Advice for Dropping Comcast TV and Internet

[cordenny]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!

[Bill14564]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!

I have a firestick, others prefer Roku.

Search the forum for the words hulu or xfinity and you should find several discussions of cutting the cord.

[Battlebasset]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!

If your elderly mother is like my elderly mother and father, they watch mostly network TV, westerns, and old TV shows/movies. If that is the case consider putting up an antenna. Once you pay the initial cost, it's free.

I like Roku TV's. The interface is simple, you can get voice remotes, and the move from live antenna TV to the apps is seamless. The internet connection to the TV provides a channel guide very similar to a cable channel guide, making it easy to navigate and see what is upcoming for each channel.

[Keefelane66]

I have friends that tried both T Mobile and Verison neither was happy with Internet Speed.
Both were able to get Quantum Fiber for $30 monthly 200mbs and use Firesticks.

[mtdjed]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!

I have the same interest. First issue you need to deal with is giving up your Comcast Remotes which serve the purpose of making all 4 TVs controls identical. The Comcast Remote also has voice command capability. My TV's are all smart TVs but each has a distinct complex remote. I bought a Firestick which will work with each TV and is simple and has voice command capability. You need one for each TV.

Check the other Thread that is about streaming which discusses T-Mobile and options you might want regarding streaming choices. While many sites offer free streaming, live TV news, weather and current airings require paying.

[Arctic Fox]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!

Depending where you live, you may have little choice for internet. However, you can get a reasonable connection speed with Comcast for $30 per month (although you have to ask for the "special" price).

[vintageogauge]

We have Comcast and thought of changing but you won't find anything equal to Comcast so if you can afford it, keep it. Some day if it get's too out of hand we'll likely switch to something but for now I really like having it.

[tophcfa]

We pay $272 per month to friggin Comcast up north for triple bundle (TV, phone we never use, and internet) with a DVR and three cable boxes that communicate with the DVR, so we have four TV’s. In the Villages we have a digital antenna and use our phones (Xfinity Mobil) for internet. We also still get dvd movies in the mail from Netflix to watch movies in the Villages.

Everything is about to change. Netflix is stopping its DVD mail service September 29th and our Comcast contract up north is about to expire. Going forward we are going to have Comcast internet only at both homes for about $50/month each and subscribe to YouTube streaming and Netflix streaming along with our existing AmazonPrime account. The total cost for that set up will be about $200 per month and we will have high speed internet at both homes and we will be able to stream TV through YouTube and watch content through both Netflix and Prime at both homes. We will still have local Chanel’s in the Villages through our antenna as well. We will save about $70 per month and have a Hugh upgrade in our Villages home. I have ordered 5 Roku devices for all of our televisions, at both homes, so we will only have to learn one new interface that will run everything. We selected YouTube for our streaming service because it has about 100 channels, an excellent cloud DVR service, and will allow us to use it at both homes. The only thing that will not be optimal for us after these changes will be difficulty watching my favorite sports teams without expensive additional subscriptions.

[Michael G.]

We have Comcast and thought of changing but you won't find anything equal to Comcast so if you can afford it, keep it. Some day if it get's too out of hand we'll likely switch to something but for now I really like having it.

And don't forget some streaming services are raising their prices also.
So be careful, you might be $10.00 after from what you got now.

[Papa_lecki]

Go comcast internet - we have 1G speed, but you can go slower
We like YouTubeTV. $72/month, But you can share it with 6 gmail accounts (kids/grandkids, etc).

[daniel200]

I tried TMobile internet. Initially speeds were very good. Overtime, the speed slowed significantly. But the real problem was that I kept losing the internet service. Everytime this happened, I would call TMobile and would end up talking to someone in India… they would determine that my TMobile modem was defective and send a new one which I had to install and then return the old one. I think they swapped my modem either 4 or 5 times. In the end, I ended up dropping tmobile and going to xfinity cable (fiber is not available in my neighborhood) for internet. I think my home was a little far from the nearest tmobile tower and that this was part of the tmobile problem.

My advice: Get fiber service if available. Fiber offers the best speeds and reliability. If you want to try TMobile … then consider trying it out for a month before cancelling your current service. TMobile does not require a contract and can be cancelled at any time.

