[jaocala]

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

[justjim]

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!

[Doublejoy2]

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

[alncon2]

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.

[VIN574]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

Does anyone know if any of the streaming services offer NHL hockey games, we are big hockey fans, and this is a must have, even if an additional cost.

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

[biker1]

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.

Originally Posted by daca55

I cut the cord last winter. I use Roku to get HULU. My HULU subscription is the $39.99/mo plan. With that I get all the major networks i.e. ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN etc. You can see all the Chanel's you will get at HULU.com. I use Century Link in TV and Comcast in NH for Internet. Century link is $55/mo for 80mbps. So with HULU I pay a total of about $95/mo and I am very happy with service. The only thing with streaming is you want to get a fast internet service. 25mbps to me is the minimum. I found the faster the Internet the better the streaming when watching live TV. That's why I went to 80. Century link will only garantee you 80% of what you are paying for. So for 80 I can expect 60mbps. Comcast offers 400mbps in NH and I have very little problems with that speed. With Century Link I get buffering at times and if I am getting less than 60mbps as shown when I do speed test I end up calling them to fix speed. Bottom line is the faster the speed of the Internet the less problems you will have. I strongly recommend both Hulu and Roku.

[JanBrown]

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??

[biker1]

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.

Originally Posted by JanBrown

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??

[Nucky]

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.

[logdog]

Originally Posted by Nucky

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.

[Fast Freddy]

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.

[OhioViper]

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.

[CWGUY]

Maybe go and ask the question at a meeting.

Originally Posted by CWGUY

I posted this 5 days ago on another thread:

The other site had a story 2 days ago about the VHA putting on an encore presentation of "Cutting the Cord from Cable TV Providers". They are going to do it 3 more times and places in Aug.(this month)

Last time they turned people away for lack of seating space. This will be the same as last time - first come - first served. You have to be a VHA member also.


Learn from experts about the evolving marketplace for entertainment alternatives (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Sling TV, Huku, Roku and others), what equipment you need to access them, and a host of related topics like television set options and antenna options.

The programs will be offered at:

• 1 p.m. Sat. Aug. 25 at Paradise Rec. Center

• 6:30 p.m. Thurs. Aug. 30 at Mulberry Grove Rec. Center

• 1 p.m. Friday Aug. 31 at La Hacienda Rec. Center

Originally Posted by OhioViper

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.

[Darlene Lansing]

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

[photo1902]

Originally Posted by Darlene Lansing

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?