Cutting the Cord Streaming Discussion
 

Most are probably not aware, but in speaking to some of the Quantum Fiber techs recently, they are working "overtime", connecting people to fiber internert. I'm not sure why the significant increase but a lot of it has to do with the new fiber being installed in the Bonita and Liberty Park areas and in new areas outside the Villages and the increase in cable bills and buffering with cable systems.

That said, I thought it would be useful to for those who have moved from traditional cable to streaming, no matter which internet provider they are using to give some experience, good or bad on which streaming service they have tried and are now using and why.

I know everyone likes to talk about the cheapest service but I want to focus on ease of transition and usability. Especially to gain some experience for those only used to using cable and now want to make the transition to streaming.

What I'm finding is "many" Villagers are using YouTube TV. This is all good but I find a lot of Villagers find it a huge transition to go with a service like this even though, at a high level, the interface is similar to what they had with cable. When I help someone "cut the cord" I usually recommend using a Roku 4K streaming stick with Voice and the long range wifi. Yesterday, I discovered while in YouTube TV you can use the Voice Remote on the Roku to search for channels.

Please post your experience and any "tips" you can share.

Yesterday our TV and internet service with Quantum and UTube TV was set up with the invaluable help of John (Jrref).

I do not think we could have done this without him. Very different from xfinity and we will have some growing pains but we were able to watch a few programs on Utube last night without much difficulty.

We made this change due to the constant price increases from xfinity. Returned the equipment Tuesday and yesterday received a phone call from xfinity offering a coupon deal to reduce the price.

Typically the coupon lasts a few months and they will hope that the coupon expires and people go back to paying the higher price. After a few minutes told the guy your ship has sailed away and is not coming back.

What hardware are you using (smartTV, firestick, Roku, etc)?

I've had a firestick for many years. I plan to try the Roku the next time I need to replace or upgrade a firestick. I was very unimpressed with the performance of smartTV interfaces but that was at least six years ago and I would hope technology has improved.

ROKU as specified by John.

I have 4 smart TVs, but I have a Roku stick plugged into every TV. The Roku stick is far superior to the built-in smart TV functions. Note that the Roku stick operates through your wifi system, so you don't need to point the remote at the stick to use streaming functions that are activated from the stick. You may need to point at the TV and other devices that are not activated by the Roku stick.

We switched from Spectrum TV to YouTube TV and it is much better in every way even at $90 a month plus $65 for internet we are saving a bunch of money.

We got fiber when we moved to TV a few years ago. We use Roku for streaming as we have older tvs. We only use free streaming and an outdoor antenna for free OTA television. The link in my signature has various information about television.

PS
We use HD Homerun so we can watch and DVR the OTA channels throughout the home.

When I had Quantum Fiber installed, it was done by the Quantum Techs. Did they stop doing this?

They still do the install. What Stu is talking about is many here in the Villages need help understanding if it makes sense to switch from cable to fiber and streaming and need help executing the process. As many know, I don't have a business but I worked for Verizon for 30 years and am a Villager who can help sign you up, go over all the options to place the wifi equipment for optimal coverage ahead of time and get all the pre wiring done if necessary. Most importantly, then install all the streaming devices and help get the people started with the basics of using the Roku and Youtube TV if that's what they want to use.

I also can help those who have a pre-installed wifi system done by a professional or a home with a complex Smart Home system installed. Some of these Villagers are reluctant to make the switch due to the complexity of their existing systems installed.

Stu, thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it.

When we moved here, our options for internet were satellite (hell no), CenturyLink at a whopping 2 (yes, two) mpbs, or Xfinity. We've been Xfinity cable customers for many years, so we picked that, and cut the cord and got a Roku stick. That was 7 years ago, I connected it all myself because it really isn't hard to do at all. Then we picked YouTubeTV after we settled into living here a few months later, which was also simple to do.

I have the same router and modem that I bought at Staples when we closed on the house in 2018. Everything works fine. Xfinity internet went up $10 this year, but I'm now paying $60/month for some stupidly large amount like 600mbps. YouTubeTV raised its prices in January but I yelled at them and they lowered it back down. This month it was supposed to go up to the increased price, but the notice had a coupon to give me the lowered price for another 6 months.

If it ever becomes more expensive than Hulu+TV, I'll switch to that. But for now I'm good.

