Can you help? Cable alternative
 

I know this has been discussed on this forum, but hubby and I want to “cut the cord” with Spectrum. Our problem is we don’t know much about technical stuff, I.e. which option is best for us and how each option would work. We would like someone who is knowledgeable about this kind of thing to come to our home and go over things with us. We are happy to pay you.

Spectrum is over 200.00\month. We don’t watch that much TV and feel we are throwing our money away, but there are certain channels we must have. Anyone have good knowledge of this kind of thing that would be willing g to help? Thanks....😊

:) Start here and watch the VHA video.

Cutting the Cord - The VHA

There are several ads in "The Sun" classified section under "Computer Services" for paid help. Please let us know how you make out.

Keep in mind that all the alternatives to cable tv require access to the internet, so you are going to still be paying someone for internet access.

There are a number of streaming (that's the alternative to cable) providers that also include live television. Most are somewhere between $40 to $70 a month depending on what you choose.

Hulu gives you access to live tv and on demand movies for around $50 a month Stream TV and Movies Live and Online | Hulu

DirectTV Now (not DirectTV, that's a satellite service) has live TV also for around $50 - $70 month depending on the package you choose. directvnow.com

Just search the internet for things "streaming tv" and you will find many others.

Almost all of these services are a tad flakey every now and then but not so much as to make you go back to cable tv.

Also all of these services has been raising rates so it's hard to say where their rates will be a year from not. All are month to month services that you can drop at any time, but that also means that you will not have a protected rate like you do with some cable providers.

In the end though these streams service are a good deal for now if you can find one with a package that has the programs you want to watch.

What channels are a "must have".
Steve

May want to consider OTA with an antenna.........with or without internet.

That's kinda what I was getting at without getting into a whole debate about antenna's. This thread could turn south pretty quick the way things go.
Steve

All depends on what you are willing to give up.....compromise is necessary or a multitude of streaming services will be needed.

We have Roku units, Comcast for Internet and currently subscribe to U-Tube live TV.
Roku unit was about $75 one time cost
Comcast $50 and UTube TV $55 for $105 total per month.
There is also a lot of free stuff available.
You may have to upgrade your router if it is an older unit.

I cancelled Comcast last week except for internet. I bought a Roku streaming stick plus (on sale at Walmart online) and subscribed to YouTubetv. YouTubetv has the unlimited DVR. I also used the Roku channel store to download some other free channels (apps) such as the PBS station. Would advise going to suppose.tv.com (note dot after suppose). Select the channels that you must have and a chart will advise which streaming service and the cost that meets your needs.
It was easy to do by myself...just follow the directions once you load the stick although yesterday I helped a neighbor set up his Roku and today he bought a second one for his other home.
My niece cut her cable a couple weeks ago and first tried Sling but switched to Hulu. All the services have free trials so you can try them before you subscribe. It is very individual. I also enabled Amazon Prime and Netflix on my Roku. The Roku itself has many free movies and TV shows. There are many videos and instructions on line. I also have an earlier generation Apple TV.
I have a 55 inch Samsung and the picture is better through the Roku than it was on cable.
If you really don’t think you can’t do it yourself, you might contact The Villages computer club. They usually have a member that makes “house calls” for technical issues. Very reasonable rates. I decided to cut the cord after attending one of the club’s workshops.
I think of cable and satellite TV as dinosaurs lumbering off into the past. I am saving a hundred dollars a month and I am not renting cable boxes, digital boxes, DVRs etc or paying the high taxes and fees, although you will need a pretty good internet connection.
Good luck and remember it is not that difficult.

The website is "suppose.tv". There is no ".com" after tv.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE HAPPY NOW? Forget it already. If you want to Stream which is simple, listen to Fredster and Bambi. The way I look at it is I have to have internet anyway so I don't factor that into my calculation of how much Television costs nowadays. The Real Cost of YouTube Streaming TV is $50 plus the fees, it just went up $10 a month but added so many great channels I got to cancel Philo which WAS $18 a month.