I use the Roku box and remote. The remote is very simple and only has a few buttons. But if you have 4 TV’s, you would need to purchase 4 roku units.

[Iowatransplant]

Go to the Comcast store and tell them you are thinking of leaving. They’ll find discounts you didn’t know existed!! Also, if the account is in your name , switch it to your wife’s name. She is a new customer and you will get all the specials for new customers.

[Lionjeff]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!


We switched to the streaming version of Xfinity and bought fire sticks. This allowed us to return all the Comcast equipment and save $50/mo and still keep all our programming. The user interface is slightly less convenient, but worth it.

[arbajeda]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!

Go to Q.com to see if you have fiber available. Otherwise, Century Link. We have 200MBPS service and that's been plenty for streaming. YouTube TV has almost all the same channels as Xfinity at $72.99 plus tax per month. We went this way after our cable bill topped $200.00 and have been satisfied with the service.

[ColtsFan]

We bundle with Comcast: TV, Phone, & Computer. Every time it goes up, we contact them and tell them we might have to drop their services if they can not lower our bill. They almost always do.

[rsmurano]

Some confusion here. 1st, getting a Roku or fire stick doesn’t get you any tv channel subscription, they get you access to multiple subscriptions. If you use Apple products in your house like the iPhone and iPad and Mac, get the Apple TV 4K box for each tv, it provides access to all tv subscribers plus it will provide much more.

Get a wired internet service, preferably fiber if you can get it, or xfinity/spectrum/Verizon, who ever is in your area. 5g internet is still a hit and miss inside your house.

As for tv subscriptions, you need to go out to each service and see what channels they provide to see if they carry the channels you want to watch. None of the streaming services carry everything we like so we have multiple subscriptions. YouTube tv is very good, Philo, Hulu, and others. If you get xfinity internet, you get the flex box with peacock for free. If you have T-Mobile cell service, you get Netflix, Apple TV+, and paramount for free plus discounts on Philo and others.

So before you make your move, see what you can get with your cell phone service or your internet provider, then check out the tv providers to find any gaps you have from the free/discounted subscriptions

[Softball77]

Go to the Comcast store and tell them you are thinking of leaving. They’ll find discounts you didn’t know existed!! Also, if the account is in your name , switch it to your wife’s name. She is a new customer and you will get all the specials for new customers.

I've got Xfinity (Comcast) Triple Play because my wife wants a land line. BTW, triple play offers excellent rates on mobile phones. Rates go up because your "Introductory rate" expired. Yes, threaten to quit and hassle on the phone a bit and Voila, you get another 2 years of lower rates. Also my internet is 800GBS.

[Tomptomp]

[QUOTE=cordenny;2252687]We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice

Xfinity $45/mo with 300/300 service
Fire stick on two tv’s only because the other tv’s have YouTube tv installed
YouTube tv cost me $83/mo.
I tried TMobile but the tv constantly buffered. They have a two week trial and hold $50 if you decline. Good luck getting your money back. They are dishonest.

[glmillard]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!
I had Comcast and never used 95% of what they offered. I have internet for $35 and Netflix and Prime. Very happy.

[wayneman]

We use comcast internet.
Also switched phones from t-mobile to xfinity. Because we have 2 services with comcast our phones $60/month unlimited data(2 phones) runs off verizon network. Internet blast $45/month. Then we got youtube tv which keeps raising there rate, currently $83/month. But the convenience of youtube tv is worth it. So, we pay under $200 for all services. It’s a fair deal.

[DonnaNi4os]

I have the same interest. First issue you need to deal with is giving up your Comcast Remotes which serve the purpose of making all 4 TVs controls identical. The Comcast Remote also has voice command capability. My TV's are all smart TVs but each has a distinct complex remote. I bought a Firestick which will work with each TV and is simple and has voice command capability. You need one for each TV.

Check the other Thread that is about streaming which discusses T-Mobile and options you might want regarding streaming choices. While many sites offer free streaming, live TV news, weather and current airings require paying.

Smart TV remotes can be integrated into your Comcast or other cable remotes making the need for multiple remotes unnecessary. It is very easy to do. While it won’t control the color or brightness on your screen, mine controls my soundbar, cable box and tv including power, volume and it can switch inputs.

