacement from weaknees or ebay. Depends on what your issue is as to whether it's the drive or the PS, but 90+% of the time it's one of the two.
 
I usually see the HULU ad supported offer on Slickdeals when it breaks and I think it's only good for a couple of days IIRC. They offered 99 cents a month the first time and then $1.99 a month last year. I went to cancel my subscription just now and the reason being to expensive when asked and they offered me a free month and $1.99 for another year. I accepted but will have to check it in a few days because my account is not reflecting it yet.
 
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Here’s some welcome news, reported from The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/16...v-tablets-roku-prime-video-channel-membership
After a long battle between Amazon and HBO owner WarnerMedia, the two companies have come to an agreement that will allow Amazon Fire TV users to finally stream HBO Max.

Starting on November 17th, people with Amazon Fire TV streaming devices, Fire TV Edition smart TVs, and Fire tablets can load HBO Max directly on those devices. Until now, Amazon allowed HBO customers to access a version of HBO Now, but there was no way to get Max, WarnerMedia’s new streaming service. WarnerMedia’s announcement notes that current HBO subscribers who go through Amazon’s Prime Video Channel option (Channels allows Amazon Prime subscribers to purchase individual plans for certain streamers) will also be able to log into Max for no additional cost.
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RonBoyd said:
... Or say "Alexa, go to Guide" and you get a EPG of your local channels. Or simply say "Alexa, go to channel thirty one dot (or point) one" and it will play local (OTA) channel 31.1....
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I too have the Fire TV recast, and really like it. However, I did not know about those voice commands above ... I like it even more now :)

Thanks.
 
If anyone cares Hulu has yet again raised the price of it's live TV...from 54.99 to 64.99....a month...I'll be taking a break from Hulu they are not adding anything they keep raising the price for the same service.
 
ivinsfan said:
If anyone cares Hulu has yet again raised the price of it's live TV...from 54.99 to 64.99....a month...I'll be taking a break from Hulu they are not adding anything they keep raising the price for the same service.
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It’s no surprise after YouTube TV increased their price to $65/mo a while back. I’m not happy about it, but it’s still much less than cable or satellite for us...:(
As we continue to refine the Hulu + Live TV experience, we’re reaching out to let you know the price of your Hulu + Live TV plan will increase from $54.99/month to $64.99/month on Friday, December 18, 2020.

Hulu + Live TV continues to be the only live TV streaming service that offers an entire on-demand streaming library - including more than 70,000 TV episodes and movies, and award-winning Hulu Originals - along with more than 65 live news, sports and entertainment channels, all in one place.
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