Recommendations on cutting the cord (connect, phone, HD, program)
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I am looking into streaming as a replacement for cable TV. However, there seems to be no source to turn to for information on this market. Seems the consumer is pretty much on their own and good luck with that.
As a result, I am asking for recommendations of sources to look into....both for providers (Direct TV Now, Sling TV, YouTube TV, etc.) and hardware (Amazon Fire, Roku, etc.).
I am interested in having access on my television to the following:
YouTube (for which my primary set already has an app)
ESPN INCLUDING ESPN3 (the non-cable network which frequently streams events from TSN)
NBCSN
The Olympic Channel
MLB Network
All local broadcast stations (NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, Cozi, Antenna TV, MeTV) including LOCAL programming
If I get something like Sling TV, will I have access to the on-line streaming events (through my TV) that NBCSN, ESPN and the Olympic Channel provide? (I really don't want to continue plugging my laptop into my TV to watch events.)
Please, if you respond do so in language others can understand. Thanks.
Awhile back Dish was going to increase cost of my locals to $2.
They charged me $10 added to package and could not be removed from package to start with.This made me mad,so went to account and noticed check mark,removed it and package 120 was recalibrated to $77 from $99.
For$13 from ebay I purchased four small amplified indoor antennas which pick up 18 channels,I use AV splitters for my locals etc.Dish was networks only.They are HD antennas.
I do receive several channels which weren't on dish.
We recently put a TV in my wife's office and added Fire TV (price has gone up) and a flat antenna that came with it. Also bought a little box that connects the whole thing to our LAN. Took a few locations to find the best one and she's getting a ton of channels. Some we don't get through DirecTV.
I am interested in having access on my television to the following:
YouTube (for which my primary set already has an app)
ESPN INCLUDING ESPN3 (the non-cable network which frequently streams events from TSN)
NBCSN
The Olympic Channel
MLB Network
All local broadcast stations (NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, Cozi, Antenna TV, MeTV) including LOCAL programming
The Olympic Channel, ESPN and NBCSN is on six different Live TV streaming services
Hulu Live TV
PlayStation Vue
Sling TV
DirecTV Now
YouTube TV
Fubo TV
MLB Network can be bought stand alone for $115.99/Yearly or $24.99/Monthly
Different streaming services include NBC, CBS, ABC, but none of them include PBS, Cozi, Antenna TV, MeTV
You can purchase PBS streaming for $5 a month or their free app provides the most recent shows. But you would need to get an antenna for Cozi, Antenna TV, MeTV
As a general rule the Live TV streaming channels are more expensive channel for channel than on straight cable or satellite TV. Most people save money by having a more limited selection of channels, and by purchasing the equipment instead of leasing it. For instance, I pay $22 a month to my cable company for my equipment for three TVs, but if I bought Roku Ultra's for each TV that would be $300 (so my payback period would be 14 months). Hulu Live TV costs $39.99 but only two people can be watching at once. It costs $15 to lift that limitation. It would also cost another $22 at a minimum to get back some of the channels I lose compared to my regular cable TV. But I have the option of not getting those other channels, and of living with two live TV limitation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimdc58
If I get something like Sling TV, will I have access to the on-line streaming events (through my TV) that NBCSN, ESPN and the Olympic Channel provide? (I really don't want to continue plugging my laptop into my TV to watch events.)
Probably the least expensive standalone device to watch these shows on your TV is Roku Express ($30 with HDMI input, or $35 witholder RCA connections), but if you prepay 2 months of a service like Sling TV for $20 or $25 a month, they will mail you a Roku Express for free. Almost all the Live TV streaming services make some sort of device offer.
At Roku Express is a smaller slower and more limited version of the streaming devices. The top of the line Roku-ultra costs $100. In addition to being faster, a Roku Ultra includes support for 4K televisions plus a port for wired 10/100 Base-T Ethernet if your wireless signal is poor. The remote is much more sophisticated as it takes voice commands, accepts Radio Frequency so you don't have to point it right at the device like infra-red, a headphone jack for private listening, gaming buttons and a lost remote finder,
Roku Streaming Sticks is between Roku Express and Roku Ultra in price and in features.
We recently put a TV in my wife's office and added Fire TV (price has gone up) and a flat antenna that came with it. Also bought a little box that connects the whole thing to our LAN. Took a few locations to find the best one and she's getting a ton of channels. Some we don't get through DirecTV.
The ROKU CHANNEL offers movies with commercials. They are not the newest movies, but they are free.
FEATURED FREE MOVIES ON THE ROKU CHANNEL IN FEBRUARY 2018
– The Hurt Locker (2008): During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work. Starring Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie.
– Into the Wild (2007): After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life. Starring Emile Hirsch and Vince Vaughn.
– Lord of War (2005): An arms dealer confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an Interpol Agent. Starring Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke and Jared Leto.
– Finding Forrester (2000): A young writing prodigy finds a mentor in a reclusive author. Starring Sean Connery and Rob Brown.
– Cruel Intentions (1999): Two vicious step-siblings of an elite Manhattan prep school make a wager: to deflower the new headmaster’s daughter before the start of term. Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Reese Witherspoon.
– First Knight (1995): Lancelot falls in love with Guinevere, who is due to be married to King Arthur. Meanwhile, a violent warlord tries to seize power from Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Starring Sean Connery and Richard Gere.