My wife and I switched to YouTube TV a couple years ago and love it. It does come with a little learning curve, since it is a little different than what most people are used to. We love it for the unlimited cloud DVR and being able to arrange the order your channels appear in the guide for live tv. We have a smart tv, but use Roku since their remote is easy to use. Before YouTube TV we had Hulu with live tv and it just got expensive and didn’t have unlimited DVR. Lots of choices out there and I believe most allow you to do a free trial.

We “cut the cord” two years ago… and havent looked back. We opted for a “roku” stick, and smart TV’s. We have 3 in our house, and rentals with 3 more. We have leaned to naviagate with YouTube.tv, voice commands, prioritizing your channel list, adding new channels as we think of it…and our favorite is being able to record anything we want and it stays with your for 9 months and you can watch it on any tv in your house, and we share this with our daughter as well, I think its up to 5 connections. Its great. We had Netflix but when it went up to 19.00 per month, I cancelled it. Then a couple weeks later I got an invite back for $8.00 for the next year. I haven't resubscribed as of yet will wait til fall. We have Prime video with our Amazon, and with our Verizon account we get a pretty big discount if we sign up for Netflix plus something else, and another discount for disney etc. We haven't done all that as we only really watch YouTube. However, we are considering it when we return in the fall. YouTube is easy to navigate, and if you travel for the summer, you can bring it with you which is another added feature. We do seasonal rate with Xfinity which reduces it to 20 bucks for the summer months. All said, I would never go back to cable services. Our xfinity rate includes the modem. One question, someone said they talked with YouTube TV. What is their customer service number as I havent ever found it and wanted to speak to someone as well. Can anyone supply me with that? I have searched it out but not been successful… thanks.

Do you?
 

WE use Silicon Dust (HD Homerun) also. As well as original and Gen4 Tablo OTA.
Have you tried the Tablos?

The Gen4 has over a hundred streaming channels as well as the OTA recording, NICE.

Also, with 4 HDMI inputs on Tv, we have a Roku, a Firestick, and a ONN. All are great, ONN is "home" capable and we can view our Wyze cams on the big screen.

Available channels
 

I’ve had cable forever and love all the local channels ABC etc and many of the other non premium channels. What streaming systems are available that meet my needs and what is the cost. I currently spend $180.00 a month for internet and tv on one tv. I have firesticks in 3 others and watch Xfinity streaming on them. Thanks

Has anybody purchased one of these Roku competitors?

Samsung (Tizen OS)
LG (webOS)
Vizio (SmartCast)

These smart TV platforms compete by integrating streaming directly into the TV OS without needing an external device.

I have a Roku TV. It is better then using an external box.

You’re lucky you can get Quantum where you live. It’s not available to us in DeLuna, so we’re stuck with Spectrum. Hope we can get it eventually.

There have been several other threads on cutting the cord that you might want to take a look at.

In one of the threads, I broke down my costs which come to about $92/month for local channels and many other non-premium channels (basically, YouTubeTV) or about $170/month with several of the premium services.

You might also take a look at suppose.tv where you select all the channels you want to have and it shows you which combination of streaming services you need in order to get them.

I started using Roku and YouTube several years ago. It was the prior version of Roku, not the stick. Loved it. When I began the process of selling my house in Arizona a few months ago, I cancelled YouTube as I wasn't happy with the continual price increases (and football season was over). So I survived on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Paramount +, and Max which were 90% of what I watched anyway.

Currently I am in a rental while I wait for my house to close next month. My plan is to buy a new 4K TV and the Roku stick (I like upgrades and need new "furniture" anyway) and I was going to try one of the antennas to get the local stations. I think I can buy the NFL Sunday Ticket without subscribing to YouTube TV - need to check. Also I want to get Quantum Fiber if available in Linden Isle (fingers crossed) as I stream a lot.

Appreciate all the help you give here John!

