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Thread: Cutting the Cord

  1. #1
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Cutting the Cord

    I recently purchased an indoor HD antenna, but have yet to hook it up. If I can't pull channels in with it, I'll have to go to the larger outdoor HD antenna. We'll see. Anyway, my intent is to get the local, free TV over the air, and then create a Wi-Fi zone and find a way to get streaming content on my TV. That may require a subscription to Sling or Amazon Prime or whatever, but it will still be vastly cheaper than my cable bill. I currently pay way more in a year for cable TV & internet than I do for Gas & Electric. Insane. The TV bill has to go.

    I do not have a smart TV, which would make all of this considerably easier. My TV is a Sharp Aquos LCD that is more than 10 years old. No USB, but it does have HDMI connections. Here are links to a few web pages that seem to have good information for people looking to lose their cable TV:

    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2478213,00.asp

    http://www.tomsguide.com/us/cord-cut...ews-17928.html

    http://www.digitaltrends.com/topic/cord-cutting-101/

    Any input is welcome. I can't be the only one here looking at going this route. If you have experience with Roku and similar devices, Sling, Prime, Hulu and other streaming services, I'd love to get your input. Links, tips, YouTube instruction, anecdotes and opinions, it's all welcome.

  2. #2
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    If Roku goes into an HDMI port, I think that's the way you want to go. If you can't get the free TV working, then maybe go with Sling TV instead.

  3. #3
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    I'm cancelling cable too. I'm just gonna get a digital antenna and be done with it. TV is not that important to me. Heck, whatever sports I watch is in pubs anyway.

  4. #4
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    I set up an outside antenna and cancelled cable a bit over a year ago.
    I bought an amplified antenna, but ended up removing the amp because the signal strength was too high.
    The HD pictures are sure nice and there are lots of channels in this area.
    I need to get the antenna up higher though, trees eat the signal and when the wind blows there are drop outs.
    Antennaweb.org and tvfool.com have tools to help choose and aim antennas based on your address.
    I don't feel the need for a box ( roku, or what have you ). I have a google chromecast but I unhooked it. The quality is good..It interfered with some other stuff.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
    -- Aristotle
    Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
    “A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain

  5. #5
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    I started a thread a little over year ago. Came to find out that while signal is digital, the carrier is still good old fashioned FM. Any TV antenna will do, but no antenna design will overcome line-of-sight issues. Height is everything.
    Compact Disk brought high fidelity to the masses and audiophiles will never forgive it for that

  6. #6
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    BTW, what are you guys using for data if you're not going to use cable?
    Compact Disk brought high fidelity to the masses and audiophiles will never forgive it for that

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    We stopped the cable portion of our service about 2 years ago - - - purchased an indoor HD flatenna and receive about 17 channels (3 Spanish, 2 Christian, 3 shopping) with 10 usable for the most part - weather permitting. It works OK -

    I picked up a small form factor PC from surplus at work for $25 = rebuilt the OS = hard wired to our router. This pushes both Netflix and Sling (and on-line porn) via HDMI. SLING is an excellent online live television streaming service whose base package (30 channels/$20 per month) is perfect for our needs.

    Our medium speed TWC internet package is great/solid . . . and once our "introductory rate" jumps up year after year, I call them and threaten to lower our service package speed . . . they then transfer me to their "Retention Team" and I (once again) get their intro rate ($39/month for 50 mb speed). It can easily handle 2 Netflix and the Sling stream all at once with no hiccups . . .

    There's thousands jumping ship on cable television . . . it's so not worth it anymore from my viewpoint. I guess if you're a big sports fan and can select some a-la-carte packages based around your entertainment needs, it's probably OK . . .

    Lots of selections on the table these days - - -

  8. #8
    Member Plasmatopia's Avatar
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    I haven't had "TV" in years. I've thought about an HD antenna, but in this area probably would only get a couple channels. Despite this being a small town of 2000, we have three choices for high speed Internet which has been nice when trying to get lower rates. Now we use fiber optic provided by a company that is something akin to a municipal corporation. Eventually the loans for building the network will be paid for and rates should drop...in 15 years or so, lol.

    We subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, and HBO, but if/when we run out of things that interest us we'll drop one of those for a couple months. I hadn't really been aware of Sling, so I'm going to check that out.
    <sig out of order>

  9. #9
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 3LockBox View Post
    BTW, what are you guys using for data if you're not going to use cable?
    My cable was/is just cable. We had AT&T for internet. That's been cancelled so now my "data" is my phone. I'm okay with it. It's a chore to post using a soft keyboard but I've adapted.

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    Which way you aim that outdoor antenna makes a BIG difference.

  11. #11
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 3LockBox View Post
    I started a thread a little over year ago. Came to find out that while signal is digital, the carrier is still good old fashioned FM. Any TV antenna will do, but no antenna design will overcome line-of-sight issues. Height is everything.
    That's good to know. I still have a tower aerial that the previous owner had up.