– Peggy Sue Got Married (1986): Peggy Sue faints at a high school reunion. When she wakes up, she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school. Starring Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage.
– Brian’s Song (1971): Based on the real-life relationship between teammates Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers and the bond established when Piccolo discovers that he is dying. Starring James Caan and Billy Dee Williams.
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What To Expect When You’re Expecting (2012): Follows the lives of five interconnected couples as they experience the thrills and surprises of having a baby, and realize that no matter what you plan for, life does not always deliver what is expected. Starring Cameron Diaz and Matthew Morrison.
The Cold Light Of Day (2012): After his family is kidnapped during their sailing trip in Spain, a young Wall Street trader is confronted by the people responsible: intelligence agents looking to recover a mysterious briefcase. Starring Henry Cavill and Bruce Willis.
Like Crazy (2011): A British college student falls for an American student, only to be separated from him when she’s banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa. Starring Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin, and Jennifer Lawrence.
Warrior (2011): The youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he’s trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament – a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother. Starring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton.
The Experiment (2010): 26 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control. Starring Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker.
The Romantics (2010): Seven close friends reunite for the wedding of two of their friends. Problems arise because the bride and the maid of honor have had a long rivalry over the groom. Starring Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin, and Josh Duhamel.
The Spirit (2008): Rookie cop Denny Colt returns from the beyond as The Spirit, a hero whose mission is to fight against the bad forces in Central City. Starring Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johnansson.
A Raisin In The Sun (2008): An African-American family struggles with poverty, racism, and inner conflict as they strive for a better way of life. Based on the play by Lorraine Hansberry. Starring Sean Combs and Sanaa Lathan.
Just Add Water (2008): An offbeat romantic comedy about a decent guy, Ray Tuckby, with a dead-end life in the dead-end town of Trona, CA. Starring Dylan Walsh and Jonah Hill.
Resident Evil: Extinction (2007): Survivors of the Raccoon City catastrophe travel across the Nevada desert, hoping to make it to Alaska. Alice joins the caravan and their fight against the evil Umbrella Corp. Starring Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter.
Georgia Rule (2007): A troubled young woman is sent to live with her grandmother for the summer, while hiding a secret that could potentially tear her family apart. Starring Jane Fonda and Lindsey Lohan.
Yours, Mine, And Ours (2005): A widowed Coast Guard Admiral and a widow handbag designer fall in love and marry, much to the dismay of her 10 and his 8 children. Starring Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo.
Elizabethtown (2005): During a hometown memorial for his Kentucky-born father, a young man begins an unexpected romance with a too-good-to-be-true stewardess. Starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst.
Saw (2004): Two strangers, who awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, soon discover they’re pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer. Starring Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannell.
Resident Evil (2002): A special military unit fights a powerful, out-of-control supercomputer and hundreds of scientists who have mutated into flesh-eating creatures after a laboratory accident. Starring Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez.
Mary Reilly (1996): A housemaid falls in love with Dr. Jekyll and his darkly mysterious counterpart, Mr. Hyde. Starring Julia Roberts and John Malkovich.
My Girl 2 (1994): Vada Sultenfuss must go to LA to stay with her Uncle Phil to do some research on her mother’s life, but finds much more… Starring Anna Chlumsky, Dan Aykroyd, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Only You (1994) A woman throws caution to the wind in the pursuit of the man of her dreams — whom she’s never met — in this romantic comedy. Starring Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr.
The Thing Called Love (1993): A group of newcomers to the country music business seek love and stardom. Starring River Phoenix and Samantha Mathis.
True Romance (1993): In Detroit, a lonely pop culture geek marries a call girl, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood. Meanwhile, the owners of the cocaine – the Mob – track them down in an attempt to reclaim it. Starring Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette.
Wuthering Heights (1992):A man becomes obsessed with vengeance when his soul mate marries another man. Starring Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes.
My Girl (1991): A young girl, on the threshold of her teen years, finds her life turning upside down, when she is accompanied by an unlikely friend. Starring Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky.
Regarding Henry (1991): After being shot, a man loses his memory and must relearn speech and mobility, but he has a loving family to support him. Starring Harrison Ford and Annette Bening.
Eerie, Indiana (TV Series, 1991): Teenager and weirdness investigator Marshall Teller goes through adventures in his new small-town home with his two friends, geeky Simon and mysterious Dash X. Starring Omri Katz and Justin Shenkarow.
Punchline (1988): Steven takes Lilah under his wings and teaches her the art of comedy and humor. But when a TV station arranges a comedy evening at the club, their friendship seems quickly forgotten and now it’s every man and woman for him or herself! Starring Sally Field, Tom Hanks, and John Goodman.
I bought a TCL Roku TV and a channel Master 4228-HD antenna and I am very pleased with the results so far. I am receiving 60 OTA channels including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW, PBS, ION, a few independent stations and all of the associated sub-channels. The Roku TVs as of 2018 also come with a program guide for OTA. Most other hardware including other brands of smart TVs and even standalone Roku players do not have this option.
The Roku TV has apps for all of the streaming services pre-installed. I am not pursuing those right now as I don't follow any of the traditional (non-OTA) cable networks. There are many additional free Roku specific free apps that I have browsed through like the Roku channel, Crackle, and Tubi-TV as well as thousands of special interest Roku channels.
Last edited by AtkinsonDan; 03-31-2018 at 07:23 AM..
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ROKU CHANNEL (free movies with commercials)
