View Full Version : Cutting the Cord from Cable company
Back story -
Sick of getting screwed out of $25 a month for a DVR. I have super basic cable with a DVR box. In my living room where the box is located, and I can record stuff, I get around 25 channels. In the bedroom if I just plug in the TV, I get 60+ channels. Is there a way I can have my own DVR and record TV shows in my bedroom? Thanks
B[flamingo]
https://www.ar-15.co/threads/138573-Streaming-TV-Boxes?highlight=cable
hghclsswhitetrsh
10-20-2014, 16:01
I will sell you a LNIB TiVo.
I'd love to do something else but I'm just so damn lazy. :) I have to deal with technology all day so I find it very hard to learn anything new when I get home.
On a not completely unrelated note, one of my co-workers showed me how he uses a TiVo, plexmedia server and some other software to pull everything off of his TiVo, remove commercials and serve it up while he's traveling worldwide. Cool idea but there has to be something easier.
I will sell you a LNIB TiVo.
If you've got an extra mini I'm interested.
Cancel it and forget it. Get hulu and netflix and simplify your life.
Cancel it and forget it. Get hulu and netflix and simplify your life.
That's what I did about 2 years ago - I'm loving it.
colorider
10-20-2014, 16:15
https://www.ar-15.co/threads/138573-Streaming-TV-Boxes?highlight=cable
This.
I met with him 2 weeks ago and punted Comcast to the curb right after. I'm very happy and $120 a month richer.
Madeinhb
10-20-2014, 16:21
Cancel it and forget it. Get hulu and netflix and simplify your life.
I wish nbc would have joined Hulu but now looks like they are making their own app and streaming service
clublights
10-20-2014, 16:24
This.
I met with him 2 weeks ago and punted Comcast to the curb right after. I'm very happy and $120 a month richer.
How's it REALLY working?
I've got enough other avenues for movies and TV shows but Sports is my big killer ( I don't have cable already) tired of missing football and hockey games I'd like to see.... oh and motorcycle racing ..... those are the 3 reasons I almost get cable then look at what they want and scoff...
hollohas
10-20-2014, 16:24
HD antenna + TiVo. All the network programming in HD quality that's better than cable. Get an antenna that mounts in your attic and you won't even know it's there.
And the antenna is a great way to get live sports if you miss that while using hulu/netflix, etc.
HD antenna + TiVo. All the network programming in HD quality that's better than cable. Get an antenna that mounts in your attic and you won't even know it's there.
I'm going to need to do this when I get the streaming box for our house. You have any more info on getting set up with an antenna for local stuff?
hollohas
10-20-2014, 16:32
I'm going to need to do this when I get the streaming box for our house. You have any more info on getting set up with an antenna for local stuff?
Go to www.antennaweb.org
click here to start.
Type in your address.
It will show you what stations you can get, what antenna to buy, what direction to install it, etc. Once you get it all setup you will have to use your TiVo or other device to filter out the channels you don't want...for me that's the Spanish stations. I pickup a bunch of those.
No messing around rotating it around trying to find the sweet spot. I used this website to get the info, used a compass to orient the antenna correctly and I was picking up dozens of super clear HD channels in minutes. My antenna cost $73 which is a mid range model.
HD antenna + TiVo. All the network programming in HD quality that's better than cable. Get an antenna that mounts in your attic and you won't even know it's there.
And the antenna is a great way to get live sports if you miss that while using hulu/netflix, etc.
I may have to give that a try; we watch a lot of cable channels like Discovery, History, etc so I need to figure out how to stream those. Netflix is OK for catching up on old shows but Hulu had absolutely nothing that we watch.
We're still using a home phone too since we've had the number for 14 years and Comcast has bundled it; just read up on porting it over to Google voice (seems that you have to port to cell first but looks pretty easy) so this may be a good time to drop everything but internet.
Go to www.antennaweb.org (http://www.antennaweb.org)
That is cool, thanks for sharing. Looks like most stations for me would come out of the Brighton area and we're about 20Mi.
Madeinhb
10-20-2014, 16:56
I may have to give that a try; we watch a lot of cable channels like Discovery, History, etc so I need to figure out how to stream those. Netflix is OK for catching up on old shows but Hulu had absolutely nothing that we watch.
We're still using a home phone too since we've had the number for 14 years and Comcast has bundled it; just read up on porting it over to Google voice (seems that you have to port to cell first but looks pretty easy) so this may be a good time to drop everything but internet.
I have Ooma - can port your number and its works as a voip line
colorider
10-20-2014, 17:08
How's it REALLY working?
I've got enough other avenues for movies and TV shows but Sports is my big killer ( I don't have cable already) tired of missing football and hockey games I'd like to see.... oh and motorcycle racing ..... those are the 3 reasons I almost get cable then look at what they want and scoff...
Working just dandy for us. Kid can easily stream his cartoons, wife watching her favorite shows and I watch my movies and documentaries. I really don't watch much tv. What we realized is how much time was spent looking at the Comcast guide to see what is on then settling for something. Now we just decide on a show, search it , stream it and done. I am not a sports buff, but in searching the sports channels every game that is being played can be streamed. I can not vouch for the quality of the stream as I have not checked it out. But the games are available. Every sport.
clublights
10-20-2014, 17:15
Working just dandy for us. Kid can easily stream his cartoons, wife watching her favorite shows and I watch my movies and documentaries. I really don't watch much tv. What we realized is how much time was spent looking at the Comcast guide to see what is on then settling for something. Now we just decide on a show, search it , stream it and done. I am not a sports buff, but in searching the sports channels every game that is being played can be streamed. I can not vouch for the quality of the stream as I have not checked it out. But the games are available. Every sport.
Thanks!
Are the other streams you watched a good quality ? ( I assume they are since you didn't say they WERE'NT)
colorider
10-20-2014, 18:27
Once in a while you get a feed that is poor quality. Just find a better feed. There are several feeds available for each channel or show. Im still in the learning phase of finding out all the things the box can do. I'm only using about 40% of its potential. I have found a few reliable and easy apps and have not tried the numerous others.
Go to your local RadioShack for an HD antenna around $30-$50. Then get yourself a ROKU streaming device. Buh-bye comcast.
Cancel it and forget it. Get hulu and netflix and simplify your life.
