OT: Thinking about dropping DirecTV

[CrookedLetta4Eva]

And going the only Netflix/Streaming route. I love Football and that's all I will miss. My wife watches GSN. Tell me why I should or shouldn't do this.

Also, how can I stream sports to my TV if I drop it?

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

One word. Football.

 

[ronpolk]

I don't know your financial situation but I'd have to be in bad trouble financially to drop cable or satellite. I couldn't just do it to save a few bucks cause I wanted to. I basically have DTV just for Sunday ticket. I'm a dolphins fan and the local Jackson channel does not show Miami often.

I honestly don't think id miss satellite if I could get football any other way.

 

[kired]

Go for it. If I could convince my wife to give up all the crap she watches, I'd do it too.

 

[Requiem For A Dawg]

I did a year ago and never looked back. Best decision I ever made. I have a Roku and stream everything I want to watch. To stream sports to your tv just buy a Roku, Chromecast, or Amazon Fire Stick and ask a friend for their watch ESPN login. NBC streams the NFL Sunday Night games for free online. You can also buy NFL Ticket for your Roku as well if you want to do it that way. I get most everything I want to watch. I wasn't really watching tv besides sports, so the $80 a month I was paying was a waste to me.

I have watch ESPN login, Netflix login, HBOgo login, Showtime and that's really all I need. More and more channels are developing apps for Roku other streaming devices.

 

[chriswnc]

You can get sling tv, sling.com , it plays through a Roku, $25/month and you get all the espn channels including SEC network and a watch espn login, it's HD and has about 15 channels (TBS, TNT, History, etc). I have an indoor antenna that I can pick up another 10 HD channels, which gets me CBS games and ABC games. Add in Netflix and movietube.cc and you're completely covered

 

[WayboDawg]

Thinking about dropping Dish myself. My bill is over 80 dollars and every year without fail they go up another 10 dollars on my bill with no warning. I basically only watch TBS for Seinfeld reruns and ESPN during college football. My wife reads her Kindle and I surf my laptop, so I cant tell you how many times per week we never even turn the TV on. All the good channels would bump my bill up another 60 bucks, and I ain't paying $120 per month just to to get the military and western channels added. These Satellite TV companies are gonna get whats coming to them once TV swaps to the "ala carte" method for selecting channels, and the ISP's finally put them out of business. I won't shed a tear...

 

[WrappedinMaroon&White]

Direct TV is the devil. Drop them first chance you get. They lied to me over the phone and ended up charging me a huge early termination fee that I couldn't get out of. Be careful and make sure you have in writing (if they will) what the terms of cancellation will be. I had added another receiver a year before I cancelled and they said that by doing so I extended my contract two additional years. This was never communicated when I did it, nor when I initially called to discuss cancellation. This came up only after I had switched to cable. What a concept - hold a customer hostage for a little longer because the customer chooses to do more business with them. Really stupid business model. After fighting for a long time I ended up paying it with a promise to myself to never do business with the devil again. You've been warned. . . Good luck!

 

[aTotal360]

Make sure ISP (in your area) doesn't have a soft data cap before you make this switch. Many ISP are starting to do that so it forces you to subscribe to their tv packages. Read the fine print. For instance, Xfinity has a soft data cap in my area but not in others. If you go past the cap, they will begin to charge you an arm and a leg for the overages.

 

[Dawg1976]

You can get sling tv, sling.com , it plays through a Roku, $25/month and you get all the espn channels including SEC network and a watch espn login, it's HD and has about 15 channels (TBS, TNT, History, etc). I have an indoor antenna that I can pick up another 10 HD channels, which gets me CBS games and ABC games. Add in Netflix and movietube.cc and you're completely covered

Exactly what I did. Very happy with the package. Ocassionally with Sling, I do get a black screen out of no where. Usually clears in a few seconds, so the streaming is not always perfect. Comcast was not perfect either though.

 

[bulldogbaja]

I did it. No regrets. Tv is a waste of your life anyway.

 

[ScrotieMcBoogerBalls]

I decided to do this when I move. I just can't decide what box i want to get. I was thinking Apple TV so I can airplay from my phone. Is Roku the way to go? I was also looking at one either Samsung or LG makes that supports 4K, but it's like $200+

 

[aTotal360]

IMO, they are all the same now. At one point, certain hardware has exclusivity to certain channels (like HBOgo), but that isn't the case anymore.

