Cutting the cord

[Topher Builds]

Looking at ditching my cable box but I still want to be able to use some of the benefits of cable like live sports ball, and also the on demand streaming of cable network shows like (FX, history channel, Comedy Central, adult swim, etc) and being able to keep up with current seasons of tv shows without having to buy each episode.

Those of you that are pure streamers, is something like that possible? What are you using and what’s the monthly cost?

Already have prime, Netflix, hbo, showtime, and espn+ outside of my cable package. Also have a chromecast and my tv does roku and amazon so hoping to stick with that for hardware.

[spoo76]

live streams and pay per view have always been as easy for me in the past as any other TV show when using the right builds of Kodi, however one thing about going to those types of streaming boxes is you have to constantly update every time they take down a service or repository.
I honestly haven't used any of those in quite a while so I'm not sure about how often they need to be updated these days

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[spoo76]

I guess while we're on the subject what are people doing to keep their streambox working reliably? What builds are you using or are you doing everything manually?

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[DukeMinnix]

In the last six months is seems like streaming as become exponentially more difficult, for me anyhow. Up until that point it was easy. Now it seems everytime I turn the damn thing on I have to redownload something or change something else. Its gotten to the point we basically just use netflix and occasionally morpheus TV.

[Ditchrat]

Roku box-Amazon, Hulu and Neflix primarily. A few other free channels.


Other then poor browsing for something to watch, search is easy, its been working out for two years.


With the Disney/fox channel coming I expect to drop one of the others.


Anything out there that is free and worth looking into?

[gmtech2008]

I have Netflix and hulu on my roku tv and also have and amazon fire stick which is jail broken has a few apps downloaded onto it. The best app I have used so far is 'cinema' i have had no problems with streaming like others that have had to buffer every 10 seconds and ruins the show/movie. I don't watch sports other than superbike racing, v8 supercars, and stadium trucks all of which I don't mind watching a day late

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[skinnyj]

I'm using PS Vue for my streaming ($49.99/month), Amazon Prime and Hulu ($5.99). The reason why I went with PS Vue is that they are one of the few streaming services that carries NESN (local sports network). No NESN = No Red Sox or Bruins. I have a mid-range internet package from Comcast ($69) and an over the air antenna for local channels. So far, I haven't missed cable at all. The only channel PS Vue didn't have was History (My wife like the series Vikings). However, we found out she could buy the whole season of Vikings on Prime and watch the day after the original air date. And, no, PS Vue does not require a PS console, just a smart TV.

I'm saving about $80/month with this setup. That's almost $1000/year. The best part is that none of these services, including my internet, have a contract. It is all month to month. There are 4 people in my house that are apt to be on devices at any given time. I believe my speed is 65 Mbs and I haven't seen any issues so far.

PS Vue

[rkj__]

Depending where you live, you can get a lot of great over the air HD channels, especially with a decent outdoor antenna.

I use a cheap indoor antenna to watch Hockey Night in Canada on CBC for example. That get's me my sports fix for the week. For other major sporting events, my brother-in-law has shared online log-in information with me, since he is a Bell subsriber. This allows me to stream TSN and other cable content. I don't use it too often, but it is a nice perk. Family or close friends might be willing to share, if it does not interrupt their usage at all.

My wife and I stream Netflix more than anything else.

We never had a cord to cut, so we did not really have to adjust. I can see that it would be hard to adjust viewing habits though if you are used to watching a lot of live content, and watching the latest TV show right when it airs.

[soze]

I cut the cord several years ago. Have not looked back. I have Amazon prime with fireTV, so I watch those shows, then I'll watch sports on streams off the web from my computer. Use a Mohu leaf HD antenna for over the air HD hooked up to my main house TV junction. Other than that... I find myself barely watching TV anymore. Which is a good thing.

[Joshs4x4toyz]

NO CABLE for 9 yrs now. KODI app....

Cost.... ITS FREE, just need internet I watch everything before it hits theatres or the network.... its a legit loop hole

Well, unless its live.... It wont let you see the future, sorry if thats a deal breaker

[teamreedracing]

I just bought a jailbroken Amazon firestick with kodi and it's awesome

[Topher Builds]

Lot of different experiences out there. May have to look into Kodi.

Anyone using sling?

[skinnyj]

Originally Posted by Pant Danza

Lot of different experiences out there. May have to look into Kodi.

Anyone using sling?

I had Sling Orange+Blue ($40/month) before PS Vue. I had no complaints. I went to Vue because it had 23 common channels with Sling O+B and I got my local sports network.

Do your homework on Kodi. If you are illegally streaming content, it is just that: illegal.

https://www.cloudwards.net/is-kodi-legal/

[kincer]

I built a homemade Gray-Hoverman antenna for $12 and change in materials, added a preamp, and a amplified splitter. Antenna is in the attic and I get 48 free channels on all four of my Tv's.