Have Netflix I want up to date shows. Tries the trial of hulu and it was just sending me to discovery channel.com or history channel.com and I still could watch up to date shows.
Build your own dvr.
Tried with my xbrick360 and its not connecting
Go to your local RadioShack for an HD antenna around $30-$50. Then get yourself a ROKU streaming device. Buh-bye comcast.
Looking for a DVR try, not just a stream service/WiFi service. I want to record my channels I get in the bedroom from my cable feed. I am keeping the cable feed and spending the $40 a month for all the channels, but want to record them too.
DVR's like TIVO still cost for a "cablecard" from the company - and maybe have a subscription cost.
Any other methoods? Or should I just relize that I watch too much TV anyway, and don't worry about it?
You can download stuff with the streaming box I linked to, according to their FAQ.
DVR's like TIVO still cost for a "cablecard" from the company - and maybe have a subscription cost.
Any other methoods? Or should I just relize that I watch too much TV anyway, and don't worry about it?
Check this out. http://www.amazon.com/Channel-Master-DVR-Bundle-subscription/dp/B00JGZQ17Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1413907742&sr=1-1&keywords=channel+master
No subscription required. Just need an antenna. I have the older version. My version has had some issues. The reviews on the new version seem pretty solid.
Check this out. http://www.amazon.com/Channel-Master-DVR-Bundle-subscription/dp/B00JGZQ17Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1413907742&sr=1-1&keywords=channel+master
No subscription required. Just need an antenna. I have the older version. My version has had some issues. The reviews on the new version seem pretty solid.
So that will record literally what is playing on my TV at the time? So if I flip channels, it records it?
So that will record literally what is playing on my TV at the time? So if I flip channels, it records it?
No. You program it to record a specific show at a specific time on a specific channel. It has a program guide. If you channel surf while it's recording, it doesn't record the surfing. If you are watching a show and decide you want to record it, you can tell it to record on the spot. It will only record that show.
It has 2 internal tuners. So you can watch one show/channel surf and record another or record 2 shows at the same time. You can't record 2 shows and watch a 3rd at the same time.
No. You program it to record a specific show at a specific time on a specific channel. It has a program guide. If you channel surf while it's recording, it doesn't record the surfing. If you are watching a show and decide you want to record it, you can tell it to record on the spot. It will only record that show.
It has 2 internal tuners. So you can watch one show/channel surf and record another or record 2 shows at the same time. You can't record 2 shows and watch a 3rd at the same time.
Sounds like what I am looking for. But do I need to rend a Cablecard from TWC? or pay a subscription fee like TIVO?
Sounds like what I am looking for. But do I need to rend a Cablecard from TWC? or pay a subscription fee like TIVO?
Negative ghost rider. It is pulling in the free over the air broadcasts. Just like your TV tuner would if it was hooked to an antenna instead of cable. You only get the OTA broadcast signals. Major networks plus a zillion spanish channels. If you are looking for cable networks, this isn't for you.
Negative ghost rider. It is pulling in the free over the air broadcasts. Just like your TV tuner would if it was hooked to an antenna instead of cable. You only get the OTA broadcast signals. Major networks plus a zillion spanish channels. If you are looking for cable networks, this isn't for you.
I will be keeping my basic cable plan - so 60+ cable channels. Just trying to get rid of the $25 a month DVR.
Haven't had cable or network tv in over 4 years, couldn't be happier.
Haven't had cable or network tv in over 4 years, couldn't be happier.
I'm perfectly fine with Interwebz and youtube videos..... however the wife - not so much
Haven't had cable or network tv in over 4 years, couldn't be happier.
I don't miss it either, if I want to see movies I sign up for Netflix and cancel when I've seen what I want to see.
No. You program it to record a specific show at a specific time on a specific channel. It has a program guide. If you channel surf while it's recording, it doesn't record the surfing. If you are watching a show and decide you want to record it, you can tell it to record on the spot. It will only record that show.
It has 2 internal tuners. So you can watch one show/channel surf and record another or record 2 shows at the same time. You can't record 2 shows and watch a 3rd at the same time.
In theory this is how it works. What he meant was you can record two shows and watch a 3rd recorded show at the same time. You can't record two shows and watch a 3rd live because you are limited to only two tuners. Something else to keep in mind is that various shows/channels/broadcasters have different times and delays and such. If you have only two tuners and watch shows that are on at the same time or several spaced around each other you will be cutting off the beginning or ends of shows or not recording shows entirely. Two tuners seems like a lot but in this day it really isn't.
To give you an idea, my wife and I (no kids) watch a medium amount of TV shows and I STILL have 6 tuners. Now, if I could pick a perfect amount of tuners it wouldn't be six as that's overkill for our needs but the tuner we use has 3 tuners which I've found just isn't enough on week nights. So we had to buy two tuners and use two cable cards. No problem. Our setup is insanely good and the monthly cost isn't a lot and we only pay for programming so it's whatever you want to pay for channel package-wise. We don't pay a monthly lease on equipment and this is where they get you. We had three dual-tuner HD DVRs and our monthly fee for those was somewhere around $60 for the tuners alone. Using Windows Media Center on a centralized PC and those six tuners on our network I can serve up any live channel, any DVR'd TV show, any movie or video file to ANY of our viewing locations from the same interface using an Xbox 360 and Harmony Universal remotes. We have people house sit regularly and the interface is simple and intuitive and even a novice can sit down, pick up a remote and be watching live TV or a movie withing seconds w/o any complicated instruction required. I've got several terabytes of storage on that primary PC and it allows for almost limitless DVRing and and endless supply of HD movies. I even use newsgroups to automatically fetch, rename and organize most of my TV shows for me so I don't even have to mess with DVRing uncompressed and inefficient file types or editing and converting because it's all done for me. Every night after we go to bed my PC downloads all of the past day's TV programs that were uploaded by 3rd parties and when I want to watch TV the next day the newest show is already in the file renamed and ready to be watched. Not all the TV shows are uploaded but most all of the popular ones are and this includes shows on Premium channels & Netflix like Game of Thrones & House of Cards. We don't watch commercials and don't pay a monthly service to Hulu or Netflix like some others have mentioned and our setup has been flawless in years of operation.
