Cutting the cord. Tips?

3,324 Views | 23 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by ssidedawg
Dirtydawgs
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I know this has been discussed before.. Our DISH bill had grown to $145/month. I also have Amazon Prime and a jailbroken Amazon Firebox already...

I am thinking about going with HULU ($12/mo) and Netflix ($17/mo).

Anyone else surviving with this set up?
xJunkYardDawGx
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I cut cable a while ago, I have Amazon, Netlix, Disney plus, and im fine. Now watching sports in when its tough, I might get youtube tv
PurpleBrave
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I really liked PS Vue, but it is no more. I use Sling because my wife wants the hallmark channel (yea, I know), but they just got rid of the NFL network and the price didn't come down. May be hunting another provider soon.

Just isn't any reason to keep shelling out for cable or direct tv anymore. (Direct TV even has a cheaper'ish streaming service).
UticaDawg
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I was paying $145 for Direct TV. Went with Hulu Live no ads for $65/month. I use the Amazon Firestick. Get all my local channels and the sports channels I need, when sports come back. Wish I had done it sooner.
I've always had Netflix, ESPN+, and Prime as well.
HBGDawg
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Over the air antenna (OTA) + Netflix and Hulu gets you most of what I watch. You can also get ESPN as an add on service as part of Disney+
Dawgustus
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I agree with Purple, PSVue was pretty good, but having tried it, Hulu, and YouTube TV I can say that YouTube TV is hands down the best way to watch live tv when cutting the cord. Hulu has some good shows and a library of old shows that is nice to have, but if you have Amazon Prime and are getting Netflix then I recommend YouTube TV. Very intuitive interface, apps work great on all devices, unlimited cloud DVR storage. It's well thought out.
ColonialDawg
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Unfortunately curing the cord doesn't save as much money as it used to as many media companies have seen the light and are yanking their content from the big services and starting their own streaming channels. I hear NBC will be doing that soon, so all NBC produced shows on Netflix will be gone soon. I currently have YouTube TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+, although I recently suspended my YouTubeTV subscription until September since there are no sports right now. The nice thing about streaming is there are no contracts, so you can cancel or subscribe to whatever service(s) whenever you want. That being said, I have a feeling we'll start seeing contracts again in the future.

If you get a good antennae reception, you can get a reasonable priced HD antenna for local channels and then go with Netflix, Hulu, whatever for movies and such.

If you don't get good antenna reception then YouTubeTV or Sling will give you a solid lineup of local and cable channels, including the major ESPN networks. I have YouTubeTV and pay $65 per month (it was $40 when I signed up 2 years ago).

It's still better than satellite and cable but costs are going up annually and I'm sure it won't be long before we're back to $150 a month in streaming services.
Bulldawg1
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We do Disney+ (comes with Hulu basic and ESPN+), Amazon Prime, and Netflix. 80% of family TV is that now.. We did pay for YouTubeTV, but I may camcel - we just don't use it that much, and ot costs more than all the other mentioned combined.

We are still saving more than $100/month in bills. Wish we would have made the decision early.
Matt DeBary
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Staff
I give my Hulu a low 4-star grade. I'll enjoy it more when sports come back.

The Hulu originals aren't great but they occasionally have some good stuff.

Price isn't too bad. I might upgrade and pay a little more to skip the same ads they play over and over.
JudgeLarryDawg
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I don't like my cable company but this axiom applies, 'better the devil you know than the devil you don't.
PaulWesterdawg
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I have YouTube TV, NetFlix, Amazon Prime and Disney +. My kids are small and Disney+ is critical. And I pay nothing for Prime TV given that I associate all those dollars with my deliveries and not entertainment.

Right now, I could do without YouTube TV b/c there are no sports and very little original programming on TV. That said, the interface and features are tremendous.

We have 1 true Smart TV.
1 quasi smart TV (can't get Disney +)
and 2 dumb HDTV that are soon getting fire sticks.

My cable bill was stupid high.


ssidedawg
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Roku and YouTube TV.

I added Netflix, HBO and Showtime. We already had Prime.

