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Title: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on September 23, 2016, 04:39:30 PM
So, I fucking hate Comcast. I have already been investigating other options, since I am currently a full time college student on unemployment (yay global economy). Just got my bill, and Comcast added a charge that they EXPLICITLY told me wouldn't be added (basically, they changed NFL RedZone to a new package when the season started to gouge the fuck out of sports fans). After 30 minutes of jousting with Rahul, I beat a 1 time $9.99 credit out of them. Not going to fly, so I am now exploring my options.

Please, regale me with your experiences, your cautionary tales, and your recommendations. What streaming device should I use?  What antenna is best to capture local channels? What do you miss about cable? What is unavailable except through cable or satellite?

I am leaning toward some combination of SlingTV and maybe Hulu Plus (I already have Netflix and Amazon). I am trying to decipher what I am going to lose when I tell Comcast to mouthify my rectal cavity, and how much I will save (if anything) by doing so. I currently have cable, Internet, and phone through Comcast, and would like to trim that down as far as possible. I would even be happy to pay the same amount for similar services, just as long as it isn't going to Comcast.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: taolurker on September 23, 2016, 04:49:52 PM
Sending you a private message.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Torinak on September 23, 2016, 05:23:49 PM
So, I fucking hate Comcast. I have already been investigating other options, since I am currently a full time college student on unemployment (yay global economy). Just got my bill, and Comcast added a charge that they EXPLICITLY told me wouldn't be added (basically, they changed NFL RedZone to a new package when the season started to gouge the fuck out of sports fans). After 30 minutes of jousting with Rahul, I beat a 1 time $9.99 credit out of them. Not going to fly, so I am now exploring my options.

Please, regale me with your experiences, your cautionary tales, and your recommendations. What streaming device should I use?  What antenna is best to capture local channels? What do you miss about cable? What is unavailable except through cable or satellite?

I am leaning toward some combination of SlingTV and maybe Hulu Plus (I already have Netflix and Amazon). I am trying to decipher what I am going to lose when I tell Comcast to mouthify my rectal cavity, and how much I will save (if anything) by doing so. I currently have cable, Internet, and phone through Comcast, and would like to trim that down as far as possible. I would even be happy to pay the same amount for similar services, just as long as it isn't going to Comcast.

If Comcast is still your ISP, you may save money by keeping the most-bare-bones cable TV package they offer--they play all kinds of pricing games with their bundling crap. I'm not sure if that applies to their Xfinity packages, because the Comcast website is so broken they won't even show me how I could give them more money if I wanted to--every attempt to look at their offerings for bundling, higher-speed internet, etc., results in one of a range of different internal server errors. They can't even tell me what channels I should be getting, but I did get a letter telling me they were sorry they accidentally gave me some (unspecified) channels that we weren't supposed to be getting. God help you if you just want to find out what package(s) would let you get a specific set of channels.

Oh, and they still suck as an ISP, at least as much as they do as a cable TV provider. Expect to still have all kinds of random charges show up (like cable modem rental fees for the modem you bought on your own) so you may not be done talking to "Rahul" just yet. It may be useful to have every call start out by letting them know you're gathering info for your complaint to your municipality's utility board or state's attorney general.

I'd be terrified of having phone service through Comcast. I'd fully expect to die at some point due to an unplanned outage (that they deny) that just happens to line up with needing to call 911. Same goes for any VOIP service if Comcast is still your ISP.

As for missing content, we just stopped watching TV. The last time we tried to watch broadcast TV, it was such a painful experience due to commercials and the format that we just turned it off. We have Netflix, so if something sufficiently interesting shows up there we can watch it, but otherwise we're content to just "miss out" on all that "quality television" out there. If there's some content you absolutely must have, some stations or shows have dedicated apps or websites where you can stream just that content either for free, usually only the most recent episode(s).

As more people try to ditch cable TV, expect even more blatant attempts to get you to pay both ways--bandwidth caps are just the beginning. As you change your relationship with Comcast, watch out for getting pushed into any plans that will screw you over with exceptionally low caps. I don't know if they have any of those around here (because their website is so broken) but they probably exist at the lower tiers of non-bundled packages.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Hawkbit on September 23, 2016, 07:14:25 PM
I would like to know what solution you come up with. Our options in West Seattle are Comcast or Century Link, though the latter isn't run to my house. My 50mb service is $73/month. Internet only.

I did get moderate success trashing the shit out of them on twitter and got my bill lowered to $40 for a year, but that expired a while back and I just don't have the energy to tell them to fuckoff again.

I considered keeping them on speed dial just to fucking verbally abuse some random person every now and again when I have a bad day.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on September 23, 2016, 07:31:37 PM
You will never NEVER never ever never get a real, satisfactory answer to how much you should be paying for a certain set of not-bundled services from Comcast. Like ever. The first 2 levels of customer service reps will only be allowed to tell you about the bundles they have, and they will even lie and tell you that you will pay more if you only want 1 of the 3 services from the bundle (like just Internet). You will literally have to escalate 3-4 levels up to get a straight answer and it will still be fucked up when you get your bill.

Live sports are the only reason I haven't completely ditched all cable TV companies.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: schild on September 23, 2016, 09:34:14 PM
Sending you a private message.
well i want to know what the pm was about


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Viin on September 23, 2016, 09:52:56 PM
I use Comcast internet but use DirecTV for cable. I'm pretty close to pulling the plug on DirecTV as I can get most of my shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu. And if you are "smart" about it, you could subscribe to just 1 or 2 of those and cycle them around as new content is made available. Of course, just Netflix alone has months and months of original programs. The only thing you don't get easily is Sports.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Trippy on September 23, 2016, 11:19:35 PM
What antenna is best to capture local channels? What do you miss about cable? What is unavailable except through cable or satellite?
The HDTV antennas that look like large mouse pads work remarkable well. They don't, of course, work as well as a real roof-mounted HDTV antenna that's installed and pointed properly but if that's not an option you can try one of those. They are so cheap that even if one of them doesn't work for you you aren't out much money (or you can just return if you buy it from some place like Amazon). There are a ton of different manufactures of that type of antenna but if you can't figure out which one to get just get a (Mohu) Leaf since they are the original.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Trippy on September 23, 2016, 11:21:57 PM
I'd be terrified of having phone service through Comcast. I'd fully expect to die at some point due to an unplanned outage (that they deny) that just happens to line up with needing to call 911. Same goes for any VOIP service if Comcast is still your ISP.
I especially like how their cable box that provides the telephone jack comes with a slot for a battery for backup power but they don't provide the battery for it.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Velorath on September 24, 2016, 02:27:12 AM
I kinda miss watching football at home. Then I remember how little I've been enjoying the NFL in recent years and I don't feel so bad about it. Aside from that, with HBO Now being available more places now, I don't miss cable at all.

If you have a PS4, maybe look into Playstation Vue (it's available on PS3 and Amazon Fire TV also but I've read that content runs at 30 FPS on those as opposed to 60 on PS4) as a competitor to SlingTV. I don't have either but I've read there are pluses and minuses to both. I think Vue costs a bit more, but has some sort of cloud save DVR feature.

Personally I'm mostly happy with Netflix and Hulu. I had Prime for a while also but canceled the service when Amazon consistently shipped my stuff through USPS who are terrible in my area and frequently claimed that they attempted to deliver stuff to my apartment, even when I was home all day and never saw them. Hulu is especially great for their Criteron selection.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Strazos on September 24, 2016, 02:49:39 AM
For NFL games, couldn't you just sign up for the online streaming service, and then use a VPN to get around the geoblocking?


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: MrHat on September 24, 2016, 07:05:52 AM
If you are a student, last year I used a college email address to get RedZone streaming separately through Sunday Ticket.  Sure it was about $20/mo when I did it last year.

We haven't had cable at our house for 5 years.  One of those years I did have a free HD cable through Comcast deal. I actually really liked it because their On-Demand had literally EVERYTHING.  Then about 8 months in, they changed it.  Lots of shows went out, or went to only the last 4 episodes available.  And then they did the worst thing imaginable: anything you watched On-Demand was unskippable. So you had to watch commercials for on-demand shows. So I cancelled that out.

We use Netflix (Family), Hulu (No-Ads), and Amazon Prime.  Hulu has most of the big popular shows streaming the next day.

For sports, I use a Mohu antenna (the one Trippy recommended).  I have to change it from one wall to the other if I want to catch CBS vs. ABC, but NBC and Fox always come in.  I literally only watch live TV for sports.

HBO and somehow ESPN is still included in my Comcast internet package. I just use the log-ins there with Chromecast to watch MNF and HBO on TV.

For Redzone this year, I started by just using a friends log in since they don't stream anything (THIS IS YOUR FIRST OPTION). Then you can stream on your iPad/phone and send to your TV with Chromecast/Apple TV.

If that doesn't work, Playstation Vue is ok (their on-demand/DVR service is unskippable ads). You get all your basic cable channels (USA, FX, ESPN, news?). It's like $30/mo and an extra $40 (no per month, just flat fee) will get you RedZone for the whole season (and it streams beautifully).  Vue works on your playstation best, but their apps for phone/tablet are decent too.

