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General => Off Topic => Topic started by: 12TimesOver on September 26, 2015, 06:45:07 AM

Title: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: 12TimesOver on September 26, 2015, 06:45:07 AM
I've been bitching about the amount of money I spend on cable, etc forever and I finally start working on cutting the cord. My son and I had a conversation last year, he was 9 at the time, about why when he watches a show on Netflix it is only 22 minutes long but on TV it's 30 minutes long. I was like "AWESOME question!" and we proceeded to talk about that missing 8 minutes being commercials that we pay to watch. We started running averages of, say, 2 hours of TV per day rounds DOWN to 30 minutes of nothing but commercials EVERY DAY! Multiply that by 300 days per year (pretending that 20% of the time a day goes by with no TV, just for example purposes) and we're talking 150 hours per year of COMMERCIALS!

So that conversation got him on board with my master plan to reduce my cable expenses. At the time I was paying $255/mo for a Triple-Play package (Internet, Cable, and VOIP) including $10/mo just for a modem rental! Plus I'm already paying for Netflix and Prime. I also have heard TONS of horror stories about people who have attempted to ease out of the Comcrap organization, with literally months if not years of billing issues, I certainly wanted to approach this with the least amount of hassle.

So, first the hardware. I bough a new cable modem, a Motorola SB6141, for about $70 (7 months worth of rental fees to Comcast). However, before installing this I needed to get my phone moved. For this I chose Ooma. I paid $90 (at Newegg) for an Ooma device which also came with a free TP-LINK TL-WR940N wireless router. I was already in the market for a replacement router so this was a good deal for me (there are often Ooma deals, especially if you can get a referral from an existing member, like me :)). The thing with Ooma is you buy the hardware once then you don't pay for the service, you just pay the monthly state/federal taxes and fees. For me this amounts to about $4.37 month and this is applicable whether I have Ooma, Comcast, or Vonage for my VOIP (landline substitute) phone service. Then that's it, no more phone bill for a savings of $15.00/month which pays for the Ooma device in 6 months.

The trick is to transfer the number from Comcast first. This way you aren't contending with VOIP supporting hardware. However, once the phone number is taken off the triple-play package then the billing goes up and is prorated on a per day basis! My bill went from $255 to $266 when I removed phone service!

Next, replace the cable modem. It's easy and you can do it yourself with the web based configuration interface. Now I was poised to save $25/mo simply by not renting my modem or paying for my phone anymore.

Finally, the most CRUCIAL step. Disconnect all Comcast hardware, put it in a box nice and clean, and bring it to your local Comcast (or other company) office. DON'T CANCEL OVER THE PHONE OR OVER THE INTERNET CHAT!!!!!! This is important, they WILL screw up your billing and you still have to bring your stuff to the office anyway. Show up at the Comcast office with all your hardware and work with the customer rep IN PERSON to remove EVERYTHING but internet from the account including the modem rental that you won't need any longer. Smile a lot, be friendly and you might even get some bonus bandwidth - just saying, it happens here all the time :)

When all is said and done, my next bill will be $85 and that will be for 150Mb cable Internet. This will be a net savings of $170/month. The first two months savings pays for ALL of my up front hardware costs as well as a 1 year code for Hulu Plus which my wife wants so she can watch current shows, and I'm also shopping for an HD Antenna, in this neck of the woods we can pick up about 10 or so channels OTA.

For the TV's we have that aren't Smart TV's I bought Kindle Fire Stick's. There is even an extra cable you can buy to power the stick from local USB on the TV which eliminates a power cable, this is an extra $13 but is worth it if you have power space or run constraints (wall mounted, etc).

The following months savings I'm considering applying toward a basic HTPC build. With this I'll run Kodi (XBMC) and uTorrent with RSS feeds setup to mimic a DVR - although I know it's different, the function and end result will be the same to the other users in the house.

I'll read back over this later to make sure I didn't miss anything but if anyone has any questions, has interest in Ooma or getting an Ooma referral, etc feel free to post here. Also, I would love to hear what others are doing to "cut the cord"!

