First of all, I want to apologize if this topic has been covered before. I am new to this forum. Secondly, I am not tech savvy. So the more help the better.
My wife has been on my case for a while about getting rid of Comcast and I finally did. Paying 220 a month for TV, Internet and Home Phone isn't feasible anymore. Can anyone assist in the best options for a cable alternative? Not sure whether to buy Chromecast or another device? I like live tv. Watch YES and lot of football games. Obviously the Giants. Not sure wheter to buy Hulu, Sling tv etc. There are a lot of options out there. Is there anyway to get the following without streaming from a device? Seems like a pain. But then again not familiar with doing it. So any info on options and how to best to set up the process would be greatly appreciated. Also going with Frontier for Internet seeing that it's considerably cheaper. Any one have any experience with Frontier's internet service? Is it fast enough for searching internet and watching Netflix etc. Thanks
Fubo is a services that has live network TV and add-on packages for sports, etc, and DVR capability.
I think you first need to examine your reasons for getting rid of cable.
Some of these alternatives get you right back where you were in terms of price when you add in # of TV's and all the options/channels you want.
My first experience with Fubo though and while we didn't watch much TV I liked it.
Quit stalling.
b) use rabbit ears for local channels;
c) subscribe to Philo- 55 premium cable channels for $22/mo
d) subscribe as desired to ESPN, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. for streaming (or share passwords w/ friends/family).
You should come in under $100/mo.
b) use rabbit ears for local channels;
c) subscribe to Philo- 55 premium cable channels for $22/mo
d) subscribe as desired to ESPN, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. for streaming (or share passwords w/ friends/family).
You should come in under $100/mo.
Whoops...forgot e) Buy Rokus for every tv in the house.
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a) go with the least expensive internet provider;
b) use rabbit ears for local channels;
c) subscribe to Philo- 55 premium cable channels for $22/mo
d) subscribe as desired to ESPN, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. for streaming (or share passwords w/ friends/family).
You should come in under $100/mo.
Whoops...forgot e) Buy Rokus for every tv in the house.
I second that plan. If you decide you don't want every app here, you can cancel any of them at any time (with the exception of Amazon Prime).
Most of the services offer one week free trials, so you can even try out the services before you buy them.
Again, people make this much more complicated than it actually is
Additionally, Prime in particular will get you access to Thursday Night Football games, streaming, right through your Fire stick on your TV.
I also recommend getting a HD antenna. I have one set up inside my window on the side of my house, running to my TV. I was SHOCKED at the quality of the picture (in a good way). I get NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, and other channels I don't watch but never knew existed. But the "Big 4" is certainly going to help you watch games live. Downside is there's no "pause button". I suppose the old-school Tivo would do the trick, but I don't know anything about them. Honestly, not a concern for me, I just watch the games live and deal with the commercials, fair trade-off for FREE TV. The HD Antenna I purchased was a Mohu Curve 50. I would not go with the cheapest option on this, but it's a one-time cost that is going to pay for itself. The Mohu Curve 50 is about $60 and worth it.
With the Fire Stick, you can also add on your subscriptions (just download the app unless it's pre-programmed on the stick, very simple), like HBO, Netflix, Hulu, etc.
Take the leap. I had all the same reservations as you, and I'm so glad we're not paying for cable anymore.
With the Fire Stick, you can also add on your subscriptions (just download the app unless it's pre-programmed on the stick, very simple), like HBO, Netflix, Hulu, etc.
Take the leap. I had all the same reservations as you, and I'm so glad we're not paying for cable anymore.
FYI- TCL Roku TVs can pause live TV. It's pretty awesome.
Now is that time of year.
The only thing I watch is HBO, and even that I could do without if not for the wife needing the soap operas and the kid demanding the Peppa Pig cartoons all day.
For the TV downstairs I am going to look into one of the "free" antennas and remove the box, but what--if any--is the simple solution to the cable bloodsucking? If I'm going to get internet from here and landline from there and then get some apps with a basic cable provider just to save $25 and have three bills every month instead of 1, is it worth the hassle?
Good luck with the research.
Good luck with the research.
just to piggyback off your comment above, you forgot to mention you can have up to 6! users assigned to an account at a time.
I have gigabit internet with Verizon and it's a big difference.
I have 3 kids, my house has 5 iphones, 8 flat screens TV's, 4 Roku's 2 Amazon fire sticks, chromebooks they kids use for school, laptops/macs because I work from home, and no way that works with "cheapest internet you can find".
Spend more on the internet speed and get a really good router, those directly impact your streaming results.