[deborahcme]

I have set up internet only service here with Spectrum. This gets a very basic service, but I have subscriptions to Prime, Britbox, etc. This basic service is $55 per month. Includes a ROKU stick. For an additional $25 per month I can get the basic TV cable package added on. So far, with my streaming services I haven't needed it. Getting/changing services is confusing and annoying. So, first out of the gate, follow the advice of other posters and challenge your provider on price. They may come up with a deal to hang on to you as a customer. If you need to change, ask these questions: What channels are most important to me and my mom? Which service will offer those to me? You'll likely have to have a hybrid --basic package with add ons. Also ask when you contact a provider if they provide a simple big button remote (ON, OFF, SOUND UP/DOWN, CHANNELS) that is big enough for an older person to easily handle (not lose) and do the basics for TV watching. I bought one of these for my mom from the internet. It did not entirely solve every problem, but once we got it working, it was easy for her to use and see what she was doing. She just really wanted to watch the local news, vintage TV, and old movies and this worked for her.

[JTW]

I dropped Comcast over a year ago and switched to TMobile, I’ve had no issues whatsoever and get Netflix and Apple TV on them free for life. The price is guaranteed not to go up and it hasn’t gone up one penny. The speed is as fast as Comcast was. I would caution you to make sure TMobile is strong in your area. There seem to be many spots in The Villages that do not get the speed I enjoy. BUT you get 30 days to try their internet without needing to turn in your Comcast equipment to make sure you are happy with the TMobile product.

[Buzman]

We went with DirecTV Streaming. It’s a more expensive option than other streamers, but most similar to a “Cable Experience”. A big plus is when using their “box” and remote, they integrated access to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Max so you use the same remote for all of them. It has all the local channels you get with Comcast including the sports channels and movie channels.

DirecTV.com to get started.

[lindaelane]

I have internet (200 mps), streaming on 2 TVs with 2 Firesticks, and a "landline" (which I love because my cell can be silent or not charged) and a cell (special rate - goes up next year on the cell). I pay $70 a month for all this. Netflix is about $15 a month. I can do a lot with my firestick to see channels for free, but, well, I'll only say I do not feel guilty about that part. My only concern is that the firestick interface could be complicated for an elderly woman. Still, there is a of perfectly free TV on Firestick - old stuff - through things like FreeVee, very easy to watch, perfectly legal. I think an elderly woman could learn to use that. But, I admit, I would not be happy with this if i did not know how to get "certain channels" (not FreeVee) through certain means. There are ads or computer stores to talk to - or internet sites - if you want to maximize your firestick.

Finally - and this has been so important to me - I have a laptop that shows on my main TV through an HDMI cord, then I have a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse. I can see anything - You Tube, Netflix, anything I subscribe to, all my email, everything - right on the big screen from my sofa. It's paradise.

[PVR]

Century Link and roku with YouTube TV is way better than Comcast and way cheaper

[Aviator1211]

I'm very happy with the Roku Soundbar Pro. Easy to use, MUCH better sound than TVspeakers, and works with Bluetooth earbuds.

[cjrjck]

Basic internet at around $30 and a ROKU or Amazon Fire Stick will get you access to free TV apps like tubi, pluto, and Freevee. These free services have advertisements like network television. Usually no live sports and no local news. Someone mentioned using an old fashioned antenna for local tv. May work but I am not sure where the broadcast stations are. If they are in Orlando and Gainesville the signals may be weak.

[nn0wheremann]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!
Amplified TV antenna on a 25 foot pole. Suggest one of these telescoping flag poles, total cost less than a month of cable. Get internet for $62 per month from Comcast, possibly less for others if they are available where you live. Get a Roku or Firestick for streaming.

[Kathryn Putt]

We got an antenna and the Sling app and are pleased

[Janie123]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!
I dropped Dish network when we lived in Colorado and the house in TV was a rental and switched to Roku sticks in both places and added switched service to YouTube TV (easy interface with Roku and we get multiple apps like Amazon, Angel Studios, YouTube and YouTubeTV, Disney+ etc). We also like watching British shows on BritBox and Acorn. My costs savings were over $1000 a year. I only pay for Internet with CenturyLink and YouTubeTV and a small monthly fee for BritBox. I just switched my 80+ yo neighbor to the same. She had a few issues in the first few weeks but now, it’s great. She is dropping Comcast and saving over $100 a month as well. She loves YouTube as she is a retired pastor and watches various church streams where she is asked to guest preach.