XII
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: gimlet on September 26, 2015, 06:49:37 AM
Can you still get the local news?
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: The Ghost on September 26, 2015, 07:18:41 AM
This is interesting,  I was paying  $235 for full package.  I move and change provider and now have 80% of what I have and pay $181. That was a big saving but just to notice that I don't watch TV because their nothing that I watch or are not available here.  This is due to the battle of the giant ( Bell, Shaw, Telus, Roger , Videotron)   Since I'm tired of paying $25 for a land line( basic phone not extra) and $85 for TV I had been thing in the same line of you 12 times.   We already have netflix( what the kid watch 80% of the time, even me).  The TV show can be downloaded( what I do anyway to watch the whole season).   

I need to look if in Canada we can cut the cord of all hardware and use our own modem.  Would look it this. 
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: 12TimesOver on September 26, 2015, 08:11:57 AM
Can you still get the local news?
That's what the antenna is for essentially, that and to lessen my primetime show RSS burden. I'm looking at one for about $50 to attach to the primary TV in the living room, that will get all the local affiliates.

X
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: TrailMyx on September 26, 2015, 09:19:31 AM
There's a few ways to do OTA local channels.  None are a good candidate for me because my digital reception here in San Diego sucks pretty badly, but I have 2 things so far:

https://www.tivo.com/roamio-ota-tlp

The Roamio OTA from TiVo does add a monthly fee, but then you can share your HDTV antenna with other TiVo connected TVs.  I just love the TiVo interface and you get your local channel schedule included in the price.

https://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/

If you just want to stream your local channels to an android/iphone/PC app, then this is a solution that requires no additional monthly fees.

I'm sure there are more.  I'll probably stick with TiVo once I'm in a location where my HDTV antenna works again.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Gemviper on September 26, 2015, 06:53:35 PM
Canadians are going to lose OTA channel access first it looks like. Right now you do not need a cable subscription, or even an account, to receive OTA channels. You simply connect the cable to your TV and all OTA channels are shown to you in digital quality, the CRTC ruled that cable providers could stop transmitting the signals over the air IF they provided them on their cable system for free.

Things are about to change. Effective at the end of October simply plugging in the cable to your TV will no longer be enough, you will need to register the rental of a free converter with the cable company to access the channels. There is still no cost but they will know who you are and collect data about what/when you watch.

The catch is that this will remain free for a couple of years after which you will be bumped into needing a subscription to at least their minimum package, and it's not going to be free anymore. The CRTC ruling that all OTA programming be available for free has been eroded over time, apparently.

Read more here: http://blog.fagstein.com/2012/08/17/videotron-analog-cable/

I'm hoping I am misunderstanding the whole thing and that only people without a built in cable box on their TV(pre-2007) will be affected but I also know that's not what THEY want so who knows, it all kicks in a month from now.

I already think they are shady(saying it nicely) because Videotron is supposed to show CTV programming(channel 6) but whenever a high demand show kicks on, like Sunday NFL football or a feature movie they swap out CTV for CTV2 and move CTV programming to channel 7 which you can hear but not see(snow). That's not accidental, greedy bastards.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Endless Night on September 27, 2015, 04:43:20 PM
nice write up 12x

I've always been curious about free satellite tv as well but never installed anything.. the channels seem to be diminishing .. http://www.ftalist.com/master.php
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: 12TimesOver on September 28, 2015, 05:53:22 AM
UPDATE - I setup a trial week of Hulu Plus last night, chose the newly available "Commercial Free" package which is normally $11.99/month. Seems to pretty well cover the stuff my wife and daughter are most interested in (current episodes of current shows) thus it will likely lessen my RSS feed hit which will be nice, I HATE storing content locally when I don't have to.

The biggest issue I think we'll run into is that Hulu is a one stream per account service with no option, that I can find anyhow, for simultaneous use. My wife was already pushing to bump up our Netflix subscription to Premium in order to allow all four of us an opportunity to stream Netflix simultaneously. I suggested that if we were all together in the same house with enough free time to watch 4 different Netflix streams in 4 different rooms on 4 different devices that we were doomed as a family and need to reevaluate our priorities. I discovered quickly that I, as is typical, am 100% wrong. Sooooo.....

I found that you can actually purchase discounted Hulu gift cards on eBay. For around $20 I am able to purchase 8 months of commercial free or 12 months of standard. Not too shabby and allows us a second account should we deem it necessary to meet my wife's master plan for total primetime dominance of my household.

We shall continue...
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: tandj99 on September 28, 2015, 12:42:27 PM
I have been using Kodi with "The Beast" applied to it.