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I was in the same situation, paying $200 a month for Comcast. I cancelled all of Comcast services except internet, I dont have any choice for Internet $55 a month for 60MB. I signed up with YouTube TV for $40 a month, now its $50. I get all the Boston local channels for football, all of the ESPN channels for college football and NESN for Bruins hockey. Unlimited cloud DVR, key feature. I do have Amazon Prime for other TV and SiriusXM for music, so I spend over $100 per month, feels like I get alot more than what had with Comcast. BTW I have TCL Roku TV's.
Good luck with the research.
just to piggyback off your comment above, you forgot to mention you can have up to 6! users assigned to an account at a time.
Yes great point!! Yes 6 users but only 3 streams at one time.
As you can see from this thread, there are plenty of options to watch what you want at lower cost and with greater flexibility.
And if you regret your decision to cancel, what are you giving up by trying? If you call back Comcast, they're not going to show up on the same day to reconnect you and start taking your money again?
The only difference is that they'll give you a new customer promo rate ;)
We use digital antenna's on some sets, Chromecast and Roku on the others.
We rotate services, Netflix, HBONow, Hulu - Amazon Prime we already had anyway.
Even added all together, those services are cheaper.
Take a look at online services like Sling too.
You're right back in the barrel again, paying $80/month. Might as well just keep the cable.
As the Los Angeles Times reports, there are a lot of frustrated Comcast customers getting hit with data limit charges, thanks primarily to everyone’s favorite bandwidth-hogging streaming service.
Worse, some customers have the “option” of lifting data limits, but at an extra $50+ per month.
Link - ( New Window )
You're right back in the barrel again, paying $80/month. Might as well just keep the cable.
Yup.
Most streaming services let you subscribe by the month, which means if you've watched just about everything you want to watch on Netflix, you can take a break until the next season of Stranger Things or Black Mirror appears on the platform.
Plenty of sites will tell you what's coming and going from particular platforms without you having to subscribe to them. Two such resources are JustWatch and Reelgood, which cover Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and more.
Of course you'll need to be on top of when your subscription dates are coming up, but that shouldn't be too difficult. You can check your next billing date on Netflix by visiting this page, for example, and take a pause in your Netflix subscription by clicking Cancel Membership. If you're worried about forgetting, it's a good idea to set reminders on your calendar so you can cancel your accounts on time
Watch anything you want without signing up for every streaming service - ( New Window )
You're right back in the barrel again, paying $80/month. Might as well just keep the cable.
This is a myth.
Even with all the apps and lots of bandwidth and buying new equipment, you should still expect to come in right at around the 60% range for nonpromo cable TV rates.
That $80/month you mention IS the promo rate. Also, most people I know with cable already subscribe to Amazon Prime and Netflix anyway. So if you're factoring in total savings, you have factor that in as well.
- Do NOT go the cheap route on internet provider. Get as fast as you can get since all of your entertainment will be run via streaming. This will be the bulk of your total cost.
And if possible, get internet through a coaxial over a phone line. In SoCal I use Cox over AT&T and both of them will come around every few months with a some "We'll give you cable and internet for what you're paying now!" promotion. And like all of these kinds of promotions, it's not a flat rate and only good for a few months before the price goes up. Not worth it.
- Sling, DirecTVNow, PS Vue, Fubo, Hulu and YouTube all have uniqueness about them and I've tried them all. In the end, I settled on Hulu Live at $44.99/month. Where I live in San Diego, I get CBS/NBC/ABC/FOX local channels via Hulu live, which has actually made my digital antenna (Mohu Leaf) obsolete. Just see which local channels you'll get on each provider. CNET and other sites like that have pretty up-to-date channel comparison guides for each.
- I don't consider Prime as part of my TV budget since it probably pays for itself via free shipping 3-months into the year. But it IS a great option for some quality content.
- We have Netflix for now, but I could honestly see us getting rid of it in favor of Disney+ when it comes out. (And no, Hulu Live is not part of the announced Disney+ bundle). We have two young kids so probably makes sense for us.
- When it comes to sports, cord-cutting is very beneficial if you live outside of the market where your teams play. In market...you need to do more research as to who will carry (YES, SNY, NESN, the regional Fox/NBC networks)
For an MLB fan, the MLB App is by FAR the slickest, most intuitive app for any of the 4 major sports. And for an out of market Yankees fan like myself, it is a STEAL at $84.99 for the season. Less than $1/game.
- For the folk VERY new to cord-cutting and some of the terminology, it's pretty simple.
Almost all networks and content providers give access to their content via "Apps". That much I'm sure you know. Some of the bigger providers like Netflix and Hulu allow you to access from Smart TV's where the apps are built in.
