Cutting the cord-anybody else?

[Wolfepack88]

Finally cut the cord and dropped DirecTv after 23 years. Fired up YouTube TV and haven't looked back yet. WE already have Netflix as well so we have a pretty good combination. The cost of 4 tv's with DirecTv, equipment and fees just was getting way too expensive vs what you get, a whole ton of Crud we never watch. For those that have cut the cord as well, what is your setup?

 

[SecoSteve]

Same here after going back and forth between the two cable giants for over 20 years. Got tired of their "promotion" running out and then the bill jumps $50. Tried one last time to get the bill down. I asked about removing some channels, and the response was that my bill would go UP with less channels. That was it for me. About a year ago, we cut the triple play and just got internet. Then, added YoutubeTv. We've switched between YoutubeTv and FuboTv, since they are all month to month. The only thing we don't love is the guide. Jumping around channels isn't the greatest, but we've been saving about $60/month off the "promotion rate", and I still was able to include HBO Max. FuboTv's interface is better in my mind with AppleTV. There's a picture in picture feature tha'ts pretty cool, but FuboTv is about $15 more.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Wolf,

I have AT&T U-verse and tried to cut the cable, but it did not work for me. I don't watch that many channels, but what I do watch, I like. In order for me to get all the channels that I like, I would have to sign up for about 5 different streaming sources, which costs almost as much as U-verse, but without the convenience and simplicity of U-verse.

Sigh!!

Jim R.

 

[jark87]

We also switched to YouTube TV this year. I wasn’t even aware that my cable provider wasn’t offering TV to new subscribers - only internet - so I guess the writing was on the wall. Interestingly, they told me to just recycle the cable boxes that they were charging so much for. If they had just figured out a way to create an app like YouTube (and others) and eliminated the boxes and associated fees, I would have just stayed with them, as their price would then be competitive.

We still have too much junk TV with YouTube, but at least you can configure the guide to show only the channels you want to see. Personally, I’d be fine with an HD antenna and eliminate TV subscription altogether. I only really watch sports and news. Movies and all other entertainment content comes from Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, at least for me. My wife has a few cooking shows and such that keep our subscription going, however…. Took me forever (and a free trial) to convince her that we could get rid of cable, so I’m ok with baby steps.

 

[HermanTX]

I am debating this right now. I am sort of in the same camp of Jim. AT&T UVerse is convenient and easy to use.
Several people have recommended to go to YouTubeTV - is it really that good?

I use digital antenna on 1 TV and stream movies. It is very specific and my wife does not like to figure how to change between the 2 systems. She just watches the TV with UVerse on it.
Any help is appreciated.

 

[kul]

We have Prime, Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN. I pay for Netflix or HBO max or other streaming when there’s a series I may want to watch and cancel after I’m done. Works for us.

I had YouTube tv in the early days but they kept increasing their prices so I cut that cord as well. I miss watching local news but I mostly read my news online so it works out fine.

 

[Wolfepack88]

Yep, we have Apple TV and since we have prime on Amazon we have the prime app, now YouTube TV and netflix. All easy to get to and use. My wife is completely non tech and I was able to show her. Jim same here, there a re few stations we don't have on YouTube TV. I ike the American Heroes Channel but that's gone but that was the one sacrfice. We adde the History Channel app and that gave my daughter some of her shows she likes on there. Yep, the fees on DirectTV for each box, HD service charge, DVR charge, etc is what got me annoyed and then they increased the cost again. They tried to save me by taking $70 off a month and that still about 50% more expensive than YouTube TV at $65. Will have to check the guide feature out (thanks for the tip jark87!!). If they would have allowed an alacarte where you pick your channels on DirectTV and then price that in the competitive range but to get the channels we needed it cost a little over 3 times the cost of YouTube TV. Now we just have internet from Comcast with 1 gig service and that feeds everything with no issues. Now they will start data caps at some points and that will require an unlimited package which will be some extra dough.

 

[HeyEng]

We were early cord cutters and have gone back and forth. Currently are back on cable (with some other streaming services) because some shows we like are only available though the cable-like subscription. As an example, some shows that are on the "regular Discovery" are not available on Discovery Plus and vice versa. Same goes for Peacock Plus/NBC Universal channels. Oh, and if you get ESPN Plus...sorry, no "regular" ESPN for you.

It has really turned into an annoying game of trying to keep 2 steps ahead of the content providers but in the end, the consumer is not going to win.

The ala carte pricing seems great until you realize it's not really ala carte at all and depending on your watching wants/needs you could spend almost as much money on several streaming services as regular cable. We are very fortunate to not worry about the cost of TV too much, so we probably spend more that we should, but it's worth the convenience to us.

 

[kul]

Yes subscription services can get pricey. If you have Verizon, some of their wireless plans include Hulu, Disney and ESPN which is what we have for those three. So while yes, you’re still paying i think it’s less. Though it depends on what type of cell phone plans works for you. Not sure so you’d have to look into it if interested.
My husband “needs all the internet” so we have a phone plan that addresses this need.