I'd just like to reinterate that using someone else's login to stream RedZone is the best method if you don't have cable.

Also, there's a pretty great website that, if you have adblockers, lets you watch pretty much any TV episodes you want and you can always chromecast mirror that to your TV too.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: taolurker on September 24, 2016, 07:47:40 AM
Also, there's a pretty great website that, if you have adblockers, lets you watch pretty much any TV episodes you want and you can always chromecast mirror that to your TV too.
This was basically why I sent a private message, because I didn't want to advertise sites for streaming or disseminate links/encourage piracy. There are however sites, and I've had Comcast internet only because, fuck them, and their wanting to temporary package for 6 months then screw you with a $300 bill... Which happened perpetually with them. I didn't want phone or a "package" and using browser streaming (and mobile device ones), I've eliminated the tv cost and chrome cast sort of to my tv, on pcs + televisions (but with hdmi dual monitor on my "media center pc" instead of bothering with chrome and their gadget).


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Khaldun on September 24, 2016, 07:54:14 AM
I am starting to think about all this too. I guess I'm just a kind of eh, meh, I have this and I don't want to think about it (we're Verizon FIOS) but the cost of it and the fact that most of that cost is subsidizing live sports which we just don't watch any longer. Three-quarters of what we watch is on Amazon, Hulu, HBO, Starz or Netflix; a smattering of on-demand movies when we can't find it anywhere else. The only shows we watch when they come on are a few network shows ("The Good Place" was fun in the first episode), Top Chef, and my wife still watches General Hospital sometimes because it's mindless comfort food for her.

I am just trying to decide what the best basic route to go is to cut the cord. We still have an old XBox 360 running which we use for Netflix and Hulu, that's probably not going to survive much longer.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Chimpy on September 24, 2016, 09:16:50 AM
Get a Roku if you want to be able to access Amazon, Netflix, HBO Now, Sling, Hulu, and a bunch of other stuff on one device. They are cheap and pretty no frills. The apps can be a little meh on the user interface but they function.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on September 24, 2016, 05:26:19 PM
Sling TV has a deal for 50% off the Roku 3 if you pre-pay for 3 months of TV service...eying that very closely at this point. I think I will probably end up using that in my bedroom, then picking up a Xbone eventually for our downstairs TV.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Logain on September 24, 2016, 10:27:52 PM
Slingtv is pretty good if you just can't bring yourself to do without broadcast channels, commercials and all. For sports, get an antenna. Personally I subscribe to Netflix and amazon prime. Between those two and youtube there's not much I want to watch that I can't find. I'm not completely sold on youtube red. I used up the free trial and did not renew. I used to subscribe to Hulu but their show offering just didn't seem worth it, especially if one already has netflix and amazon prime. If I had to pick just one service to keep, I would definitely go with amazon prime as it's the best value in my opinion.

As far as hardware, a simple solution is to hook up a Roku. Personally I prefer to connect the tv to a pc. I would take some of the savings from dropping your cable package and roll it into a faster internet connection. I pay $100/month for 300mb down/75 mb up with time Warner. Me and my brother are consitantly pulling over 1TB downstream bandwidth monthly and I have yet to run into any data caps or additional charges. If you do decide to supplement your legal viewing options with a bit of piracy, definitely pick up a VPN.

One thing I can see cutting the cord being a problem for is if you are a reality tv junky or if you like to "channel surf." I don't really find myself missing any content I don't have access to, as I never see the commercials for them and the shows effectively don't exist for me.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on September 25, 2016, 01:06:12 PM
PlayStation Vue is tits. Get it.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on September 25, 2016, 02:00:02 PM
Buddy linked me this- http://gizmodo.com/slingtv-is-so-bad-it-forced-me-back-to-cable-1786029642

That has me reconsidering. Also the Comcast Twitter account dug up a promo for me to cut the bump from $9.99 to $5. Still hoping to discontinue. Exploring options.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: schild on September 25, 2016, 02:22:14 PM
PlayStation Vue is tits. Get it.
Yup, this is what we're signing up for when we get back to Austin.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on September 26, 2016, 07:31:35 AM
I generally trust you guys but since I already have signed up for lots and lots of services, why would I want to get Vue as well as all this other horseshit?


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Viin on September 26, 2016, 09:39:18 AM
Vue doesn't seem any different to me than any other cable package, except you also pay someone for Internet to get it? So the only positive is that you have to deal with Sony instead of Comcast .. seems like a weak trade off.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Rasix on September 26, 2016, 10:01:27 AM
Well, we kind of all buy internet access anyhow. Might as well pay less, which is what the cost here looks like.  

Honestly, all I need are live sports and cable can rot. I'm willing to get stuff later on streaming services or binge on available backlogs.

I have Cox and it's not any better than Comcast in regards to pricing. Their name is just more honest about what they're shoving in your backside.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on September 26, 2016, 10:58:41 AM
My wife is the one that needs football, so if I can get rid of her then I won't need Red Zone.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: vos on September 26, 2016, 01:41:53 PM
One thing not mentioned so far is sound support. Sling TV, PS Vue, and Hulu are only Stereo. Only Netflix consistently has 5.1 or better audio. Amazon can be hit or miss. The reason of course is that Netflix can spend days encoding what the live TV streamers have to do in seconds.

Most of the live TV streamers are geared towards mobile devices or lower end smart TVs. People running your $5-10k TV setups generally aren't looking to save money on cable bills. There are of course exceptions, for example Netflix 4k streaming is good on it's original programming and Vudu does 4k UHD with Dolby Atmos (but that's once again not live).

Another thing some do as part of their solution is the Tivo (or other DVR) + Antenna for local channels.



Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on September 27, 2016, 08:35:30 AM
I no longer detect the appeal of live television.  At least since I've established that I don't need football.  It also helps that I don't have to worry about dickholes spoiling it for me or (far more likely) that I put money on the game.  If you bet on a sport game and need to know right away if you lost, just go to a sport bar with the other addicts.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Rendakor on September 29, 2016, 12:39:32 PM
Relevant to this thread, I need a new streaming device for our bedroom. We've been using an Apple TV that the wife's had for ages with no remote; there are cellphone apps that act as remotes but now that we've both upgraded to phones without IR functionality that's a no go. The remote for it is $27, but for a bit more I could get something that isn't Apple which would be great since we have no other Apple devices nor an iTunes account.

I was originally leaning towards a Chromecast but that appears to need another device to actually play the video (like my phone or a PC) and all it does it display it on the TV; do I have that right? The other option would be a Roku, but that raises the question of which one to buy. They seem to be rolling out a new line of products 10/7/16 so the stuff they have listed on their website doesn't match what's currently available for purchase. :uhrr:


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on September 29, 2016, 12:46:33 PM
I just bought a Roku Streaming Stick because Groupon had a refurbed one that I got for $20 with shipping and a coupon. I just got it in last night and messed with it a bit. I like it. It's a little slow to start some of the apps, but streaming quality both audio and video was good. It also has apps for a ton of things including Netflix, Youtube, Amazon Prime Video, and others.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Viin on September 29, 2016, 03:20:03 PM
The new Roku is suppose to be only $30, so might as well wait and see what it is. I actually like the Apple TV, it has a pretty good interface, and is reasonably quick, as far as these things go.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Chimpy on September 29, 2016, 03:40:58 PM
The new Roku is suppose to be only $30, so might as well wait and see what it is. I actually like the Apple TV, it has a pretty good interface, and is reasonably quick, as far as these things go.

If you are doing HBOGo/Now the interface on the AppleTV is like a billion times better than the Roku.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Fraeg on September 30, 2016, 02:59:20 PM
I played the 6 month best deal with Comcast for ages, did the basic cable cause the bundled deal is cheaper than internet alone blah blah.

Finally realized I own a home and won't be moving anytime soon:  Comcast 1 year contract 100 mbs for $49 a month internet only. Have Netflix and Amazon prime and all is well.   Going to buy an antenna as I miss PBS.

That might not help you as a student, but I have been avoiding contracts instinctivley for so long it was a eureka moment when I realized that it was "ok" not to be month on Internet now that I own a house.  Too bad it took me about three years to figure that one out...


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: schild on September 30, 2016, 06:05:57 PM
Relevant to this thread, I need a new streaming device for our bedroom. We've been using an Apple TV that the wife's had for ages with no remote; there are cellphone apps that act as remotes but now that we've both upgraded to phones without IR functionality that's a no go. The remote for it is $27, but for a bit more I could get something that isn't Apple which would be great since we have no other Apple devices nor an iTunes account.

I was originally leaning towards a Chromecast but that appears to need another device to actually play the video (like my phone or a PC) and all it does it display it on the TV; do I have that right? The other option would be a Roku, but that raises the question of which one to buy. They seem to be rolling out a new line of products 10/7/16 so the stuff they have listed on their website doesn't match what's currently available for purchase. :uhrr:

Rokus are excellent.

Amazon stuff is ok.

NVidia Shield and PS4 are excellent.

Chromecast is tolerable.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on September 30, 2016, 06:12:08 PM
Vue gets me local broadcast channels since digital antennas don't work where my house is. Thus is how I watch NFL games. No other product has this.