Cindy

If it only was that easy. I’m a techie and a network guy and for many, you have to do the basics right before you can do streaming (cut the cord).
Basics: what are your requirements? What shows do you watch? How many shows can you record at once? How long does your recordings last?
Shows: I try to cut the cord every year and by the time we add up all the services we like (YouTube tv falls way short in content), we are subscribing to many services with a cost equal to what you can get from 1 vendor. The last time we cut the cord, we went with YouTube tv and had to get 3 other services to get the equal we had before. Now, we had to know that to watch this particular event/show, we had to get out of YouTube tv and get into another service. After a while, it’s confusing to know where everything is at. If YouTube tv has everything you want, then that makes it simpler. Some of the extra services didn’t have recording capabilities.
If you take a snapshot during the day, we might have 5 or 6 channels recording simultaneously, how many can your service provide?
My recordings go to 3 different hard drives and they will stay there forever, whereas streaming services offer a couple months online before they delete them. And it’s a fallacy that I had to show 1 vendor, not everything that a channel airs is online forever. I asked some salesman to find if this show or this concert is online so I can see it. Multiple times he didn’t have it available so my recordings on my hard drives attached to our receiver are available forever.

Another basic: networking:
If you’re cutting the cord, your 1 router per house won’t do. You will either need to wire every room or install a mesh network. Don’t fall for that fallacy that you can get a repeater to help. That’s like putting lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig. I have ma y friends that I rebuilt their internal networks (which no isp has knowledge on how to do not the geek squad) with wired and wireless bridge using the latest mesh 6e or newer technology. I use 4 mesh routers in my designer home, my buddies house I just did used 5 mesh routers. If you have a tv in the bedrooms, outside in your lanai, maybe the garage, outdoor cameras, you need more routers to decrease latency and give you Gb bandwidth.

Roku, firestick, chromecast devices are cheap but do ok if all you want to do is stream tv. I use many Apple 4K tv devices that gives me thousands of apps (Netflix, paramount+, etc are apps), streaming music from Apple, Roon, Qobuz, tidal to any system in the house, gives me a pnp popup to show me who is at my front or back door, it is a hub for my whole house automation system, and much more.
If you were to cut the cord and go streaming and your back bedrooms have TVs without a wired network or mesh network, you might want to use the moca technology for lower latency and increased bandwidth. Everybody has an rg6 cable in every room

Roku, not so much
 

I have found that the roku stick is too limiting. You can only add apps approved by roku. The Fire stick and the ONN device provides uses a lot more flexibility. The ONN (Walmart) has a faster processor and larger memory

I prefer the separate streaming device.

- On a very old Samsung the SmartTV function was very slow
- On a six year old Vizio the SmartTV function is usable but not as flexible or responsive as my firestick
- I don't know if you can add apps to the SmartTV or if you are stuck with the collection of apps it came with
- I was able to upgrade to voice capabilities by purchasing a new $50 firestick rather than a new $1,000 TV
- I have taken my firestick on the road to bring my streaming environment to the hotel or Airbnb where I happen to be staying

The TV manufactures have to design for size, for style, for a great picture, for a great sound, and for a competitive price. To have a SmartTV they also need to design for that environment while not affecting the other features. The Roku or Firestick teams only have to design for the streaming environment, they let the TV manufacturers worry about the rest. In my very limited experience, the Firestick presentation is better than that provided by the TV manufacturers.

Note: I haven't used Roku yet but it seems quite popular with those who chose it.

Only Spectrum or XFinity available. Plus all the location independent like sat, cell, etc.

When you are ready, please reach out to me.

Iptv and firestick
 

I use a firestick on my TV's. For 10.99 a month, I have the Blitzen IPTV app. 6800 channels, all sports and PPV free. It has all premium channels ( HBO, STARZ, etc) as well as movies and series on demand. I pay monthly/ no contract, and have had it several years. I don't think the app downloads onto a smart TV- thus the firestick.

DirecTV Stream. They sell it at the AT&T Store. You can get it with a set top box and voice remote. Yes, it is the most expensive of the streaming services, but it offers more, like local channels for ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox as well as the sports channels that carry Rays and Marlins baseball games. Using it is very similar to using a cable TV service. I also like the feature that provides access, through the “on-screen” DirecTV Guide, to streaming apps like HBO Max, Peacock, or Paramount+. If you want to drop cable, stop in at the AT&T store. It is definitely worth checking out DirecTV Stream.

Awww, thanks for the info.

You have many specific needs when it comes to watching TV and recording. Most don't have all the requirements you have listed. With YouTube TV recordings are deleted after 9 months and recording is unlimited.

