[The Gazette]

On Oct. 18, The Villages Homeowners Advocates (VHA) will be holding the Cutting the Cord Workshop at Lake Miona Regional Recreation Complex. The workshop begins at 7 p.m.

This workshop is to educate Villagers about the evolving marketplace for entertainment alternatives (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and others) and what equipment is needed, including television/antenna options. Experts on the matter will be leading the workshop.

A current VHA ID card is required for entry; however, there will be a membership table to join at the door and attend the workshop.

For more information, visit thevha.net.



More...

[rsmurano]

I looked at this class and it’s a basic class that won’t go over the details that a homeowner that likes watching tv will need.
There’s more to cutting the cord than just getting Hulu and say prime, here are a few questions to ask in the class:
1: what services do I need to get all the channels I like watching? Tennis, golf, auto racing on FS1/FS2/CBSSN/Motortrend, pickleball, Yellowstone, vampire interviews, seal team, syfy, and many others just for an example. I just touched on these because these involve multiple services in most cases.
2: network speeds and latencies. I hate watching a show and it takes mins to buffer before it plays. Now I can stream multiple shows in seconds.
3: a big 1 is recording. How many simultaneous recording can I do? How many shows can I have recorded? How long are these recording available to me? Are these recordings done in the cloud? You can’t watch golf and the auto race at the same time, or you might have multiple shows in primetime. If you record say 4 shows at once, it will affect your upload network bandwidth and if you want to use the computer to send your kids some photos, it might take hours to do this.
Just a few things to consider. I have looked at all of this and more over the years and still do when my current service is up

[jedalton]

1. you need a streaming service like 5 star, gives you everything that cable gives and more.
streaming service has live tv, over 3,000 channels, all local, NFL. MLB, NHL, NBA ,MLB, movies (including movies currently playing in theatres now) tv series and so much more for $30/Mth. After installation your only expense will be your wi-fi and streaming service. families average savings of $100-$125/mth and give them so much more. You don't need a smart TV just a tv with a HDMI connection, which most tv in last 10 years have. You will need a firestick for each TV that you watch. You will need to subscribe to the streaming service which is $30/Mth,
you won't see this anywhere else!

[midiwiz]

Originally Posted by rsmurano

I looked at this class and it’s a basic class that won’t go over the details that a homeowner that likes watching tv will need.
There’s more to cutting the cord than just getting Hulu and say prime, here are a few questions to ask in the class:
1: what services do I need to get all the channels I like watching? Tennis, golf, auto racing on FS1/FS2/CBSSN/Motortrend, pickleball, Yellowstone, vampire interviews, seal team, syfy, and many others just for an example. I just touched on these because these involve multiple services in most cases.
2: network speeds and latencies. I hate watching a show and it takes mins to buffer before it plays. Now I can stream multiple shows in seconds.
3: a big 1 is recording. How many simultaneous recording can I do? How many shows can I have recorded? How long are these recording available to me? Are these recordings done in the cloud? You can’t watch golf and the auto race at the same time, or you might have multiple shows in primetime. If you record say 4 shows at once, it will affect your upload network bandwidth and if you want to use the computer to send your kids some photos, it might take hours to do this.
Just a few things to consider. I have looked at all of this and more over the years and still do when my current service is up

you expected more? most of these sessions are given by people that have enough experience answering just email... much like the cybersecurity BS that is peddled around here.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by rsmurano

I looked at this class and it’s a basic class that won’t go over the details that a homeowner that likes watching tv will need.
There’s more to cutting the cord than just getting Hulu and say prime, here are a few questions to ask in the class:
1: what services do I need to get all the channels I like watching? Tennis, golf, auto racing on FS1/FS2/CBSSN/Motortrend, pickleball, Yellowstone, vampire interviews, seal team, syfy, and many others just for an example. I just touched on these because these involve multiple services in most cases.
2: network speeds and latencies. I hate watching a show and it takes mins to buffer before it plays. Now I can stream multiple shows in seconds.
3: a big 1 is recording. How many simultaneous recording can I do? How many shows can I have recorded? How long are these recording available to me? Are these recordings done in the cloud? You can’t watch golf and the auto race at the same time, or you might have multiple shows in primetime. If you record say 4 shows at once, it will affect your upload network bandwidth and if you want to use the computer to send your kids some photos, it might take hours to do this.
Just a few things to consider. I have looked at all of this and more over the years and still do when my current service is up

What are you using to record? My recording is done through my Hulu-Live service. No bandwidth is used to record, only to watch.