[JohnRobHolmes]

I haven’t had cable for a decade. The wife keeps Amazon prime and Netflix. I have a stout connection at home for uploading YouTube’s, since my shop network is terrible old copper.


Don’t miss it at all. I would suggest you consider going to a bar to watch sports ball and you will probably spend less money than streaming services. Network shows, can’t help there besides a digital antenna. I kinda hate tv in general. Was at the hospital waiting room today and turned off the TV. Ahhhhhhh, the silence was nice.

[Raketemensch]

I cut the cord in 2005. It’s easy for me to do because I don’t care about sports.

This is ironic, because I worked for ESPN for 10 of those 13 years, but that gave me an interesting view of how the whole cable/broadcast/streaming market works.

Even with ESPN’s streaming products (and I helped build them), you’re going to be pushed to cable to watch sports. Why? Because that’s where the money is.

Netflix doesn’t really have to make much profit, they’re running on investor money.

ESPN makes $4-6billion every year, the majority of which comes from cable subscribers.

If ESPN doesn’t hit those numbers, my friends get laid off. Disney needs them as a cash cow for when a superhero (or Star Wars) movie tanks. It’s a weird, complex world. But I’m still not going to pay for cable.

Sports is almost the last thing that’s worth watching LIVE, so businesses are going to milk every dollar out of them. If you need sports, that’s going to be the reality for at least 3-5 years.

(Also, if I go to a bar for the length of a football game, I’m going to spend a month’s worth of cable bill)

[Bubba02STi]

DirecTV Now. (I personally use)
Live Tv. Local channels. Sports. all the big name networks. Discountable if you have AT&T. Cloud DVR.

Sling.
Very few markets have local channels. You can use a HD antenna to go around that. Their plans are cheap but limited. When you start adding the channels you want it adds up quick. Pay for cloud dvr.

PlayStation VUE.
The most expensive out of the three and the fewest available channels.

They all have a free trial period that you can use for a few days. Take a look at what suits your needs. None of them have contracts and they only require you to have a smart tv, Apple TV, Roku, or fire stick.

If it wasn’t for live sports I would only have Netflix ($12) and Amazon Video (included with my prime). I personally feel Hulu is a waste of money. Either way it still adds up. If I could just do MLB, NFL, and NBA for their respective seasons and then BTN, SEC, ESPN, CBS/NBC/Fox Sports and pay less than $40 all together I’d go that route.





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[skinnyj]

I forgot to add, Vue will give you network affiliates (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox).

As far as Vue having the least channels, I don't find that to be the case. Vue and Sling Orange+Blue have a lot of common channels. Vue seems to be more sports oriented, while Sling leans towards movies and music.

[Topher Builds]

So I finally cut the cord. I also was able to upgrade from 300mb internet to gigabit while knocking my internet cost down $20. Great success.

I decided to give Sling a shot first. I noticed the same thing the skinniest of J's noted above, that orange and blue have a lot in common. Orange seemed to take away some good channels to give ESPN and Disney, and I already have ESPN+ chromecasting abilities from their app so i just went with Sling Blue and a 5 buck upgrade for the cloud DVR for $30 total a month. Blue had pretty much all of the channels with shows I'll watch anyway. It doesn't have all the different news channels like MSNBC, CNBC, HLN, RT, nor does it have the lifestyle channels like Hallmark, WE, VH1, Oxygen, but those are available as add on packages. Not my cup of tea so all good here.

Very happy with it so far in the first couple of days. I'm a big fan of the app interface vs a tv remote control. Makes browsing much easier and it's a breeze to set up DVR recordings.

My biggest surprise is that the live tv still is, in fact, live tv. This means sportsball too. To an even bigger surprise I have significantly more access to regional sports networks than I did with my regular cable through Cox. Now I have NBC/CBS/Fox Sports affiliate channels for the Bay Area, San Diego, and Los Angeles which I had 0 of before. Being from Colorado this is cool because those are divisional teams so I'll get to see the hometown dudes play a lot.

Other benefits are being able to take the service with me on the road, I travel every couple months so this will get some use, and I never thought about the aesthetic benefit of a cleaner TV stand without a cable box which has been nice, and then there is no contract. or hidden fees like you always get with the cable companies. Thumbs up from me so far.

[Aleksks]

We cut the cord as well and got Amazon Firestick. It really helps us to save money. Also I like the variety of kodi builds and addons that allow us to watch what we want. By the way, my favourite one is No Limits Magic build ( https://www.firestickhow.com/no-limi...uild-kodi.html ) as it has a collection of the best video and music addons. What about you? What addon do you find to be really good?