Another VERY important thing to look at is whether or not your ISP supports certain channels on certain hardware. For example, Charter Cable does not support HBOgo on AppleTV, but it does on Playstation. The web of contracts and exclusives to shittastically complex.

But if you have a lot of Apple devices, and spend money in the App Store, go with an AppleTV.

 

[jb1020]

if you can get a Watch ESPN Login from a buddy of yours

drop it...get apple TV. I've been without cable for about 4 years now and haven't really missed anything. I've missed a handful of State basketball games that came on FSN (or whatever its called), but thats it.

You can drop cable and still get local channels, so you'll still see the NFL on CBS, NBC and Fox.

Also, if you have Apple TV you can pull up the shows on the local network and watch them the next day after they air.

 

[aTotal360]

Again, make sure the ISP supports WatchESPN. It probably does, but it may not.

 

[Will James]

drop it...get apple TV. I've been without cable for about 4 years now and haven't really missed anything. I've missed a handful of State basketball games that came on FSN (or whatever its called), but thats it.

You can drop cable and still get local channels, so you'll still see the NFL on CBS, NBC and Fox.

Also, if you have Apple TV you can pull up the shows on the local network and watch them the next day after they air.

I'm a rank amateur at this but with just Apple TV how can you still get the local CBS NBC Fox? And how do you watch the next day, Hulu?

 

[cristilmethod]

I'm a rank amateur at this but with just Apple TV how can you still get the local CBS NBC Fox? And how do you watch the next day, Hulu?

I think you'd still need an HD antenna for the local channels, but you can get one of those for $20.

While a lot of stations have started developing apps for AppleTV and other devices, do note - some of you who are considering cutting the chord - that some of those apps require you to login with a cable subscription to use them. However, Hulu for about $8/mo should get you pretty much every TV show, and available the next day, I believe. HBO has stand alone service now, too, as does Showtime, for those who watch GoT, True Detective, Homeland, etc., and want to cut.

 

[Ragdelellis]

If you have an iPhone or iPad I would go with Apple tv. This past year I was able to watch every state game through this. Besides the watchespn app download the Fox sports Go app, that will get you the first game against Southern. I have also noticed that watchespn has now added cableone as a provider. All I have is cableone Internet and Apple TV and I don't miss a game. For NFL games if you have Verizion phone you can get local NFL games free or pay a small charge and get red zone

 

[ronpolk]

I decided to do this when I move. I just can't decide what box i want to get. I was thinking Apple TV so I can airplay from my phone. Is Roku the way to go? I was also looking at one either Samsung or LG makes that supports 4K, but it's like $200+

I have an Apple TV that I bought mainly for Netflix and HBO go. However, I find myself using the AirPlay feature constantly. I watch movies off this website niter.co and use AirPlay though the Apple TV. Works perfect.

 

[Lone Star Hoopcoach]

Cut the cord 6 months ago.

We get the networks via an over the air antennae.

Our Roku provides sling tv and Hulu.

The number of cord cutters is growing upward quickly.

Tired of DTV and their monthly costs going through the roof.

Was 110+ per month, now about 30.

Wish I had pulled the trigger sooner, a lot sooner....

 

[Seinfeld]

^^^ I think that this is a bigger deal than most realize

Most of the major ISPs have soft data caps these days whether people realize it or not. The issue just doesn't come up very often because the majority of households never come close to using 150-300 GB of data in a given month.

Here's the thing though... if you're only using your internet for nothing more than browsing the web and an occasional netflix movie, you'll never have a problem. If you end up cutting the cable cord, however, and start streaming 3-5 hrs of HD content per day, you're going to hit that data cap within a couple weeks. Streaming HD sucks up a TON of data

It'll be interesting to see how the ISPs handle this as streaming services become more and more popular

 

[dickiedawg]

We cut ours off for the summer. Do a lot of streaming, and oh by the way, have gotten a ton more done around the house and spent more time playing with my toddler.
I have missed it on occasion- the women's World Cup was hard to follow if the games weren't on FOX. I've had no luck at all with the Fox Sports Go app. They have a long way to go to catch up to ESPN in that regard.
We plan to re-activate for football season, mostly for tailgating and NFL. If I thought I could stream RedZone on appletv or similar, I'd probably cut it out entirely.
I have logins for most of the Apple TV channels if I need them, and we have KODI (formerly XBMC) running on an ouya that lets us watch basically any TV show you can think of.

