We had Direct TV, just had an alert the price increased to $185 w/o Internet. We have comcast for Internet 150mbps.

last week canceled Direct, called comcast to up our speed to 250Mbps.
Ordered the new Roku.

:popcorn:

Hi Jim, not sure why you need 250, we just cancelled DISH and went with HULU. Works great on 2 smart TV's and a fire stick with 150. Comcast has a special right now, 150mbs for 59.99 for a year.

I got the 250 for less$$, I wanted that speed because I up/download monster files for business.

can't hurt for entertainment.

.

More Info on Antennas Please
 

Can you say a little more about your antenna? What kind, where bought, who installed, installed in attic or outside, etc? We are in Virginia Trace. What Villages are people in that get good reception? Are you getting Orlando or Ocala stations? Any advice will be appreciated.

Lynne, If I may....... who provides your internet and the approx cost/mo
Thanks

We did recently. Using Directv Now since they have DVR capabilities. Everything working fine.

With a number of people going to streaming (especially millennials) and cutting the cable cord, I’m afraid that will only drive the cable costs higher. The whole idea of no regulations is to drive costs down from competition in the market place. Well, that has worked out well!

Yes, two years ago, went to Apple TV. Love It!
Only pay internet bill of $45. A month with Century Link.
I also have NetFlick

I am a former Comcast customer who has successfully cut the cable. First I chose Century Link as my internet provider. They provided me with service of 40 Mbps for a fixed price for life of $40. The reason I chose them is that their service in my area of The Villages in fiber optic which is very fast and less prone to speed fluctuations. I also chose to buy and use my own router ($125 one time expense). Next I looked at all of the available packages including YTTV, Sling, Hulu, etc., and chose YTTV ($40/month) because of local channel availability, cloud based DVR, and most if not all the channels I watched before with the exception of HGTV, National Geographic, Discovery and a few others. I use a Google Chromecast device and my smart phone to change channels, but if I were to do it again I would choose a Roku device that ranges from $35 to $89 depending on your needs (shop Amazon). This choice provides you with a dedicate remote control much like a cable service provider. YTTV allows you to have up to 4 TV's in use at your home but each TV will require a Chrome or Roku devise connected to it. If the missing channels are a must Philo TV provides you with these missing channels at a cost of $16 per month. I was the first to cut the cable amongst a large group of our friends. There have been at least 20 of our friends who have now followed suit. I hope this helps you.

I looked into this. So far I found a few of these streaming services will have local sports channels that carry mostly baseball and very little hockey, but you have to be in that area to view them. My son and I share the cost for NHL.TV to view our home team and any other game of interest.

Best

A couple of comments on the required bandwidths for streaming. I have been using Roku boxes for 7 years to stream sources such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and most recently YouTubeTV. Services such as Netflix are adaptive; the resolution they send you is based on the achievable download bandwidth so that you won't see buffering delays. 1080p Hi-Def with Netflix consumes about 5 megabits per second of bandwidth on average. We have, in the past, had no issues with streaming 1080p Hi-Def Netflix to two different sets with a 10 megabit per second nominal download internet service. From the download statistics on my router, YouTubeTV appears to consume a similar amount of bandwidth for Hi-Def. We currently have 40 megabits per second nominal download from CenturyLink (a sweet spot in our grandfathered CenturyLink pricing and I was occasionally moving 50 gigabyte tarballs around so the extra bandwidth was welcome). Essentially, you don't need much in the way of bandwidth for Hi-Def streaming; about 5 megabits per second per stream will work just fine. I believe most people pay for more bandwidth than they need. Once you have sufficient bandwidth for Hi-Def, additional, unused bandwidth will not result in a better picture. If you have a 4K TV and want to access 4K material, you will consume about 20 megabits per second of bandwidth per stream.

I've been "TV free" for over 20 years now. Used to watch Netflix on my computer. Now I enjoy it - and Amazon Prime streaming - on my big screen in the LR. However...I have my internet/phone svc thru Comcast/Xfinity that just jumped $30/month ($39.99 to $69.99) plus fees, modem rental, taxes that bring it to about $85/mo. Just for internet & home phone. I left Century Link a year ago due to lots of issues and I never felt their on-site techs knew what they were doing and felt I got the run-around. Someone here posted: Century link has "a $45 a month for life at 25mbps which we started on." That's what I think I paid with them before, includ'g phone, but before calling them I have to ask: Are people really happy with Century Link now??

CenturyLink has been extremely reliable but I have fiber optic to the house. Those in areas serviced by the older DSL technology (phone and internet over copper) instead of fiber may have different experiences.

My CenturyLink was great for two years. The day after I upgraded the service they cut the service by mistake and told me it would be 4 days before someone could come out to supply service again.

I'm now with Comcast for internet only. Time will tell. I already know the end of the story but am hopeful that I pay the bill and they provide the service and I stay off the phone with them.

I really don't want an antenna but am almost convinced to stream, almost.

When Comcast cut my internet service by mistake a few years ago, it took a week to restore.

JanBrown
 

Research Ooma VOIP landline telephone service. After purchase of the machine at Costco, etc., watch for sales maybe $100 to $129. The monthly cost for all your land line phones are only taxes, maybe $4.00 for all U.S. calls including a few additional benefits plus free tech. assistance.
We have more than paid for our original purchase; any speed internet will do. And can utilize our fax machine with no problems.

We dropped Direct TV after much effort but feel such relief. Using Roku stick and paying nothing in fees.