I also watch CNN on it.

If you're in to all the other standard cable channels then you get most of those too.

It's only 40bux with no other fees. Beats out cable for me.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: schild on September 30, 2016, 06:54:52 PM
VUE has Food Network and Cooking Channel. Worth the cost of admission.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on September 30, 2016, 07:47:20 PM
And NFL redzone and NFL network if you want to upgrade your sub.

The UI is very good on my ps3. It's shit on my old roku2.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: MahrinSkel on September 30, 2016, 09:02:12 PM
One thing not mentioned so far is sound support. Sling TV, PS Vue, and Hulu are only Stereo. Only Netflix consistently has 5.1 or better audio. Amazon can be hit or miss. The reason of course is that Netflix can spend days encoding what the live TV streamers have to do in seconds.
Is the sound of anything other than movies coming over cable at better than stereo, anyway? We'll set aside the question of whether 5.1 sound is actually worth the cost of the equipment, is it even a factor for 95%+ of the channels?

--Dave


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Reg on October 01, 2016, 04:06:33 PM
For those of you without decent antenna service I just saw a new channel on my Roku that has all of the main Canadian channels streaming live for $1.99 a month. I'm sure there must be equivalent channels available in the US.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Chimpy on October 01, 2016, 05:31:10 PM
For those of you without decent antenna service I just saw a new channel on my Roku that has all of the main Canadian channels streaming live for $1.99 a month. I'm sure there must be equivalent channels available in the US.

There isn't thanks to the Aereo decision (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Broadcasting_Cos._v._Aereo,_Inc.).


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: taolurker on October 01, 2016, 07:59:50 PM
Again, I'll say doing streams through a browser is the cheaper thing.

Everyone here is recommending something that's an additional cost above the charges for broadband, and if you use "illicit" sites and some smart browsing you can eliminate those extra boxes, monthly fees, and assorted extra crap. I don't recommend it for everyone, but you guys are smart enough about pop-ups/pop-unders and browsing that watching EVERYTHING via the net on a PC is the best (and cheapest) alternatives.

For those of you without decent antenna service I just saw a new channel on my Roku that has all of the main Canadian channels streaming live for $1.99 a month. I'm sure there must be equivalent channels available in the US.

There isn't thanks to the Aereo decision (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Broadcasting_Cos._v._Aereo,_Inc.).
If all you want is "antenna" service and the basic channels, use USTVNOW dot COM. Create a log in, and you get those channels free. They have a pay service for additional channels, but again there are other ways + sites, and I still am too poor to pay for TV (let alone back surgeries).


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Logain on October 02, 2016, 07:19:05 AM
Again, I'll say doing streams through a browser is the cheaper thing.

Everyone here is recommending something that's an additional cost above the charges for broadband, and if you use "illicit" sites and some smart browsing you can eliminate those extra boxes, monthly fees, and assorted extra crap. I don't recommend it for everyone, but you guys are smart enough about pop-ups/pop-unders and browsing that watching EVERYTHING via the net on a PC is the best (and cheapest) alternatives.

I mentioned it earlier in the thread but everyone's dead set on set top boxes and dongles of one sort or another. Hook a fully functioning PC up to the big screen and you're set for just about anything, legit and illicit feeds alike. I've never had cable television in my adult life, and this is the setup that has always worked best for me.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on October 03, 2016, 01:13:47 PM
I don't have room for a pc in my kitchen dining room where the kids watch cartoons in the morning.

I don't have time to fish for illegal streams all the time when they want to watch the Disney channel.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Viin on October 03, 2016, 03:20:55 PM
My Samsung SmartTV works really well for watching Netflix or Amazon or Hulu. I wish it had PBS Kids (and maybe HBO Go) (like Apple TV does) but otherwise it works great as a self contained unit.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: MisterNoisy on October 05, 2016, 04:50:25 AM
For those of you without decent antenna service I just saw a new channel on my Roku that has all of the main Canadian channels streaming live for $1.99 a month. I'm sure there must be equivalent channels available in the US.

There isn't thanks to the Aereo decision (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Broadcasting_Cos._v._Aereo,_Inc.).

That decision was such a giant load of horseshit.

My favorite non-PC/legal solution is either one of the newer consoles or the Roku (I'm still using the 3 and can't see a reason to replace it) and Amazon Prime.  You can add Starz to Prime which will get you a bunch of Disney stuff alongside some good movie and series content and turn it off easily when needed.  Add Netflix and HBO Now, and you've got enough stuff to watch for damn near anyone.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Reg on October 05, 2016, 05:50:35 AM
I just read that the company I mentioned earlier streaming local channels in Canada is in the process of being sued by Bell Media that owns about half of them. I guess we can't have nice things up here either.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: vos on October 05, 2016, 03:30:08 PM
One thing not mentioned so far is sound support. Sling TV, PS Vue, and Hulu are only Stereo. Only Netflix consistently has 5.1 or better audio. Amazon can be hit or miss. The reason of course is that Netflix can spend days encoding what the live TV streamers have to do in seconds.
Is the sound of anything other than movies coming over cable at better than stereo, anyway? We'll set aside the question of whether 5.1 sound is actually worth the cost of the equipment, is it even a factor for 95%+ of the channels?

--Dave

Most of your Major Broadcast TV is in 5.1 a la your NCIS or your Blacklist...   Sports is another area where it arguably makes a big difference...  It is noticeable on Football and Basketball, not so much to me on Baseball. There are however people who vehemently hate it on sports, so ymmv anyway. I probably only care cause I just blew a bunch of money on a new 5.1 setup...


For those of you using PS vue or SlingTv, how cheap would cable TV have to be for you to go back? At a certain point these services are just as much as cable (at least in my area). The PS4 service ends up being about $7 a month cheaper than a comparable cable package. After dicking around with Kodi for 5 hours this weekend, I almost broke down and ordered Cable TV.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on October 05, 2016, 06:55:06 PM
 Cables smallest package was about 50 plus box rental which is 10 for a regular box and 20 for a DVR. I have at least 2 TVs. Then other fees and taxes.

That's fios.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on October 06, 2016, 11:27:42 AM
Football can be hilarious depending on who is sitting near the mics for the rear channel 'ambient crowd noise'. There have been games where I turn up a specific back speaker because someone is just hilariously yelling the whole game and it's never (to my knowledge) censored.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: MahrinSkel on August 09, 2017, 07:57:36 PM
Rise!

So Hulu has a new "Live TV" service that is essentially basic cable for $40/month, no contracts. They have some premium stuff (like HBO) a la carte, and it includes everything you get from Hulu+, and CBS/NBC/Fox/CW (ABC is apparently their on demand stuff only).

https://www.hulu.com/live-tv (https://www.hulu.com/live-tv)

--Dave


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on August 10, 2017, 05:04:14 AM
Waiting for football.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Signe on August 13, 2017, 10:45:15 AM
Rise!

So Hulu has a new "Live TV" service that is essentially basic cable for $40/month, no contracts. They have some premium stuff (like HBO) a la carte, and it includes everything you get from Hulu+, and CBS/NBC/Fox/CW (ABC is apparently their on demand stuff only).

https://www.hulu.com/live-tv (https://www.hulu.com/live-tv)

--Dave

Have you given this a go?  We're finally out of contract with FIOS and eventually would LOVE to ween off of them.  We've been having issues for months.  Our service freezes, stutters, pixelates and plays catch up with the remote... which I guess is lag, maybe?  It would awesome if we could ditch FIOS completely but there is the pesky internet to consider.  And DVR, too, although I suppose we could do without that if necessary.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: schild on August 13, 2017, 11:58:40 AM
I still use PS Vue and its still awesome.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Hawkbit on August 13, 2017, 12:51:49 PM
I still use PS Vue and its still awesome.

Yep, we use it during football season and it's solid. So great to be able to use the service on a monthly basis.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Cheddar on August 13, 2017, 04:52:09 PM
Waiting for football.

Did my eyes deceive me?  Football on Amazon Prime?


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on August 20, 2017, 08:38:33 AM
I still use PS Vue and its still awesome.

Same here.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on August 25, 2017, 12:26:33 PM
Waiting for football.

Did my eyes deceive me?  Football on Amazon Prime?

I think we both saw this.  Thursday Night on Amazon.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Morat20 on August 25, 2017, 12:32:01 PM
I still use PS Vue and its still awesome.
I've been looking at that. TV wise, I really just want the local channels, BBC, HBO -- and then I have Amazon Prime, Starz (American Gods), Neflix and Hulu.



Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on August 27, 2017, 06:04:51 PM
We're talking about getting NFL GamePass, she just wants to watch the Pats every week :)

So...it's screen limited, I don't have a device that will let me watch it on the big screen...I was planning on getting an xbox scorpio, which is a supported device.

Still a bunch of random junk tv we like to watch that is stopping us, though.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on August 28, 2017, 05:53:28 AM
We're talking about getting NFL GamePass, she just wants to watch the Pats every week :)

Bah.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on August 28, 2017, 06:51:11 AM
I've created a monster. She has a Patriots app on her phone and tells me offseason trades and whatnot.

I don't even follow any football stuff in the offseason!

