For those of you that CUT THE CABLE, I have questions

[dfchelbay]

I understand what you mean. From my experience, those channels listed on the link I sent you are what is available now.I actually don't see the channels you're mentioning, but I'll keep digging. For us, it's a good deal because it's on channels we watch and use and not channels we don't.

I saw it on this page https://www.sling.com/programming If you click on a category, you'll see the "All top show channels", then compare that with the link you provided to see what you actually get for the $20 a month lineup.

 

[tots05]

we use our Roku to watch through amazon prime, roku also has apps now for nick and most of the shows are free although some episodes requires the subscription. (if you have kids, this is nice to know)... we have over the air antenna so we get all the news and all the free channels too. We have never had cable for more than 10 years now and we don't really look for it. If you don't have prime, for today only, new members can get it for $67 for one year. That is $5.58 a month for the shows they have there. Not as extensive as netflix but they are good. It also comes with all the prime perks not just the prime channel on the roku Hope that helps you

 

[dfchelbay]

For those that use Sling, can you tell me if you can watch 2 different programs at the same time on your Sling account? The salesman at BB said you can only stream 1 show per account at a time. Is that the case? If I want to watch CNN in one room can someone else watch Disney in another room/on laptop? Would I have to open 2 sling accounts (paying $40) a month to be able to have 2 people watching tv at the same time if we don't want to watch the same shows at the same time? Thanks.

 

[Nayan]

Nope, it's only one at a time. You would need two accounts to view different programs at the same time.

 

[dfchelbay]

Nope, it's only one at a time. You would need two accounts to view different programs at the same time.

Thanks for confirming that....really appreciate it.

 

[Elevationist]

Must be an area thing. I have Comcast, and while I have a cable box in the living room, my bedroom TV is connected directly to the jack, no box, and I get the 63 basic channels just fine. Watching it right now, actually!

Also, it's been my experience that when you call Comcast for anything at all, especially billing questions or questions about changing your service... They're all complete and total morons.

However, when I go in person to my local Comcast office, it's like night and day. The ladies there are WONDERFUL, and so very helpful. Twice I've considered scaling back my services due to financial reasons, so I just went in, told them my situation, and they were able to find a promotion to apply to my account for the next 6-12 months that brought my overall bill down significantly without having to downgrade my cable or internet. Maybe try visiting your local office, and hopefully you might get some pixie dust!

 

[CodeGoddess]

We ditched cable TV over 7 years ago now. Best move we have ever made. I was surprised how much time we sat down and watched whatever was on just because. Now we feel like we have more free time to do things. haha

My husband used to work for a company that wrote software for streaming media so I have a bit of experience with the different streaming devices/systems thanks to his testing. We have had/or currently own two Amazon Firesticks, Roku (new and old version), boxie box, chromecast, appletv, playon media server, plex media server and a few other odd ones I won't even name because they are crap.

If you want to stream netflix, hulu, amazon video on demand/prime, etc your best option is a firestick. If you have a gaming system like a PS3 or Xbox use a streaming media server like Playon. A streaming media server gives you lot more versatility and you will have access to a wider array of channels that the standard roku/firestick available ones. My advice make a list of shows that you watch and then search which systems support those channels.

If you want to stream sports is a whole different story due to local licencing agreements. Some ISPs have an agreement set up with ESPN to allow you to stream you sports. Check the list here to see if your ISP has access to online streaming for sports: http://espn.go.com/watchespn/affList

 

[I'mfarfaraway]

We are again considering cutting cable tv. We are paying $110 a month for BASIC CABLE...NO EXTRAS! We are told it costs this much because we do not have internet or phones with Comcast...just tv. We have no use for the phone & our internet is already paid for by work.

I looked online & have found some network websites play full episodes of shows & Hulu+ has some others...even though some are a year or two behind. My apprehension to cutting cable tv is because I love HGTV & news, especially if there's breaking news/events. Neither of which are on Hulu. HGTV has 1 or 2 shows they play full episodes of & that's about it. I don't watch local news at all, just cable news. Where do you get national news if you don't have cable? Where can I get my HGTV fix? Any tips or tricks you all know of, let me know. I have noticed that breaking news hits on Twitter long before it ever sees the network. So there' that I guess.

Also, I plugged the cable directly into my tv in my office & it tells me I have to contact Comcast to get a cable box. Now every tv has to have a cable box? I just wanted it in another room. It's a newish digital tv...NOT analog, yet still requires a cable box? I just get the looped Comcast commercial when I plug that tv into the jack in the wall. I used to get cable in every room that had a jack/outlet...now ever jack needs a cable box?