As far as the network is concerned, you are right, if you want full speed internet in all your rooms you will need to set up a good mesh and or hybrid wired mesh system. But most here in the Villages don't know or need that. Most are just concernted about, can I stream and access the internet from all the locations in my home. With streaming all you need is 20-100mbs the most at any one TV. 100mbs tops at a TV even if you are streaming from a local server at the highest resolution you TV can possibly display. I've tried Moca and it does work but with the newer wifi 6 and wifi 7 devices available now, they are not necessary unless you have a very specific need. When I use a mesh system or use the Quantum extenders, I try and hard wire them where I can to maximize performance.

But thanks for all the details of your system.

I have one Wi-Fi router that delivers more than enough Wi-Fi bandwidth for both 1080p (5 megabits per second) and 2160p (20 megabits per second) to every corner of my house. Your suggestion that multiple routers is required is incorrect for most homes ( 2000 sq ft). A larger home might need a mesh router. Most people pay for much more nominal bandwidth than they require.

Cable TV and the propane industry are the last two barely-regulated, corruption-infused, scam-farms currently operating as legitimate industries. They should both be RICO'd for price-fixing and price-inflation.

Can you get DirectTV Stream without first getting DirectTV satellite service? (the answer used to be "no" but if things have changed I'll have to take a look at that)

Our current "stack" is:

• Centric Fiber Internet
• Roku Ultra on Living room, MBR, and Lanai, Roku TV in garage & guest room
• YouTubeTV + NFL Sunday Ticket
• Netflix
• Amazon Prime Video

Works flawlessly for us. :shrug:

I cut the cord and went to streaming services and OTA antennas 15 years ago so I have only needed internet service, typically through the phone company. I have never used propane for heating and hot water, only a small amount for gas grill. Much of the cost today for cable TV is from programming charges; not much that can be done about that.

We moved to TV in September. The only real high speed internet option in our Village is Xfinity, so that's what I have. I recognize that T-Mobile, verizon, and maybe AT&T have ota internet solutions available, but since I work remotely from home, I'm not entirely comfortable trusting them....yet. I sincerely hope that some day fiber will be placed in our village as well, but I won't be holding my breath.

We have been using youtubeTV (YTTV) for a number of years. I have tried other services as well, but I found YTTV to be the best option if you are looking for a cable tv type lineup without doing cable tv. I just this week canceled YTTV. The price increases just made it less and less cost effective for us. We will be streaming through several services; some are part of bundles. Can get local CBS channel as part of Paramount+ subscription. Can get other local news and weather though Tubi (and I suspect other free streaming services). I can watch baseball through MLB app (get free subscription as a T-Mobile customer). I will get the sunday ticket like last year to watch football (Amazon prime gets me thursday night games, and can subscribe annually to ESPN+ for 10/month to watch monday night football and college football). May also do a basic subscription to Peacock for sunday night football.

We use Apple TV. I find it much better to use than Roku. But it IS a lot more expensive to buy and the interface difference may not matter to many. I am ensconced in Apple ecosystem, so it's nice to have all my stuff Apple TV+, Music, photos, etc., on that platform in my living room.

If all these premium channels have a legitimate contract with Blitzen to provide their content to you, then it's all good.

However, if Blitzen is providing copyrighted content to you, without permission of the content-creator to do so, then you're paying for illegally-acquired content.

No judgment here - I sometimes do it too (for free, I'd never PAY for illegally-acquired content). But it's something you need to be aware of. If Blitzen gets caught providing this content to you, it can be shut down, and you would have no recourse. In fact, if you're caught watching it, your internet provider can shut you down, and you'd have no recourse.

I hope you're using a VPN to access your TV.

Most people don’t need a good network? No, most people don’t know what they don’t know about networks. You can use 1 router and get no coverage or huge delays/dropouts, but why accept that? Most people use the 2 ssid’s that the isp router gives you because people don’t know better. Think about this, how many times have you had to change your wifi name everytime you changed network providers? Most people change them everytime. Also which wifi do you want to use: 2.4gjz or 5ghz? If you make both the same ssid you let the device use what it can.
Like I said, no isp or geek squad knows how to do internal networks, they will put bandaids on the LAN by using cheap extenders. Go for it, but for little money you can do so much better

286Mbps standing in the room with the router. 280Mbps standing in the garage in the opposite corner of my Designer home (as far away as I could get). I would call that very good coverage from one router. I'm certainly not going to pay for five mesh nodes and the configuration/maintenance issues to recover a 2% (6Mbps) loss.