Now, what we're doing isn't 100% approved (read: legal) so I can't get into details of it here and I don't have the time to answer dozens of PMs on the topic because it's not for the faint of heart when it comes to technology. There's a LOT to setup and know and all the info is out there if you research programs like SickBeard & SABnzbd. Figure out how to make those programs run on a networked PC with WMC (read: Windows 7 is easiest for this as you pay for WMC on Win8), buy some Xbox 360's cheap for front end devices (called Extenders in the WMC environment) and put them on the network and the media world is your oyster.
All that being said, before all this technology was available we had TV antennas on our HDTVs. In fact, I helped a local group to get politicians to allow the new digital towers on Lookout Mountain despite local's belly aching so that the entire front range could have free OTA HD programming. It was a bitter battle but it was SO rewarding to put a $20 antenna on your TV and get 100% HD programming for free if your HDTV had a tuner built in. A lot has changed since then and I've moved past that but I do recall getting ALL of our broadcast channel shows & all of our football games in full HD so I know it's still an option for the frugal. Also, you don't need an antenna anywhere near $50-$100 to get them either. Hell, I built an antenna out of metal coat hangers and a 1x4 I had laying around and a few washers & bolts I picked up at Ace Hardware. I think if you had none of the materials on-hand you could build the same thing for $5-$10 or so and your picture will look the same as those $100 fancy HD antennas stores push. Don't fall for marketing hype. It's all about reception and if I can get Lookout mountain up against the foothills from over 50 miles away as the crow flies I'm sure most of you who are closer will do even better to get reception.
Now go out and teach yourself to fish my son! lol
I will be keeping my basic cable plan - so 60+ cable channels. Just trying to get rid of the $25 a month DVR.
Look at what I'm doing then if you want to keep your same programming and ditch the equipment fee. You'll have MANY more features and you'll love having ALL of your DVR'd programs accessible from ANY viewing location and the ability to manage recordings from any viewing location too. I (barely) remember trying to record shows in various locations and trying to guess where we'd want to watch certain shows and then having to choose where we hang out based on what shows we wanted to watch. lol What a PITA!
If you have a PC with Windows 7 & Windows Media Center you're half way there. Buy a HD Homerun Prime 3-tuner HD tuner and put it on the same network. Now, if you have an Xbox 360 you're also ahead of the game. If not you can get one well under $100 on Craigslist these days. Most people will have part of that equation already and if you need to buy some of the other equipment you can find really good deals. We paid off our equipment investment in like 6most but I already had the PC and four Xbox 360's but needed two tuners. If you have $25 per month it may take a year or so depending on what you have to buy and setup is a bit cumbersome (paring your tuner card w/Comcrap can be a nightmare) but once you get it up and running you'll wonder how you ever lived like that in the past. You'll start buying more 360's too when you realize how easy/inexpensive it is to do so and you don't have any monthly fees to do so. The tuner card is free and will feel all three tuners in your tuner & if you need two (like we did) it's like $1.50 per month. Most cable outlets are supposed to give you an equipment credit of like $7-$12 per month in addition to this since you are using your own equipment but this is asking for something most employees are completely unsure of. One my system was setup and working smoothly it wasn't even worth risking undoing this to potentially get around ten bucks a month back. YMMV
buffalobo
10-21-2014, 16:08
You guys sure seem to spend a lot of money just to watch TV.
You guys sure seem to spend a lot of money just to watch TV.
Seems that way but no. I spend like $30 a month above what we'd pay for internet service and I promise you nobody has as much for that money as we get. If you read some of my posts it will make more sense. If $30 seems like a lot of money then you're in the wrong forum.
Seems that way but no. I spend like $30 a month above what we'd pay for internet service and I promise you nobody has as much for that money as we get. If you read some of my posts it will make more sense. If $30 seems like a lot of money then you're in the wrong forum.
My internet (50mbps) and cable (with all premium chans and some international) is $26.xx
Of course, I work for "the man".... :runs away:
buffalobo
10-21-2014, 16:28
Seems that way but no. I spend like $30 a month above what we'd pay for internet service and I promise you nobody has as much for that money as we get. If you read some of my posts it will make more sense. If $30 seems like a lot of money then you're in the wrong forum.
Exact response I expected. Thank you and apologies for baiting you. [emoji481]
My internet (50mbps) and cable (with all premium chans and some international) is $26.xx
Of course, I work for "the man".... :runs away:
Well we can't all work for 'the man' now can we? No, seriously... can we? He hiring? lol
Exact response I expected. Thank you and apologies for baiting you. [emoji481]
Why you sunofa!
buffalobo
10-21-2014, 17:04
Well we can't all work for 'the man' now can we? No, seriously... can we? He hiring? lol
Why you sunofa!
[emoji106] Mom says to got outside and play. TV will rot our brains.
Madeinhb
10-21-2014, 18:48
[emoji106] Mom says to got outside and play. TV will rot our brains.
Haha
hurley842002
07-18-2018, 10:41
Bumping this back up for newer technology and more companies offering online streaming products. We are in the market to "cut the cord", and are weighing our options for content providers, currently doing a free trial of Sling, and will be looking at Direct tv now, thought about Hulu Live, but they don't seem to offer a couple of the channels we like. Any feedback good or bad on these services, mainly the Sling and Direct options, is greatly appreciated.
I decided that I don't like Sling. Too many commercials, and very little variety. The commercials are 50% louder than the show, can't fast forward through them. Only popular shows have good sound, but also ridiculous commercials. Some stuff is edited for TV as well. It's like paying for crappy 1990's basic cable.
Scanker19
07-18-2018, 11:17
My mother and I have PlayStation vue. Works good and has a bunch of channels that the others don’t offer.
mattiooo
07-18-2018, 11:29
I decided that I don't like Sling. Too many commercials, and very little variety. The commercials are 50% louder than the show, can't fast forward through them. Only popular shows have good sound, but also ridiculous commercials. Some stuff is edited for TV as well. It's like paying for crappy 1990's basic cable.