All that plus the internet charge saved me $100 a month. I could save $30-45 more without the premiums, but I like those three.
Dirtydawgs
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Thanks fellas.

I've cancelled dish. Like some of you I associate Prime with delivery costs and have had it for years anyway. I think we're definitely going to roll with Hulu and probably add Netflix. I also have a youngin' so Disney+ will have to be part of the deal I guess.
Dirtydawgs
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One other question- do you have any suggestions on cool remotes?
PurpleBrave
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For little ones, you can get Disney but there's also nick jr and pbs kids app. Prime also has a ton of content for them.

It isn't fair. If I missed Saturday morning cartoons and afternoon wrestling, there wasn't anything but mr Belvedere and murder she wrote until the next Saturday
Bulldawg1
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Truth! I used to go to bed early, then was the 1st one up in the house on Saturday am so that I could watch cartoons. I got myself a drink and some food and usually had a project of some type to work on during commercials. Usually it involved taking aprt an electronic toy and putting it back together again...or building some type of legos or imaginary spaceship/time travel controls. I sat on the floor for a few hours every Saturday, then in the fall it was football during the day/evenings.
UticaDawg
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Dirtydawgs said:

One other question- do you have any suggestions on cool remotes?


I run everything from the single remote provided with the Amazon fire stick. The thing is tiny, but controls everything. It's nice being down to one remote.
Dean Legge
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Staff
You could also go with a TiVo specifically for over the air antenna

It's a thing. We have TiVo. It's very impressive. And you can record and then watch on any tv where you have a device. Unlike the cable company, each device doesn't have a monthly charge. It's just one total charge a year. I think about $120.

That would allow you to steam and also record in Hd over the antenna for all the broadcast networks.

You would need an antenna, and not live in the mountains. Antennas work. Even in Athens, where you are blocked by Stone Mountain, you can get it to work. Or you can turn it to Augusta and pick those up.

But it's hard to beat out YouTube tv. It offers to much. The ability to do networks and record with six different user profiles. YouTube tv used to be a slightly better value, but prices go up. It happens.

We have Disney plus with Hulu and ESPN. I think nearly the entire world has that. Peacock is free. We have amazon. We also have Netflix.

Y'all should also check out IMDb. It has free streaming of a ton of things including Mad Men. IMDb is also free.
Dean Legge
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If you live it metro Atlanta you should have an antenna.

It is full blown, real real high def. you aren't getting that from cable or direct tv. Those two are knocking signals down and then back up. Antenna is pure. Worth the trouble for the difference? I have an antenna, and I spilt it to six TVs. No cable boxes. Just free tv. And it's the real deal in terms of signal.
Dirtydawgs
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I live 30 miles north of DT Charlotte. Think HD antenna picks up signal up here?

So equivalent of Alphareetta prob?
PurpleBrave
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You'd be surprised what you can pick up on an antenna. I pick up 12-15 stations or so living in outskirts of Tallahassee. When I lived in Orlando 10 years ago, we picked up over 20.
Gasdawg
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Anyone else 90 miles from local tv stations? What are the chances HD antenna works for me?
Dean Legge
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90 miles is pushing it

If you are flat or above you'll be ok.

One important thing to remember is that folks will talk about amps or amplifiers

Amps don't make your reception better. They make the signal that you get better once you get. You can't amp what you don't get.
SCdawg72
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I cut the cord 7 years ago and use the following Netflix $15 , Prime $12.99, Disney + (free with Verizon), Beast TV (IPTV) 2,000+ channels $16, Sportz IPTV 6,000+ channels $10, IP Vanish for VPN $7, On Demand Movies/TV - BeeTV and Unlock My TV, Internet $70 for 100mps. I am thinking about cancelling next as I can use my on demand apps for their content. Check out Troypoint.com, the guy that runs it keeps you updated with cord cutting and provides a rapid app installer for easy download of popular cord cutting apps without having to use Kodi.
ssidedawg
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Dirtydawgs said:

One other question- do you have any suggestions on cool remotes?
Roku lets you use your phone as a remote on the app.
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