We have more great content than we will ever need and are finally Happy Now! Stream, you won't regret it.

I'd also advise looking at suppose.tv before having an expert come to your home, so you'd already know which channels are "must haves." We happily cut cable TV over four years ago.. Although we have a smart TV we depend on Roku mainly for PBS, Pandora, and Acorn (British TV dramas). Our old Roku died during this week's thunderstorm and we couldn't wait to replace it. It was very easy to do so.



.

We pay Comcast/Xfinity $170 per month for blast internet and more channels than we need.
Back out the internet as I think Comcast is among if not the best.
That leaves television at $110 per month.
I have tried Apple TV, Netflix, Amazon and Plex streaming.
For me, just too much ala carte hunting and pecking. And the bigger issue of recording. We record everything we watch.

Until the dust settles on streaming standards, pricing, recording capability, etc..... I elect to continue paying around $50 more per month for the current convenience.

Current streaming pricing will continue to increase as people demand more conveniences (like current cable/satellites).

For now we will wait and continue to enjoy what we have.

You have to choose between convenience and cost. You can save a lot of money, but, you will have to "work" at using a "cut-the-cord" device. By that I mean you to be willing to learn a new way of watching TV and movies. Sometimes you get a "circle" on the screen. That means your show is "buffering" (I.E. waiting for more of the data to load), that can be very annoying. Your show may not show up on your device for a day, a week, or even a month (if ever). "Live" shows, may not be available, local channels may not be available. Sometimes it's worth it to just have basic service.

I compare "cutting the cord" to learning to swim. You don't jump into the deep end without knowing how to swim. You start in the shallow end and work your way up until you feel comfortable. I often tell people to get a device (I prefer the Fire Stick) and keep their cable service until they feel comfortable with just the device.

I also tell people to buy their own Modem/Router (they save about $15/month and and get a return on they investment as little as 1 year).

I use a site called "Troypoint.com" to program the Fire Stick.

So I have Comcast for internet only and pay $70/mo.

I hope this helps.

Would that be a speed of 60 Mbps? If yes, does it buffer a lot?

I agree, same with Spectrum.

When we were on Lifestyle at the Brownwood villas this March they had xfinity by Comcast on TV that not only had few channels but very low definition etc we did not really have the proper remote either but it was the worst TV we have ever had. Also the screen had the wrong aspect ratio. It was certainly set up to show how bad it can be. Roku and Netflix were not accessible. My hubby was beyond frustrated. When I was in Hawaii I usually watched what we recorded on our PVR at home up North. I hope that we can do better than that in TV. Any ideas are welcome. We are at Mallory just south of Sumter Landing.

I agree, and if you "play their game" you can get all what you have for under $120. If you're dealing with Comcast just sign up as a new account every time yours has expired. Been doing that for probably 40 years between DirecTV, Fios & now Comcast depending on where I lived.. Just "re-signed" for $125/mo for 2 years for internet and cable with more channels + Showtime than I would ever need and all on one 4K box for 2 TV's plus internet. Doing the same for SIRIUS/XM satellite radio. Never paid more than half-price. Unless you have ALL the pay channels if you are paying more than $100-125/mo depending on # of TV's for TV AND internet you're doing it wrong. Between dealing with OTA antennas and Hulu and all the other bits and pieces from different apps the inconvenience just isn't worth saving $20/month. I just want to push a button and watch TV.

I have Comcast 25MBPS internet service, and don’t have problem with buffering....
and we have 2 Roku TV’s, 2 laptops, Simplisafe doorbell, 2 Smart phones and a couple of IPads connected.
Plus a Nexia wifi controlled thermostat.
And many operating at same time.
A good up to date router is very important!

Yes, it is 60mps and no it doesn't buffer.