We don't use it, but Hulu started offering the cable stations like Sling does at an additional cost. Not sure if it's any different, but it's another option.
beast556
07-18-2018, 11:52
We have had tv for the last 2 years, this friday at 12:00am it is cancled and we got prime and netflix to take its place. My wife likes TV but I have never really been a huge fan, especially now that everything is so PC.
colorider
07-18-2018, 13:05
If you want variety, an abundance of content, no fees, no bull poop, you need to get an Android streaming box that runs Kodi. Streamstation is one of them and their are many others. Some googling will get you a lot of info. Way too much info to post here.
hurley842002
07-18-2018, 13:40
If you want variety, an abundance of content, no fees, no bull poop, you need to get an Android streaming box that runs Kodi. Streamstation is one of them and their are many others. Some googling will get you a lot of info. Way too much info to post here.
I've thought about Kodi, but I've heard mixed reviews on it, i.e. it's not really a set it and forget it type of program. I'm not opposed to paying a little bit for TV, but cable cost is ridiculous.
68Charger
07-18-2018, 13:46
kodi is not plug-and-play... lots of fiddling, customizing, upgrading constantly... Mobdro (for stations) and Terrarium TV (for on-demand shows) are much easier to maintain.
68Charger
07-18-2018, 14:29
Price?
Mobdro and Terrarium TV are apps that run on multiple platforms, Google is your friend. They can even run on an Amazon Firestick.
Where I live, it's either Satellite, a 100' tower for antenna TV, or internet based.
hurley842002
07-18-2018, 14:51
kodi is not plug-and-play... lots of fiddling, customizing, upgrading constantly...
This is what I'm trying to avoid.
Fentonite
07-18-2018, 15:14
I’m in the same boat. Looking to significantly downgrade our cable TV package, but still need high-speed internet, and it seems like Comcast has that market cornered.
mattiooo
07-18-2018, 15:24
I’m in the same boat. Looking to significantly downgrade our cable TV package, but still need high-speed internet, and it seems like Comcast has that market cornered.
We went with Qwest and have 60MB internet. We save about $200 a month having cut the cord.
Fentonite
07-18-2018, 15:37
We went with Qwest and have 60MB internet. We save about $200 a month having cut the cord.
We tried Qwest more than once (admittedly, not in several years), but the lines in my neighborhood are such crap, that our internet connection would just drop randomly, and otherwise was too slow to be of any use. Maybe I’ll see if things have changed.
mattiooo
07-18-2018, 15:40
We tried Qwest more than once (admittedly, not in several years), but the lines in my neighborhood are such crap, that our internet connection would just drop randomly, and otherwise was too slow to be of any use. Maybe I’ll see if things have changed.
Yeah. That's the downside to DSL. Even with a good line, if you're too far down the line, you suffer. We seem to be in a good spot. We've had outages at times, but to me, it doesn't seem much worse than Xfinity was.
Great-Kazoo
07-18-2018, 16:10
Dropping comcast since we've relocated going with local cable co for internet service. Qwest/ century link based on people i know who work there is off the table. Been in areas where dish & direct tv are sporadic during anything other than clear skies, so a cable line is our first choice. I have roku & an azm firestick to bounce between, using the kids hulu account to see if that works. If not i will probably add a tv package to the account, maybe.
ETA: besides the local cable co, that offers month-month service, everyone else in the area want a 2 yr contract.
Roku, Hulu, Amazon and Netflix. We've got DSL, which has gotten a little more stable over the years. We also got a Mohu leaf antenna to help pull in the local digital channels.
Sometimes, internet is flaky, but it's less than 1/2 of what we were paying to those extortionistic $%#@@## at Comcast.
IMHO, you're not going to find a magic pill when you cut the cord, just like you're not going to find the "perfect/ideal" cable/sat package at a comfortable price.
***ETA: I'm not trying to talk you out of cutting the cord. ***
All the streaming services will eventually cost you, unless you want deal with the commercials. On the plus side, you can usually do trials and month to month commitments to try them out.
We are currently using roku for Netflix, etc., and a directnow package. Direct is better now than it was at the outset (a TON of buffering issues, directly attributable to their app). It seems to have gotten slightly better, but we don't watch it as much, so that may be perception (and maybe less bandwidth load on their end due to summer?)
They are raising their prices this month's billing cycle, so they are gone in about a week for us. You're going to be looking at at least $35/month for their basic service, but you may get a free roku, or other device out of them depending on current promos.
If it matters, I have comcast internet, and though it has gotten pricey, I have always had good service and performance from them (I have had the same broadband service at my house for over 20 years. The pay-to name on the bill has changed several times, and it's now over twice the $$ from when I started, but it works for me).
I have a deep-seated hatred for CenturyLink, but that's a whole other issue.
Sent from somewhere...
Great-Kazoo
07-18-2018, 19:15
Regarding Kodi. Finicky to say the least, if it's not on an area your wifi has good signal strength watching something can be a chore . Like 20 min before the end of a Blockbuster 2 hr event, it freezes up. To the point you can go shopping on line and still catch the ending 2 hrs later. That's if it doesn't try restarting or freezes up 1/2 way through.
If you're not the one who installed it and there's an issue, like unable to update specific services, pass.
Cut the cord a few years ago... Started out with Kodi, and got tired of it, it's a little bit of work. Installed an antenna in the attic, and got the Sony Vue app on my playstation going... between those two and Netflix I'm doing ok. Lots of options out there...
Madeinhb
07-18-2018, 21:58
Cut the cord a few years ago... Started out with Kodi, and got tired of it, it's a little bit of work. Installed an antenna in the attic, and got the Sony Vue app on my playstation going... between those two and Netflix I'm doing ok. Lots of options out there...
Look at Thorstream. It's a one time payment to buy the box which runs Kodi. The box is always being updated with new add ons and removing dead ones. It takes the work of setting up add ons on your own. Works great for me. Especially sports.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Gave up TV in 2006. We have Amazon Prime that we watch on a laptop from time to time as the wife gets it for half-off but every time I am subjected to TV I am reminded why I gave up on that box.
Fentonite
07-18-2018, 23:39
Gave up TV in 2006. We have Amazon Prime that we watch on a laptop from time to time as the wife gets it for half-off but every time I am subjected to TV I am reminded why I gave up on that box.
I just dumped Amazon Prime. They increased their annual fee to over $123 (with fees/taxes/whatever), so I didn’t renew. Actually, they renewed me without notification, but didn’t balk when I cancelled, and refunded me the charge. I never watched their TV offerings much, and their price with “free shipping” is usually the same or worse than other vendors within their own site. One less option if I cut the cord.
