Thinking of Cutting the Cable Cord? My thoughts.

[joemd60]

I posted somewhere else about this topic. My TV viewing, when I have time, consists of this.
The Apple TV, it has the Smithsonian Earth channel, Netflix, and Amazon Prime video.
I also have an external antenna for live TV, I am
In a hole where I live.
So an external antenna only does so much for me, it’s not always reliable.
But if I want to catch the Pats game, I don’t have to worry about a streaming TV app blacking out the network.
For the $3.99 a month, I would recommend the SE channel, especially if you have the 4K Apple TV.

 

[flyinion]

I miss my all-in-one remote and the dearth of controls on Apple's. And to say I'm not a big fan of the track pad Apple remote is a mild understatement.

What all in one remote did you have? I have a Logitech Harmony and it works just fine with the Apple TV. The only thing you lose out on is the Siri part.

 

[sleepngbear]

What all in one remote did you have? I have a Logitech Harmony and it works just fine with the Apple TV. The only thing you lose out on is the Siri part.

It's just the cable remote -- but it controls the TV and the audio receiver. I actually have a Harmony that I never used after the last cable box upgrade.

My TV remote can control multiple devices -- I wonder if Apple TV is one of them.

 

[sleepngbear]

Well, that turned out to be one big fail. Right off the bat, neither my wife nor I care much for the dainty little Apple remote, especially the touch pad part, but also the general tinyness of it. Very difficult just picking it up and setting it down ona flat surface without accidentally tapping the touch pad and activating something I don't want. While I got DTV Now set up, my DTV user id works in some network apps, but not others,and nobody at AT&T's pitiful excuse for customer service could help with that. There are some channels I can't get. And lastly, the channels I do get look like crap compared to my hi-def cable. Really, I couldn't believe the difference when I plugged the cable box back in.

Costly though it may be, it's what I'm used to. I also just can't get used to this mish-mash of crap in the TV app; if I don't know exactly what I'm looking for, the clutter of all that available junk is just overwhelming. And I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but Cox's customer service has it all over AT&T's.

We tried, but I guess we're too old and set in our ways to make such a drastic change in habits for our most frequent leisure activity.

 

[bakron1]

Well, that turned out to be one big fail. Right off the bat, neither my wife nor I care much for the dainty little Apple remote, especially the touch pad part, but also the general tinyness of it. Very difficult just picking it up and setting it down ona flat surface without accidentally tapping the touch pad and activating something I don't want. While I got DTV Now set up, my DTV user id works in some network apps, but not others,and nobody at AT&T's pitiful excuse for customer service could help with that. There are some channels I can't get. And lastly, the channels I do get look like crap compared to my hi-def cable. Really, I couldn't believe the difference when I plugged the cable box back in.

Costly though it may be, it's what I'm used to. I also just can't get used to this mish-mash of crap in the TV app; if I don't know exactly what I'm looking for, the clutter of all that available junk is just overwhelming. And I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but Cox's customer service has it all over AT&T's.

We tried, but I guess we're too old and set in our ways to make such a drastic change in habits for our most frequent leisure activity.

I have adapted to the remote and I do miss the ability to select channels without scrolling through all the channels using the Apple remote.

I have also noticed the remote is sensitive when you set it down and sometimes it does change channels, but again after using it for a year, we have gotten used to it.

As far as Direct TV customer service, I do have issues with having to use Twitter to send them messages about issues I am having and wish there was a direct phone line with a human being on the other end to ask some of the technical questions I have.

As far a picture quality, we have a samsung 50” LED 240HZ model and our picture quality has been excellent, even sporting events are very good and our connection is 50MPS and we have very little lag and our service has greatly improved over the past year.

But, there are always pluses and minuses with every service and for my brother and myself, the savings over the past year have outweighed any shortcomings we have.

In the end you have to get what best fits your needs and go with it.

 

[Lee_Bo]

We decided to go with YouTube TV. We were paying $320-ish for the Spectrum bundle. We went with 200meg internet for $65/mo and YouTube TV & Showtime for $50/mo. So we went from $320/mo to $115/mo and it's been great.

 

[flyinion]

I wouldn't mind snipping the cord next year when our Xfinity contract is up again but it's gonna require Hulu or YouTube TV or similar to stream live and previously aired stuff in surround sound. Until that happens I'll pay the premium. There no reason they can't be doing it. Xfinity X1 and AT&T U-verse are both IPTV tech basically streaming vs the traditional signal that requires a tuner module and they have it. It's just over a private network vs the internet.

 

[robertk328]

We switched to DTV Now a while back and the only thing we miss is the ability to pause live TV, rewind something we missed, etc. Picture quality is great (and we had DTV satellite to start which is excellent) and reliability has been solid after a few initial hiccups.
Apple TV remote I have a Griffin case on one and a generic amazon one on another which makes it a bit easier to hold. No issues getting used to the touch pad as i've used the  TV since the model came out with the touch.
Everyone's different, but giving up the live TV pause to save $100/mo was a no brainer.

