Streaming Services

[nw6675]

When we lived where there was no cable, we had Hulu and then switched to YouTube. YouTube was cheaper, at least at the time, and had better channels for us.

 

[kanerf]

Upvote on Frndly. I have it and you also get History Channel with it. I also have YoutubeTV which gets you what most cable packages would have. It is a little pricey though. For free stuff, check out PlutoTV.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

We're going to cancel DirecTV once we find out where NFL Sunday TIcket is getting moved to. But I do like being able to get local channels, so then we'll research our options. It looks like YouTubeTV includes local channels except for one, but that one we can get through its own app.

 

[LYSE]

People overestimate how much they "need" TV...just cut the cord already and stream what you can...you'll live trust me.

Also, check your credit cards or other deals through cell phone providers etc.. we don't pay for disney +, Hulu or peacock.

 

[disneychrista]

We've been wanting to cut the cord for years and can't figure out how. It seems the "norm" is to switch to streaming, but once that's all added up, it gets just as expensive.

It doesn’t HAVE TO be just as expensive. It’s all on what you choose to switch to. If you are insisting on having live TV then IMO you really aren’t “cutting the cord” as much as you are just changing your delivery system.

 

[disneychrista]

People overestimate how much they "need" TV...just cut the cord already and stream what you can...you'll live trust me.

Also, check your credit cards or other deals through cell phone providers etc.. we don't pay for disney +, Hulu or peacock.

Im a TV junkie, it is always on, but I’m also frugal. I am never lacking things to watch, even with only cheap Hulu and other free apps. I read all the time how people cut the cord and then are spending nearly as much on streaming services. To me that defeats the point of cutting the cord.

Oh and I NEVER pay to stream movies either. That’s what the library is for.

 

[kanerf]

Another advantage is that satellite and cable are really bad about going out during a storm. I am at a hotel in DC and the satellite went out last night. My trusty Amazon Fire stick worked just fine.

 

[SteveH]

Been there done that years ago, don't miss cable and/or satellite TV one bit.

We've used several services and left several services. We canned Hulu a while ago, got to expensive for the use. We have what's left on our Disney+ and when that comes up we'll be done with that, again not enough content for the value to us. We've really enjoyed the shows produced by Apple, content is growing but price seems to hit the value mark for us. We use FubuTV they had the channels my wife wanted and a reasonable cost, plus we have AmazonPrime so enjoy some really good shows there as well.

Probably the biggest thing for us was to stop watching garbage TV or having it on if we are not watching it. We got over our TV addiction and walked way from most sports and any garbage programming.

 

[kdonnel]

Hulu is "on demand" (ie: I want to watch 'Castle' now, go to Hulu and start watching it). YoutubeTV is "linear" TV delivery (I want to watch Discovery channel, go to YTTV and select the Discovery channel and watch whatever they're showing).

Hulu does offer a "live TV" element, but it should be similar to YTTV. Like DirecTV vs Dish vs Comcast/Spectrum.

With the unlimited storage offered by YouTubeTV it can be very much on demand. I record everything. If I even think I might want to watch it, I hit record. I have thousands of movies and shows on demand. It is the best of both options.

 

[sam_gordon]

With the unlimited storage offered by YouTubeTV it can be very much on demand. I record everything. If I even think I might want to watch it, I hit record. I have thousands of movies and shows on demand. It is the best of both options.

Yea, if you know what you might like to watch so that you can record it. lol

 

[mrodgers]

We've tried talking with DirecTV about lowering our bill. The best they'll do is to offer us a premium channel (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax) free for 3 months. Even then, there's really nothing worth watching on any of those premium channels.

Oh come on now, nothing worth watching on HBO? I've been watching Better Off Dead every few hours for over 30 years, LOL. "I want my two dollars!"

 

[loves to dive]

We did it a few years ago. Our main service is UTube TV, we also have Amazon Prime and Philo for the few things we couldn't get on UTube TV. We are probably going to drop that. The good thing about streaming is if we are out in our RV we don't have to worry about if the park has cable or if we can pick something up from our on air antenna. As long as we have internet, we have TV. Since hubby has to work, we always have internet. We rarely even turn on the TV now days though. Hubby watches SEC football during season and there are a few things I record. Most of the time we just have it on sirius radio for background noise.