The biggest change is no numbers on channels. But we just setup DVR recordings (unlimited hours with YouTubeTV) and all our favorite shows are recorded as no one really watches all 100+ channels. It has great filters so to watch football this weekend, just click sports->football and all games that are being shown pop up for easy access.

Also YouTubeTV has the exact same interface for all your devices so remote watching is also a breeze.

One other upside with sticks and streaming, all the Comcast crap (boxes and cables) disappear at all the TVs,

[daveczo]

We have Comcast and thought of changing but you won't find anything equal to Comcast so if you can afford it, keep it. Some day if it get's too out of hand we'll likely switch to something but for now I really like having it.
Interesting, we had Comcast and Spectrum, both way overpiced. Switched to Firestick and YouTube TV. Hundreds of more channels and saving $90 a month. Cutting the cord is best thing we have done.

[Marine1974]

I dropped Comcast , put an antenna on my tv . Signed up for Verizon 5g internet
$25 a month . No cables coming in the house . I have a wireless scanner , printer and fax machine all wireless. I get 70 channels mostly old movies and cbs, nbc , ABC , WGN , PBS etc no cable channels no CNN I don’t miss . I have a national weather channel.

[EatthMama]

I have Spectrum and dislike the TV programming. I live south of 44. Anyone know if we have the fiber capability down here? I am not sure I would be interested in having an antenna, but the fiber option or fire stick has me intrigued.

[msmozee]

YouTube with fire stick
Up to six tv’s
But my daughter did mine I think that there is tv who does it
Guess you have to ask around

[Shish]

I'm a snowbird and had Spectrum in The Villages and in Ohio. Both were costing over $240 each - same story. I renegotiated my internet only with Spectrum for a year at $49+tax/month. For TV I chose to buy Amazon FireSticks for all TV's, even the non-Smart TV's. They now work as a smart TV and are very fast. Even the Smart TV's now work better with FireSticks. The Tv's must have an HDMI port.
As for TV, I chose YouTube TV over Hulu, which are similar in order to have the regular channels.
Once I had that setup, I went to other apps like Netflix, Max & Paramount+ and signed up on their websites and paid directly there.
One very nice thing about the setup is that the same setup works in the Florida home and the Ohio home. I just have to pay for internet in both locations, not YouTube TV and not the apps. There's no other costs to the Firesticks after purchase, just YouTubeTV $69.70/month and then any apps you choose.
Also, the Firesticks will automatically update and you can load about every app onto it. You can setup a profile to your liking and once my wife and I became familiar with them, we love it.

[OhioBuckeye]

Oh man, I really don’t want to touch this. When we moved from TV we were using Comcast cable & internet service & your right it wasn’t cheap, $185. a month & still increasing and that was 4 yrs. ago & where we live now it’s supposedly FREE, compliments of our HOA $23. a month but since our prices don’t have anything to do with TV, so sorry I don’t have a solution. The first yr. we lived in TV we used a Antenna but I had to put it in the attic because TV said no antenna’s on outside of house but that was BS because I saw antenna’s hanging on outside of houses, by the way we got 50 channels with an antenna that’s what would be my solution for you until you figure something else out!

[MikeVillages]

I have Quantum Fiber, 200 mpbs UP & down, $30/month total. I'm it the northern part of TV but I understand it is available in other parts of TV. I have an outdoor antenna & get over 70 english stations. Search for "antenna" to see mine and other posts about outdoor antennas. I also stream some of the free services on the internet.

[tophcfa]

Some confusion here. 1st, getting a Roku or fire stick doesn’t get you any tv channel subscription, they get you access to multiple subscriptions. If you use Apple products in your house like the iPhone and iPad and Mac, get the Apple TV 4K box for each tv, it provides access to all tv subscribers plus it will provide much more.

Can you please elaborate on the above statement. What is the “much more” that Apple TV 4K provides? I need to purchase 5 devices and the Apple device costs $150 while a Roku express costs $25. That’s $150 total for Roku versus $750 for Apple.