    I would have just posted in your thread, but I did a search using the term "cutting the cord" as it's known in the vernacular, and 3 things came up. None of them were cable TV related. Sorry.

    Quote Originally Posted by 3LockBox View Post
    BTW, what are you guys using for data if you're not going to use cable?
    I'll still be using cable for the data, unless it turns out DSL is a better deal. Right now my cable TV/internet bill is $187/month, of which only $60 is internet.

  12. #12
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    I just kept the 79$ internet with cable.
    The basic telephone service Cox had for about $30 I get from callcentric.com for 12.90/mon ( one of many available VOIP providers ). I just had to buy a $25 voip box ( ObHi ).
    We do have a choice of Cox or Verizon FIOS here. Both offer bait&switch 'valu packs' that end up costing almost twice as much after fees, taxes, and 'mandatory charges' then after a year or two double again.
    Nope. Not for something I hardly can stand to watch anyhow.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
    -- Aristotle
    Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
    “A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain

  13. #13
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    I would have just posted in your thread, but I did a search using the term "cutting the cord" as it's known in the vernacular, and 3 things came up. None of them were cable TV related. Sorry.
    NOT a problem. I forget how I titled it anyway and it's over a year old so...


    I'll still be using cable for the data, unless it turns out DSL is a better deal. Right now my cable TV/internet bill is $187/month, of which only $60 is internet.
    I don't think DSL is as fast as cable.

  14. #14
    Member jake's Avatar
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    I have never had cable - ever. I live on the south shore of Long Island, New York - with two rooftop antennae and a splitter I get about 50 channels (including sub-channels) in the winter and close to 80 when it is humid in the summer. I have both antennae on the rooftop - one pointing towards the city and one towards eastern Long Island and inside the house I have another splitter to attach a Mohu antenna for fine tuning when reception is bad from the rooftop. On those summer days I can pick up a few Connecticut and Jersey stations. I don't use any amplification - I've thought about it, but I'm kinda happy with what I have got. I have a $300 smart tv with Roku built in and Amazon Prime (which I rarely use for watching - I do buy a lot of stuff from them though) and Netflix which I am thinking of canning. As a transplanted Brit I can watch tons of UK tv shows on the YouTube app - which probably accounts for about 50% of my viewing. I also stream loads of shows from dodgy sites like alluc and cricfree (for my weekend soccer fix).

    Edit - Almost forgot - I also watch a lot of Pluto tv - even if half of the 'stations' seem to be comprised of YouTube videos rendered and presented as 'content'. There are some good oldies, cartoons and news digests to be found among the cat videos and stand up comedy loops.
    Last edited by jake; 03-13-2017 at 10:55 PM.

  15. #15
    Member Plasmatopia's Avatar
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    I just signed up for Sling but so far I'm not impressed. Maybe it's just the implementation of their app on Apple TV, but I had a few cases where the video was buffering. Eventually it just quit in the middle of an episode. Going back to the episode later it didn't remember that I'd watched most of the episode and there was no way to scroll forward to where I'd left off. Luckily I'm only in the free trial period.
    <sig out of order>

  16. #16
    Member Dave the Brave's Avatar
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    Cancelled cable years ago. Joined Netflix but got frustrated that Canadian Netflix has less content than US version.
    Then someone told me about Kodi and Netflix is now gone forever.
    Only problem is I now find too much content available and spend more time surfing for shows than watching them.

    DtB

  17. #17
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    Sling has been plagued with buffering issues for a year now - - - depending on your location (and their servers).

    Cordcutterforum.com is a great place to gain valuable info . . .

  18. #18
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave the Brave View Post
    Then someone told me about Kodi

    DtB
    I've had their site bookmarked and will give it a good looking over after I'm up and running.

    Quote Originally Posted by WHORG View Post

    Cordcutterforum.com is a great place to gain valuable info . . .
    Thanks for the heads up. Looks like a good place to have a look around.

  19. #19
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Does anyone here have any experience with eero wi-fi system or Luma, which is similar? It involves using 3 units to get whole house coverage, and beyond the initial outlay, may be a good and easy option. Anyone able to comment on that approach?


  20. #20
    Taker of Naps IncogNeato's Avatar
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    I use a Roku via HDMI port for network TV apps, Netflix, etc. I also have a digital antenna, but only use it during football season. I don't miss cable OR paying the cable bill.

  21. #21
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    I am investigating my options as our contract with Verizon is ending soon. Still doing some research, seeing lots of decent recommendations for PlayStation Vue (seems to be the only one with a decent DVR type feature). We will give Verizon a chance to give a good deal when we tell them we are cancelling, should know soon enough. Already use a Roku for Netflix, seems to work just fine, and that is where you can stream this PlayStation Vue as well.

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