 

[Mdragger88]

I cut the cord about 6- 7 yrs ago. We already had a large old school antenna attached to our chimney & get about 30 over the air channels. I realized one day that i was paying $100+ to watch sesame street most of the time when it was a free channel anyway (i get 4 pbs’s) & soooo many commercials- so when my contract was up I gave them the boot . At that time I already did the Netflix dvd thing so i just added the basic streaming. I had a roku & have now had various roku units & have replaced 2 tv’s w/ roku tvs.
I went through various free trials like sling etc. eventually added basic hulu - it kinda serves as my network tv dvr & when it gets to the couple times a year that nothing new is on I freeze my subscription for a month or three. I do this with Netflix too. I eventually got directvNow (which is now defunct) for like $15/month for 50+ Cable channels the night before it launched as a special- it was a little buggy (i think all live streaming was back then) but we kept that quite a while & they sent us a free fire stick as well. At that time our internet was still on the copper wire- even so it never really buffered much.
Then a few years ago I found philo, its $20 & like 67 cable channels, they seem to keep adding more. These are real channels- not fluff home shopping networks. So we dropped the directvNow.
We never run out of something to watch.
We also have the roku app - it has a channel for everything, this old house channel, dr.g medical examiner channel etc. (it’s available for free on all platforms)
on the roku tv’s it is baked into the live tv guide - ota channels are listed 1st then like 1000 streaming channels.
We definitely don’t pay $100+ a month for tv like we did years ago & there are no contracts so if $$ is tight i can just let something go. I will randomly get another service like showtime, hbo, paramount + etc to watch a specific series & then i let it go after. I just did this for Dexter. It’s quite infrequent so generally there’s a reduced cost or free trial involved - no different than when i added them periodically to my directv.
Between cutting the satellite & att post paid cellphone service I have saved quite a bit over the years. Att is still the only internet provider in my area so i am still stuck calling them & bargaining when the price jumps for that every year. Hopefully soon they will have some competition around here.
We aren’t crazy into sports so I have no experience shopping for streaming services that provide that - we just watch games that come on network tv.
Its nice to know I could drop all the subscriptions, still have plenty to watch & only pay for internet if i needed.
My mom has zero local ota channels available no matter the antenna size & has thought about going with hulu live (as it includes local/network channels from other towns) instead of directv but every time she has called to cancel after her contract expires they cut her bill in half so it has been more cost beneficial for her to keep it.
I think the cable/satellite providers are definitely feeling the burn from the popularity of streaming & are really trying to keep customers now.

 

[Newdude]

When we moved I exchanged so so internet and great TV lineups for great internet and a so so TV lineup. Even when the Gig service dips a little it still runs 700- 800 Mbps so that's working well so far.

We have Amazon prime TV basically for free because we'd have it for free shipping anyway. I should probably watch it more as it does have alot of good content.

Netflix and Disney+ erase any savings and then some.

We are also on our 4th subscription to Hulu. The cheap plan goes on sale every Black Friday for $0.99 a month for a year instead of $7.99 a month. When it resets to full price I cancel and sign up a new Email address for the next year with the Black Friday deal.

 

[Texas Splash]

We cut the cord about 4 years ago. Don't miss it a bit. Overpriced nonsense. Most TV shows we stream anyways. I only pay for internet service and any online streaming I want (i.e. Netflix). I also use digital antennas for local channels if/when we want to watch something.

 

[kul]

use digital antennas for local channels

Where can I get one? Are they easy to install? Do they work on a typical flat screen TV? Is it the giant old school kind that goes on the roof? I miss local channels.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Kul,

I have a Tablo over the air (OTA) Receiver and DVR.

It just uses a small UHF antenna inside my attic.

Lets me get all the local channels live, or I can record them to play back later.

Sends the output to my in-house network so I can watch on any TV or my PC.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Texas Splash]

Where can I get one? Are they easy to install? Do they work on a typical flat screen TV? Is it the giant old school kind that goes on the roof? I miss local channels.

You can get them just about anywhere nowadays. Amazon, Walmart, etc. They have the simple plastic (paper-flat) models that you can pin on a wall or window, some with a tiny stand, or some that look like the old versions of yesterday that go up high on the roof or a pole in the yard. I have some of each. Because we stream so much, we don't watch local channels all that much, but they are there if we want to.

 

[elwood58]

We cut the cord in 2016. We have Over-The-Air DVR via PLEX. We get about 100 channels. We subscribe to Philo, NetFlix and Amazon Prime for streaming. PLEX Pass, Pluto, IMDB, F2V also give us a bunch of free content. We do have a library of 1400 DVDs to watch as well.

 

[Woodstock1234]

I got rid of Directv a few years ago. I have streaming service through Xfinity (no box). All the same channels for less than half the cost. Since I have Xfinity internet, both services are discounted. I think it was about $25 more to add the tv service. I get 20 hours of DVR which is enough for me and can watch it anywhere if you have internet. I also have Prime because I buy too much on Amazon, but rarely watch it and Netflix.

 

[Mdragger88]

When we moved I exchanged so so internet and great TV lineups for great internet and a so so TV lineup. Even when the Gig service dips a little it still runs 700- 800 Mbps so that's working well so far.

We have Amazon prime TV basically for free because we'd have it for free shipping anyway. I should probably watch it more as it does have alot of good content.

Netflix and Disney+ erase any savings and then some.

We are also on our 4th subscription to Hulu. The cheap plan goes on sale every Black Friday for $0.99 a month for a year instead of $7.99 a month. When it resets to full price I cancel and sign up a new Email address for the next year with the Black Friday deal.

We missed the Black Friday deal this year but rest assured I have marked my calendar for next year!

 

[Mdragger88]

Kul,

I have a Tablo over the air (OTA) Receiver and DVR.

It just uses a small UHF antenna inside my attic.

Lets me get all the local channels live, or I can record them to play back later.

Sends the output to my in-house network so I can watch on any TV or my PC.

Thanks,

Jim R.

I have been wanting to get one of these for years- i may do so when i get a new antenna & put it in the attic. Our current antenna is probably from 1974 & quite the eyesore

 

[Newdude]

Side note : anyone watch the man-pocolypse show on Hulu where all the dudes died ? Al Bundy called that stuff 35 years ago..... the inevitable tribe that formed even called themselves the Amazonian Master hood.