So why should I buy a Firestick, or Roku or Apple TV if I already have a Smart TV? You don't necessarily have to, but these "over the top" options like Roku offer a much more user friendly, and optimized streaming experience. In other words, these apps and programmed to run off of a Roku or Apple TV versus a Smart TV. With a Smart TV there will always be a level of clunkiness and limitations.
A Firestick, Roku or Apple TV allows you to have it all in one place.
Lastly, gone will be the days of "channel surfing". You're not going to be able to sit and scan the channel guide for something to watch the way you could with traditional cable. You can still do that do a degree, but these services are designed more for knowing what you want to watch.
This is one reason why my 70-year old Father will always have a traditional cable package.
Good luck!
1) Got a new mesh WiFi router, ditched our old Apple Airport system. (Not essential but the new system eliminated dead spots in our apartment and allows faster streaming.) TP-Link Deco 9, with 2 base stations, plenty for our medium-sized apartment
2) Upgraded Internet speed. Due to issues with the old lines in my apartment building, Spectrum had to run a new line. That didn't cost me any money but it involved a bunch of negotiations with my landlord and arranging the installation took weeks.
3) Got new Spectrum modem and router installed, then returned Spectrum router; using Spectrum modem with mesh WiFi system as router. Spectrum charges monthly fee for each cable box and for router, so getting rid of all that provided some savings.
4) Got a new AppleTV. I like AppleTV better than Roku. I wanted the DolbyVision HDR and a few other features. Roku would be fine otherwise. We already had an Amazon FireStick for the bedroom TV. My wife loves it.
5) Got a cheap-ish antenna for over the air, but I have to confess we almost never think to use it, even for the channels that come in clear, because we...
6) Signed up for YouTubeTV. Chose it because of the unlimited cloud DVR. Which streaming TV service you choose, if any, depends on your needs. It's already a little more money than I'd like to pay.
7) Got a Logitech Harmony Hub to provide universal remote control and let us use voice commands with Alexa Dot. (We already had the Dot, which we got free at some event I went to.) This is a luxury but voice commands are nice. The Hub requires some effort to set up and is mostly reliable. Mostly. We still use the device remotes occasionally.
8) I had a fast Internet switch[/b}. Hooked that up to the mesh router. Got some [b]Ethernet cables so everything in the living room is on Ethernet instead of WiFi: Blu-ray Player, Smart TV, Receiver, AppleTV. Now Internet radio and streaming music are rock-solid on the receiver.
* One-time purchases: antenna, Ethernet cables, AppleTV, Harmony Hub and TP-Link Deco 9 mesh WiFi
* Service upgrade: to 400mbps Internet
* Kept: Netflix, Amazon Prime, CBS All-Access
* Added: YouTube TV subscription,
* Dropped: Spectrum cable TV and router.
Bottom line: The cost of YouTubeTV is a lot less than cable, but the subscriptions add up fast and I'm not willing to shell out for all the new ones, because it'll quickly add up to something like the old cable bill.
In other words:
Do they show Giants games live on the local affiliate?
Can you select the location of the affiliates you want or, alternatively, can you access remotely (if you have someone in market set up the account)?
This.
If only it were easy..
Xfinity internet/phone packages have terrible low speeds..
I need landline because no cell service at my house.
I don't think my cord-cutting experience is unusual; a lot of people have found that switching from simple-but-expensive cable to over-the-air and streaming is more complicated than it should be.
Xfinity internet/phone packages have terrible low speeds..
I need landline because no cell service at my house.
FTFY.
That's a lot of change. Just picture more than $1200 a year flying out of your wallet into Fredo Dolan's pocket for nothing. $1200 a year that could be saved for college, paying off your mortgage, taking your family on vacation...
For me, Philo was heads and tails above YoutubeTV, in terms of the quality and diversity of programming offered, for less than half the price and NO CONTRACT. Allows you to pause shows, rewind, etc. Also to save them. You can try it free for 7 days, too. Can't recommend it enough.
Philo - ( New Window )
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to save about $100 and change every month?
FTFY.
That's a lot of change. Just picture more than $1200 a year flying out of your wallet into Fredo Dolan's pocket for nothing. $1200 a year that could be saved for college, paying off your mortgage, taking your family on vacation...
Considering Dolan sold CVC in 2015, that money would literally be flying into his pocket for nothing.
You can watch live TV remotely via the Hulu app with one caveat: The first time you install the app and go to log-in, your phone needs to be on the same WiFi network as your TV Hulu is running off of.