 

[Dgray2712]

I was with PlayStation Vue for about 18 months. It was good. Earlier this year, they raised rates, saying they were going to be adding local channels. But, I never got anymore locals than the one I always got. They announced a second price hike, and I took a hike to Hulu Live. Not only do I get the live TV I want, with the local channels I watch, but I also get access to their streaming library of movies and original TV series. With HBO, it’s a pretty good price.

 

[mumfoau]

I’m still trying to get the guts to cut the cord...

 

[Rob Phillips]

I’m still trying to get the guts to cut the cord...

I did it a few years ago and my bank account has thanked me ever since. Before I canceled Xfinity I ran a little trial with DirecTV NOW. For a month I told myself I was only going to use DTV NOW even though I still had Xfinity so if I decided it wasn’t for me I still had my Xfinity service to fall back on. I ended up rarely needing to use Xfinity and found solutions for the few times I did.

 

[Wotchered]

Twenty some years ago I found that the very small amount of television I did watch was becoming impossible due to the demands of wife and children’s viewing schedules and not wanting to buy another gogglebox I stopped altogether. Now children flown the coop and wife popped her clogs I can’t find a single reason to have a TV at all (gave the last one to leaving daughter). What you guys do with cable as well as terrestrial I have no idea !!

 

[robertk328]

I’m still trying to get the guts to cut the cord...

we did it 6 months or so ago and it's been fine. most painful thing is you lose the ability to pause/rewind, so if I see a highlight and want to show my son, I can't. I can look it up on youtube but that's not the same thing.
I have DTV Now... if another service has pause/rewind I'll switch in a heartbeat.

 

[TylerLV76]

...I have DTV Now... if another service has pause/rewind I'll switch in a heartbeat.

I believe PSVue allows pause and rewind on live TV, so does HDHomeRun Premium.

Ive given my DTV Now account to my daughter in college since I didn't want to lose the $15 promo price. Im strictly using HDHomeRun tuners for OTA in Emby and streaming cable from my work since we get it free with our package. If I needed Cable channels I would use HDHomeRun Premium.

Ive saved so much money over the last 2 years of ditching cable that Ive more than paid for all my electronics updates throughout the house.

 

[mumfoau]

we did it 6 months or so ago and it's been fine. most painful thing is you lose the ability to pause/rewind, so if I see a highlight and want to show my son, I can't. I can look it up on youtube but that's not the same thing.
I have DTV Now... if another service has pause/rewind I'll switch in a heartbeat.

Oh I almost never use the rewind feature. I need to convince the wife that we can do it and still watch the news and family feud every evening.

 

[joemd60]

I’m still trying to get the guts to cut the cord...

Just do it, plenty of options out there.

 

[joemd60]

I believe PSVue allows pause and rewind on live TV, so does HDHomeRun Premium.

Ive given my DTV Now account to my daughter in college since I didn't want to lose the $15 promo price. Im strictly using HDHomeRun tuners for OTA in Emby and streaming cable from my work since we get it free with our package. If I needed Cable channels I would use HDHomeRun Premium.

Ive saved so much money over the last 2 years of ditching cable that Ive more than paid for all my electronics updates throughout the house.

Even the non premium HD Homerun let’s you pause and rewind. I have an Apple TV and the channels app with an external antenna.
The channels app is expensive, but well worth the cost for the features. And you only pay for the app once.
I even have the option to go premium if I want more channels.

 

[TylerLV76]

Even the non premium HD Homerun let’s you pause and rewind. I have an Apple TV and the channels app with an external antenna.
The channels app is expensive, but well worth the cost for the features. And you only pay for the app once.
I even have the option to go premium if I want more channels.

Gotta keep in mind, some folks dont want to run a server for apps like channels though.

I probably should have mentioned also that the ATV doesnt have a HDHomeRun app.

 

[joemd60]

Gotta keep in mind, some folks dont want to run a server for apps like channels though.

I probably should have mentioned also that the ATV doesnt have a HDHomeRun app.

Agreed, I guess it’s a matter of what some folks are comfortable with.
I wish I wasn’t in a valley here. I would be getting more channels off this antenna.
But I will say, the picture quality is as good as cable tv. And for my viewing needs, it’s enough for me.

 

[TylerLV76]

Agreed, I guess it’s a matter of what some folks are comfortable with.
I wish I wasn’t in a valley here. I would be getting more channels off this antenna.
But I will say, the picture quality is as good as cable tv. And for my viewing needs, it’s enough for me.

Absolutely. I have been using the HDHomeRuns with Emby for a long time and I have yet to see a dip in quality. I like the HDHomeRun app a bit more as it tunes faster but I let emby control my recordings and such. The HDHomeRun DVR is only $35/year though so Im strongly considering going that route soon.