Anyway, point is as long as you have an approved device, the NFL isn't the showstopper for cord-cutting.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on August 28, 2017, 08:33:05 AM
I agree, I need football on the big TV, or the bedroom TV.  Not a phone or tablet.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on August 28, 2017, 12:57:47 PM
You can get the NFL streamed if you can trick it to say you're out of the country. Otherwise it's illigal streams or direct TV.

There are local broadcasting options.

Or you can watch games hours after they are over with game pass.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: taolurker on August 28, 2017, 01:53:36 PM
FEED2ALL DOT EU

All the sports streams u need, every NFL game.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on July 24, 2018, 11:50:15 PM
Well look at me. Not even 2 years later and I finally cancelled my TV package. The HD DVR I had went bad  and wouldn't reboot. We literally almost never use the TV there, so I bought a Fire Stick and an HD antenna, then returned the box today. Xfinity rep tells me I have to bring a cable box home with me (I knew this was going to happen, so I was prepared). I told him I didn't want it. I have a cable card, and that is the only TV receiver I really need. He insisted I must have at least a basic box as 'primary equipment', which is just fucking clownshoes stupid, and also completely bullshit. There is literally no technical reason for it. They just want a foothold in my house. 

So I said "Well, let's just cancel it then. Keep the internet, but dump the TV. I will return my cable card". He was mildly shocked, and kept recommending more ways for me to give them money. I told him I had plenty of streaming devices and would be just fine. God that felt good.

So- now I am going to be experimenting with streaming trials. Anyone have favorites? I would like a DVR of some kind (cloud based it fine). Looking at YouTube TV, Hulu Live TV, and Sling TV as my first trials.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on July 25, 2018, 06:21:49 AM
PlayStation Vue

Then whatever streaming services you like, netflix, Hulu, amazon video etc.

Also get an Nvidia shield and set up a Plex server.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Samwise on July 25, 2018, 10:04:41 AM
So I said "Well, let's just cancel it then. Keep the internet, but dump the TV. I will return my cable card". He was mildly shocked, and kept recommending more ways for me to give them money. I told him I had plenty of streaming devices and would be just fine. God that felt good.

 :drill: :drill: :drill: :drill: :drill: :drill: :drill:

Welcome to freedom.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sir T on July 25, 2018, 01:12:35 PM
May I interest you in some economical bitcoin mining server cabinets.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Shannow on July 26, 2018, 08:21:56 AM
How much does standard internet cost from Comast per month?


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Rendakor on July 26, 2018, 08:28:41 AM
I think I pay $60/month for 250 Mbps down.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Teleku on July 26, 2018, 08:51:21 AM
About $120 a month here for 10 mbps down, for ETL Lao Telecom.   :why_so_serious:


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on July 26, 2018, 10:56:46 AM
$66.95 + tax and fees for 60mbs down. Speed is fine, but I am worried about the 1TB cap every month. We have come up against it a couple of times already, and that was before we were strictly a streaming household. I am sure they will find every single way they can to screw me, since that is their business motto.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: MisterNoisy on July 26, 2018, 05:19:10 PM
Well look at me. Not even 2 years later and I finally cancelled my TV package. The HD DVR I had went bad  and wouldn't reboot. We literally almost never use the TV there, so I bought a Fire Stick and an HD antenna, then returned the box today. Xfinity rep tells me I have to bring a cable box home with me (I knew this was going to happen, so I was prepared). I told him I didn't want it. I have a cable card, and that is the only TV receiver I really need. He insisted I must have at least a basic box as 'primary equipment', which is just fucking clownshoes stupid, and also completely bullshit. There is literally no technical reason for it. They just want a foothold in my house.  

So I said "Well, let's just cancel it then. Keep the internet, but dump the TV. I will return my cable card". He was mildly shocked, and kept recommending more ways for me to give them money. I told him I had plenty of streaming devices and would be just fine. God that felt good.

So- now I am going to be experimenting with streaming trials. Anyone have favorites? I would like a DVR of some kind (cloud based it fine). Looking at YouTube TV, Hulu Live TV, and Sling TV as my first trials.

You probably have Amazon Prime, so there's that.  You can sub and unsub from a browser as needed to HBO, Cinemax, Starz and Showtime as part of your Prime sub and you won't get some fucking retention asshole trying to convince you that you need to keep something you no longer have a need for.  Beyond that, my brother has been very happy with Google TV to add the 'regular' networks.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Hoax on July 26, 2018, 06:22:07 PM
My old man just refused to ever get cable, he's got one of those paddle antennas for broadcast channels, a roku that he uses to manage various apps and get some random jank, a hulu sub, amazon prime & netflix and he still get's 1 bluray from netflix.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on August 14, 2018, 02:44:20 PM
Cancelled Hulu Live TV (keeping streaming), going with Sling TV next. Hulu didn't have NFL Network or Red Zone, plus the live TV interface was garbage. Having the freedom to switch at a moment's notice makes dumping cable all the more satisfying.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Slayerik on August 20, 2018, 08:22:29 AM
I'm using a service called Philo for 16 a month for like 40 channels. It has enough of the channels I like (Discovery, Science, History, Comedy, etc) and enough that my GF likes (ID, A&E, OWN) and allows us to install all the individual channel apps for on-demand. I watch it on my fire stick, but have to use the clunky Silk Browser if I want to watch the channels live. Since you get 2 devices, I hooked up a Roku 2 downstairs.

Add on Netflix for 11 bucks and I have what I need for 27 dollars and 45 for comcast internet service. 73 dollars for internet and TV. Solid.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Mandella on August 20, 2018, 10:14:49 AM
I'm using a service called Philo for 16 a month for like 40 channels. It has enough of the channels I like (Discovery, Science, History, Comedy, etc) and enough that my GF likes (ID, A&E, OWN) and allows us to install all the individual channel apps for on-demand. I watch it on my fire stick, but have to use the clunky Silk Browser if I want to watch the channels live. Since you get 2 devices, I hooked up a Roku 2 downstairs.

Add on Netflix for 11 bucks and I have what I need for 27 dollars and 45 for comcast internet service. 73 dollars for internet and TV. Solid.

Damn. That does seem like a good deal. I hadn't looked at them before (so much for their marketing), but it looks like everything I would be interested in is available in their base package even.

I didn't see it mentioned on their site, but any idea if they have an app for XBox or PS4? And how well is the pure PC experience?


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on August 20, 2018, 03:16:54 PM
On the horns of a dilemma. SlingTV has a much better interface and more channels than HuluTV. But the streaming fucking blows. I get error messages and big buffer pauses constantly, and only through Sling. All my other streaming stuff works great. Free week runs out in a day or two, and I am leaning toward DirectTV streaming. Except Sling has NFL Red Zone and DTV does not. RZ is a complete must have for football season (at least the first month until my fantasy teams are completely off the rails).

Do I hope that Sling gets their streaming shit together? Or do I try DTV? I think I might do a week trial on DTV and see how it goes before the season starts. I can always go back to Sling for opening weekend.

At any rate, the freedom to bounce around as I see fit while not sending Comcast any cable money is  :heart:


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: schild on August 21, 2018, 05:54:25 AM
Get ps vue, dude.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on August 21, 2018, 09:47:02 AM
I keep looking at streaming options (especially now that I looked at how much money I'm spending just on my TV service). What's always held me back was sports - I don't watch sports live, I DVR then to watch later the same day. I'd need a service with some decent DVR capabilities as well as major network feeds, lots of sports channels especially soccer and a good mix of cable channels. Fubo and Sling look like the best options but I'm not entirely sure if the DVR capabilities on them is worth a shit. Any testimonials?


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: 01101010 on August 21, 2018, 11:43:23 AM
Get ps vue, dude.

Had that for the world cup. Was nice... but we don't watch enough of the channels to keep the sub to it. If we didn't have the packaged basic tv with Verizon to get a low cost on the Fios and just got a cheap fiber option, I'd probably keep Vue.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: ynotgolf on August 21, 2018, 10:46:07 PM
Day 3 of PSVue trial, ...  wish I would've cut the cord months ago now.  3 of the big 4 channels (NBC, CBS, FOX, with ABC On Demand).  I thought ABC On Demand was going to be a big negative with Wifey, but so far, she's game. As long as she has her HGTV to fall asleep to, I think I'm okay.  PSVue is definitely the priciest of the streaming options I considered but it hits all the sweet-spots for us. HGTV, check. Golf Channel (don't judge), check. NFL Redzone, check.  Big four networks, check.  Intuitive DVR with Live playback, double check!

Compared to :
YouTube TV (no HGTV)
Hulu + TV (WayAbvPar steered me away, saved me the 5 day trial)
DirectTVNow (no NFL Redzone)
SlingTV (can only stream the Orange channels on one device, fuck that noise, I've got kids)
Philo (was intriguing, at $16/month. If it was just my wife, and I didn't need to watch NFL or Golf on occasion, I would pushed for Philo and OTA antenna)

Currently my son is playing Fortnight in the living room, my daughter is in her bedroom streaming something on Netflix and my wife is next to me in bed falling asleep to HGTV, flicker free and I have yet to experience any buffering issues. 

YMMV, but I'm sold.




Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on August 22, 2018, 06:10:07 AM
I keep looking at streaming options (especially now that I looked at how much money I'm spending just on my TV service). What's always held me back was sports - I don't watch sports live, I DVR then to watch later the same day. I'd need a service with some decent DVR capabilities as well as major network feeds, lots of sports channels especially soccer and a good mix of cable channels. Fubo and Sling look like the best options but I'm not entirely sure if the DVR capabilities on them is worth a shit. Any testimonials?

2 weeks in a row (HuluTV 1 week, SlingTV the next) I tried to record the Seahawks game. Neither one recorded. Hulu definitely had my local affiliate channel, but for reasons unknown just ignored my request (I checked beforehand to make sure I had set it up). It also wouldn't even give me the option of recording the Sounders on ESPN (which I ended up watching mostly live, and which was quite worth it). Sling doesn't have my local affiliate, but did have NFL Network, which broadcast the game as well. Again, set it up so the option said it would record, and nothing.

So yeah. My experiences with Cloud DVRs so far is not heartening. I do the same thing as H- record live sports and watch them later the same day/evening.

I hesitate to give Sony any money for many reasons, foremost among them the roughly $10,000 worth of TVs I have owned from them that completely died early deaths. Not really excited about giving them my billing information either, judging by the network security in the past. But I may give them a shot if ynot can give me a solid recommendation (since our viewing priorities are probably a single circle on a Venn diagram).


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on August 22, 2018, 03:08:38 PM
Everyone just get ps Vue. It's how I watch the NFL. DVR is amazing too.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on August 25, 2018, 08:25:24 AM
I went out of town and missed the deadline to cancel my Sling sub by about 4 hours, so I am stuck with it for a month. Sigh.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Chimpy on October 25, 2018, 04:30:27 PM
Just put in my order for fiber internet. Installation is on Tuesday.

After that, SUCK IT COMCAST.

(though I will need to figure out how I am going to network shit now that I won't have a cable modem in my office, guess I can just put my router in the basement and put a switch in my office)


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on October 26, 2018, 03:36:05 AM
All I hear about is how densely packed the industrial area 3 or 4 miles from my house is packed with datacenters and shit, but god forbid anyone run some fucking fiber around here. Jealous!


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on January 29, 2019, 04:37:50 PM
I'm starting my research binge on cutting the cord again, and thinking that Fubo.tv is my best bet for most things (soccer and most network shows). Anyone had any experiences good or bad? Also, what do you guys who have cut the cord use for streaming your local TV station programming (like local ABC/NBC affiliates)?


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on January 29, 2019, 06:10:47 PM
Read the fucking thread! This page!


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on January 30, 2019, 12:19:33 AM
I'm starting my research binge on cutting the cord again, and thinking that Fubo.tv is my best bet for most things (soccer and most network shows). Anyone had any experiences good or bad? Also, what do you guys who have cut the cord use for streaming your local TV station programming (like local ABC/NBC affiliates)?

DirectTVNow carries local affiliates, so I get my local news fix through them. I also bought an HD antenna for my family room- it picks up a surprising amount of channels over the air. I still find that 80% of my non-sports TV watching is done via Hulu/Prime/Netflix, but DirectTVNow works for the rest of it. Get my cable news, local news, and nerdy shit like SCI and NatGeo, plus nationally televised sports (several ESPNs, NBCSports, CBSSports, FoxSports1, etc). Would definitely like a bigger cloud DVR, however.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on January 30, 2019, 09:15:53 AM
The weird part I'm finding in the research is that no service is complete. It looks like if I want Comedy Central, I may end up subbing to a service just to get it. I'm mainly trying to make sure I don't lose anything I actually watch but also pay less money by enough to make the effort worthwhile.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Jimbo on February 02, 2019, 01:57:00 PM
I wish they would make it that anywhere you lived you had access to fiber optic w/unlimited data. I have Comcast here in Gallup, New Mexico (since there isn't any other as fast as them). They sold me there fast service which is 50 Mbps (other towns around here get 75 or 100 Mbps), but forgot to mention there was a data cap! WTF! Spectrum back home in Indiana was 100 Mbps and unlimited data and cost way less (almost half of what Comcast is charging). I could switch back to DSL from Century Link, but that is slow going, plus there are two of us in the apartment I'm renting (we both stream and game).


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on February 09, 2019, 11:42:15 AM
Comcast here has a 1 TB cap. I have run up against it a few times, but the only time I ever went over was December...we had a lot of new games to download from Christmas and Steam sales  :awesome_for_real:


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on March 08, 2019, 12:53:16 PM
It's been almost a month since I cut my cable subscription so I figured I'd update you guys with my reviews. I went full nerd on making the choice of what services to go with - I essentially created an Excel spreadsheet with the channels I knew that I would care about watching, then tried to find the one service with all of them. Guess what? There wasn't one service. None of them had everything, and I'm not even talking about everything I had - I just wanted the channels that I actually watched. The one that got closest to my list was actually YoutubeTV, which surprised the shit out of me because I never considered them a contender. However, it was literally missing 5 channels that I wanted - Comedy Central, Weather Channel, A&E, NFL Network and maybe the Cooking Channel (don't remember which one - it's one my wife would watch more than me). So I got 2 services and finding the other landed me on DirecTV Now, mainly because it was the only one that had Comedy Central. Seriously, CC is only on like 2 or 3 goddamn services and I really wanted that. I need my Daily Show in the morning and I can't be assed to go find clips.

I did end up having to buy a new Roku to use both services. Thankfully, Roku had been running a sale on the Roku Premiere for $30.

So first up, YoutubeTV. I originally picked this one because it has all 4 of my local big network affiliate channels live, which mattered as much to my wife as me because she likes to watch the local weather channel when the weather gets shitty. You'll have to check if you local channels are available but if they are, the stream is decent. I'm watching all this in 1080p and other than it taking a little longer to buffer the channel than it would to change the channel on a cable box, it's a solid live stream. Of course, most of the shit I watch isn't live so what I was really concerned about was the DVR. YoutubeTV has Cloud DVR with unlimited space - the only restriction is that the content expires after 90 days. Not only is the DVR playback smooth, you can watch it on any device - computer, TV, tablet, phone (with obvious restrictions based on your phone's data usage). I've actually watched soccer games I recorded on my phone through Wifi and mobile and the quality was goddamn stunning. Nothing like watching Bundesliga while I'm sitting at the goddamn tire place. While I wouldn't watch it on mobile data very much because I'm on a cheap prepaid plan, if you have to, the quality is good. And like any DVR, watch it on your phone, stop in the middle and resume watching where you were when you get to another device. And you can have up to six Youtube/Google accounts linked to that one account with I think 3 devices playing different things at once. For only $40 a month, it has a pretty decent lineup of channels, including stuff I didn't care much about and was only missing a few things. I could have ran my Starz sub through it as well for $8 but I did that through DirecTVNow instead. The way recording shows work is that you do a search (or check the guide) and you can add a show to your library - it will record the show but if there are also episodes available on-demand, it will put those in your library as well so that you will always have access to whatever is on-demand on things you added to your library as well. If you follow one particular sport or one particular team, you can have just that team or everything from that league or sport recorded. It makes scheduling my weekend soccer and rugby games pretty damn easy. Needless to say, I'm actually impressed with YoutubeTV - I'd recommend it especially if you need your local channels and they are available. DVR fast-forward and rewind controls are a little weird at first - on the Roku, they are both controlled like 15-second skips as opposed to true fast-forward or rewind.

As an aside, fuck the CBS execs unto death. I DVR episodes of The Late Show with Colbert but because CBS are the biggest dicks on the planet, I can't actually watch my DVR'ed recording - I have to watch the On-Demand version which has unskippable ads. Thanks, CBS for ensuring I never fucking sub to your All-Access shit and will actively attempt to pirate your stuff if I want to watch it.

As for DirecTVNow, I don't have quite as positive a review of them. I'm paying more and while I think I'm actually getting a few more channels overall, it's not as good a service. The DVR works the same way (though they call recording a show Bookmarks and finding On-Demand versions is a separate click) but they only offer 20 hours of DVR time and they are still calling it BETA. While it does work well and it's controls are a little closer to traditional DVR with fast forward and rewind (and also 15-second skips), not being able to see what you are fast-forwarding through is a little annoying. Streams are good quality all around. I got my Starz and HBO subs through DirecTVNow because HBO was only $5 a month (as opposed to the $10 a month it is as a standalone) and I had to pay a little extra for multiple streams (I think it starts with 2 and I paid $5 for 3 streams). Overall I'm paying about $78 a month for but honestly, the minute YoutubeTV adds the channels I use it for, I'd drop it in a heartbeat, not only to save money but because YoutubeTV is just a better service overall. Oddly enough, I can use the Roku HBO Go app to watch HBO content with this sub, but I can't use the Starz app for it - neither DirecTVNow or YoutubeTV are listed as providers.