What was the sample size of the survey that showed most people did anything like that?

I've had to change my wifi name exactly zero times. Most people I have worked with change the configuration on their router to match their installation, not the other way around.

Maybe others can comment on whether the installers (possibly themselves) offered to change the SSID. I suspect most of them did.

I designed my current home (in CT), as well as the media plan and cable/fiber and CAT 6 drops. And we just purchased a home in TV. WRT media platforms, I suggest thinking of the whole system as if it were a transportation system Interstate, MTA or other NY Subway.

Think of the fiber as a high speed interstate, that is, a toll road (internet access fee), it provides access to the region with few interruptions, stoplights etc. So compared to the legacy cable systems we were familiar with, you have more options. The cable system was akin to a train or bus line where you could only access or exit at scheduled stops/locations. You really didn’t have a lot of choices, it was public transport.

Now with fiber, you have full access to the interstate, and you decide what vehicle to drive, P/U, Sedan, SUV. You can add a ROKU, Apple TV, Peacock, Freevee, Cheddar, Pluto or other platform. Some streaming services charge a fee, some are for free and some are free with commercials and pay for none.

Also, now that your TV’s are in fact computers, they come with built in content platforms, e.g., LG has a suite of content as do other manufactures, take your choice. You can also add an OTA (over the air digital) antenna and pay nothing! If like me you want or mix it up however it depends on your TV and aptitude and depending on the vintage of your TV (smart or dum). So, really, no need for any cable box, or paid content (other than the internet access) unless you want it and - - - again after the initial access to the internet (modem/router) you are in control.

Now many of us really don’t want to go the hassle, or have the interest in figuring this all out, so the cable/internet providers offer to make it easy for us. Many packages of content are available (for a fee), or we can subscribe to paid streaming content (for a fee e.g., YouTubeTV, etc.). So, what I’m saying is, that it’s up to each of us to decide, do we want to stay in our comfort zone, take the train or buss and pay the conductor for a ‘ticket’. No fuss no muss easy, and what were used to for so many years. On the other hand just be aware that we have a range of options. No right or wrong simply different approaches. It’s not a pure DIY activity, however does require doing some research and being willing to move out of our comfort zone.

To each their own, just understand that there are options and it’s a decision for each to make.

Have been using Youtube TV since it was introduced with Fire sticks on my 4 TV's. If you are an Amazon prime member they integrate well with the fire sticks. Just upgraded to the latest Quantum fiber WiFi 7 technology released this June. Far superior to the 4 pod mesh WiFi6 that I had previously. Now getting about 500 Mbps all over the house with only 1 additional WiFi 7 pod for $50 month.

I know dozens of people that don’t know what the router is and sure didn’t know how to change the configuration. I’m going to say 99% of users don’t. Ask the homeowner what ghz network does the ecobee or nest use? Or MyQ, Meross, camp chef grills, almost all other devices in your home. Most people don’t know and don’t care. They go with what the isp installer says the router has as the default and they have to look at the bottom of the router to get the password.
I have friends (and myself) that didn’t have enough signal for outdoor cameras, or myQ or the smart irrigation controllers that I’ve had for many years. We needed to put a 5th mesh router in my buddies garage to get his outdoor cameras to work. My whole house is automated, and my outdoor grill needs wifi outside of the lanai. My buddy couldn’t get a signal for his outdoor tv or a reliable signal without pixelation or delays until I built his network.
200Mb is very slow, I get over 800Mb in my bedroom closet or outside in my birdcage.
Most people don’t know that when they connect to the internet, you are dealing with 2 different networks: WAN and a LAN. Saying you have 200Mb is snail mail for a LAN, it should be close to 1G if you do it right. The wan part of it gets measured by connecting a device to the routers port (not wifi) to determine if they are getting the speed you are paying for. So for somebody telling me they are getting 200Mb, I’m guessing it’s a wan test and if you are paying for 500Mb or say 1Gb speeds, your speeds are terrible.
Like I said, most people don’t know how to implement a network