One you do that, you’re good to watch from anywhere for another 2-3 months before it makes you synch up again. I travel for work all over the country and have watched plenty of live sporting events thru Hulu live. (Like when the Yankees or Giants are on national TV and it’s blacked out on the MLB app or Sunday Ticket mobile).
You can watch live TV remotely via the Hulu app with one caveat: The first time you install the app and go to log-in, your phone needs to be on the same WiFi network as your TV Hulu is running off of.
One you do that, you’re good to watch from anywhere for another 2-3 months before it makes you synch up again. I travel for work all over the country and have watched plenty of live sporting events thru Hulu live. (Like when the Yankees or Giants are on national TV and it’s blacked out on the MLB app or Sunday Ticket mobile).
Good luck with the research.
That's what I am about to do shortly, first the TV.
Comcast/Xfinity quoted me $74.95 for 60 MBPS.
If you want slower (like 15 MB), you can get that for $49. I am not sure that is enough speed!
I will probably go with 60 MB.
Do you like TCL Roku TV?
It is tax free weekend in the Commonwealth this weekend.
We only have high speed internet and have both Roku and Amazon Fire sticks in our house. There are a ton of free "channels" and apps through these. My husband's favorite is Pluto. We also subscribe to DirecTV Now (which is changing soon to AT&T Now). We signed up a couple of years ago and I don't believe the specific package we have is still available (we were grandfathered in when they changed). We pay $50/month and we do not miss cable at all. It offers a cloud DVR, though we haven't used it much. The level we have doesn't offer a lot in the way of sports (ESPN/2, NBC Sports Network, MLB Network, and FS1) - I can only watch Giants when they are on in my area but I stream sports in other ways.
We also have Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime, which we had before we cut cable but, like I said, we don't miss it because our needs are met with the above for the most part. Good luck!
How are you being played for a chump? I suppose you have a valid complaint if you feel like there isn't free market competition, but it's not a really a chump decision otherwise - you can always cancel, right? And if you don't want to or feel like you can't, how is their pricing inconsistent with supply/demand?
Feeling like something is too expensive isn't the same as being an irreplaceable part of the subscriber base.
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I was in the same situation, paying $200 a month for Comcast. I cancelled all of Comcast services except internet, I dont have any choice for Internet $55 a month for 60MB. I signed up with YouTube TV for $40 a month, now its $50. I get all the Boston local channels for football, all of the ESPN channels for college football and NESN for Bruins hockey. Unlimited cloud DVR, key feature. I do have Amazon Prime for other TV and SiriusXM for music, so I spend over $100 per month, feels like I get alot more than what had with Comcast. BTW I have TCL Roku TV's.
Good luck with the research.
.
That's what I am about to do shortly, first the TV.
Comcast/Xfinity quoted me $74.95 for 60 MBPS.
If you want slower (like 15 MB), you can get that for $49. I am not sure that is enough speed!
I will probably go with 60 MB.
Do you like TCL Roku TV?
It is tax free weekend in the Commonwealth this weekend.
Hey Carson - sorry for the delayed response - I do like the TCL Roku TV's - good, not great, picture for the prices. Very simple and easy to setup. Got them at BJs. I have a 55" and 43".
On the Comcast front - I was paying $75 for 60MBs but they just gave me a discount to $55 per month. My understanding of YouTube TV is you need a minimum of 20MB. That could be for multiple streams.
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In comment 14531076 mgreenie03 said:
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I was in the same situation, paying $200 a month for Comcast. I cancelled all of Comcast services except internet, I dont have any choice for Internet $55 a month for 60MB. I signed up with YouTube TV for $40 a month, now its $50. I get all the Boston local channels for football, all of the ESPN channels for college football and NESN for Bruins hockey. Unlimited cloud DVR, key feature. I do have Amazon Prime for other TV and SiriusXM for music, so I spend over $100 per month, feels like I get alot more than what had with Comcast. BTW I have TCL Roku TV's.
Good luck with the research.
.
That's what I am about to do shortly, first the TV.
Comcast/Xfinity quoted me $74.95 for 60 MBPS.
If you want slower (like 15 MB), you can get that for $49. I am not sure that is enough speed!
I will probably go with 60 MB.
Do you like TCL Roku TV?
It is tax free weekend in the Commonwealth this weekend.
Hey Carson - sorry for the delayed response - I do like the TCL Roku TV's - good, not great, picture for the prices. Very simple and easy to setup. Got them at BJs. I have a 55" and 43".
On the Comcast front - I was paying $75 for 60MBs but they just gave me a discount to $55 per month. My understanding of YouTube TV is you need a minimum of 20MB. That could be for multiple streams.
Okay, thanks for the input.