(http://kodi.tv) & (http://chrisbwizard.pcriot.com/)

This gives just about every movie and tv show available. (it also gives adult channels so be careful around children)

PM if you are interested in trying it or need help installing.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: bodfather on September 28, 2015, 03:45:17 PM
You can also use popcorn time or time4popcorn for movies...they're both pretty much the same.

It's rather nice watching movies the same day they're released in theaters.

Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: tandj99 on September 28, 2015, 04:15:52 PM
The difference between popcorn and Kodi is you get all the PVP fights and most if not all of any sport you want. 

The Beast addon has the options to watch pretty much any tv show and any series and every season.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: TrailMyx on September 28, 2015, 04:31:22 PM
The difference between popcorn and Kodi is you get all the PVP fights and most if not all of any sport you want. 

The Beast addon has the options to watch pretty much any tv show and any series and every season.

None of that sounds particularly legal, no?  I think 12X is trying to walk in "the light" instead of taking a stroll with a peg-leg and a parrot on his shoulder....
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: gimlet on September 28, 2015, 04:33:27 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMhfbLRoGEw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMhfbLRoGEw)
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: 12TimesOver on September 28, 2015, 05:06:15 PM
The difference between popcorn and Kodi is you get all the PVP fights and most if not all of any sport you want.  

The Beast addon has the options to watch pretty much any tv show and any series and every season.

None of that sounds particularly legal, no?  I think 12X is trying to walk in "the light" instead of taking a stroll with a peg-leg and a parrot on his shoulder....
Hehe, exactly. ESPECIALLY here on ScriptUO where we frown upon those types of discussions. Furthermore, it's counterproductive to tell your kids to be honest then pirating that night's family movie! Although, I did indeed mention RSS feed for television shows to act as a DVR which probably is a little past the "ok" point.

X
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Crome969 on September 28, 2015, 10:35:11 PM
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: TrailMyx on September 28, 2015, 10:41:51 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMhfbLRoGEw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMhfbLRoGEw)

I hate black bars....
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: 12TimesOver on September 30, 2015, 06:50:37 AM
Slight adjustment to my original post with projected $85/mo Internet bill moving forward.

After dropping off my hardware yesterday and getting everything adjusted accordingly I now have my actual bill which is a straight $78/mo, no taxes or fees, for 150Mb Internet. That's it. My last two Comcast bills were both $277 and change so this is a monthly savings of $192+.

So far the only complaint I've heard, other than the single Hulu stream, was an incredulous "What?!?! No more SpongeBob?!?!". I completely understand and agree with this complaint and therefore will present a solution ASAP! :)

Tonight I move my cable modem, router, and Ooma base station from the basement to the now empty entertainment stand thus providing wired connectivity for my primary devices plus better household reception for my wireless devices since the router won't be so far away from the bedrooms, etc. Then I'll attach an external 2TB drive to the router and set it up for access from Kodi on the Amazon Stick. This drive will be my RSS feed dumping ground.

Next I upgrade my desktop from a 5 year old Core 2 Duo to an i5 with twice the memory and a new video card with the second months savings (yes, I already spent it - this IS America after all) :)

XII
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: TrailMyx on September 30, 2015, 08:10:09 AM
PlayON used to have more Nick content.  I see they don't have as much now.  However, I think there are scripts out there that make Nick push more content to you.  Just an option.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: 12TimesOver on September 30, 2015, 08:37:53 AM
PlayON used to have more Nick content.  I see they don't have as much now.  However, I think there are scripts out there that make Nick push more content to you.  Just an option.
Hmmm, never heard of it. Seems interesting although their web site is frigging bare bones for detail!
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: bodfather on October 01, 2015, 03:18:10 AM
 Found this interesting.

http://fortune.com/2015/09/30/comcast-broadband-pricing-wireless/?xid=yahoo_fortune

They're going to start data cap testing to milk the consumer even more. It's a shame Comcast has little to no competition.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Gemviper on October 01, 2015, 05:07:34 AM
... start data cap "testing", what a load of crap. The same companies provide the same content in Canada where the data is capped, the speed is capped and the overage charges are insane... and oh yeah, the packages are set up so you are always short on one and have too much of the other and you can't carry over what you pay for at the end of the month. They are "testing" to see what the consumer backlash is going to be!