What websites do you all use? Is there another HGTVish website to watch that type of programming? Any other info you have would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[I'mfarfaraway]

This is

We cut the cord over a year ago, and I love it! We pay $40/month for internet, and then $8 for Netflix and $8 for Hulu. We did buy a cheap antennae (like. ~$15 cheap) that we probably should have spent more on, but it picks up our local channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS) for free. Sometimes it will short out and freeze for a few seconds, and always at the worst time. (like when we had a roomful of people watching the Kentucky Derby and they were on the last turn...oops!) We do not have a cable box.

As for shows you don't want to miss...we had a few, and we kept cable for a good 18 months longer until the expense of it was just silly. But the way we watch tv has completely changed. Before, we would watch because it was on. Kids went to bed, TV went on, and we watched until our bedtime. Now, we choose to watch shows. Sometimes they are old series that we never watched, or are original programming. But there are several shows that we always would watch when we had cable, and now even though we could watch them (a season behind, sometimes)...we don't. We watch somewhat less tv, but even if we watch the same amount, we are actively choosing a show based on how much we enjoy it, versus watching a poor show because there's a 1/2 hour slot until the next show we like comes on. You may find that you need your HGTV, but you might also be surprised.

This was our experience as well. We cut the cord at the start of a summer just to see if we could live without it and have never even considered getting it back. We now only watch what we really want to see. We get our news online, subscribe to Netflix and use YouTube on occasion. I no longer spend time searchin for something good. I now know nothing about reality TV and that is good for me.

 

[jerseygirl82]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I am intrigued by the idea of cutting cable and not making a $192 payment to Verizon every month.

If the fam and I watch mostly basic cable shows (CBS, ABC, NBC, etc), along with Disney for dd (5) and eventually for dd (newborn) all I will need to ditch Verizon is:

High quality antenna
TiVo (A must according to DH)
Sling $25 subscription
Netflix

What could I be forgetting here? Do I need Apple TV or an Amazon Firestick? Can someone explain those items to me and how they might be beneficial? Does TIVo pick up shows we watch on Sling?

I'd love to make this work and welcome all feedback

 

[Albort]

Careful with ur ISPs now, they found a way to defeat netflix... many ISPs are putting caps on your internet now...

 

[jerseygirl82]

Here's another question - I have two tvs upstairs and two downstairs. How does that work with one antenna? One website said I need to run wires from each tv to the antenna. How on earth does that work? Or do I just buy one antenna for each tv????

 

[Nayan]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I am intrigued by the idea of cutting cable and not making a $192 payment to Verizon every month.

If the fam and I watch mostly basic cable shows (CBS, ABC, NBC, etc), along with Disney for dd (5) and eventually for dd (newborn) all I will need to ditch Verizon is:

High quality antenna
TiVo (A must according to DH)
Sling $25 subscription
Netflix

What could I be forgetting here? Do I need Apple TV or an Amazon Firestick? Can someone explain those items to me and how they might be beneficial? Does TIVo pick up shows we watch on Sling?

I'd love to make this work and welcome all feedback

The basic channels (ABC, CBS, PBS, FOX and NBC) can be gotten with an antenna, depending on you're location and how far from the towers you are. I would suggest either going to TVFool or Antennaweb and putting in your address to see if you are able to get those with an antenna.

Tivo and Apple TV are not compatible with Sling and you cannot record the programming from it. To use it you would need either a Roku or Amazon Firestick.

 

[magik]

Here's another question - I have two tvs upstairs and two downstairs. How does that work with one antenna? One website said I need to run wires from each tv to the antenna. How on earth does that work? Or do I just buy one antenna for each tv????

If your antenna is roof or attic mounted, you can get a splitter and run cables from the splitter to each room where the TV is. If you are using small indoor antennas, you'd need one for each TV. http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/question_of_the_day.html

The basic channels (ABC, CBS, PBS, FOX and NBC) can be gotten with an antenna, depending on you're location and how far from the towers you are. I would suggest either going to TVFool or Antennaweb and putting in your address to see if you are able to get those with an antenna.

Tivo and Apple TV are not compatible with Sling and you cannot record the programming from it. To use it you would need either a Roku or Amazon Firestick.

Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, and VUDU can all be streamed directly from a Tivo (in addition to recording your OTA channels). At this time, it doesn't support Sling though, so as the previous poster stated, you would need Roku, Amazon firestick, Xbox One or some other device that does support Sling.