Is there a company/individual in the Villages that can analyze the tv options for our specific property? We are located near Spanish Springs and have tried, with no success, an antenna and currently have Comcast. our current service works fine but, we are not full time and would love a less expensive alternative.
Thanks in advance for any helpful information.

:read: Maybe go and ask the question at a meeting.:popcorn:

Yes !
We CUT THE CORD ,
We went with ‘Direct TV NOW’( streaming )$40 a month )
Learned about it at the ATT store .
We are EXTREMELY HAPPY

That's all well and good, but if you "cut the cord" how are you getting internet access, which of course is needed for DirecTV Now?

Cord-cutting - Wikipedia

We bought our Roku at the ATT store in Sumter Landing . They did a demonstration for us .
We went home and had no problem hooking it up .

It’s on Wiki, so it must be true. When someone says they can watch tv for $40 a month, they need to also include how much they’re paying for internet access so as not to confuse all those desperate to pinch pennies. It’s a personal choice, of course, but when I see the lengths people are going to (including jail broken devices which amount to piracy) in order to watch their shows, it amazes me. I’ll happily pay the $170 a month for my bundle, and cut costs elsewhere.

"Cutting the cord" has always referred to cancelling paid programming from traditional sources such as "cable TV" and has never referred to not having internet access. I know many people who have cut their costs by over $100 a month and still watch what they want. Other people just like to overpay and the "cable" companies just love those kinds of customers. The "lengths" you refer to involves buying an HDMI stick, hopping on Wi-Fi and signing up for a service or just using an over-the-air antenna. Hardly a lot of work. And by the way, Wikipedia is a pretty good source of info.

Yes. I’m well aware. And most offer no recording ability, or the ability to watch network channels. An HDMI stick is fine for some, not so good for others. Good luck, and I hope you save a good amount of money. As far as “like to overpay” the old adage you get what you pay for comes to mind. I enjoy the convenience, so I don’t appreciate your snarky remark.

Sigh ... I guess a little education is called for here. YouTubeTV offers the network channels, has a DVR (recording capability), and is just as convenient as any "cable" service since it has a programming guide that is the equivalent of what "cable" provides. Other services such as Netflix don't need a DVR since they are "on-demand". Netflix has an excellent user interface with search capabilities and preferences. An HDMI stick is all you need as long as you have a TV with an HDMI port. For those with an older set, a Roku box with composite video is available. I am happy that you enjoy overpaying.

Good for you. On the other hand I paid for the internet either way, so I save about $100 by switching to YouTube TV and dropping first Direct TV then Spectrum. I also can use my YouTube TV account at both my Kansas City home and my Villages home and get stellar reception. So, it appears, we're both happy.

Again, I'm well aware of all that. Bottom line, what is your monthly cost for YouTubeTV and internet?

:coolsmiley:

Like anything else, you can save money by doing it yourself, or pay someone to do it for you. Cutting the cord IS work, it's not for everyone, it takes time to find everything you want to watch. That includes an outside antenna, Firestick, Roku, or other devices and services. Then there is the problem of the internet isn't as reliable as cable (sometimes I get buffering), BUT, I am save $100 a month and, over time, I will use that money to go back up north to see my kids and granddaughter and many other FUN things.

We cut the cord 4 years ago
 

We just have internet and a modified Firestick. They sell them at market of Marion and we have two apps for live tv and two apps for on demand all free other then internet and the Firestick. Spot A-249 The Fire stick guy

I have a Smart TV - does that mean I can use ROKU on it WITHOUT HAVING COMCAST AND IT'S WIFI MODEM?

I’ve been by that spot, he’s doing a very brisk business by the looks of things. Are you happy with the modified Firestick?

In our on going quest to "cut the cord", we tried Hulu for 1 month and kept running into buffering issues (even on the main TV that is wired directly into the router) Decided to stay with Dish and called to cancel our pending cancellation. Retention specialist offered us a great deal that locks our Dish account at $94 a month for 2 years and included the sports add in pack for free. This is the same price that we were scheduled to pay for Hulu.

What I learned from the whole experience is that is a good idea to test out any new service before actually switching. And, always speak to someone who has the authority to make deals and lower your price.

No. A smart TV will allow you to connect the TV directly to your wifi signal and use whatever apps are installed on the TV, that could include Roku. If the apps installed on your TV do not include Roku, then you may need to also connect a Roku device to the TV. But, you still need an internet service and a wifi modem to deliver the wireless signal to the TV.

I use an over the air antenna and I have a Smart TV for netflix amazon youtube etc. It works perfectly for me.
ptnh

Get Sling...can get HGTV.

Cutting the cord is like moving out west in the early days of the country. A few people have been there, but not in the same place at the same time, so everyone's experience was different.

In cutting the cord you have to decide what you want to do, save money, get better options, something in between?

Cutting the cord is not ready for prime time, you are a pioneer, and you can tell the pioneers by the arrows in their backs.

Info.
 

:ho: "The Villages Magazine" (Sept. issue) came with today's "Daily Sun" and has a nice article in it on STREAMING.

This is not true. We cut the cord 7 years ago with an over-the-antenna and some streaming services accessed via Roku boxes. It was ready for prime time 7 years ago which is why we did it. Today we actually use YouTubeTV for the local channels, and many others, and have stopped using the over-the-air antenna. You would be hard pressed to notice any real differences between "cable" and streaming via the internet, except for the fact that we have a lot more choices at a much lower cost. I know several "technically challenged" folks who had no trouble cutting the cord.