It's surprising how much of your bandwidth is pure waste too, used for things that have nothing to do with your internet use. Examples: software constantly pinging for updates and background downloading stuff, Google pre-loading videos in the background "in case" you choose to watch them next, heck even your clock is updates a bunch of times per day automatically. If they start capping plans then you're going to want to dig in and lock things up tight or you will pay for it.

Pure greed, that's the root cause.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: 12TimesOver on October 01, 2015, 05:24:02 AM
Found this interesting.

http://fortune.com/2015/09/30/comcast-broadband-pricing-wireless/?xid=yahoo_fortune

They're going to start data cap testing to milk the consumer even more. It's a shame Comcast has little to no competition.
A lot of people don't realize that Comcast has ALWAYS had language in our agreements that caps our data usage but they rarely would enforce it. I have had friends running large volume FTP servers get letters from Comcast warning them specifically about their data usage. They have always had provisions for charging you more money or even cancelling your service if you were a repeat offender. I believe that most of this was simply providing themselves with litigation "CYA" in case they ever needed it. Now they are just ramping up to actually enforce a policy they already had but with some additional process surrounding it.

From the article:

Quote
Under the plan, customers who use more than 300 gigabytes of data in a month will pay $10 to buy 50 additional gigabytes or $30 for unlimited data use

Honestly, 300GB is A LOT of data to transfer in a months time. Of course, if you're a household like mine who has eliminated all cable-based television and opting for Internet streaming services only it will be interesting to look at the usage numbers after a couple of months! Without downloading any torrents, for example, I never come even remotely close to 300GB a month. Even with some torrent activity, say a full season of a tv show or something, I'm usually a tenth of that. And this includes a lot of Netflix and video game time. It does not represent EXCLUSIVE streaming though so it's got me curious.

Personally I feel that I should only have to pay for services I receive and not for infrastructure to support "power users". If I only use 30GB per month why should I have to pay the same as someone using 1TB per month? I think it's reasonable for users that bring more burden to the infrastructure to bear more responsibility for the infrastructure costs. The big question is whether Comcast will be able to find a reasonable "middle ground" for the average user that isn't going to automatically put us all in the "Unlimited" category.

X
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Biza on November 12, 2015, 03:44:25 AM
I got rid of cable T.V. a long time ago, my life has improved greatly.

There are months out of the year (summer @ 115F) that I hibernate and do all my catching up on shows. Since moving out to the boonies I have had to deal with slower DSL internet. From 100 a month for cable internet, 180 a month for cable tv down to 35 a month for DSL is very nice. Even though it takes longer to get a show, I usually line up a bunch of downloads when i'm sleeping. I think I blew the lid off the cap in july/aug. Good news is gaming is just fine, my ping is fast.

From Cox to Centurylink i save about 230 bucks. BTW Centurylink has TERRIBLE customer service and even worse: every month they mess up my bill, I have to call them and sit on hold for about 20 minutes.  >:(
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Gemviper on November 12, 2015, 04:16:06 AM
I got rid of cable TV long ago too and, yes, life improves when you're not on the couch watching commercials for hours every day. Youtube/Netflix and various other services are either free or cheap and, often, you can bypass the commercials completely so paying a huge price per month seems silly.

If you are with one of the big companies odds are you are paying too much since resellers can often give you a better deal.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Khameleon on November 15, 2015, 07:02:44 AM
I too have moved into cutting cords.. I haven't cut the cord completely yet, i'm conditioning the family which i'm 90% there all I have to do is call Direct tv and cancel cable...

Netflix 11 per month
hulu if you buy a 12 month subscription on eBay is like 20 bucks.. normally its 9 bucks per month (math goes here) I ran use my roku2, and a roku stick to use hulu at the same time, but two roku sticks can not run hulu at the same time.
Comcast Internet is $90.00 - I haven't broken down and bought my own modem yet.
Roku Sticks and event the 4year old knows how to use it.
the the kids I can download the PBS, Disney, and other apps to the roku and its free if you have a cable subscription with those channels which I don't... But Mom does ;) all you need is her login and password info and if your mom is anything like mine.. your the one that set it up for her.
I pay for Amazon Prime we really don't watch to much here but its there if we need it.
I've already converted all my movies to Vudu which started out expensive so I did that little buy little.
if you looking to add new movies to vudu look up tictail stores you can buy blue ray codes for about 7 bucks a movie... another route is to connect your Walmart account to vudu, when you buy a movie from Walmart and scan your receipt the movie will automatically added to your vudu account, and you can either sell the movie on eBay and trade your vudu code for another movie.

