Cord Cutting pros/cons (sale, best, sell, old)

[ndcairngorm]

Thanks. Will have a look. We've been happy with Roku only, at several other places we've lived. We get the news, lots of PBS content, and so now we'll check the channels list for any new stuff like this TV Everywhere thing - we haven't checked in a long time.

[PacoMartin]

I don't know if you realize that in most countries in Europe there is a TV tax, which can amount to several hundred dollars a year in some countries. It pays for public television, which is paid by fundraising in the USA. The BBC's domestic television channels have no commercial advertising and collectively they account for more than 30% of all UK viewing.

A television licence is required for each household where television programmes are watched or recorded as they are broadcast, irrespective of the signal method (terrestrial, satellite, cable or the Internet). As of September 2016, users of BBC iPlayer must also have a television licence in order to watch on-demand television content from the service. The licence fee in 2018 was £150.50 (US$200).

While that may seem reasonable fee for a traditional household of people, it can seem like a lot of money for a college student who just wants to watch the rare show on his computer.

Originally Posted by ndcairngorm

we'll check the channels list for any new stuff like this TV Everywhere thing

Commercial companies eager to provide Internet Protocol Television are facing the same issues. Netflix says that they don't mind if their passwords are shared with friends and family, as they give the rights to watch two simultaneous streams with a standard account and up to four simultaneous streams. But there is some indication that the current level of 56.71 million USA subscribers may have peaked, and password sharing is an obvious issue.

Cable TV wants you to be able to look at their channels outside of the home, otherwise they are going to lose even more subscribers to streaming services. But TV Everywhere gives you the ability to let you watch certain TV channels outside of the home (or in your second home in your case).

I think it is clumsy and awkward to use for a deliberate reason. If you could just put a password into one place and watch the whole lineup easily for a month before you have to re-enter, COMCAST customers would simply cut the price of their bill by selling the service to a friend. It would a return to the 1980s when some people would run a coaxial cable to their neighbor's house and split the cable bill.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by KCZ

Another sports conundrum...


Does anyone have a way to cut their cable cord and maintain access to ESPN3, which requires a cable account to log in? I watch women's college basketball, and ESPN3 is the only way to get most games. Does ESPN+ include all the stuff on ESPN3?

Sling TV Orange ($25/mo) has ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, and the ACC Network. You can also use your Sling TV credentials to access the ESPN app, which will give you all of the ESPN3 content. ESPN+ is separate - you can view it using the ESPN app, but it requires a separate subscription ($4.99/mo or $49.99/yr). Add the Sports Extra ($5/mo) to get ESPNU, ESPNews, six Regional Pac-12 Networks, SEC/SEC+ Network, Stadium/2/3, etc. About the only thing you won't have is the Big Ten Network.

You also get a slew of other non-sports "cable" channels (CNN, AMC, History Channel, BBC America, IFC, TBS, TNT, A&E, Lifetime, etc.).

So, $25 + $5 + $4.99 = $34.99 + whatever you pay for Internet. Add $10.99/mo for Netflix.

[sxmfan2018]

alot of these streaming services use the public internets and not a pvt video bridge

[SLIMMACKEY]

I do Netflix, Amazon, HULU.....th 40 cable channels I have are because when I got intenet they gave me the local channels.

Firstick and internet, you can cut the cord

[davebarnes]

Cutting the cord (one month in)

What we had and what we paid:
1. Comcast cable - “Digital Start + Digital Preferred” with 220 channels for $130/mo
2. HBO Now - current HBO channels for $15/mo
3. Netflix - $11/mo

What we have now and pay:
1. Hulu with Live TV - basic (no add ons) with 50+ channels for $40/mo
2. HBO Now - current HBO channels for $15/mo
3. Netflix - $11/mo
4. Two (2) new Apple TV boxes at $5/mo/each. Amortized over 3 years.

What we gave up:
1. Two local PBS channels - I know I can solve this with an OTA, but the wife’s aesthetic objection to the “unsightly” indoor antenna might be a problem. I was able to put a Mohu Leaf antenna in our basement and now we get one of the two PBS channels. We do have RMPBS Passport because of our annual donation.
2. DIY and Cooking
3. BBC America
4. TLC
5. A whole bunch of channels we don’t care about. Home Shopping Network, anyone?

How much we save each month:
1. $80/mo

What is different about our viewing habits:
1. We seem to be watching a greater variety of programming. More fiction, less “house/food porn” from Discovery.

P.S. And, we lost the electrical vampire known as the cable box.

[Quietude]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

What we had and what we paid:
1. Comcast cable - “Digital Start + Digital Preferred” with 220 channels for $130/mo
2. HBO Now - current HBO channels for $15/mo
3. Netflix - $11/mo

What we have now and pay:
1. Hulu with Live TV - basic (no add ons) with 50+ channels for $40/mo
2. HBO Now - current HBO channels for $15/mo
3. Netflix - $11/mo
4. Two (2) new Apple TV boxes at $5/mo/each. Amortized over 3 years.

I don't see an internet cost in the second group.

Why Apple TV at ~6-10 times the cost?

I know I can solve this with an OTA, but the wife’s aesthetic objection to the “unsightly” indoor antenna might be a problem. I was able to put a Mohu Leaf antenna in our basement and now we get one of the two PBS channels.

Attic or rafters. Higher is better; TV is line-of-sight.

And, we lost the electrical vampire known as the cable box.

Did you have a full-size box, and not the newer ones about the size of a paperback? Was it a DVR? Both eat an insane amount of power.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by Quietude

I don't see an internet cost in the second group.
Why Apple TV at ~6-10 times the cost?
Attic or rafters. Higher is better; TV is line-of-sight.
Did you have a full-size box, and not the newer ones about the size of a paperback? Was it a DVR? Both eat an insane amount of power.

1. Internet is telephone company: CenturyLink. Did not change.
2. AppleTV is 6x what? We own 2 iMacs, MacBook Pro, 2 iPads, 2 iPhones, Airport Extreme, 3 Airport Expresses, 3 Apple TVs. I buy what Tim tells me to buy.
3. No attic. No rafters. Flat EPDM roof at R46.
4. Had 10+ year old full-size box. We are not DVR people.

[Quietude]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

1. Internet is telephone company: CenturyLink. Did not change.

So you were paying that rate to Comcast without broadband? Yikes.

2. AppleTV is 6x what? We own 2 iMacs, MacBook Pro, 2 iPads, 2 iPhones, Airport Extreme, 3 Airport Expresses, 3 Apple TVs. I buy what Tim tells me to buy.

Sigh.

3. No attic. No rafters. Flat EPDM roof at R46.

There are exterior antennas that are between unobtrusive, and well, attractive if you're an Appletech junkie. They can go against one face of a chimney or gable if you face them west. You'd get the other 40+ channels even if for very occasional use.

4. Had 10+ year old full-size box. We are not DVR people.

One of the great hidden scams by the cable companies - each customer paying for 24/7/365 100-250W power to allow them to graciously send you their programming. (The low-power boxes have been around for a decade, but the big boxes were a lot cheaper to provide "for free" in bundles or even gougegougegouge at a rental cost.)

[ndcairngorm]

Originally Posted by Quietude

One of the great hidden scams by the cable companies - each customer paying for 24/7/365 100-250W power to allow them to graciously send you their programming. (The low-power boxes have been around for a decade, but the big boxes were a lot cheaper to provide "for free" in bundles or even gougegougegouge at a rental cost.)

Wow! Did not know that. I'm glad we just decided to go with our Roku - which gives us so much content we could never watch it all anyway, and a basic internet service.