[Hans53]

Has anyone used senior cable which recently advertised in the paper

[spinner1001]

Can you please elaborate on the above statement. What is the “much more” that Apple TV 4K provides? I need to purchase 5 devices and the Apple device costs $150 while a Roku express costs $25. That’s $150 total for Roku versus $750 for Apple.

We are into the Apple ecosystem with iPhones, iPad, Apple services, etc. and I choose to get an Apple TV 4K box for each of our three televisions rather than something else like Amazon firestick or Roku box. Apple TV 4K boxes are indeed more costly than firesticks, Roku boxes, etc. but my wife was already comfortable with the Apple interface on her iPad. The interface of ann Apple TV 4K box is similar to an iPad interface. Paying a bit more up front for Apple TV 4K boxes was worth it for me as I don’t need to be her personal help desk as often. :laugh:

Also, my Apple TV 4K boxes fit nicely into the Apple ecosystem with services such as Apple Music and Photos, and other Apple devices such as easily casting from my iPad.

Apple TV 4K boxes have access to the major TV content providers such as YouTube TV and Amazon Prime. Similar to an iPad, download the third-party app from Apple’s App Store onto each Apple TV 4K box.

[gator17]

We had Xfinity for everything, except cell phone, and combined bills were over $500 a month! We kept Xfinity internet, dropped Xfinity cable, dropped Verizon cell phone after twenty years and joined it with Xfinity internet. Bought Firesticks for each TV and joined YouTube TV. Monthly bill for everything (internet, cell phone, home security thru Xfinity; YouTube TV including adding several streaming services) is now $165.

[HJBeck]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!

I had similar problem. My wife and I bought a “Chrome” stick (Google) and signed up for You Tube TV. You still need Internet (at least 50 MB/sec) to stream the content. You Tube TV costs ~$70/month. Still costs us~$120/month. We get all the channels we want plus apps for Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. You do need one Chrome stick for each TV.

[Pinball wizard]

If you are keeping Xfinity/Spectrum and would like to save a few $$ each month, I have a high end Motorola modem/router (MG8702) for sale. It is certified by Xfinity and Spectrum for use on their network. I've switch to Quantum Fiber and can no longer use the modem.

Amazon $225, $110 OBO. PM me.

Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-MG8702-DOCSIS-Router-Intelligent/dp/B09DB197TP/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=9N0UA255TJOU&keywords=mg8702%2Bmotorola%2Bmodem%2Band%2Brouter&qid=1693839025&sprefix=mg8702%2Caps%2C114&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1)

[Lancer]

Depending where you live, you may have little choice for internet. However, you can get a reasonable connection speed with Comcast for $30 per month (although you have to ask for the "special" price).

Until your “special” price expires and doubles.

[juddfl]

I had the same problem with Comcast with the bill going up. I now stream and won't go back. A woman came and set everything up and showed me how to use it. Her name is Sue and you can reach her at 860-946-9110. She will explain everything and if you like it she will install it.

[JohnN]

Dropping Comcast (and AT&T) is in the top 10 list of best things I've done.

[Villagesgal]

I pay 136 per month for Comcast internet and basic TV. I have a charge card that gives me Hulu, Disney, ESPN, Paramount, free plus I have Amazon Prime, and several other free TV apps. I get everything I'd want or need for 136.00 per month. Many charge cards offer free channels. I'm very happy with Comcast.

[PurePeach]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!

We have smart TVs, so no Firestick or Roku device needed. We stream YouTube TV for around $70/mo and pay only for internet.

[mrf0151]

Go to the Comcast store and tell them you are thinking of leaving. They’ll find discounts you didn’t know existed!! Also, if the account is in your name , switch it to your wife’s name. She is a new customer and you will get all the specials for new customers.
Really? I guess that would work if your spouse lived at a different address.

[retiredguy123]

We have smart TVs, so no Firestick or Roku device needed. We stream YouTube TV for around $70/mo and pay only for internet.
Almost all TVs today are smart TVs. I have 3 smart TVs, but I have a Roku stick connected to each one because they work much better than the built in television streaming functions.

[JMintzer]

Almost all TVs today are smart TVs. I have 3 smart TVs, but I have a Roku stick connected to each one because they work much better than the built in television streaming functions.