So even with having to get 2 services, I'm still going to manage saving about $50-$60 a month, getting pretty much all the content I was using before as well as the ability to watch the content on more devices. I did look at PSVue and fuboTV and probably would have gone with both of them if not for the lack of Comedy Central or the locals. Philo was almost an option for Comedy Central since it would have only been about $20 a month but it didn't have much else to justify it over DirecTVNow. I had thought Sling might be an option but their channel offerings are truly underwhelming. I'm still not entirely sure if it will do for when the NFL season comes around - I'm playing a wait and see game with that, hoping I won't have to do something drastic to watch football.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on March 09, 2019, 11:36:14 AM
I just watch youtube clips of segments from the late night shows (Colbert/Meyers/Noah). Hell, half the time I just stream them to my earbuds while I'm working.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Cyrrex on March 13, 2019, 03:45:38 AM
Haemish, how much are you actually paying a month for all of that?  120 bucks at least.  More?

The cost of media and media related services in the US is still just utterly insane.  Now granted, when I cut the cord 3 years ago, I had already weaned myself off of a number of things I thought I needed, but part of cutting the cable cord in my opinion is admitting to yourself that you don't need all of that shit anymore.  Live news and network television?  Haha, never.  Getting rid of regular sports viewing was the hardest pill to swallow, but I find that I don't miss it at all.  In fact, I don't miss ANY of it.  I now have three streaming services....Netflix, HBO and one called Viaplay (a Nordic thing, I think, it sucks but it sometimes has stuff the others don't), and I pay a total of maybe 35 bucks a month.  I have more shit lined up for viewing than I can possibly ever get through, and I add things to the list faster than I consume them.  The rare show that comes along that I don't have access to....well, there are other means of getting those things, or I can just temporarily get an Amazon sub or something.

Media access is oddly (and considerably) cheaper here in the land of socialism, and I can generally get everything I want.  But the biggest takeaway is to try giving up some of the stuff you don't think you can live without.  I think that is the real way to win this game.  You will end up filling it with better stuff anyway.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on March 13, 2019, 08:03:32 AM
Yes, it's about $120 a month, compared to the $180 a month I was paying for the cable TV services. So I am saving money and if DirecTV Now doesn't improve, that will be the first one to go. AT&T is changing their plans on it, though I think I'm grandfathered in on the plan I'm on now.

Why should I do with less if I don't want to?


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Cyrrex on March 13, 2019, 08:10:29 AM
Well, I don’t suppose you have to.  My comment was more born from the notion that 120 bucks a month is still actually a lot.  You did make clear that you were essentially trying to end up with more or less the same shit, but just pay less, and it sounds like you mostly managed it.  For me, it was more about paying a LOT less, and be willing to sacrifice a few things along the way.  It is surprising how much one finds one can live without and not notice any real decrease it quality of life.  Toughest thing to get  over was the loss of live sports, but even that can be solved on a case by case basis.  The other thing is just having the TV on as background noise, which is of course, absurd.  Don’t do that anymore.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: MisterNoisy on March 13, 2019, 05:51:13 PM
Reading Haem's post made me feel kinda sheepish that I pay $13/month for basically everything cable has to offer and barely watch it at all.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: luckton on March 14, 2019, 01:08:54 PM
Haem is on the money with YouTubeTV. Switched to them the day they became available here in SW Florida almost a year ago and haven't looked back. Cut Hulu, cut Netflix. And next week I get CenturyLink 1 Gig fiber installed for $65 a month for life.

Good times.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: schild on March 14, 2019, 10:51:03 PM
comedy central and spectator sports are not worth $60+ a month

there's some life questions you've got to ask yourself there

(we have Vue, Shudder, Hulu, Netflix, and something else and don't even crack $100 a month)


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: luckton on March 15, 2019, 04:47:11 AM
YouTubeTV does have add-on support for premium channels. Showtime, Starz, Shudder, Curiosity, etc. for like $3-$9 extra a month, depending on the channel.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on March 15, 2019, 08:32:12 AM
Yeah, I just got an email this morning from AT&T/DirecTV Now announcing their changes. I can keep my current package but I have to pay $10 more a month. They linked me to a comparison tool of their new packages that I can choose instead - a $40 and a $70 one. The chart shows what's in all 3 packages and HOLY SHIT. Like even the $70 package has removed something between 1/4 and 1/2 of the channels from the lineup completely. The hook for both of them is that HBO is included. So yes, I'm looking to replace DirectTV Now in the next few days because fuck that shit. No telling how soon they are just going to tell me to suck it and take one of these shitty shit shit packages.

In short, fuck AT&T unto death as well.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Morat20 on March 15, 2019, 10:28:18 AM
Hold on, I can sense the MBA thinking here.

"We've lost too many customers to streaming services. Best move is to charge more for less!"


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on March 15, 2019, 11:18:27 AM
I think it's more like "watch these piggies squeal!"


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: schild on March 16, 2019, 07:16:57 PM
you deserve this for liking spectator sports

and they know it


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on March 16, 2019, 09:34:01 PM
Oddly enough, I can actually get most of the spectator sports I want on YouTubeTV without having to go to another source. If I felt like it, I could probably be satisfied with the one service but I'm just not going to be arsed to hunt around for clips or pirate stuff when I don't have to. I decided to go with FuboTV to replace DirecTV Now because they just signed a deal with Viacom so eventually Comedy Central will be on there. My wife wanted Weather Channel which is also on Fubo so I'm pretty much good to go.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Reg on March 17, 2019, 06:36:53 AM
I'm with some of the others. Spending $120 a month is hardly "cutting the cord" at all.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Morat20 on March 18, 2019, 08:40:18 AM
I'm with some of the others. Spending $120 a month is hardly "cutting the cord" at all.
I went to cut mine (Uverse)-- we have Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime as it is (although the last one is because it pays for itself in free shipping every Christmas).

I ended up keeping the bare-bones TV package (local channels, SD, no DVR) because the cost of it was less than the cost of the "unbundled" internet.

Which is still a crock of shit, because I'm still paying basically 50 a month for uncapped internet and a bunch of local channels I never watch.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Chimpy on March 18, 2019, 09:31:01 AM
I need to get around to cancelling Netflix. I really only watch stuff sporadically and they keep upping the price while losing the content that isn’t Netflix shows (which I just have never gotten into).

Once Game of Thrones is back I will probably get HBO Now for a couple months to watch it plus catch up on stuff like Westworld season 2.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Reg on March 18, 2019, 01:03:35 PM
Up here the regulators force the big ISPs to sell their bandwidth wholesale to smaller providers. My ISP sells me an Internet deal way, way cheaper than anything I could get from Bell or Rogers.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Mandella on March 20, 2019, 10:31:46 AM
Not caring for spectator sports keeps my bills relatively low too.

Amazon Prime (which I would have anyway, but even though I don't care for many of their new shows they got like *all* the old sci-fi), Netflix (I actually like a lot of the original shows/movies they have), and.. um... "the internet" (lots of stuff just floating around out there).

I ditched DirectTV around the time of the merger. I only really had it for my daughter anyway.

Of course, I save nothing since my "Unlimited (it's not unlimited)" Satellite Internet is ~$150.00 a month.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on March 23, 2019, 06:38:49 AM
I need access to the NFL and cable news channels. Vue does this for me. Love the service.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: schild on March 24, 2019, 10:01:35 PM
My wife wanted Weather Channel

you're literally typing things on the internet

what could she possibly want on the weather channel, dare I ask


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on March 25, 2019, 08:29:23 AM
They don't even show Fat Guys in the Woods anymore.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on March 25, 2019, 09:44:37 AM
My wife wanted Weather Channel

you're literally typing things on the internet

what could she possibly want on the weather channel, dare I ask

I mean... weather?

My wife is strange. She is a weather junkie, she has always liked listening to the Weather Channel's music in the background and when weather goes tits up around here with tornadoes, she still wants to be able to see something live about it. I'm fine with it as having to use Fubo means I get more soccer channels.  :grin:


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on March 26, 2019, 08:31:18 AM
Just to make you feel better: mine likes the background noise AND flipping channels. During which she complains that nothing good is on. Otherwise I'd cut that shit.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on March 26, 2019, 09:44:44 AM
There is something about the cable box's casualness that suits certain times and moods. Hell, if I go into the studio and work on something that's fairly dull (like my current lessons of color matching, I'm literally just matching paint chips), I call up the Spectrum live page on my laptop just to have passive background viewing.

The problem with streaming services is you have to browse and choose each thing you want to watch. I don't want to burn series or really anything I'm interested in, because I'm not really paying too much attention. So you end up in that eternal scrolling through options and never picking one. With cable (or the online version, even), you can just flip to a channel and ignore it.

That's the main thing for me, especially now that we decided NFL Gamepass works the charm for us.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Polysorbate80 on March 26, 2019, 09:15:10 PM
Work at a CBS affiliate for a few years.  That will destroy any interest you have interest in television.  :oh_i_see:


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on August 20, 2019, 07:48:09 PM
My next monthly payment for DirectTV AT&TTV is a week from today, and I will be cancelling before then. $90 a month for channels I barely ever watch. I bought a $20 HD antenna that will provide me all the local channels I want for $0 per month. I used to be an MSNBC junkie but I haven't watched it in months. Once it was apparent that nothing Trump did was going to get him impeached, all the breathless "Breaking News" bullshit wore extremely thin.