 

[kdonnel]

Yea, if you know what you might like to watch so that you can record it. lol

It takes just a few moments at the start of the TV fall season to tell YouTube TV to record everything.

Days, weeks or months later the shows are all available to watch if it turns out they interest me.

It also works great for old shows. I was browsing what was available and decided I wanted to watch Hogan's Heroes but in order starting at season 1 episode 1. I told YouTube TV to record it. A couple months later I remembered I had recorded Hogan's Heroes. I checked and every episode from every season was now available.

I have done the same with 100+ series that I feel I might want to watch in the future. If I never watch them, no harm.

Looking at my LIbrary in the app it says I have 24043 Recordings and Purchases. None of those are purchases.

 

[Praying Colonel]

For live TV we've used DirecTV Stream for years and we're happy with it. If we were going to change YouTube TV would probably be our 2nd choice. Netflix/Amazon Prime/etc. aren't live TV services.

 

[jujubiee4]

DirectTV use to be the best thing ever UNTIL they started raising prices at alarming rate.

We keep it around for local sports as we like to watch local teams play (baseball hockey basketball
football) AND fave out of town NFL teams.

Every time I call to threaten to leave because of another price hike they give us NFL Sunday
Ticket for free. This has been the last several years. Since Sunday Ticket is moving after this year
might be time to let DTV go. The comments about youtube tv are interesing. Might give them
a try depending on if they show sports in HD.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Remember you don't need to maintain a subscription at all times. I sign up for Netflix for maybe 2 months a year, watch what I need to catch up on, then cancel until there's enough new stuff I'm interested in.

Hulu has had really good Black Friday subscription deals the past few years on the ad supported tier. You can sign up for $1-2/month for a year if you subscribe then. The 2021 deal was $1/month, 2020 was $1.99/month.

This is exactly what we do as well. We alternate between Netflix, Hulu, Paramount+, HBO, etc. based on what shows are out and what we want to see. It's super easy to cancel and re-start so I'd recommend this! We are always subscribed to Disney+ but we love their content and have a 4 year old. We also always have Amazon thanks to Prime.

 

[easyas123]

I have the DirecTV Streaming and it's pretty good and not as expensive. It had all of the channels I wanted and I could bundle with my AT&T (I had U-Verse for years). If you don't want the LiveTV option, then just get whichever one has the most stuff that you want to watch. You can always switch out as there is no contract.

We have DirecTV, and have been considering getting rid of it. I've just learned they have the streaming service, and so it's good to hear someone has it and they think it's pretty good.

We don't have any streaming services, so it would all be new to us. Still - I think we should do it. I really do like DirecTV but the cost is getting ridiculous.

 

[BrianL]

We have DirecTV, and have been considering getting rid of it. I've just learned they have the streaming service, and so it's good to hear someone has it and they think it's pretty good.

We don't have any streaming services, so it would all be new to us. Still - I think we should do it. I really do like DirecTV but the cost is getting ridiculous.

The DirecTV Stream app, once youa ctivate it, works more like having a traditional cable/sat box. There is a channel guide, recordings, most recently watched, etc. One nice thing is the ability to "bookmark" shows which sets up a little hub with all of the episodes, etc. You can look back to see what aired when, and watch it either via your own recording or the on-demand options (with commercials), dedpending on what is available. This has saved me a few times when I didn't record something. It really works pretty well.

 

[elgerber]

We have had YouTube TV for over a year now, works great for us. It's not cheap anymore, but still way cheaper than Dish was. If you can live without GAC and Lifetime movies, it does have Hallmark.

 

[Disneefun]

If you can live without sports (or just don't care which teams you watch), you don't need one of the live TV services like YouTubeTV. We have OTA local channels, and then supplement with a couple of streaming options like DIsney, Netflix, Paramount, etc. and rotate around on those. We do get some sports because some games air OTA, and some services have certain leagues, but we're not weeded to certain teams or leagues, so it's enough.

Also, if you have a robust library system, they may give you access to Hoopla and/or Kanopy with your card. Worth a look.