the only downside to cutting cords are sporting Events...
slingtv is 20 bucks a month and they have esp and like 20 other channels the are live and some premium upgrades...
NHL has an app you can stream but if regional team is blocked out... (this is where I need your guys help to bounce my ip to make it look like I live in texas or far from Chiacgo)
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: _C2_ on November 15, 2015, 07:13:20 AM
Ever took a look at this? My wife and I ordered one. WE do Hulu too but may drop it if this works as well as I am hearing.

http://www.gomohu.com/
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Endless Night on November 15, 2015, 08:02:08 AM
NHL has an app you can stream but if regional team is blocked out... (this is where I need your guys help to bounce my ip to make it look like I live in texas or far from Chiacgo)

For appearing as if you are in different places, I use these guys  https://boxpn.com/    $2.99 month be almost anywhere in the world including Chigaco.

But their are plenty of other VPN services out for more and less.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: bodfather on November 15, 2015, 09:00:03 AM
Ever took a look at this? My wife and I ordered one. WE do Hulu too but may drop it if this works as well as I am hearing.

http://www.gomohu.com/


I read a lot of their reviews and did some research and i didn't see anything special about them with the exception that they're a little easier on the eyes than traditional antennas.

I really hope you went with the outdoor Sky version at least. I tried 3 indoor versions with 0 luck.

The best one i have is an indoor/outdoor $35 one from Home Depo. It's super tiny but it really picks up well outdoors.

I've also got a multi-directional outdoor one that i suggest to never try.





Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Biza on November 15, 2015, 10:21:39 AM

Pure greed, that's the root cause.

Google fiber, if you wish it the will come!

It also helps to bribe, lie, cheat and steal for them.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: TrailMyx on November 15, 2015, 10:35:40 AM
Google fiber is about to invade here in San Diego.  We need something to get Cox Communications and AT&T in line.  If it was left to them, they'd have tripled my bill instead of just doubling it.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: 12TimesOver on November 16, 2015, 12:42:54 PM
So, just added another to my list of one-time expenses - a new router! With the sheer number of devices now in my home hitting my wireless network it has become painfully obvious I need somehting that can handle the count and throughput. Plus my current router is constantly dropping sessions, flopping between private and guest networks, etc. I just pulled the trigger on an ASUS (RT-AC68U) Wireless-AC1900 Dual-Band Gigabit Router, will be here Wednesday!!

So, so far:

2 x Kindle Fire Stick - Bought on Prime Day - $40 total
1 x Ooma Base Station - $90
1 x Ooma Phone Number Port - $40
12 x Months Ooma fed/st fees - $52
12 x Months Hulu No Commercials - $24
12 x Months Netflix - $100 (ish)
1 x ASUS (RT-AC68U) Wireless-AC1900 Dual-Band Gigabit Router - $170
1 x Year Amazon Prime - $49 (yep, only $49 :) - true story)

I already was paying for Phone fees, Prime, and Netflix so those don't count as year 1 difference from Comcast but nevertheless...

Total for previous years with Comcast - $3,259 (includes Netflix and Prime)
Total for year 1 cord cut - $555 (above)
Projected total for year 2 cord cut - $275 (includes Amazon at $99, Netflix at $100, Hulu at $24, and Ooma at $52)

I'd call this a pretty good success so far, I'm sure I'll play around with some additional service or maybe even a new HD antenna in the near future as well.

X
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Gemviper on November 17, 2015, 10:11:53 PM
No commercials watched: Priceless
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: 12TimesOver on November 18, 2015, 05:03:55 AM
No commercials watched: Priceless
This :)

Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: TrailMyx on November 18, 2015, 08:53:42 AM
By I wish I had better OTA capability.  Where I live I get nearly zero signal even with a relatively good antenna.  Oh well.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: 12TimesOver on November 18, 2015, 09:09:53 AM
By I wish I had better OTA capability.  Where I live I get nearly zero signal even with a relatively good antenna.  Oh well.

Wow, I'm surprised considering your proximity to such a large metropolitan area, or don't you live in the same place anymore?