Cut the cord a few years ago... Started out with Kodi, and got tired of it, it's a little bit of work. Installed an antenna in the attic, and got the Sony Vue app on my playstation going... between those two and Netflix I'm doing ok. Lots of options out there...
We haven't had cable in quite a while. Got a quad-network tuner from SiliconDust (about $100 right now) on the network. Homemade antenna in the attic (Made using parts laying around and a single $5 part from Radio Shack). Large HDDs capable of storing all of our recorded and downloaded movies and TV shows (sky is the limit depending on how much storage you want). We then run Plex (one-time lifetime purchase at discount of $75) on all front-end devices and basically watch anything we want anywhere we want in the house/world anytime we want. Pretty sweet setup that requires no annual/monthly fees after a small initial hardware buy-in. Even our smart TVs have the Plex app built-in and the other devices it can be installed as it's quite popular these days.
Zundfolge
07-19-2018, 09:01
IMHO, you're not going to find a magic pill when you cut the cord, just like you're not going to find the "perfect/ideal" cable/sat package at a comfortable price.
The big thing with cord cutting is that you have to understand that how you consume media will be drastically changed. Sitting and just channel surfing is not something you'll really do anymore. You tend to watch what you want, when you want so if you just want to mindlessly veg its more difficult. And if you're into live sports that too will be more difficult.
I've been very happy with my Roku devices running YouTube, Netflix, CRTV and Plex (https://www.plex.tv/).
Plex is similar to Kodi but its more oriented toward media you have stored locally on your network (you have to run a Plex server on a computer). I download* a lot of movies and TV that I keep stored on a NAS and run Plex off of my wife's Mac (you can run it on Windows, Mac or Linux ... I keep saying I'm going to build a Linux box to be a Plex server, but never seem to get around to it :p ). Plex is easier to set up than Kodi (which I messed with back when it was still called XBMC. so maybe its gotten easier).
*no, I'm not going to explain how/where I download stuff ... y'all need to figure that out on your own [Muaha]
Homemade antenna in the attic (Made using parts laying around and a single $5 part from Radio Shack). .
Radio Shack? I seem to recall seeing one next to the Five and Dime that I used to get S&H Green Stamps at when buying Grape Nehi ... was just up the street from the AMC dealer.
hurley842002
07-19-2018, 09:44
Lots of good replies so far. I should have mentioned, we had cut the cord years ago, when Netflix and Hulu were the main game for streaming, so we've been there before. I think the "mindless vegging" is what has me hanging on to some version of cable provider. So far Sling is proving to be really good, we watched a movie on SyFy and there didn't seem to be any more commercials than regular cable. Direct tv now gives quite a few more channels at only $5 a month more than the Sling, however, the Sling offers all the channels I like to watch, so it may come down to which interface we like better.
We have one Chromecast we currently use in the living room, so we will likely buy something newer for that area, and transfer the Chromecast to the bedroom.
colorider
07-19-2018, 10:40
The Thorstream and the Streamstation seem to be VERY similar. The box developers do all the updating. All the end user has to do is click the update button or refresh the media player. Walla, all the add ons are updated. If anyone chooses that path, DO NOT pay their online retail price. The resellers will get one to you for half the price. I've had an android / Kodi box for 4 years and love it. Watch any tv station, cable channel and movie you want. Any time and no commercials when watching movies. Last night I watched a few old Land of the Lost episodes with my 12yr old son what a kick in the pants explaining to him that the show was a big hit when I was a kid. . I'm lucky as I was able to hook my box up directly to my internet and don't have to use wifi. I get mega fast speeds.
The big thing with cord cutting is that you have to understand that how you consume media will be drastically changed. Sitting and just channel surfing is not something you'll really do anymore. You tend to watch what you want, when you want so if you just want to mindlessly veg its more difficult. And if you're into live sports that too will be more difficult.
I've been very happy with my Roku devices running YouTube, Netflix, CRTV and Plex (https://www.plex.tv/).
Plex is similar to Kodi but its more oriented toward media you have stored locally on your network (you have to run a Plex server on a computer). I download* a lot of movies and TV that I keep stored on a NAS and run Plex off of my wife's Mac (you can run it on Windows, Mac or Linux ... I keep saying I'm going to build a Linux box to be a Plex server, but never seem to get around to it :p ). Plex is easier to set up than Kodi (which I messed with back when it was still called XBMC. so maybe its gotten easier).
*no, I'm not going to explain how/where I download stuff ... y'all need to figure that out on your own [Muaha]
Radio Shack? I seem to recall seeing one next to the Five and Dime that I used to get S&H Green Stamps at when buying Grape Nehi ... was just up the street from the AMC dealer.
I also used a metal hanger to give you an idea how long ago that was. ;-)
I also made no mention of how we "acquire" the movies & TV programs that we download intentionally.
Between Plex apps & Chromecasts we have pretty much all the bases covered for anything we could want to do.
I could cut the cord easily. I've been trying to ween my wife off of the satellite dish. Took it down for roof repairs on June 5th and haven't made time to put the dish back up. We have a Roku on each television. Been watching mostly Netflix and Amazon recently. Probably my only problem with dumping my DirecTV is that I like having the option to stream stuff that I pay for anyways like HBO, Showtime, A&E, etc. The Roku lets me stream just about everything I pay for through my satellite provider and I'd rather watch shows and movies streaming because I can watch them whenever I want instead of having to wait for them to come on at certain times.
Honey Badger282.8
07-19-2018, 11:34
Netflix, Prime, and HBO Go for me. There are a handful of shows I miss on Cable, but most make their way to Netflix or Prime a year after they're aired. I don't mind waiting for most. The shows that I don't want to wait for can be bought on iTunes or Amazon for about $30 per season. The biggest reason I'll never go back to cable/satellite channels is because I hate commercials. The only time I'm willing to put up with them is when I watch sports.
Zundfolge
07-19-2018, 11:47
The biggest reason I'll never go back to cable/satellite channels is because I hate commercials.