Thanks

We have been using Comcast 25Mbps internet for around $20 per month for the last few years. We stream with Roku and Fire TV and have had no issues with buffering through YouTube TV or Playstation Vue. No need to spend big bucks on "high speed" internet. Netflix only requires around 3Mbps to stream in hi-def. Overpaying for high speed internet is like buying size 13 running shoes when you only need size 10. You won't run any faster or better.

Call Tom Grooms villager AV can answer your questions. There is a Cutting the Cord club in the villages that started in Dec 2018 and now has over 1,000 members.
I canceled Comcast cable,Kept their internet for $59 a month for 150mps.

I could live with cable and YouTube TV

Does anyone know if one YouTube account will work in two locations? We have a house in NH and one on TV, both with DirecTv for services. When we leave one for a few months, we still have to pay a vacation rate to temporarily suspend services until we return. We were told we could not have just one account and swap service back and forth. (We are, however, able do this with Serius Radio in our cars because we leave one in TV).
We have Rokus in both houses for live streaming, but record most of the television programs we watch because we hate having to endure those endless commercials. This would require a lot of recording with whatever service we go with, which I believe, after reading about several, would be YouTube TV.
Anyone with the same issue?


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We are in R.I. and the Villages and at different times we have used youtube tv and directv now in both locations. Sometimes, for directv now for example, they will compare your actual physical location with your credit card address to determine which local channels you get. When we are in Florida we switch our credit card for directv now to the one that has a florida address. In that way we get the Orlando local stations. When we are back in R.I. we switch to the R.I. addressed credit card to get the R.I. local stations. I don’t think they’ve changed this. If you do not have a physical location matched with a credit card address, they may lock you out of the local channels. Other channels will be fine however. We find that streaming tv is especially great when you have two houses.

We actually like YouTube tv better than directv now but only recently switched as there was a special of $20 off per month for three months and we want to watch the final season of Game of Thrones. HBO is included in the base directv now package. I expect at some point, probably after the 3 months, we’ll switch back to YouTube tv.

We have homes in TV and Kansas City and have had YouTube TV for a year now. We had directTV for twenty years then Spectrum for a year, and stopping and starting from one location to another was troublesome. With youtube tv we get the channels we want (HGTV was recently added) and easy squeezy switching, along with lower cost. Another thing we like is when we are in The Villages we continue to get our local Kansas City channels which we like to keep up on news from home. I should add that we have never lost the youtube tv signal as opposed to direct tv, which went out often during stormy weather.

Thanks so much for the information. I’m going to start the free trial this weekend.....and I look forward to saving $$$$$$.


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Well, I finally had enough of my cable service. With an internet speed of 20 Mbps and basic cable for ~$180/month, I was tired of being fleeced. So, Century Link is now my ISP at 80 Mbps for $45/month. I am also a subscriber of Netflix and Amazon Prime for a couple of years and that won't change for the near future. It only made since to go with Amazon Fire Sticks since I was a subscriber already. So I purchased 4 Fire Sticks. Two for 4K TVs and 2 for TVs that have lower resolutions. Along with that I subscribed to Hulu Live at $44.95 not counting taxes and fees. I couldn't be happier. All of those coaxial cables are gone and so is the company that abused me for so long. OH, one last tidbit. I still work from home as a DBA and must connect to my servers over VPN. It works great. The cable companies equipment that is used for bundling TV, Phone and Internet has crippled firmware, making a VPN connection impossible. The bottom line is: I have more to watch (or cruise when I am bored) plus internet that is 4 times faster and essentially 1/2 the price. It felt really good kicking cable to the curb.

Interesting conversation going on here. We have been debating making changes in our home and are actually considering using only an antenna and returning to basic TV.

We personally feel that these fees have gotten so far out of line and we are being forced to pay for so many channels in which we have no interest. Good times with neighbors and friends, long walks, gardening, reading many other activities have gone by the wayside when we often plop down to watch shows, many of them reruns, on a daily basis. Maybe it’s time to let pay tv go.

Does anyone remember how cable TV was first promoted with “ no commercials”?