As for network speeds, in a pinch I have used a network with 2Mbps with little or no buffering. My current 50Mbps is more than enough to stream a movie and work on the internet at the same time.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by jedalton

1. you need a streaming service like 5 star, gives you everything that cable gives and more.
streaming service has live tv, over 3,000 channels, all local, NFL. MLB, NHL, NBA ,MLB, movies (including movies currently playing in theatres now) tv series and so much more for $30/Mth. After installation your only expense will be your wi-fi and streaming service. families average savings of $100-$125/mth and give them so much more. You don't need a smart TV just a tv with a HDMI connection, which most tv in last 10 years have. You will need a firestick for each TV that you watch. You will need to subscribe to the streaming service which is $30/Mth,
you won't see this anywhere else!

With a non-secure site, a video that has been blocked by YouTube for violating their terms of service, links that don't work, other links that take you to unrelated content, and an offer that seems to good to be true..... No thank you.

[kingofbeer]

Is five star legal? Does not seem like this is legal to use.

FIVE STAR STREAMS - Home

[Snowbirdtobe]

There are many levels of experience and expertise in The Villages.
Near Spanish Springs you can put-up an outside antenna and receive FREE TV.
Not the old black and white stuff where you needed to hold the rabbit ears but full color high definition TV. NBC,CBS,PBS,ABC,FOX all free they "stream" over your head.
I use a TiVo to record this free tv. You can buy a used lifetime TiVo on eBay for ~$200. I have a TiVo Roamio OTA and it will record 4 different channels at once. Many programs are setup by TiVo for auto commercial skip so you just sit and enjoy.
TiVo will require an internet connection my Verizon home internet (wireless) is $50 per month. For the FREE TV part of TiVo there is no video sent over the internet so the bandwidth requirement is very low.
TiVo also has lots of apps that run on it. The TiVo remote can control your TV, and sound bar. All free and all legal.
I just checked eBay and didn't see any TiVo Roamio OTA recorders, do not buy anything that requires a cable card since that requires a cable tv connection.

[windylou]

I may attend the October 18 for general info but would also like to return to this question here to find answers of positive
streaming services experiences ... and how you've kept the costs low.

[coralway]

just ask any 10year old if you're confused or need help setting up streaming services.

[Mleeja]

Originally Posted by kingofbeer

Is five star legal? Does not seem like this is legal to use.

FIVE STAR STREAMS - Home

There is a difference between “streaming” vs “downloading”, but generally neither are legal. It is kind of like speeding vs DUI in how it is treated.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Mleeja

There is a difference between “streaming” vs “downloading”, but generally neither are legal. It is kind of like speeding vs DUI in how it is treated.

Both streaming and downloading are completely legal through a legitimate provider (Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, etc).

In the case of 5 Star the question is whether it is a legitimate provider. It looks VERY sketchy.

[Mleeja]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Both streaming and downloading are completely legal through a legitimate provider (Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, etc).

In the case of 5 Star the question is whether it is a legitimate provider. It looks VERY sketchy.

Yes, I should have specified I was referring to 5 Star TV.

When anyone sees a service that says they have “1000’s of channels” that should raise a red flag.

[windylou]

someone told me about a streaming service for $69 month with all the channels we need. HGTV, Sports, incl Big Ten; Fox and Fox and Fox News ,
old tv shows , ... We dont need all the fast moving violent things and spooky stuff, or Latin channels etc
this was given to me when there was no way to write it down... Does anyone know about such a streamnig service.
I cannot afford to buy more than one. THANK YOU

[doctorknow]

I have been living in the Villages (Fernandina) for ten years now and have used over the air attic antenna to get the local channels. This has been an off again and on again reception problem for me because on some days I get pixelation on all three Orlando networks. It is frustrating. I would like to find out if anyone has used a professional antenna installer (who?) and how you have put up an antenna either in the attic or outside and what your results were?

I know the villages allows outside antennas but height is an important issue for over the air reception. Is there a height restriction? And no I don't want to stream or use cable. Would an outside antenna pick up Tampa better than Orlando? Right now I have my antenna pointed toward Orlando in the attic. However the transmitters for Orlando TV are in Christmas Florida and that is 80 miles away. It is a stretch to get reception in the attic. Any thoughts from those who have good reception over the air?