Agreed. Except I use Firesticks, since that's the interface I've used forever and I'm comfortable with it...

[darkim]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!
Depending on what you want to watch on a regular basis, it may be similarly priced. If you decide to switch to Firestick or another streaming service, you’ll still have to pay for channels like Hulu, Netflix, Discovery, HGTV, ESPN, etc

[Topspinmo]

Ok, first I would make list of channels you have to have. With this list you search for the right streaming that has your channel priority. I’ve done all three or 4. Had Comcash, ditched it for dish, ditched dish for streaming utube and Roku. All had the advantage and disadvantages.

Some didn’t have all of my priority channels, some wasn’t live it was recorded. It you don’t have priority channels that you have to have rhen streaming might be good. Streaming right now cheapest way go if you are willing to put up antenna to get live local broadcasts which comes in handy when storms are approaching or don’t care about live local TV.

Here why I didn’t like comcash to expensive for channels I wanted due to different rate programming.

Dish, I didn’t like every time storm approached with severe or moderate lightning dish would go off line plus with package I wanted it was 3/4 cost of comcash. No I didn’t misspell comcash cas you have to have lots of cash to watch what you want if particular?

Streaming I found most programs especially sports was recorded, no live local channels. Currently comcash offered me deal on channel packages I want. At about 1/3 or cost more than streaming and paying extra for channels I want.

Bottom line for me there was no prefect package no matter what I choose. I currently have comcash, Roku, and paramount plus. Which has all programming I want watching TV.

When comcash guaranteed rate expired I will probably either be too old to care what I watch or moved by then. So probably settle for Roku (if they don’t create charge by them, which I think coming?) and put up antenna.

[Mhoey]

We switched to T-Mobile, we pay $166 for internet and phones. I also get free Netflix. I have Apple TV so I get lots of channels

[Topspinmo]

We switched to T-Mobile, we pay $166 for internet and phones. I also get free Netflix. I have Apple TV so I get lots of channels


I get lots channels also. But 90% don’t interest me. I have to buy 90% to get 10% I want.

[dpmers]

Centurylink prices are for life and include tax. 200m/b or 1000m/b

[sallyg]

We put up an antenna, have Roku and a Firestick. We used xfinity/comcast. Never got the speed we were paying for.
But still much less expensive than cable.

[ithos]

We put up an antenna, have Roku and a Firestick. We used xfinity/comcast. Never got the speed we were paying for.
But still much less expensive than cable.

I have a Roku. Never tried a firestick. Is one better than the other?

[capecoralbill]

If you get xfinity internet, you get the flex box with peacock for free.
s

I have the comcast wifi FLEX box , it works well, and the remote is backlit, it used to get the Peacock Channel, but it doesn't apply anymore unless you pay an extra fee.
If purchasing a fire stick instead, you might want to choose the one that has a backlit remote control, you can buy the backlit remote separately or as a bundle with the fire stick, Just Google the following:
Amazon Alexa Voice Remote Pro, includes remote finder, TV controls, backlit buttons,

[tophcfa]

I have a Roku. Never tried a firestick. Is one better than the other?

Roku is in the business of providing streaming devices that give their customers a top notch streaming experience regardless of the content source. The other devices are from Companies that have a much larger agenda, including Amazon, Google, and Apple.

[Bill14564]

I have a Roku. Never tried a firestick. Is one better than the other?

I have a firestick and like it.

Others who have used Roku like that interface better.

As far as I have heard, there is little or no difference in capabilities.

[JCoth1972]

I suggest you use SlingTV Free stream along with an AirTV Anywhere (check out on Amazon) which you add an inexpensive digital antenna. The AirTV has a 1tb hard drive for recording programs and it incorporates the local channels seamlessly into the SlingTV program guide with all of the free channels they offer.
Works great with whatever internet service you have for WIFI.

[MikeC]

One of the reasons Comcast is so high is is the charges for the equipment like cable boxes and remotes, and a lot of junk fees. The actual monthly fee for tv and internet was $130 but after all the rental fees and such the bill came in at over $250 per month (2 tv’s). Go to a streaming service and all you need is internet and modem. UTube is $72 a month and you get almost everything you probably watch on Comcast. Plus if you are a big NFL fan you can get the Sunday ticket, for a fee, and watch all out of market teams and don’t need to go to a bar to watch.