Oh I know, whenever we go to my mom's place or anyone else still watching cable or OTA TV the commercials start to drive me insane quite quickly.
trlcavscout
07-21-2018, 23:48
I have had DSL for years, at my old house i was getting 12 megs and i could stream on two tv’s while my son played xbox online. Now i get 25 megs and we constantly have 2-3 tv’s streaming and 2 teenage boys playing online games, using a cheap DSL modem, a cisco 5506 and a good Ubiquitu AP. Never have buffering and the boys are yet to complain about lag. DSL is cheaper and way more reliable then comcast in most areas, i worked for them as a tech for 12 years and now i work for a company doing phone and IT work for businesses, we make a lot of money showing up when customers call only to tell them their modems are offline and they need to call comcast.
We have netflix and hulu now, used to use kodi. I just need to find a way to get Packers games this fall for my GF.
hurley842002
07-22-2018, 05:45
So far liking Sling quite a bit, will let the free trial finish and try Direct next, before making a decision. Now if only the newer Galaxy phones had the IR feature like the S4 and S5, I'd never have to pick up the remote lol.
Are you watching very popular shows on Sling? I loved it for stuff that wasn't popular. I feel like the more popular the show, the worse the viewing experience. Nice thing is that it's just month to month so you can ditch it once your show is over and pick it up when you want.
Fentonite
08-13-2018, 13:35
Has anybody heard of or tried “WiFiHood”? $50/month for 50mbps. Microwave radio internet, no actual TV channels. Gotta provide your own router. Since I don’t do any gaming, I think this might be enough for us. Add an over-the-air antenna for local channels, probably all I need. Thoughts?
http://wifihood.com/plan/wifihood-home/
Has anybody heard of or tried “WiFiHood”? $50/month for 50mbps. Microwave radio internet, no actual TV channels. Gotta provide your own router. Since I don’t do any gaming, I think this might be enough for us. Add an over-the-air antenna for local channels, probably all I need. Thoughts?
http://wifihood.com/plan/wifihood-home/
If it delivers 50mbps for $60 per month, I would drop Comcast in a heartbeat. Sadly, it has not expanded far enough for me to consider.
You may want to call them and see if they already have any customers in your neighborhood. Then you can ask them about their experience.
I was really hoping for fiber at some point but that just doesn't seem to be coming either.
If it delivers 50mbps for $60 per month, I would drop Comcast in a heartbeat. Sadly, it has not expanded far enough for me to consider.
You may want to call them and see if they already have any customers in your neighborhood. Then you can ask them about their experience.
I was really hoping for fiber at some point but that just doesn't seem to be coming either.
Century Link spent a few months updating my entire neighborhood with Fiber. They must not have gotten up to the nice part of Thornton yet.
Madeinhb
08-13-2018, 15:29
If it delivers 50mbps for $60 per month, I would drop Comcast in a heartbeat. Sadly, it has not expanded far enough for me to consider.
You may want to call them and see if they already have any customers in your neighborhood. Then you can ask them about their experience.
I was really hoping for fiber at some point but that just doesn't seem to be coming either.
Fiber isn't coming to Thornton because, if I'm not mistaken, the city said the companies running Fiber would have to run it to everyone house in Thornton. And of course,Netherlands companies said no to that. At least I believe it was VZ from what I read.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Centennial is getting fiber and I'm on the pre-order list. Given that they've started construction on the exact opposite side of the city that I live in I'm expecting to get service sometime in 2050.
BladesNBarrels
08-13-2018, 15:47
When I moved to a new house in Elizabeth, the promise was the latest and best technology.
Waited 9 months for lines to be laid for phone.
Copper.
I asked why we weren't getting fiber.
The answer was that they were using up all the old copper inventory before using fiber and to hell with any promises.
They had given me cell phones for the family and business, but none of the providers had cell service in our neighborhood.
I had to get in the car, drive to the top of a hill, and then Sprint would work with 1 bar.
Centennial is getting fiber and I'm on the pre-order list. Given that they've started construction on the exact opposite side of the city that I live in I'm expecting to get service sometime in 2050.
It'll all be 25G wireless by then. In other news, we'll also all glow in the dark.
hurley842002
08-13-2018, 17:05
Speaking of cutting the cord, we went with Sling, and are very happy so far, still figuring out what we want to do about internet, but we have all the programming we like to watch, for much less than the equivalent package would cost through Xfinity.
I ditched the dish over 10 years ago. A lot of what y'all are talking about is new to me. I have a local wireless internet service and use a MacMini, hooked to a monitor and amp, for the entertainment center. Prime, Plex and Youtube are about all I use.
Have a friend that wants to ditch cable but still wants her channels. Easier the better. Are "smart TVs" a thing? She has Roku but I really don't know what that does.
Smart TVs are a thing, with a bunch of streaming services built-in. It's possible that she can get a number of local channels OTA.
Grant H.
08-14-2018, 12:29
Has anybody heard of or tried “WiFiHood”? $50/month for 50mbps. Microwave radio internet, no actual TV channels. Gotta provide your own router. Since I don’t do any gaming, I think this might be enough for us. Add an over-the-air antenna for local channels, probably all I need. Thoughts?
http://wifihood.com/plan/wifihood-home/
They are just another WISP, similar to Rise, Hill Top (who Rise just bought), etc.
They will likely work well until they get to a larger customer base, and then it will start to drop off. (Seen this cycle with several WISPs that have been around).
Century Link spent a few months updating my entire neighborhood with Fiber. They must not have gotten up to the nice part of Thornton yet.
Actual fiber to the home? Or just replacing the main backbones with fiber, but still copper to the home?
Fiber isn't coming to Thornton because, if I'm not mistaken, the city said the companies running Fiber would have to run it to everyone house in Thornton. And of course,Netherlands companies said no to that. At least I believe it was VZ from what I read.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
If that's the case, that Thornton said it would HAVE to include all homes, then that was a poor decision on the city's part.
FTTH is usually prohibitively expensive. Longmont got away with it because they are their own electric power utility, so they own all the power poles, and could string fiber along those.
The other problem that may be part of this is that opening up more and more cities with FTTH is creating a very different load on the existing backbones. I know guys that work for the company the feeds Longmont, and Longmont keeps asking for more bandwidth (not surprising with a city wide fiber network), and they are struggling to keep up.
Grant H.
