Kicking Cable to the Curb
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Just gave Directv the boot. Great discounts they offered as I was exiting! Just have the hulu app and an android box with iptv and Terrarium.
Comcast got me for 20mbps tho. All we can get out here in small town suburbia.
Comcast got me for 20mbps tho. All we can get out here in small town suburbia.
Hello all. To start off please excuse me if my question sounds naive. I have spent the last hour reading posts on this thread but can't figure out if what I'd like to do is doable.
I want to discontinue my cable service since most of the umpteen channels they offer don't interest me. What I want to do instead is buy a streaming player, probably Roku which from my research seems to give me what I want, (my TV is not smart) and subscribe to Netflix and maybe Amazon. Is this doable? Am I missing something?
Thanks for any help you can all give me.
I want to discontinue my cable service since most of the umpteen channels they offer don't interest me. What I want to do instead is buy a streaming player, probably Roku which from my research seems to give me what I want, (my TV is not smart) and subscribe to Netflix and maybe Amazon. Is this doable? Am I missing something?
Thanks for any help you can all give me.
Ok, I think I found the answer to my question and it looks like I can do totally without a cable TV subscription after all. Now my DH who loves Blue Bloods and a couple other shows on CBS wants to know can we watch that channel free through Roku or should we downgrade our cable sub to the basic one which gives us only local channels? Or can we use our external antenna for that?
And he says he wants to watch his shows live not later.
Sorry for all these questions and again thank you to anyone who can help me.
And he says he wants to watch his shows live not later.
Sorry for all these questions and again thank you to anyone who can help me.
- Dec 18, 2013
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I would keep the basic cable for local tv. Or an over the air HD antenna. Which will give a better picture than cable but weather can sometimes be a factor. If you have a decent internet connection, a kodi box is your answer. (Still no local tv with a kodi box)
Hey Bea
I’ve pretty much done what you are talking about. The main thing you need for streaming is a good high speed internet connection. Unfortunately in Jacksonville my choices are pretty limited so I’m stuck with Comcast. Do some research in your area, the difference in rates and speeds can make a huge difference in your enjoyment and savings.
I stream everything now through Roku and have a Tablo DVR
Tablo Products | Over The Air (OTA) DVR | Tablo
which also streams through my Roku. With the Tablo I can record live OTA channels as well as streaming them live to my TVs. It also gives me the ability to watch my local stations through an app anywhere that I have internet access. It’s been a fantastic investment. That being said, if you just want to watch live a good antenna straight to the TV is all you need. I’ve been very pleased with my Mohu.
Sky HDTV Long Range Antenna Refurbished
There are numerous options, this is what I’ve found works for me. I have gotten tons of great info from Grounded Reason
If you go to his how to cut cable tab he has reviews and info on just about anything you may need.
To just watch the live broadcasts, all you would need is the antenna, as long as your tv has a digital converter which is most everything made in the last 10 years or so.
Hope this helps, good luck and have fun!
@garyoa1 thanks for the advice.
Thanks for the advice B2. I live in Middleburg, just SW of Jax and in my area my only option cablewise is ATT which I have. I do have an over the air HD antenna… just not installed it. After all my research, reading this thread, and yours and Gary's input I think the plan is 1. Attach the antenna and see how well the local reception is (we live in a heavily wooded area). 2. Get the free month on both Netflix and Hulu and keep one or the other, probably Netflix. 3. If our local reception is decent through the antenna we'll cancel the cable subscription but if it's not we'll downgrade to the basic which has the local network channels. I also plan to see if some the money we save can be put to better use to up our internet speed although it's decent now.Hey Bea
I’ve pretty much done what you are talking about. The main thing you need for streaming is a good high speed internet connection. Unfortunately in Jacksonville my choices are pretty limited so I’m stuck with Comcast. Do some research in your area, the difference in rates and speeds can make a huge difference in your enjoyment and savings.
