Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) - 2021 version

[Trailwalker]

Amazon Recast

I've had the Amazon Recast installed for about a week. I'll say there are pros and cons compared to installing cable wire from the antenna to the tv.
I'm about 30-40 miles from the tv towers.

The immediate con is that the picture is not quite as good and, less importantly to me, there is some buffering when turning it on or switching channels. The potential con down the road is whether the unit lasts in the attic. There are days it gets hot up there, including the date of installation. There will be days when it's below zero up there. Amazon recommends installing it in a cool dry place. Well, it's dry anyway.

Pros: No wiring installation. That's a big one for me. I talked to a friend who put in the recessed lighting from the attic into the living room, and running that antenna wiring down the wall near the tv would have been problematic because of the way that the attic slopes to the side. Second, the recast broadcasts to a second tv in the lower level family room. That's going to be nice in the winter when the wood stove is going. Third, the dvr is something I wasn't sure that I would use, but it's been surprisingly useful. The fast forward is a little weird (jumping ahead in 30 second increments), but I can buzz through the commercials pretty fast without missing much of the show.

 

[RonBoyd]

I've had the Amazon Recast installed for about a week. I'll say there are pros and cons compared to installing cable wire from the antenna to the tv.
I'm about 30-40 miles from the tv towers.

The immediate con is that the picture is not quite as good and, less importantly to me, there is some buffering when turning it on or switching channels.

I have no issue with the picture quality. I am from 20 to 60 miles from the towers. I do, however, have the antenna on the roof. and the Recast device on the same shelf as the AVR -- the wiring was already in the wall. I have three antennas on a single pole because the towers are widely space geographically and the the long range antennas (2) are UHF only. In order to receive the lower channel signals I had to add the VHF antenna. (See my previous post about the need for same length cables.) See attached image.



Yeah, I have noticed the lag when switching from Sling to Recast and/or back. However, once the switch is made the surfing of stations/networks is instantaneous.

I have not used the DVR function other than initially giving it a "trial run." I use Tablo to record OTA programming. Primarily because the FF is so much better than any other -- active thumbnails, for instance. The only thing missing is Prime's listing of actors on screen when pausing. Oh! PlayOn or Audials for recording streaming media.

 

[explanade]

NBC demanded that Youtube TV pay for Peacock premium subscriptions for all Youtube TV subscribers.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...bundle-peacock-or-lose-access-to-nbc-channels

That is why Youtube is willing to drop the NBCU channels.

Also, they're paying higher rates for NBCU channels, compared to big cable TV providers. However, Youtube TV now has subscriber numbers comparable to those big cable TV companies.

 

[ivinsfan]

NBC demanded that Youtube TV pay for Peacock premium subscriptions for all Youtube TV subscribers.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...bundle-peacock-or-lose-access-to-nbc-channels

That is why Youtube is willing to drop the NBCU channels.

Also, they're paying higher rates for NBCU channels, compared to big cable TV providers. However, Youtube TV now has subscriber numbers comparable to those big cable TV companies.

See my post 550 I saw that coming..

 

[Cobra9777]

YouTube TV and NBCUniversal Have Agreed to Make Nice—for Now

NBCUniversal and YouTube TV have agreed to a short extension while parties continue talks. NBCUniversal will not go dark on YouTube TV at midnight eastern tonight.

 

[pb4uski]

I really can't tell much difference between the picture quality of the Recast and shows that we stream... both are excellent. Sometimes the picture quality of the Recast will be bad for about the first 5 seconds befor the digital signal to sort of settle in.

We have a "hot" roof in the house that I'm using the Recast in, so it's part of the heated space and probably gets a little hotter than the rest of the house up there but not much.

The Recast broadcasting to all our TVs that are on Wi-Fi with a Fire TV stick is huge to us. That's four TVs that get the same channels and can record review programs from the Recast.

I believe the fast forward is forward 30 seconds and then the rewind is back 10 seconds. When I get to a commercial I usually hit the fast forward button six times and I'm pretty close to the program restarting.

