[larcha]

Originally Posted by key2144

Has anyone successfully cut the cable cord and now use YouTubeTV, Sling TV, etc? What was your experience? Dish TV is about to almost double my monthly charge.

We use Directv Now, Stream TV, Watch Live Television Online | DIRECTV NOW, on an AppleTV plus an antenna with a Tivo Roamio OTA DVR. You should subscribe to Cord Cutters News, Cord Cutters News - All the news cord cutters need about cord cutting! Covering, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Netflix, Hulu, & More!. They have a daily newsletter that has up to date info and suggestions.

[lyndastahl]

We just dropped direct tv and now have PlayStation vue. 59..99 plus tax a month.

[Nucky]

It is a miracle. I went to Sam's and picked up the Roku Streaming Stick +. It took about 10 minutes to hook it up and then I signed into YouTube TV. Total about a half hour. Thanks to everyone who posted here otherwise I wouldn't have even considered doing it. I only did one TV so more work to come but the thing about the Roku I got is that you can talk into it for what you want.

It is going to be a process to set up all the channels and once I do that then the rest of the TV'S should pick up the channels I put in my library, I hope? If I sign into the same account it sounds logical, now I'm a Geekster! Thanks Again.

[biker1]

Congrats and job well done. We started using Roku boxes 7 years ago and never looked back and I am sure you won't either. They make a good product and you have many choices for streaming services. We also use YouTubeTV.

Originally Posted by Nucky

It is a miracle. I went to Sam's and picked up the Roku Streaming Stick +. It took about 10 minutes to hook it up and then I signed into YouTube TV. Total about a half hour. Thanks to everyone who posted here otherwise I wouldn't have even considered doing it. I only did one TV so more work to come but the thing about the Roku I got is that you can talk into it for what you want.

It is going to be a process to set up all the channels and once I do that then the rest of the TV'S should pick up the channels I put in my library, I hope? If I sign into the same account it sounds logical, now I'm a Geekster! Thanks Again.

[jerseyvillager]

NO!

[jerseyvillager]

Originally Posted by Madelaine Amee

I agree with you 100%. I've got ROKU hooked up and ready to go and cannot work it, and I am no dummy when it comes to computers etc., but this cable cutting is a pain in my head. I sit here with three remotes and have no idea what to do and when I finally do something I end up with a snow storm on the TV. I need someone to come and show me how while I write it all down and then I'd be fine! No help from the otherhalf, he won't even answer the cell phone!!!

Your right about the business aspect. I have been encouraged by several friends and neighbors to offer my services. Truth is I don't want a "job." Send me a personal message and I'll see if I can't help you a little.

[Nucky]

Here is an added update. Getting connected to streaming was simple. Youtube TV is wonderful. The amount of data that Comcast allows is limited every month. We have gone over already as of 10/24. They do offer an unlimited plan for $50 EXTRA per month. This is on top of your regular monthly charge. It may be in the paperwork but never verbally mentioned when we signed up. Life has taught me about Comcast yet I keep going back to the well looking for a different outcome. Shame on me, shame on them. Have to look for a fair unlimited solution.

[biker1]

We stream also and use CenturyLink for internet access. We typically average about 20 gigabytes per day and have not had any issues with this amount of data. If CenturyLink has a data cap we haven't reached it yet. Our all time high was close to 1 terabyte in a month.

Originally Posted by Nucky

Here is an added update. Getting connected to streaming was simple. Youtube TV is wonderful. The amount of data that Comcast allows is limited every month. We have gone over already as of 10/24. They do offer an unlimited plan for $50 EXTRA per month. This is on top of your regular monthly charge. It may be in the paperwork but never verbally mentioned when we signed up. Life has taught me about Comcast yet I keep going back to the well looking for a different outcome. Shame on me, shame on them. Have to look for a fair unlimited solution.

[Nucky]

Originally Posted by biker1

We stream also and use CenturyLink for internet access. We typically average about 20 gigabytes per day and have not had any issues with this amount of data. If CenturyLink has a data cap we haven't reached it yet. Our all time high was close to 1 terabyte in a month.

I had to schedule a call with Comcast to speak about technical issues which I already figured out via the internet searches and TOTV information. It took three days for the call.

The problem is Data overage. The solution is to put the Roku back to the home page then turn the TV off otherwise it is streaming all day and night. Also lowering the MBPS'S in the Roku from 12 MBPS to 3.5 MBPS and changing the definition on the "convenience" televisions to 720 DPI from 1080 DPI should lower the total usage next month.

Never once during the entire conversation did they offer any of this information. They offered for a limited time Unlimited Data for $25 a month marked down from $50 a month. I said that sounded very fair and was getting ready to do it but then asked is this on top of the regular bill and the answer was yes. Deceptive, Non-Communicative, Garbage. But a necessary evil if you want to stream. I'm not giving up, we really like the Variety of shows on YouTube Tv.