[JMintzer]

I have a Roku. Never tried a firestick. Is one better than the other?

Yes... :p

[OhioBuckeye]

Try a antenna for a while, you may like it, we got 50 channels. We went to comcast because I wanted to see my favorite football team. The antenna only let me see 2 games. If you’re not peticular what you see you might like it. I had my Antenna in my attic with a booster hooked up to it. But don’t know if you can put antenna on outside yet but mine worked perfect in attic, antenna & booster both were less than $60. I pointed mine towards Orlando!

[PJfromCincy]

The local channels are included on YouTube TV, no need for antenna.

[tophcfa]

The local channels are included on YouTube TV, no need for antenna.

The local channels via antenna have sub-channels that show great reruns of shows. Examples include All in the Family, Cheers, Hogans Hero’s, Sanford and Sons, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, Andy Griffin, Mary Tyler Moore, Green Acres, The Jefferson’s, The Munsters, The Adams Family, Tim the Tool Man, Taxi, Rosanne, and many more.

[laboutj]

The local channels via antenna have sub-channels that show great reruns of shows. Examples include All in the Family, Cheers, Hogans Hero’s, Sanford and Sons, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, Andy Griffin, Mary Tyler Moore, Green Acres, The Jefferson’s, The Munsters, The Adams Family, Tim the Tool Man, Taxi, Rosanne, and many more.

A lot of these shows are available if you get the app 'PlutoTV', which is available for free on your Roku or Firestick.

[Charlee]

Is there someone in the villages who could help with setting this up for us to go do not understand all this

[Charlee]

My husband passed and I went to them I felt they didn’t really care if I left or not. Still paying to much for to little

[skippy05]

I tried TMobile internet. Initially speeds were very good. Overtime, the speed slowed significantly. But the real problem was that I kept losing the internet service. Everytime this happened, I would call TMobile and would end up talking to someone in India… they would determine that my TMobile modem was defective and send a new one which I had to install and then return the old one. I think they swapped my modem either 4 or 5 times. In the end, I ended up dropping tmobile and going to xfinity cable (fiber is not available in my neighborhood) for internet. I think my home was a little far from the nearest tmobile tower and that this was part of the tmobile problem.

My advice: Get fiber service if available. Fiber offers the best speeds and reliability. If you want to try TMobile … then consider trying it out for a month before cancelling your current service. TMobile does not require a contract and can be cancelled at any time.

I use the Roku box and remote. The remote is very simple and only has a few buttons. But if you have 4 TV’s, you would need to purchase 4 roku units.
T-mobile throttles your speed up and down all the time. I found it to be unacceptable because of this.

[MEbner2805]

I switched to streaming tv with YouTube tv and Philo and a few free apps that are good. I get all the locals too! It’s about 93.00 a month! It was best thing I ever did! I get great service and love it! Comcast will charge you 80.00 a month for Internet after you drop their tv so you need to go with another internet service too! I am going to T-mobile Internet for 50.00 a month soon.

[Bill14564]

T-mobile throttles your speed up and down all the time. I found it to be unacceptable because of this.

How long ago was this and was this with their 5G internet service or was it with service to your phone? Also, was this in the Villages or elsewhere?

I have two relatives using T-Mobile 5G internet who are having no problems at all. Neither are in this area and are 40 miles away from each other. However, neither is a heavy user so the max speed that they actually use might be fairly low.

[MEbner2805]

Most TVs come with Roku built in now

[MEbner2805]

That’s with everything so why not pay least price? Streaming is cheaper

[MEbner2805]

If you have a internet prob you call your provider as they need to be involved to reset your signal in the end anyway! Nobody here can fix that! You pay for that service so use it!

[retiredguy123]

Most TVs come with Roku built in now
Not exactly. Best Buy offers 699 flat screen televisions. Only 46 of them use the Roku streaming platform.

[Bill14564]

Most TVs come with Roku built in now

NO.

Many TVs come with internet (Smart TV) capability built in which means they can run apps to support streaming. Roku and Firestick (and others) are proprietary devices that also run the apps. *Some* TVs are FireTVs or RokuTVs and have the Firestick or Roku capability built in.