 

[aTotal360]

ITS coming. Eventually they will 17 the cord cutters. I tried to cut the cord and couldn't. We burned through 300 gb of data in 10 days. And if your ISP has a 150 gb soft cap...forget about it. I'll admit I left the tv on streaming ESPN all night a couple of times, but we reached the soft cap much faster than I anticipated. We are probably considered heavy tv viewers, but honestly we only have 1 tv on at a time.

Truth of the matter is that the cable companies have created a monopoly. They can push the consumer around fairly easily.

 

[chriswnc]

I personally would go with a Roku, they offer the most "channels" and a very user friendly interface. Like Apple, you can now also stream directly from your phone. Though I don't think you could really go wrong with any of the players out

 

[ronpolk]

The thing I've noticed with most cord cutters in this thread is that you guys are relying on a password of a buddy. What happens if that buddy cuts the cord or they start putting restrictions on how many devices can be logged on? I used friends login for years on Netflix and HBO go but it's hard to do that now.

 

[jb1020]

its pretty simple

go to CBS.com. You can watch the last 3 episodes of pretty much anything. combine that with Apple TV, you can zap it right to the TV. Apple TV is just the vehicle that gets it to your TV easily.

Anyone can go to cbs.com or nbc.com and start watching shows.

 

[BiscuitEater]

What kind of box do you use to record? Where is a good place to purchase?

Most thankful!

 

[MarkDallas]

We did it years ago. No regrets. There are times when there is a sporting event that you can't easily get. That is frustrating. But overall we are much better off.

Get an antenna. You'd be amazed what you can get over the air these days. We get 25 to 30 channels on the antenna. There is a 24hr weather channel, 24hr movie channels, channels that show nothing but old TV shows (like Nick At Night in the 90s), 24hr kids channels, regular networks...

 

[Ragdelellis]

Most of the major ISPs have soft data caps these days whether people realize it or not. The issue just doesn't come up very often because the majority of households never come close to using 150-300 GB of data in a given month.

Here's the thing though... if you're only using your internet for nothing more than browsing the web and an occasional netflix movie, you'll never have a problem. If you end up cutting the cable cord, however, and start streaming 3-5 hrs of HD content per day, you're going to hit that data cap within a couple weeks. Streaming HD sucks up a TON of data

It'll be interesting to see how the ISPs handle this as streaming services become more and more popular

I received notice from cableone stating I have exceeded my limit of data. They are requiring me to increase my data package basically doubling the cost I pay now. One suggestion of you use Netflix a lot is to change your playback settings from 1080 to 720. Will use less data

 

[Sponge]

To get around ISP data caps

Sign up for a business account. I have only had experience with Comcast, but their business class internet has no data cap and has a higher level of customer service (at least in my exp). It is a little more expensive, and you have to sign a multi-year agreement, but it's probably worth the extra cost if you're cutting the cord and are worried about data usage. You can also sign up using an LLC to limit your exposure to any potential future contractual agreement disputes, and there is at least one legitimate loophole in their system for terminating agreements early without penalty. I plan on going this route (I'm between houses at the moment) for internet at least until CSpire Fiber is available (assuming they won't cap usage).

As for cutting the cord, my wife watches Bravo. Do any of you know if there's a way to get access to such trash TV without a cable/satellite subscription? I'd love to cut the cord and get serious with a media center/HTPC. Admittedly, I haven't searched online for an answer for this yet, so forgive me if there's an easy solution for Bravo.

 

[Go Budaw]

go to CBS.com. You can watch the last 3 episodes of pretty much anything. combine that with Apple TV, you can zap it right to the TV. Apple TV is just the vehicle that gets it to your TV easily.

Anyone can go to cbs.com or nbc.com and start watching shows.

Not saying this is a bad idea, but you can also just get an HD antenna for maybe $25 and hook to a spare HDMI port. I don't have a TV in my house that uses more than 3 HDMI ports, and each has at least 4.