I don't know what mine will be but I've heard of others in my general area getting 10-13 OTA's. Should at least get me some sports! :)

X
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: TrailMyx on November 18, 2015, 09:13:57 AM
The problem here in SD is it's so spread out and what the terrain is.  From south bay to northern Escondido where I live is nearly 70 miles.  Much of the city is in hills and canyons, so line of site is problematic for all the antenna transmitters.  Finally, since there are not real high mountains, there's not a real good source of transmission.  Last time I checked, I could get only 1 channel from each transmission direction (and there are 3).  Really only got useful signal from one direction.  I thought I'd actually get better signal because I live on the top of a hill, but that really didn't help.

I bought a TiVo OTA just to play with.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Gemviper on November 21, 2015, 01:13:27 AM
Who has time for TV? :)

Whenever I feel like just sitting back and watching the tube lately I always pull out a movie from one of the streaming sites or switch to the game(I subscribe to NFL and NHL games).

Sorry to hear you're losing your SD Chargers TM, move to LA?
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: hrs024 on January 21, 2016, 08:42:48 PM
interesting, i only had internet for year screw cable, but i should invest in my own modem
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: bodfather on January 21, 2016, 11:17:25 PM
I like what I see from Sling tv but I need to learn a little more about it. It looks like a really good deal if you don't go overboard with the extra channels.

So far the only drawbacks are only being allowed one device at a time and you have to buy amazon fire to work on your tv. The biggest drawback is Comcast and their 300gb cap and charging $35 more for unlimited. It's putting a real pinch on cord cutters.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: TrailMyx on January 21, 2016, 11:20:10 PM
Sorry to hear you're losing your SD Chargers TM, move to LA?

Meh.  You can quote this:

"Thanks Chargers for the many Superbowl rings!  Don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out!"
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: bodfather on January 21, 2016, 11:31:25 PM

Meh.  You can quote this:

"Thanks Chargers for the many Superbowl rings!  Don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out!"

Read the Raiders are looking to move to SD if the Chargers decide on LA but if they don't decide quick it could be years before they'll both be able to move.

Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Endless Night on January 23, 2016, 06:30:56 AM
12x  how is that  "ASUS (RT-AC68U) Wireless-AC1900 Dual-Band Gigabit Router"  working out... I;m in the market for a new one .. my old one just cannot handle the load and keeps dropping ...
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: 12TimesOver on January 23, 2016, 09:18:23 AM
12x  how is that  "ASUS (RT-AC68U) Wireless-AC1900 Dual-Band Gigabit Router"  working out... I;m in the market for a new one .. my old one just cannot handle the load and keeps dropping ...
Working great, not a single issue so far. I haven't so much as rebooted it in over a month.

X
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: hrs024 on January 23, 2016, 11:22:45 AM
LOL TM YOU ARE EVIL I LOVE MY CHARGERS
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Gemviper on January 26, 2016, 12:32:04 AM
I loved them too, when they had Jr "Say Ow" on the team. Somehow they turned him into the posterboy for head trauma and keep trying to get support to shut the league down over his grave. Grown men should be allowed to make their own decisions otherwise we'd live in a bubble wrap world.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: The Ghost on February 03, 2016, 08:37:09 AM
just find this today TheFlixTerminal

http://smartblurbz.com/millions-of-americans-are-cancelling-netflix-because-of-this-1-site-b-2/?state=Quebec&country=Canada&utm_campaign=mov&utm_source=yg&utm_medium=nat&utm_term=nat_c&utm_content=31693090981&sxid=id425s2ny0ff
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Endless Night on February 06, 2016, 06:40:55 AM
just find this today TheFlixTerminal

http://smartblurbz.com/millions-of-americans-are-cancelling-netflix-because-of-this-1-site-b-2/?state=Quebec&country=Canada&utm_campaign=mov&utm_source=yg&utm_medium=nat&utm_term=nat_c&utm_content=31693090981&sxid=id425s2ny0ff



At almost $50 a month I don't think so.  And to cancel you have to Email or call them takes 72hrs to process ie 3 days......  So sign up for 5 day trial oain to cancel (online sign up why not online cancel)   bam $50 charge classic bait and switch....  good luck on that one not for me but let us know if the movie selection is good or in anyway actually worth it......... https://members.theflixterminal.com/client/unsubscribe/faqs
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: The Ghost on February 06, 2016, 09:41:08 AM
After doing a lot more digging Find out the host is from Spain on a short lease.