Not all TVs are smart TVs. Not all smart TVs are RokuTV or FireTV.

I have a smart TV but I don't use those features. I plug in my Firestick and use that instead due to its better performance.

[MrLonzo]

NO.

Many TVs come with internet (Smart TV) capability built in which means they can run apps to support streaming. Roku and Firestick (and others) are proprietary devices that also run the apps. *Some* TVs are FireTVs or RokuTVs and have the Firestick or Roku capability built in.

Not all TVs are smart TVs. Not all smart TVs are RokuTV or FireTV.

I have a smart TV but I don't use those features. I plug in my Firestick and use that instead due to its better performance.

You came so close to answering my question, but not quite. Can you stream using Roku or Firestick with a dumb tv? (is that the correct terminology for 'non-smart'?). Also, Roku and Firestick -- are these hardware products or software products? And do you just buy them once or need a subscription? Thank you.

[retiredguy123]

You came so close to answering my question, but not quite. Can you stream using Roku or Firestick with a dumb tv? (is that the correct terminology for 'non-smart'?). Also, Roku and Firestick -- are these hardware products or software products? And do you just buy them once or need a subscription? Thank you.
A dumb TV will work fine as long as it has an HDMI input to plug the Roku or Firestick into. The streaming stick will connect to your home wifi and will provide a platform for streaming using streaming apps that reside on the stick. The stick will come with preloaded apps and you can also add additional apps by connecting to the internet. The Roku or Firestick are both a hardware and a software device. You just buy it once. No subscription is required. Although, some apps that you use, such as YouTubeTV, will require a monthly paid subscription to access the content.

[MX rider]

We use T Mobile for internet, $50 a month. We still have DirecTV satellite at our home in TV and in Indiana, We pay a bit more, but for us it's worth it. Streaming is a cheaper choice for sure, but can have some drawbacks as well. But don't be surprised if your streaming bill goes up over time. Many of the major streaming services are losing big money due to the increasing cost of programming, so they're increasing their pricing. In my opinion streaming will continue to go up in price and may get to where satellite is. But for now it's a cheaper option

[Full-timer]

We are tired of paying over $200 a month for Comcast TV, and Internet. Every year our bill goes up about $50.
We have heard of some people switching to T Mobile with a Firestick. Would appreciate any advice you could give to us. We have 4 TVs (I have my elderly Mother living with us). I need to have something that wouldn't be too confusing for her to use.
Thank you so much!

We did the same thing for years. Dump paying for TV and stream. If you have "Comcast internet only", they offer a free streaming box. Simple to hook up and use. Over a dozen "free" streaming stations out there. Yeah, some are junk but, you can run netflix or any other "paid' channel you use.

We pay for a much lower "high speed" now, 5 bucks for Peacock, and netflix. Bill is now less than $100.00 a month. We don't watch much TV but, it is all we need.

[JGibson]

Hulu Live TV just raised their prices again and it's only a matter of time before you will be paying cable TV prices with these streaming services.

It's the sports that make cable exhobiorate. Someone has to pay those $300 million dollar contracts.

So glad I’m no longer a slave to today's watered-down sports.

[Keefelane66]

Hulu Live TV just raised their prices again and it's only a matter of time before you will be paying cable TV prices with these streaming services.

It's the sports that make cable exhobiorate. Someone has to pay those $300 million dollar contracts.

So glad I’m no longer a slave to today's watered-down sports.
You hit the nail on the head every year streaming apps like HULU go up eventually equaling Cable Tv. Seems more and more your even paying to watch infomercial television.

[ithos]

You hit the nail on the head every year streaming apps like HULU go up eventually equaling Cable Tv. Seems more and more your even paying to watch infomercial television.

There is a reason Cable costs more. Cable is far superior to tv.Youtube with regard to the precision of the response to remote commands. It is also much quicker and offers many more options to find content. And xfinity's voice command feature is far superior to streaming. Fiber and cable have advantages.

It is sort of like the difference between manual steering and power steering. So streaming is not superior to cable in every respect. They both have their pros and cons.

That said I have tv.youtube primarily because it offers a great app for mobile devices and has unlimited recordings. But I miss the xfinity remote.