Need Cutting the Cable Advice
 

After a recent thread on here about options for TV/internet other than Xfinity, my husband and I are interested in gathering more information but need help. My husband works from home and needs reliable high speed internet but we’re also sick of paying ridiculously high cable bills. Is there someone locally that we can hire to advise us of all the pros and cons of the various streaming services? It seems overwhelming to us and we want/need to keep our internet service intact but choose the best TV streaming option for us. Thanks!

First, you need to determine what internet service is available to your house. It varies.

If Spectrum in option...........this is the top provider (for price, speed and service).

As far as streaming services, I couldn't be happier with YouTubeTV.
The great thing is this can travel with you if you are away from home.

There will be lots of posts and other options...........but I don't think the number of options is very large.

Good Luck.

Go to the website "suppose.tv". It is a free service where you can list all the channels that you want, and it will display which streaming services you need and the cost.

The VHA does cutting the cord programs.

You might consider Quantum Fiber which has a fixed price for life. Quantum has two packages: Up to 940 Mbps for $65 per month and up to 200 Mbps for $30 per month. We have had Quantum for a year now and it has been very reliable. The Wifi works everywhere in the house and lanai including a TV in the garage.

We stream using ROKU devices on the TVs. We stream primarily through YouTubeTV. It seems O.K. except we have some problems with recorded shows/movies. Sometimes the recorded movies will not play. I like YouTubeTV because you get local channels plus a good variety of streaming channels. We also have an Amazon Prime subscription, so there is a lot of programming thru that. You can also get Amazon Music for free with your Amazon Prime subscription but it will only work on one device.

What do you mean by one device? I thought you could access Amazon Music from any device connected to the internet.

Very helpful. Thanks!

I believe it will only play on one device at a time

While is DESPISE Xfinity/ComCrap for reasons other than QOS, Quantum fiber is probably NOT AVAILABLE in 60% of TV. Wish I had it but NORTH of 466A it's very scarce if available at all, kind of like natural gas for cooking. Around here, Xfinity is really the only FAST internet service option. I have Xfinity 1GIG service (yes, I don't need 1GIG , but I have it "because I can") and TV for less than the cost of Youtube TV, or ROKU and internet "ala carte". Xfinity also has Xfinity Stream included so I can also take it with me anywhere if I needed to but some channels are limited on stream. I have tried both Verizon and T-Mobile "5G internet service" just to test it but it is so location specific it's pretty useless for me due to highly variable and very low bandwidth.

Just switched to Spectrum and everything seems to be working fine, for less money.

Jus wondering............Who was your prior provider??

We have Spectrum for Internet.

For streaming, we use Roku units on all 3 TVs. We also subscribe to Sling. We have been very happy with Sling. We will switch Sling to both of their channel packages for ESPN during college football and return to a single package after the season ends. Sling allows changes anytime and it takes about 30 seconds to make those changes. With Sling, everything is done over the Internet on their website.

Do you have something written that says those price are fixed for life? The reason I ask is that their webpage does not say that. Before the brand name change from CenturyLink to Quantum, Centurylink did offer a "one price for life", which is what I have had for several years.

Did you get the 200mps or 940mps?

Will be waiting to see the answer too. We have had Centurylink 40MBPS for $45 total a month for life for awhile now. 200 Mbps for $30 per month sounds better. ;)

We are in the same boat. We have 80 megabits per second download for $45 per month. While this is more than sufficient for our streaming needs, $30 per month sounds better if I knew the price wasn't going to jump up after the first year.

If you are running several TV’s and Computers and other WiFi items 80 mgb is not very much. I would want at least 200

1080p Hi-Def streaming only uses approximately 5 megabits per second of download bandwidth per stream. 2160p (aka 4k) only uses approximately 20 megabits per second of download bandwidth per stream. Before retiring, I used to move around 50 gigabyte tar balls and the 80 megabits per second were useful for that. For streaming 2 TVs at the same time, 80 megabits per second is more than enough. I suspect most people pay for much more bandwidth than they can use.

check your bill. I like spectrum but they will hit you for $ 25 . After 1 yr. Be prepared to flee or negotiate

We have Xfinity for Internet -paid $30 a month for the first year and now it’s $40 a month. Just subscribed to YouTube TV and it has been great… The only drawback is no lifetime channel! $64.99 a month and you get up to six accounts (6 people can use it from the same house) And unlimited DVR.

You can get the Lifetime channel (and 35 other channels) by subscribing to the streaming service, "FRNDLY" for $6.99 per month.

But, if you just want movies, you can join the Lifetime Movie Club for $4.99 per month or less if you pay annually. You can watch any movie anytime on demand, and there are no commercials.

Have you considered getting a television antenna?

You can the information is inaccurate

We originally tried Verizon but ran out of data very quickly as it was hurricane time and we watched a lot of tv around then. We switched to spectrum and have had no issues.

YouTube Tv is best for streaming. Spectrum was not working many times for TV so avoid them for TV.

I can listen to Amazon Music on any device that I have. But, I tried to listen to it on my smart phone while playing it on a smart TV, and I got a message that I could not stream the music on both devices simultaneously. Is there another way?