Here what the wife find out.
http://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/flixterminal.com.   

Ok so that not really a good way to go.   Thx for the head up EN
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: hrs024 on February 11, 2016, 10:59:16 PM
i dont remember the last time iv rented or watched a movie or tv show on cable or in theaters you can find anything on the world wide web
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: TrailMyx on February 12, 2016, 08:11:18 AM
I had to kinda give up on the cord cutting idea for the time being.  Where my house is presently situated, I get really no good reception of local channels.  So without those, it's hard to build the basis of a good replacement.  

I'm changing up my infrastructure though.  With the new TiVos, you can share one box amongst several TVs without incurring more than 1 monthly payment.  So I'm just trimming my cable access to the basics, and getting rid of my excess TiVos.  So only have one modern box, cablecard/tuning adapter and share 6 tuners with all the TVs in my house.

I had to do something anyhow because Cox just went all-digital so that my older non-cablecard TiVo no longer works.  Sad day - that was my lifetime subscription box.

I've actually been thinking about Dish TV as well.  The cost of cable has just been going up at lightning speed, so I really want to wave goodbye to Cox and there constant need to fill their vat of cash directly from my bank account.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: 12TimesOver on February 12, 2016, 10:18:55 AM
I had to kinda give up on the cord cutting idea for the time being.  Where my house is presently situated, I get really no good reception of local channels.  So without those, it's hard to build the basis of a good replacement.  
I've been extremely satisfied so far and I haven't even attempted to pull "broadcast" channels yet. Even without those it has been totally worth it for me. I don't ever watch local news anyhow, I get it online, and so far every show anyone has cared to watch has been accomodated with streaming solutions - namely Hulu for current content.

CBS Sports app did a fine job for the Superbowl :)

I did pick up an antenna but haven't set it up yet to see what I will pull for channels, I've been planning on it (obviously, or I wouldn't have bought it) but I haven't really been missing anything so it's been a low priority.

X
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: bodfather on February 12, 2016, 08:30:07 PM
I've actually been thinking about Dish TV as well.  The cost of cable has just been going up at lightning speed, so I really want to wave goodbye to Cox and there constant need to fill their vat of cash directly from my bank account.

I've heard some absolute horror stories about dish and direct tv with constant billing errors and customer service. That being said, they have The Tailgater (portable for campers) which automatically scans for signal and is supposed to hook on to your existing account. I was thinking that could be something maybe 2 families could share and split the price.
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: bodfather on February 12, 2016, 08:35:49 PM

I did pick up an antenna but haven't set it up yet to see what I will pull for channels, I've been planning on it (obviously, or I wouldn't have bought it) but I haven't really been missing anything so it's been a low priority.

X

I've got an antenna and it's a real pain now with winter. The wind has blown it out of adjustment so I lost my fav channel but I did pick up 4 more.

It took a while to adjust but I don't even miss tv. I mainly just use it as a nightlight. You can go to antennapoint.com and see what stations you can get and where to point it.

Last month was our 1st month on the new data cap and I used 298GB. That's 1 desktop that I share with my kid for uo/minecraft and his youtube enjoyment. My other kid uses a laptop and I hooked my phone to use my cables wifi. I did watch 1 movie last month. That seems a little excessive on data usage to me considering I don't DL anything now and I've almost stopped watching shows...
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: hrs024 on February 13, 2016, 11:26:13 AM
i just google whatever i want to watch and i can usually find it, and my mother has directtv and now every station has a online streaming that only requires a username or passwrod from local cable companies and you get bascally full service its crazy
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Khameleon on February 14, 2016, 12:37:07 PM
I have an Unlocked firestick.. and that streams just about everything PPR/all networks, even live sports
Title: Re: I'm cutting the cord...at least most of it anyway...
Post by: Gemviper on February 24, 2016, 09:58:11 PM
I had a decision to make when the Over the Air channels in my area were turned off. I could still get them for free but I have to sign up for an account with my cable provider and attach one of their "smart" boxes to my TV to unscramble the channels. All of that would still be free, except I would need to provide personal info to them, maintain an account(ie:get spammed) and what the word 'smart' really means is being recorded. Samsung putting a warning not to talk about sensitive things near your TV was enough for me. TV cord cut, permanently. Netflix it is.