 

[GTFan]

NBC demanded that Youtube TV pay for Peacock premium subscriptions for all Youtube TV subscribers.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...bundle-peacock-or-lose-access-to-nbc-channels

That is why Youtube is willing to drop the NBCU channels.

This is total BS, of course - a legacy network trying to force the old cable bundle model on providers like YTTV and they're not having it. Consumers don't want this crap again.

If NBCU can't get enough paying customers for Peacock that's on them, not on who's carrying their channels.

 

[ivinsfan]

This is total BS, of course - a legacy network trying to force the old cable bundle model on providers like YTTV and they're not having it. Consumers don't want this crap again.

If NBCU can't get enough paying customers for Peacock that's on them, not on who's carrying their channels.

OTOH it's NBC content and they put a lot of money in a streaming service..why should another streaming service like Youtube make money off them...


As far as consumers we asked for choices other then cable so we have to expect this.


I'm hearing Bally Sports will be going stand alone sometime in the future.

 

[RunningBum]

I got an email from YTTV and they said they'd take off $10/month if they couldn't come to an agreement with NBCU. I set up my Fire Recast to record the NBC network shows I like (mostly the Chicago Med/Fire/PD shows).

 

[ivinsfan]

I got an email from YTTV and they said they'd take off $10/month if they couldn't come to an agreement with NBCU. I set up my Fire Recast to record the NBC network shows I like (mostly the Chicago Med/Fire/PD shows).

See this is called adapting to changing conditions....if you don't mind waiting 7 days you can see the Chicago shows on free NBC app( still Peacock )but only for a week or two

 

[GTFan]

OTOH it's NBC content and they put a lot of money in a streaming service..why should another streaming service like Youtube make money off them...
I'm hearing Bally Sports will be going stand alone sometime in the future.

Because it's NBCU trying to get YTTV customers to pay extra for the same content when they can't get enough folks to pay for Peacock. YTTV said no way for exactly that reason.

Yes, Sinclair is going to run their own RSN streaming service next year. Can't happen soon enough, should be followed by cable and whatever streamers are left kicking them to the curb (but won't). Let the folks that want RSNs pay the exorbitant cost themselves, no more getting stuck with RSN fees on cable.

 

[ivinsfan]

Because it's NBCU trying to get YTTV customers to pay extra for the same content when they can't get enough folks to pay for Peacock. YTTV said no way for exactly that reason.

Yes, Sinclair is going to run their own RSN streaming service next year. Can't happen soon enough, should be followed by cable and whatever streamers are left kicking them to the curb (but won't). Let the folks that want RSNs pay the exorbitant cost themselves, no more getting stuck with RSN fees on cable.

Oh so I guess if you want NBC content it' OK pay youtube who is the middle man and not NBC who actually produces it? Youtube makes me pay for all kind of stuff I have no desire to watch so does plain cable. The winner here is Sling where you can slice and dice exactly the sports coverage you want and pay accordingly. AFS RSN, it's been literally impossible to see content like the Twins anywhere but plain cable. Why is it OK to split off sports but not network content?

 

[explanade]

that's a good point, if YouTube TV let you select channels a la carte.

But either the people who want a la carte is limited or Google and others want a certain amount of revenues per month per use, so it's predictable.

I suspect some of these media companies may not sign deals with Google if they did that.

 

[REWahoo]

This might be useful... if you know somebody.

How cord-cutters can create their own personal Locast

Anyone actually done this (stream OTA programming to a TV at a distant location) using an AirTV 2 or AirTV Anywhere? If so, how reliable/consistent has it been?

DD#2 and family live below a large hill which blocks the ability to get OTA signals. I showed them the article linked above and offered to set up the an AirTV (appears to be the best device for their needs) at our location so they could stream from our antenna. However, the reviews on Amazon don't look all that great. Anyone have any first hand experience to share?

 

[GTFan]

that's a good point, if YouTube TV let you select channels a la carte.

But either the people who want a la carte is limited or Google and others want a certain amount of revenues per month per use, so it's predictable.

I suspect some of these media companies may not sign deals with Google if they did that.

That's correct, forced bundling has always been a thing.