 

[aTotal360]

Interesting. That is certainly worth a shot, but I don't want to get into a long term contract. Matter of fact, I'm paying the extra $9.99/month just to stay out of one.
I don't think there is an easy solution for getting Bravo other than watching it online with someone's login. I'm sure there is a convoluted workaround though.

 

[mstateglfr]

We have been without cable for over a year now and I really barely miss anything. Itd be convenient to watch a couple things while they are on instead of waiting for them to hit a streaming service, but I don’t miss em enough.

• $15/month for a TIVO. This is a monthly cost and it is a 4 tuner DVR. Its something I said we need if we were to drop cable. We have kids and are busy in the evenings- I am not going to sit down at a certain hour to watch shows from over the air channels. We can record all the over the air stuff we want and skip commercials too.

• Bought a ROKU for the WATCHESPN app.

• $7/month for Netflix.

• We stole Hulu from my sister- watching HuluPlus on the TIVO(thru an app) is great because TIVO’s technology skips 90% of the commercials Hulu usually makes you watch.

• I created an email address on my inlaw’s Xfinity account and use that to sign in for WATCHESPN. Been doin that for years, even before we dropped cable since I streamed it on my phone and ipad.

• Stole the HBOGO from my parents, though we rarely use it- I forget about it as an option since we arent lacking for content.

Netflix, Hulu, Roku, WATCHESPN, HBOGO, VUDU, and TIVO. Oh and a digital antenna for $70.

For under $25/month we have more content that we need, can watch all shows when we want, can skip commercials, get all the MSU sports I want, get all the sports in general I need, and don’t have the TV just on for background noise all the time. No more souleating Dance Moms or whatever abominable crap happens to be on nobody wants to watch yet is still on.


My kids have WAY more content than they ever need. We only have 1 tv in the house, which I like, but still plenty of other screens- ipod, phones, ipad.
I cant watch NBA on TNT games. Well I can using TNT’s app, but that thing is gawdawful. Its horrendous.



You need to borrow some logins using this method, but I have no problem with it. Of course I also had no problem with using Napster in college, so apparently my ethics are crap.

 

[coastratdog]

1. How do u get the Internet? Brighthouse wants 75.00 a month for 35 thingamegiggies. At that rate I might as well get the full bundled package. DVR, WIFI, house phone, everything except premium channels for 127.00.
2. I have Sony TV. What's the difference to Apple TV. I own an iPad put only use it for web surfing. We have a kindle fire but rarely use it.
Definatly looking to cut the cord, after football season.

 

[BulldogBlitz]

if you don't want to go the route of "borrowing" logins for the various streaming content, i don't blame you. sounds like some loopholes that might get closed up.

here's what you do though, go to your neighbor's cable box, it's outside their house and hopefully close to you. pop the lock, put a T in their line and run a line from that T to your house. Bam! Free cable.

 

[mstateglfr]

1. How do u get the Internet? Brighthouse wants 75.00 a month for 35 thingamegiggies. At that rate I might as well get the full bundled package. DVR, WIFI, house phone, everything except premium channels for 127.00.
2. I have Sony TV. What's the difference to Apple TV. I own an iPad put only use it for web surfing. We have a kindle fire but rarely use it.
Definatly looking to cut the cord, after football season.

We have 350 gig of data per month at 50Mbps. It costs $49/month. I would have that regardless of if I had cable, so I don't see it as an expense when cutting out cable.

 

[Dawg1976]

I have just a 3Mbps connection and have no problem with Netflix or anything else through Roku. The picture quality is great too. Like you I would have it anyway so it was not an added expense to cutting cable.

 

[leeinator]

I dropped DTV for Dish just recently. DTV kept increasing up to about $130 per month. Got Dish for a 12 mo. promotional of about $70 per month, then it goes up to about $100. Once it reaches the same as DTV, I'll probably switch to a Comcast 2 yr. contract. Then after 2 years, go full circle back to DTV. My house is already hooked up for Comcast and I have 2 dishes on my roof. The old DTV dish and the new Dish dish. So, I guess I could just rotate between all 3 companies relatively easy every 2 years to avoid contract cancellation charges.