I may take a look at some of the other streaming services in the future, but I honestly find myself watching Hulu, Netflix, and Prime 95% of the time the TV is on. I will miss some of the live sports on FS1 and NBCSports, but I can probably live with that.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Paelos on August 21, 2019, 06:34:09 AM
Work at a CBS affiliate for a few years.  That will destroy any interest you have interest in television.  :oh_i_see:

Had a friend that did this as a roving reporter. I can attest that's true for him. He finally quit and now runs his own videography biz.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on August 21, 2019, 01:04:04 PM
I would do an HD antennae myself and drop Playstation Vue but it doesn't work where I live. No signal. Wrong side of the mountain.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: ynotgolf on August 21, 2019, 09:07:14 PM
Even with the recent price increase, and various channel lineup changes, Playstation Vue has been the best bang for the price for my household.  Wifey gets her HGTV & DIY, I get my Golf Channel, FS1, ESPN & NBC Sports.  We hardly watch ABC, NBC, CBS or Fox, but those are also all included in HD. Granted, it's $55/month, so it's not the cheapest option, but it's been reliable, the DVR works, and I only have to pay Comcast $40/month for High Speed Internet. 

I was paying them $200/month for essentially the same lineup of channels we actually watch before the swap.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on August 26, 2019, 05:47:22 AM
I've heard Youtube's streaming service may be better.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on August 26, 2019, 05:55:17 AM
We decided to pay for YouTube TV or whatever the shit it's called because of something my boy wanted to watch but I couldn't tell you anything about it. He is already using YouTube like we used TV back in the 1980s so it seemed a fine decision.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on August 26, 2019, 07:42:43 AM
Of the services I've researched and/or used, YoutubeTV is hands down the best service.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: schild on August 27, 2019, 11:32:07 AM
i like philo

it costs $20

it doesn't have sports bullshit


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on August 30, 2019, 06:13:10 AM
Unfortunately NFL is a thing in this house.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on August 30, 2019, 06:24:52 AM
Dude, get gamepass. If you can avoid spoilers during the time lag (most games at 8pm, evening games later obv), it's a superior experience. I use the PS4 Pro NFL app to access it. Most games have no commercials, and it's especially good with games that aren't aired on national networks, the commercial breaks range from setting up footage for the bumper to watching people in the booth adjust their junk on camera in silence. Also has a quick mode that just shows snap-to-snap gameplay.

We tried it last year because the old lady was getting pissed at the lack of Patriots games on tv, and we can't really get into choosing between Bills/Jets/Gints every week. Also nice because I started watching the Browns last year after Mayfield came in. This year it wasn't even a question, we reupped immediately.

$100/season


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on August 30, 2019, 06:37:04 AM
If you can avoid spoilers during the time lag (most games at 8pm, evening games later obv)

This is not how NFL works.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on August 30, 2019, 06:38:44 AM
Yeah, there is no way I can avoid spoilers for the NFL.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on August 30, 2019, 07:18:25 AM
Disconnect!

I have to hound the old lady to not spoiler herself, but she generally doesn't care. I don't have to worry about it, I watched with gamepass last year without having anything spoiled, including the playoffs.

edited to add: I don't gamble or play sports D&D, though


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: schild on August 30, 2019, 06:27:47 PM
Unfortunately NFL is a thing in this house.

my condolences


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on August 31, 2019, 10:35:22 AM
If you can avoid spoilers during the time lag (most games at 8pm, evening games later obv)

This is not how NFL works.

Half the fun of watching NFL games is texting and Tweeting about it live.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on August 31, 2019, 12:52:21 PM
If you can avoid spoilers during the time lag (most games at 8pm, evening games later obv)

This is not how NFL works.

Half the fun of watching NFL games is texting and Tweeting about it live.

Yes, doubly so if you are in a league with everyone you know. Including the wife. Time delay is absolutely not an option.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on August 31, 2019, 01:59:54 PM
Well, my no streaming service lasted less than 2 weeks. Pulled the trigger on FuboTV- it has Pac12 Network and RedZone. I am a weak man.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on August 31, 2019, 02:49:38 PM
Fubo has a good selection of stuff. Lots of soccer (it started as a sports-centric service) and it has recently added the ability to record a series. It's search and library features still don't hold up to YoutubeTV (because if there's one thing Google does well, it's search and suggestions based on your searches) but it's a good service.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on August 31, 2019, 03:09:05 PM
I will probably dump it after football season, but it will be fun exploring channels I have never heard of for a few months.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Shannow on September 03, 2019, 06:34:33 AM
Asked on discord but recommendations for buying my own modem for a Fios connection? Preferably under $150.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Trippy on September 03, 2019, 08:53:19 AM
Not a modem, you want a router. Who is your provider? Does your ONT have its Ethernet port enabled? Are you getting TV as well over fiber?


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Shannow on September 03, 2019, 10:32:24 AM
Yah router, no TV. Whether the ONT has an port enabled I don't know. Guess I can bug verizon about it. OR fuck it maybe bargain em down on their own shit.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Trippy on September 03, 2019, 10:44:38 AM
If the Ethernet port is enabled or you can get it enabled then you can just get whatever you want for your router. If it only has coax then your choices are more limited and I'm not sure what the options would be.

How big an area are you trying to cover with wireless?


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Shannow on September 03, 2019, 11:56:01 AM
1 bdr appt , nothing huge.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Trippy on September 03, 2019, 12:15:24 PM
This thing is on sale right now on Amazon for $125 if you want all the bells & whistles:

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-AC3150-Wireless-Wi-Fi-Router/dp/B01N4R01UJ


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: slog on September 05, 2019, 06:00:09 PM
Today I dropped Xfinity and now I'm just subject the the local Comcast internet monopoly of 90 dollar a month internet.  Signed up for YouTube TV, and now I'm still 60 dollars ahead per month.

Anyone have any feedback on how the Amazon prime premium channels are? 


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on September 05, 2019, 08:40:10 PM
I get my premium channels either straight from the source (HBO Now, Britbox) or through YoutubeTV (I get Starz through there). Works just fine, plus it means all the Starz On Demand content is available for the Youtube search and DVR/library functions, which are top-notch.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on September 06, 2019, 06:44:16 AM
Found out this morning that Uverse no longer carries NFL Channel nor RedZone. The scene was like kicking over an anthill. Now need to find NFL.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on September 06, 2019, 06:53:44 AM
You can always use the nfl streams subreddit until you find a good solution. Otherwise nearly every platform has access to it for extra bundle cash.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on September 06, 2019, 07:26:24 AM
I'm going to start with looking at the services we already subscribe to. Once I get a couple minutes to rub together.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on September 06, 2019, 09:01:11 AM
Fubo.tv (http://Fubo.tv) has NFL Network and if you add the Sports Plus add-on, you get Redzone as well.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on September 06, 2019, 09:30:48 AM
High-five, Mohawk


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on October 29, 2019, 11:34:41 AM
This is in alignment with the thead subject of "fuck Comcast" and publicizes that Xfinity is injecting JavaScript into their customers' internets:
https://rietta.com/blog/comcast-insecure-injection


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Hawkbit on October 30, 2019, 11:17:24 AM
1. Yes, 100% they are doing this. I’ve seen it personally.

2. PS Vue is going away so if January. I need a new provider or similar service now. Any suggestions? Mostly just for sports, I don’t think I’ve watched anything on cable in years.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on October 30, 2019, 11:48:20 AM
I think I'll be moving to YoutubeTV. My father has it and he seems to like it.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on October 30, 2019, 12:06:03 PM
For just about any live sports, YoutubeTV has had the best service of all the ones I've seen or researched, with FuboTV being a close second. The only thing FuboTV doesn't have is ESPN and the only thing YoutubeTV doesn't have is NFL Network (and BeinSports if you want the Spanish soccer leagues).


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on October 30, 2019, 12:25:31 PM
If YoutTubeTV doesn't have NFL Network, why did you say they have the best sports service? I may as well just get some HDTV rabbit ears like Barney Rubble.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on October 30, 2019, 12:55:05 PM
I think there are maybe 4 gamesl that are shown on NFL Network that are not shown somewhere else all season and they are all shitty Thursday night games. As long as your local CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates are on YoutubeTV, you shouldn't miss any of the games you would have with a cable sub that does have NFL Network.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on October 31, 2019, 05:03:32 AM
NFL Network is a pretty shitty product.

NFL Redzone is great.

CBS Sports is pretty good though, but it's an app not a channel.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on October 31, 2019, 07:09:45 AM
I just didn't ask about RedZone. That was why I even got Vue this season.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on October 31, 2019, 08:23:20 AM
If you want NFL games, just get the gamepass.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Hawkbit on October 31, 2019, 09:23:33 AM
Looks like NHL is not part of YoutubeTV, so that’s off the table.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: WayAbvPar on December 25, 2019, 08:55:55 AM
The streaming NHL package you can buy from the league is great. The interface is dogshit, but you can get every regular season game for every team for like $150 a season. You can probably get a half season rate soon, and there is usually a free trial in January.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Strazos on December 25, 2019, 09:33:18 PM
Note: blackouts of local and national broadcasts still apply. However, a VPN solves that easily enough, and you can turn it off after the stream launches.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Rasix on January 20, 2020, 03:19:02 PM
Holy shit. Changing your service is fucking torture.