We are at 1400 Jiggawatts of usage as of October 29th. We don't watch that much TV. You get 2 months of being over for free. The limit is 1024 MBPS. Then $10 for every 50 MBPS after. Pretty expensive.

[juneroses]

We received the same "surprise" message from Comcast as you did, Nucky. We're already at 90% of our monthly cap. Huh...cap? Nobody mentioned that limitation. I did go a little wild adding shows to the cloud DVR (in the interim I found I still preferred to read a good book) but had already stopped that before The Message arrived. We also left the Roku set on the channel rather than returning to home base so we're changing that M.O.

Streaming is still preferable to Comcast, however. We're happy with YouTubeTV and find some decent movies on Tubi (an advantage of not being movies buffs, since so many of the old ones are still new to us!).

[Carla B]

Is this "Data Cap" something new with Comcast? We've been streaming with a Roku device since 2015 and have never encountered that with Comcast.

[pheffner]

If you're looking for a nice all-in-one solution (DVR for over-the-air combined with a long list of streaming apps including Alexa integration) you might want to have a look at the TiVo Bolt OTA. It uses your antenna to get the network content to fill your DVR drive. (Other folks here have recommended some better grade antennas to put in your attic which sounds good to me). For other rooms you can get a TiVo mini which sources from your master TiVo over the home LAN wiring. The apps have all the usual suspects (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon video, etc...) and you can even do voice searches with the remote. The only downside for some folks is the 6.99/Month fee for the TiVo service (69/yr) which provides the channel and program listing data.

I use a TiVo Bolt with CableCard on Comcast cable and I don't need anything else, I can watch Netflix, Amazon and the huge collection of recorded stuff on the 2TB hard disk. The search function goes across all the services so it will locate a program/movie wherever it is found and show you where to watch it or schedule it to record for subsequent watching. Their season pass program recording does a great job of getting all your episodes even when they move the time slot. You can schedule recordings on the web or mobile apps. The DVR has plenty of patented features you won't find on the cheesy offerings from your cable or sat provider.

Disclosure: I don't work for Tivo but I have several coworker friends working there in San Jose, but I've been a delighted TiVo user since the early 00's.

[Carla B]

I'm answering my own question re: Comcast data. When I researched our account while paying the Comcast bill just now I discovered that there is a data cap of 1,024 gigabytes per month. Our normal usage is about 160. Our streaming activity is about 3 hours in the evening; if we're watching something in the daytime, it's usually Over the Air with the antenna.

I don't understand the part about having to return Roku to the Home Page before turning off the TV set. We usually leave it on the Netflix channel before turning it off. Maybe it's something about the later Roku devices.

[rustyp]

Originally Posted by Nucky

I had to schedule a call with Comcast to speak about technical issues which I already figured out via the internet searches and TOTV information. It took three days for the call.

The problem is Data overage. The solution is to put the Roku back to the home page then turn the TV off otherwise it is streaming all day and night. Also lowering the MBPS'S in the Roku from 12 MBPS to 3.5 MBPS and changing the definition on the "convenience" televisions to 720 DPI from 1080 DPI should lower the total usage next month.

Never once during the entire conversation did they offer any of this information. They offered for a limited time Unlimited Data for $25 a month marked down from $50 a month. I said that sounded very fair and was getting ready to do it but then asked is this on top of the regular bill and the answer was yes. Deceptive, Non-Communicative, Garbage. But a necessary evil if you want to stream. I'm not giving up, we really like the Variety of shows on YouTube Tv.

We are at 1400 Jiggawatts of usage as of October 29th. We don't watch that much TV. You get 2 months of being over for free. The limit is 1024 MBPS. Then $10 for every 50 MBPS after. Pretty expensive.

Are you sure the comcast limit is 1024 MBPS. That's pretty low. A Terabyte is one million megabytes. 1024 megabytes equals a terabyte. I have centurylink and their monthly cap is one terabyte. That is equivalent to streaming a program in HD on one device for 24 hrs/day for 30 days. I suspect anyone hitting a data limit streaming TV is probably turning off the TV without going back home on the streaming device. Although the TV is off in essence the device keeps running and downloading.

[Nucky]

Originally Posted by rustyp

Are you sure the comcast limit is 1024 MBPS. That's pretty low. A Terabyte is one million megabytes. 1024 megabytes equals a terabyte. I have centurylink and their monthly cap is one terabyte. That is equivalent to streaming a program in HD on one device for 24 hrs/day for 30 days. I suspect anyone hitting a data limit streaming TV is probably turning off the TV without going back home on the streaming device. Although the TV is off in essence the device keeps running and downloading.

Megabytes, Terabytes, MBPS? I'll admit I may be a bit off base with the terminology but they mentioned no limit when I bought back into Comcast and the way I had the Roku set and we never turned off the computers or brought the Roku to the home position made us go over the 1024 limit. All Tv'S were at 1080 not 720. I just want to figure this out before I go over again.
I'm trying. We do not watch that much TV. We get a Terabyte with Comcast.

Streaming is great and I just want to stay off the phone with them. I learning and feel confident we'll be ok.