Test Run
 

I'm in the process of cutting the cord. I have 5 TVs, with 5 boxes, that and their modem comes to $1,410 a year. I purchased 5 Google Chrome Cast at $40 each = $200, a standalone modem for $144 and a mesh router for $169 the whole package $513. That a $897for the first year. If you don't mind investing $40, I suggest you buy 1 Google Chrome Cast hood it up to your TV, then sign up for the free trial from Youtube TV. This way you'll know if this is the way you want to go. I did run into one problem with my router, I have a number of smart plugs that run on 2.4ghz and my new router signal is 5ghz. But you can purchase another type of router and avoid that problem.

I use CenturyLink/Quantum 1GB service. I am a geek and got 1GB because I can. I also use Roku sticks on the televisions and predominately use YouTube TV with their 100+ channels and unlimited DVR space. In the fall I add the sports package to watch NFL RedZone for a few months.

I like Roku sticks ($30 when on sale at Target) as they are always updating and adding more and more other streaming channels but a smart TV might be all you need. I use BritBox and Acorn to get lots of British shows as IMHO, the US shows have gotten out of control. I can take my YouTube TV and a spare Roku stick with me when traveling around the US and get the local channels in the new location.

I have never heard of a contemporary router that isn't at least dual-band (2.4 and 5 GHz support).

We switched to quantum 900 speed with Hulu +++. Very happy with service and channel selection. Great for Big10 fans. Saved about $70 per month from Comcast.

This may not apply, but are you sure your modem is not a dual frequency modem? I understand that, even if you have a dual frequency modem, some 2.4 ghz devices will not connect to it unless you move the device far enough away from the modem to cancel out the shorter distence 5 ghz signal. The 2.4 ghz signal has a longer range. If that works, you can then move the device closer to the modem and it will stay connected. I have never actually tried this, so I don't know if it works. I think that this is not an issue with most modern devices, and most newer modems are dual frequency.

I cut cable TV in April. Went with YouTubeTV. Best thing ever. I have Spectrum Internet.

I have quantum’s 1 gig fast internet, extremely happy with it
I had an antenna installed on my roof and get 70 channels, with a better picture than cable for free. I get all the local channels abc, cbs etc.
Hulu and you tube without the local channels is $12 a month or less
My TV and internet is less than $80 a month with more channels than I had with cable

I don't understand it either. I have the eero mesh router when I ran into the problem about the 5ghz signal I went online and they said there was a process you had to go through to get a 2.4ghz signal, but it was only a temporary fix. Instead of driving myself crazy I order some 5ghz smart plugs on Amazon.

Do you have to pay for a service with the Roku stick? Does it give you the local channels for free?

If you can get it then get Quantum Fiber. You will get a free router and they offer a very good mesh wifi system for an additional $10/month. 1Gbs service, bi-directional is $65/month, no tax, no contract. The service is all fiber optic so it's the most reliable. If you add a battery backup to power the router in the garage you can even use it in a power outage.

If you can't get Quantum get Spectrum internet.

Either way YouTube TV will give you everything you may want. If it's too much just get a couple of streaming services such as Amazon, Netflix, etc.. Regular free YouTube gives you a lot of content as well.

As far as a streaming device, if you have a newer smart TV it should be able to stream everything i mentioned with additional free apps to give you some of the local channels. You can also get a Ruku, Amazon Fire Stick or an Apple TV. The new Apple TV boxes came down in price so they are more affordable.

As someone mentioned, there is a cut the cord club that gives presentations on the topic but the process is very simple. If you already have cable return all the boxes and just get internet service. If you can get Quantum fiber internet. Then once the internet is running, try using the apps on your smart TVs and the ones that are older get an external streaming device and it will walk you through the setup. I prefer the AppleTV since it gives you the best Picture Quality and the most functionality especially if you have an iPhone. If you have an Android phone use the Ruku or Fire Stick. Either way you can't go wrong.

Forget about antenna's and cable TV boxes.

When you buy a Roku stick, there is no service charge to use it. The Roku will give you a lot of free content, but not the local channels. You can download almost any available streaming app from the internet to the Roku stick and subscribe to the streaming services.

I use spectrum for the internet and I have DIRECT TV STREAMING. It works great!

I put an antenna in my garage attic, and I pull in about 25 viewable channels. Live down in Fenny, and I'm fortunate that the SE orientation of my garage works for the attic antenna to point towards Orlando.

I initially was using a UHF antenna (no VHF channels in our area) with a built in pre-amp. However, that one died, and I suspect part of the reason might be the extreme attic heat that killed the electronics. I just ordered another UHF antenna without a pre-amp that I will mount in the attic, and attach a pre-amp once the cable is back in the main garage, and out of the attic. Hopefully that will keep the temp at an acceptable level, even though our garages do get hot in the summer!

Otherwise, I have 100 mb internet service from Xfinity, which works fine to stream Amazon, Netflix, Britbox and ESPN3 and ESPN+. I don't use a cable alternative like YouTube TV. Xfinity also will give you a free streaming box, and I get their premium Peacock app for free. Alot of live sports and shows/movies that come with that.

If anyone would like to know how my new antenna set up works, just respond to this post, and I will respond with the results once I set it up, which will probably be next week. Got to have everything in place for Thanksgiving football viewing!

I have YouTube TV too. Really great. All the channels I want