NBCU and Google signed an extension btw, so no loss of channels.

https://www.vulture.com/2021/10/youtube-tv-nbcu-deal-explained.html

 

[REWahoo]

Anyone actually done this (stream OTA programming to a TV at a distant location) using an AirTV 2 or AirTV Anywhere? If so, how reliable/consistent has it been?

DD#2 and family live below a large hill which blocks the ability to get OTA signals. I showed them the article linked above and offered to set up the an AirTV (appears to be the best device for their needs) at our location so they could stream from our antenna. However, the reviews on Amazon don't look all that great. Anyone have any first hand experience to share?

Anyone?

 

[ERObjd]

wife and I dont watch much tv mainly weathernation and i like westerns like the Rifleman and Bonanza. we dumped cable long ago.

we pay about $5 a month for Windstream internet and for streaming FREE tv we use
Pluto tv
The Roku channel
Tubi tv
Internet Archive

we probably use Pluto 90% of the time. almost always have Weathernation on at some point during the day.

 

[ychuck46]

Speed?

we pay about $5 a month for Windstream internet and for streaming FREE tv we use
Pluto tv
The Roku channel
Tubi tv
Internet Archive

Curious what your Windstream internet speed is for watching streaming TV, particularly at such a low price. Not sure if it is subsidized under one program or another; it just seems like an artificially low price. My wife also watches a lot of IMDB free TV if you want another no cost option. Like yourselves we got rid of all live TV; instead we have a lot of options such as Prime, Netflix, and HBO Max (the last one with our AT&T phone account).

 

[ERObjd]

$50 per month for Windstream internet. ..not 5.Hard to type on this small phone keyboard. I don't know what the speed is..but it seems fast enough to handle Pluto TV and roku and other streaming Chanelle with out buffering.
There is a super duper high speed option from Windstream that is about 80 per month..that's probably for serious gamers and programmers who need lots of bandwidth and speed . We also have a landlines included with ours..rarely use it as it mostly gets scam calls which we block..mainly have it because my wife does not like talking on cell phone for extended periods so when she calls famy she prefers the Land line over cell and land line has better voice clarity and volume.
Imdb is good..been a few months since we watched it my wife watched a few Dallas episodes on there last winter.tried to log on a couple weeks ago and I forgot or lost my imdb password..have not had the desire to reset it yet..

 

[ychuck46]

One way to test

$50 per month for Windstream internet. ..not 5.Hard to type on this small phone keyboard. I don't know what the speed is..but it seems fast enough to handle Pluto TV and roku and other streaming Chanelle with out buffering.

Try speedtest.net if you are curious about your download and upload speed; there are other free sites as well that will do similar but I have used them for years with no issues. It will vary depending on time of day and other factors, but will give you a relatively good idea of your speeds.

 

[MichaelB]

A question about Discovery Plus.

I can’t find any way to disable auto play, where the next episode of a tv show loads and plays automatically. All other streaming services I’ve used have that option, and I think it is useful and a great precautionary tool. Does anyone know how to do this on Discovery Plus?

 

[ivinsfan]

In a cord cutting related development...Starlink is making major news. They plan a national non beta rollout, have redesigned and will be lowering the price of their starter kit. They also expect the monthly cost of Starlink to go down.

 

[ncbill]

In a cord cutting related development...Starlink is making major news. They plan a national non beta rollout, have redesigned and will be lowering the price of their starter kit. They also expect the monthly cost of Starlink to go down.

Will they now allow roaming?

 

[ivinsfan]

Will they now allow roaming?

Dunno just saw a short clip about the things i mentioned? Things are changing rapidly..

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Quote from REWahoo
Anyone actually done this (stream OTA programming to a TV at a distant location) using an AirTV 2 or AirTV Anywhere? If so, how reliable/consistent has it been?

DD#2 and family live below a large hill which blocks the ability to get OTA signals. I showed them the article linked above and offered to set up the an AirTV (appears to be the best device for their needs) at our location so they could stream from our antenna. However, the reviews on Amazon don't look all that great. Anyone have any first hand experience to share?

Anyone?

Since no one replied "Yes" on AirTV or AirTV2, I have an alternate strategy. Tablo will do it.