THEY KEEP THROWING OPTIONS AT ME. JUST BRING IT DOWN TO THE BASE INTERNET, DAMNIT. DO WHAT I SAY.

 :argh: :argh: :argh: :argh: :argh: :argh:

"You'll lose access to your... "

"I know sports are important to you... "

"I'm trying to make sense of this.. "

JUST DO IT.

<dog drinking from spraying hose meme>

edit:
I probably should have taken their last offer, but at this point: fuck them. I'll pay more for NOT THEM.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on January 20, 2020, 07:34:35 PM
You must have been talking to Comcast. They are fucking horrible about downgrading your service.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Chimpy on January 20, 2020, 07:53:20 PM
They are horrible about everything. Been a Comcast free household for over a year now and the only bad part about it is their stupid junk mail that is made of plastic rather than something that can be recycled.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on January 21, 2020, 06:57:53 AM

edit:
I probably should have taken their last offer, but at this point: fuck them. I'll pay more for NOT THEM.
When we cut all services except basic Internet one summer, I had to be such a raging douche to just get Time-Warner to do what I asked that it really upset me. I wasn't even upset when I was cancelling, it was just to cut services for summer, with the intention of turning it all back on in a couple months.

They had a regional manager from the state capitol call me and almost beg me to keep basic cable service, as it would have been $10 cheaper to have a cable box + Internet than just Internet. It's a retarded business model that means absolutely nothing until you get to the larger subscription numbers; at the individual level it breaks down into nonsense.

If only it weren't a monopoly on Internet service here.

In related news, there were a couple techs on the street last week and both of them said the best way to view Spectrum's content is via the Spectrum app on a Roku.  :uhrr: They're doing everything they can do squeeze out broadcast cable entirely, my problems at this point are 100% their Switched Digital Video setup. At any random time, all the channels north of 50 may or may not shut themselves off and not reconnect for days. And the solution is to use someone else's equipment and the Internet, rather than their cable network. At that point it starts sounding like they're telling me to stop doing business with them entirely.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Rasix on January 21, 2020, 09:58:24 AM
You must have been talking to Comcast. They are fucking horrible about downgrading your service.

Actually, it's Cox. The guy was talking to me like I was some sort of imbecile. I was dangerously close to shouting and/or insisting on a different person or manager.

There's no competing options here. It's Cox or Comcast and their areas don't overlap.





Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: slog on January 27, 2020, 03:14:20 AM
When I "downgraded" my Comcast service to internet only, I did it via Reddit.  They were great and they didn't try to talk me out of it.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on January 27, 2020, 07:15:54 AM
It took less than a week for the old lady to get so pissed at Spectrum's shitty SDV channel fuckery that she told me to order the Roku. So that puts us one step closer to dropping cable, ironically on the advice of cable company employees.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Rasix on January 28, 2020, 06:04:49 PM
Any one have advice on what's a decent streaming appliance to get? Roku, Fire, Chromecast, etc? PS4 doesn't do Hulu's live tv and my Apple TV is first generation, I think.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Chimpy on January 28, 2020, 08:12:20 PM
Roku is probably the “best” value/quality device, but the Netflix app makes me want to cancel Netflix as it auto plays trailers if you stop on something for two seconds while scrolling through shit.

I use my 2nd gen AppleTV more than my new Roku to be honest. If my old Riku XS hadn’t been dying and it hadn’t been on a ridiculous Black Friday deal last year I wouldn’t have bothered buying it.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: MisterNoisy on January 29, 2020, 06:05:42 PM
Any one have advice on what's a decent streaming appliance to get? Roku, Fire, Chromecast, etc? PS4 doesn't do Hulu's live tv and my Apple TV is first generation, I think.

I've been using an nVidia Shield for a while.  It's not the cheapest option, but it's been pretty great - snappy menus, 4K and pretty clear/simple interface.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on January 29, 2020, 07:50:19 PM
I've been using Roku's for years and I fucking love them. I can't really compare them to anything since it's all I ever used but when I bought my new TV, I made sure to get one with Roku built in rather than something like Samsung's SmartTV.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Teleku on January 29, 2020, 09:52:58 PM
I recently got an Nvidia Shield, and it seems like a pretty great device.  More expensive than Roku, but a lot more versatile.  Got the VPN setup on it without much hassle and is working great.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on January 30, 2020, 07:21:17 AM
Didn't see it mentioned here, but PS Vue ends today.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: 01101010 on January 30, 2020, 10:57:21 AM
Didn't see it mentioned here, but PS Vue ends today.

Only used it to watch the World Cups so no great loss in my household.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on January 31, 2020, 07:10:27 AM
Another point in favor of tivo > roku: the tivo remote is more programmable. Can't set up the roku remote to control volume (because it's through a receiver and roku's remote can only control the tv). Tivo's remote also controls more of the tv itself. Though for usability, the roku does edge out the bizarre layout of the more functional tivo remote.

Fiancee is stoked about having another remote. And not being a tech person, she has decided to just ignore all of it. Can't really blame her, it's a nightmare for a typical user to sort out. I have 6 remotes now, and need all of them. One remote I have just to power on my receiver (to be fair, that's on me because my 20-year-old receiver remote is half-dead...I use it for switching source on the receiver...).

Things would be a lot different if we weren't fans of DVRs. We split our watching time about 50/50 DVR/live browsing. We don't stream as a couple, I'm the only one who streams infrequently.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: HaemishM on February 01, 2020, 09:31:56 AM
The remote issue is one of the reasons I've made a conscious decision to only buy TVs with the Roku built in. It makes life so much easier. The TCL 50" I got for Christmas had that and it's one of the best "value" 4k TV's you can get, IMO.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Brolan on February 01, 2020, 03:15:30 PM
One of my sons wanted the 55" TCL with Roku for Christmas.  He loves it.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on February 02, 2020, 06:34:42 AM
I've been using Nvidia shield for 3 years. Best device on the market!


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on February 03, 2020, 06:40:21 AM
FYI Shield won't run the Spetrum TV app (and for my purposes it's cumbersome to use as a DVR - I don't want any non-consumer-level solutions...last thing I want to do after work is troubleshoot software!).

The Roku already earned it's place when the SDV channels cut out over the weekend. We used the Tivo for DVR stuff and the Roku for watching live tv. Cable is such a mess right now, and I'm pretty sure tivo is going to tank soon, so we're enjoying the ride before everyone walled-gardens themselves to death.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on February 06, 2020, 08:54:33 AM
Tivo looks great but doesn't work with Uverse.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Draegan on February 06, 2020, 10:36:46 AM
I just switched to YoutubeTV and have no complaints.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Yegolev on February 07, 2020, 11:03:57 AM
Our subscriptions seem to be only additive. PS Vue dropped us, otherwise we tend to hang onto everything for the chance to see seemingly random shows.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Evil Elvis on February 07, 2020, 04:25:45 PM
I moved from PS Vue to Hulu Live (already had normal Hulu w/o ads).


Good:
* The 'TV Guide' for live TV is pretty good
* Everything's integrated into the normal Hulu app; there isn't another app you need to install
* Seeing what shows are available for a given station is pretty nice
* You can select your favorite sports teams and channels during setup
* Haven't noticed any buffering when the video's playing
* If you buy HBO through Hulu you get access to HBO Now and the 8-ish different HBO live channels that you get through normal cable (PS Vue only had 2 live channels)

Bad:
* Resolution on Live TV drops to low res enough to be really annoying
* Twice now I haven't been able to access any LiveTV channels for about 30 minutes. It just shows a black screen. Streamed content all worked fine.
* Hulu app makes it difficult to tell if a show is streaming vs live
* It auto-records whatever sports teams you marked as favorites whenever there's a game, chewing up your available DVR space


Might switch to YoutubeTV in a few months if the problems don't clear up.


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Rasix on February 11, 2020, 01:23:27 PM
The app can be a little shitty at times. I've had problems switching between sports events where one events runs over and the app seemingly doesn't know what the fuck to do so it just crashes. I've also had random exits at times. Superbowl feed was a little delayed. I could tell what was going to happen by the bar reacting before it was shown on my TV.

I think I'll see I can get a ethernet cable to where the TV is. Hopefully it's just as easy as patching together a couple wires in the junction box. I'm guessing the labeling isn't going to be terribly helpful.  :|


Title: Re: Fuck Comcast unto death. Help me cut the cord! (Streaming TV options)
Post by: Sky on February 12, 2020, 05:27:35 AM
Well, that's because "apps" suck and are coded by delusional babies.

We run the NFL gamepass through the NFL app on the PS4 and it reliably crashes every week, 2 seasons running. We just expect apps to not work well, like everything else.

A couple of weeks with the Roku, it still stays firmly in backup capacity, though it has become a nice failsafe for when the SDV channels cut out (which is pretty common). The lack of DVR (for recording and almost as important, buffering) + another remote are the main complaints from the old lady. I still watch most of my stuff on the PS4. I guess I'm a candidate for how MS wants the Xbox to be used?