08-14-2018, 12:33
I have had DSL for years, at my old house i was getting 12 megs and i could stream on two tv’s while my son played xbox online. Now i get 25 megs and we constantly have 2-3 tv’s streaming and 2 teenage boys playing online games, using a cheap DSL modem, a cisco 5506 and a good Ubiquitu AP. Never have buffering and the boys are yet to complain about lag. DSL is cheaper and way more reliable then comcast in most areas, i worked for them as a tech for 12 years and now i work for a company doing phone and IT work for businesses, we make a lot of money showing up when customers call only to tell them their modems are offline and they need to call comcast.
We have netflix and hulu now, used to use kodi. I just need to find a way to get Packers games this fall for my GF.
Cheaper? Yes.
More reliable? As you said, that depends on your area.
Longmont, Firestone, Frederick, Niwot, and Gunbarrel (all places I have current, direct data points on internet access) all have terrible DSL service. We were paying for the 12mbps plan on DSL and they could barely deliver 1mbps in Gunbarrel. Switched to Comcrap, and haven't had an issue since.
(Don't take this as a no-holds-barred endorsement of Comcrap, because they have their own major issues, but they are faster and more stable in those areas).
RE: Fiber in Thornton. It looked like they just upgraded the back bone up and down the street. I don't have Century Link, so I'm not sure if they bring Fiber directly to the house or not.
I have fiber to the home out where I'm at. Sucks that they under utilize the capabilities. I am required to have a home phone by my ISP, so for about $110 total, I get 25/5.
A friend has Rise Broadband (microwave) and you do see noticeable drops when the tower loads up.
As much as people knock Comcast, they've been great for me as an ISP in regard to reliability and throughput. Had DSL before cable was available and it sucked. Was interested in FIOS, but it's never become a reality.
As much as people knock Comcast, they've been great for me as an ISP in regard to reliability and throughput. Had DSL before cable was available and it sucked. Was interested in FIOS, but it's never become a reality.
Agreed. I've only used Comcast since 2006, Comcast has their problems but nothing compared to CTL.
Because no one in my area offers a competitive service to Comcast, I have Comcast. With the bandwidth that fiber opens up, I would expect competition for service on the strand. Besides the cost of the last mile, most companies don’t want to invest in the physical infrastructure if they can foresee the courts forcing them to share that fiber. Anyone else recall the competition for long distance services over POTS?
Great-Kazoo
08-14-2018, 18:20
ATM i have internet only, through the local cable co. Using a firestick i'm going to try the direct tv now service. IF i can get a CSR who has a $%^& clue . Most everything so far (minus any monthly payment) for the cable svc has been through the free apps i added to firestick
Fentonite
08-14-2018, 21:45
If it delivers 50mbps for $60 per month, I would drop Comcast in a heartbeat. Sadly, it has not expanded far enough for me to consider.
You may want to call them and see if they already have any customers in your neighborhood. Then you can ask them about their experience.
I was really hoping for fiber at some point but that just doesn't seem to be coming either.
Good idea - I’ll see if I can find some referrals.
They are just another WISP, similar to Rise, Hill Top (who Rise just bought), etc.
They will likely work well until they get to a larger customer base, and then it will start to drop off. (Seen this cycle with several WISPs that have been around).
Actual fiber to the home? Or just replacing the main backbones with fiber, but still copper to the home?
If that's the case, that Thornton said it would HAVE to include all homes, then that was a poor decision on the city's part.
FTTH is usually prohibitively expensive. Longmont got away with it because they are their own electric power utility, so they own all the power poles, and could string fiber along those.
The other problem that may be part of this is that opening up more and more cities with FTTH is creating a very different load on the existing backbones. I know guys that work for the company the feeds Longmont, and Longmont keeps asking for more bandwidth (not surprising with a city wide fiber network), and they are struggling to keep up.
Good insight, as usual - thanks! Gonna probably give it a try.
Next step - I need to provide my own router. Any strong feelings or recommedations?
Next step - I need to provide my own router. Any strong feelings or recommedations?
I've had excellent service from Motorola routers.
Great-Kazoo
08-15-2018, 16:36
I've had excellent service from Motorola routers.
Go with an ARRIS, which is one of the largest suppliers to a lot of cable co. Who, if you look at the similarities (IMO) also does the motorola modems
ARRIS & MOTOROLA (http://www.arris.com/arriseverywhere/2015/05/arris-motorola/)
21 May 2015
Today, ARRIS is announcing that as of year’s end, we will no longer be using the Motorola brand on our retail products.
Since our acquisition of Motorola Home two years ago, we’ve anticipated this transition by accelerating our investment in making ARRIS the trusted name and global leader it is today. Now, we’re ready to usher in the next wave of industry innovation under the ARRIS brand.
When we acquired Motorola Home, we inherited a 60-year legacy of award-winning innovation—including the legendary SURFboard® line of products.
To be technical, Arris primarily makes modems/gateways for terminating a network at your location. I think the question was about routers.
Routers are primarily defined on what you plan to do with it. Are you looking for primarily amazing WiFi coverage, or do you need 8 ports for wired Ethernet connections?
If you're like most people using a lot of WiFi devices, the new 'mesh' systems are pretty slick. I recently setup my folks with a 3 node Linksys Velop mesh system since they have a complicated home layout with their office terminating their cable modem on the far side of their ranch style home. Was easy to setup using the phone app, and I can manage their network from 1500 miles away. I used a 4 port switch to interconnect the equipment in the office to the Velop node that's also connected to their cable modem. Lots of bandwidth over their entire home with lots of streaming video and no issues.
At home, my home office in the basement is fairly centrally located in the basement of our ranch style home. I bought my router before the mesh networks began to show up on the market. I went big with the Linksys EA9500 Max-Stream™ AC5400 MU-MIMO Gigabit Wi-Fi Router. I get great throughput anywhere in the house, garage, back yard, wired or wireless.
You need to figure out what's important to you and then find the solution that provides the solution that you're looking for.
Comcast is the best isp in our area,so, we kept them for internet. Fired them for tv and phone. We use Roku and also get Netflix and Hulu. Hulu has tv shows the next day that my wife likes. We use Majic for land line, $20 per year. Cost is half we were paying with Comcast and we like the movies etc. much more.