I stream everything now through Roku and have a Tablo DVR
Tablo Products | Over The Air (OTA) DVR | Tablo
which also streams through my Roku. With the Tablo I can record live OTA channels as well as streaming them live to my TVs. It also gives me the ability to watch my local stations through an app anywhere that I have internet access. It’s been a fantastic investment. That being said, if you just want to watch live a good antenna straight to the TV is all you need. I’ve been very pleased with my Mohu.
Sky HDTV Long Range Antenna Refurbished
There are numerous options, this is what I’ve found works for me. I have gotten tons of great info from Grounded Reason
If you go to his how to cut cable tab he has reviews and info on just about anything you may need.
To just watch the live broadcasts, all you would need is the antenna, as long as your tv has a digital converter which is most everything made in the last 10 years or so.
Hope this helps, good luck and have fun!
- Dec 18, 2013
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Yeah, you need local news. Fire, flood, storm warings... all critical. Here there ain't no such thing as local news. Closest I can get is Buffalo and weather there is like nite n day compared to here. We have kind of a micro climate and just different than anyone around us.
On da udder hand... if you can get a really good net connection, you can pick up a cheap kodi box and get neflix and hulu stuph for like... free. It's not for everyone but it is an option.
Closest I can get is Buffalo and weather there is like nite n day compared to here. We have kind of a micro climate and just different than anyone around us.On da udder hand... if you can get a really good net connection, you can pick up a cheap kodi box and get neflix and hulu stuph for like... free. It's not for everyone but it is an option.
Before investing in antennas you might want to check these two sites to see if you can get CBS in your area. I know I "cant" where I live so OTA is not an option for me.
AntennaWeb.org - Antenna Signal Prediction
Tools | Over The Air (OTA) DVR | Tablo
The "Grounded" link B2L posted gave Direct TV Now high reviews, with many local stations. It actually looks like a decent option. It would give you local ABC news, and national CBS syndicates.
DIRECTV NOW Review, Channels, and Cost | Grounded Reason
DIRECTV NOW Review, Channels, and Cost | Grounded Reason
Mike DH and I were just talking about the antenna thing and we remembered why we aren't using the antenna we bought a couple years ago. We had checked the signal strength on either antennaweb or some other such site and it was really good for our area for all network channels. However when we mounted the antenna we got a lousy pucture, very snowy and not watchable. What we hadn't taken into account was the fact that we live in a heavily forested area with very tall trees.
Soooo…we'll sell the antenna and stick with the stuff as outlined in the previous post …unless someone has a better light-bulb idea
- Dec 18, 2013
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I was using kodi back before it was called kodi. Use dedicated pc with AMD A6-3500 APU / Radeon RX 550 / 8GB of ram / 8TB of storage. I have 50" 4k although I have pc running at 3840x2160@25fps. Your refresh rate is suppose to match match fps of video so a TV above 60hz doesn't make sense. Typically tv shows and movies play at 23.97fps if progressive scans. Guys also check out Plex you can stream to your mobile device
I too started out on XMBC on a PC, now I just run Kodi on an ANdroid TV box.
I love Plex, I have a Plex server setup with Plex clients on cellphones, Android TVs, and PCs. I set up a newsgroup account and suck down (legal) content automatically (according to filters I set, ie pull down XYZ show or movie) after it gets posted, and it is then automatically placed in my Media folders where Plex can serve it up.
Most of the providers have a free trial. Amazon looks like they want cash for every show, even if Prime member.
I am just doing the same as you and trying all the Trial versions. Netflix looks like mostly movies.
We are using the $10 Hulu package, but it's not live until you cough up about $45.
Directv Now seems like your best bet, legally.
I have and Android box and fly under the wire for content I can't get on Hulu.
If you are an Amazon Prime member there is boatload of content that is available for free. Not everything in their library is free to Prime, but a very considerable amount of it is. I can personally attest to this as I have viewed quite a bit of it.
I'll check again. We might just have different needs tho. Thanks
Just checked, too much pay-for for my family. Good stuff though. Question - is there a mini-keyboard that would work with my OS tv?
I rather like these for my Android TVs, they will work on regular PCs as well. It is an airmouse, with a backlit keyboard.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071WR8PFL/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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