Zundfolge
08-16-2018, 11:26
I've never had good luck with Comcast home service (although to be fair, their business service worked fine) and I've never had a problem with CenturyLink ... but then again I'm one of a dozen people world-wide that had a perfectly running copy of Windows ME back in the day so maybe I'm just an outlier :p
Fentonite
08-16-2018, 14:49
I've had excellent service from Motorola routers.
On the list
Go with an ARRIS, which is one of the largest suppliers to a lot of cable co. Who, if you look at the similarities (IMO) also does the motorola modems
Looks like they’re just modems or modem/router combo. I won’t need a modem if I go with the radio internet, but if I end up staying with Comcast, I’ll probably look into these so I can stop payin the monthly rental.
...
You need to figure out what's important to you and then find the solution that provides the solution that you're looking for.
I probably won’t need a mesh system (my house is tiny), but I do want good coverage. I’ll probably go with something similar to the Linksys you mentioned, or probably a similar Netgear.
thanks for the input!
... but then again I'm one of a dozen people world-wide that had a perfectly running copy of Windows ME back in the day so maybe I'm just an outlier :p
The More Errors edition. I bought 2 copies and ran them without a problem as well.
Grant H.
08-17-2018, 12:10
Good idea - I’ll see if I can find some referrals.
Good insight, as usual - thanks! Gonna probably give it a try.
Next step - I need to provide my own router. Any strong feelings or recommedations?
Two recommendations here, one more involved but way faster, one simpler, slower, and not as great of wifi coverage.
1. (More involved and noticeably faster)
Router Option 1: https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Security-Gateway-USG/dp/B00LV8YZLK/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1534528201&sr=1-2&keywords=unifi+usg&dpID=31-lhpANO6L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
Router Option 2: [/url]https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-ER-X-Router/dp/B0144R449W/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1534528276&sr=1-5&keywords=edgerouter&dpID=41GEBnLIf4L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch[/url]
WAP Option 1: https://www.amazon.com/Cambium-Networks-Wireless-High-Powered-Business/dp/B0771TMVQ3/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1534528400&sr=1-10&keywords=cnpilot (My personal choice)
WAP Option 2: https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Ap-AC-Lite-UAPACLITEUS/dp/B015PR20GY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1534528450&sr=1-1&keywords=uap-ac-lite&dpID=31-u-5bgo0L&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
I run the slightly older version of the Edgerouter X and the Cambium e400 WAP at home, and it's noticeably faster than my ASUS AC router was. I personally prefer the Cambium e400 over the Ubnt AC WAP, and I've tested them all, because they perform better on the RF side. I have the one WAP for my whole house, and I use it from the truck in the cul de sac all the time.
As for choosing between the UBNT USG and the Edgerouter X, that depends on if you want to have a web interface on your router, or use the (free) UBNT Unifi Controller Software. I personally prefer having a Command Line Interface, and the broader option set that I get with the Edge router line. One upside to using the USG is that you can control both the USG and UBNT WAP from the same controller software.
Option2, Less involved and probably less wifi coverage:
https://www.amazon.com/Dual-Band-Super-Fast-Gigabit-MU-MIMO-RT-ACRH13/dp/B07628HLTM/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1534528761&sr=1-4&keywords=AC%2Brouter&dpID=41XjwZQZ6RL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch&th=1
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-ac3100-dual-band-wi-fi-router-black/4465000.p?skuId=4465000&ref=212&loc=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5NnbBRDaARIsAJP-YR_CCex7Ckyuiz1_ywjYX6Rw2JIioZD5BqdwPUZpZW9rQcXjfB EmkdgaAkf-EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Basically any of the "Nighthawk" branded ASUS or Netgear routers are a decent all-in-one option. I personally prefer the ASUS options.
Pretty much boils down to cost vs performance, and what you want.
The UBNT routers are faster than the ASUS/Netgear type of options, because they are designed to be enterprise grade gear, brought to the "prosumer" at a reasonable cost. When I swapped from my ASUS AC router to the UBNT Edgerouter lite, I saw a ~200mbps increase in speed tests on my fiber connection (~750mbps to 950+mbps).
I'm happy to help board members with configuring and setting up a UBNT router and either a cambium or UBNT WAP.
Fentonite
08-17-2018, 13:10
I didn’t even know those more complicated routers were a thing. Probably over my head. I ordered a simpler one before I saw your post, the “Linksys Max-Stream AC2200 MU-MIMO Tri-band Wireless Router”. If it doesn’t work well enough, I may take you up on your offer to help set up the complicated one...
If a network overhaul is in the plans all you need to know is: Unifi.
Invest a little more time & money and do it right the first time with all Unifi gear by Ubiquiti & call it a day.
Enterprise gear at residential pricing w/o any subscriptions.
This should be the starting point for most all home networks these days regardless of cord-cutting or not IMHO.
If a network overhaul is in the plans all you need to know is: Unifi.
Invest a little more time & money and do it right the first time with all Unifi gear by Ubiquiti & call it a day.
Enterprise gear at residential pricing w/o any subscriptions.
This should be the starting point for most all home networks these days regardless of cord-cutting or not IMHO.
This. Seriously.
I like ASUS AC56U (or R) routers that have been flashed to DD-WRT. You can flash them directly in the firmware upgrade part of ASUS's interface, without any of the normal complications that goes with DD-WRT. They are... $50-60 ish for a refurb, AC1200 which suits many applications just fine. I use them for bridge routers (6 Mile bridge). Much more secure with dd-wrt and the options turns them into a much more expensive router.
I get the thinking because I did this route for a number of years (n66u hardware and run various versions of firmware) but there's a learning curve and you could brick your router flashing firmware and be out in the cold as far as a warranty goes since that went out the window when you chose to overwrite the factory firmware. Small risk I know but it's not just plug and play so IMO you might as well invest that time into learning how to set up & interface with the Unifi platform. Comparing new to new you're talking an extra hundred bucks or so but in the end you'll have a much more capable network that benefits from more robust hardware and firmware with a better interface and the ability to add devices easily as your needs expand. To me when you consider how long you will have this setup and how much use it is and how important these are these days it seems like a trivial amount of money to try to save. I guess I feel like several years ago your suggestion was about my favorite but now that you can get a USG & a Lite AP for less than $200 that's a killer way to get going on something that's much more robust and capable.
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