Cutting The Cord on Cable/Satellite TV Service?

gtmtnbiker

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Jul 15, 2005
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I guess, alternatively, for ppl with Amazon Fire TV, what has your experience been with various network/streaming apps?
Netflix & Amazon works great. No issues. Showtime Anytime works but it's a crappy interface. I'm in the process of trying out Youtube TV this week and it seems to work pretty well. MLB TV also works great. I've also done Reddit MLB/NFL streams without issues. Does this help?
 

gtmtnbiker

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Jul 15, 2005
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It's excellent. The 4k Fire TV stick is remarkable, in every way. And the remote on the Fire TV is way better than the Roku.
I never understood why people put down FireTV in favor of the Roku. I guess they don't like some of the "advertising" that you see but it doesn't bother me. I agree that the user interface/remote is superior. You can also use the FireTV app on your phone to control it.
 

glennhoffmania

meat puppet
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Jul 25, 2005
8,411,588
NY
Has anyone tried the Spectrum streaming option? Of course trying to get information about the package options and restrictions is impossible but it sounds like it could be a decent alternative. From what I've been able to figure out it costs about $40 per month including cloud DVR for the most channels. Their web site is awful in terms of trying to get the channel lineups though. And apparently it doesn't work with some devices such as Samsung smart tvs and Firesticks.

My goal is to be able to watch on demand and DVR stuff when I'm not home. I know there are restrictions on certain networks that don't let you access the content when you're not using your home wifi. Aside from that, if I can watch DVR stuff while I'm at the gym that would be a huge plus.
 

Catcher Block

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Mar 7, 2006
5,825
St. Louis
Youtube TV just sent an e-mail out to their subscribers saying they have been unable to reach an agreement with Sinclair regarding YES Network and the Fox Sports RSNs. They're dropping those channels at the end of the month.

I hate having to switch again after PS Vue shuttered, and Sinclair is a world-class POS organization, but losing Fox Sports Midwest is a deal-breaker for us. Likely switching to Hulu tomorrow.
 

gtmtnbiker

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Jul 15, 2005
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Youtube TV just sent an e-mail out to their subscribers saying they have been unable to reach an agreement with Sinclair regarding YES Network and the Fox Sports RSNs. They're dropping those channels at the end of the month.
I did not get an email from YTTV so am I not affected? I'm in the Boston area so we don't get YES or Fox Sports Midwest.
 

MuzzyField

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I didn’t get an email either. In Vermont I get NESN and NBC Sports Boston. I also get Fox Sports and FS2. Maybe those are unaffected?
You are correct. FS1 and 2 are still owned by FOX and weren't part of the Sinclair deal. I would guess Sinclair isn't in a hurry to rebrand the regional sports nets they did acquire.
 

bosockboy

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Jul 15, 2005
19,862
St. Louis, MO
It’s hard for YTTV to justify the $49.99 when you take away a market’s local sports teams. I’m in St Louis so removing Cardinals and Blues games will likely cause 100% cancellation. Having the viewers as pawns in these negotiations is just so petty and ridiculous.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Jul 15, 2005
37,055
Hingham, MA
It’s hard for YTTV to justify the $49.99 when you take away a market’s local sports teams. I’m in St Louis so removing Cardinals and Blues games will likely cause 100% cancellation. Having the viewers as pawns in these negotiations is just so petty and ridiculous.
Yeah as mentioned it's not an issue up here in the Boston area but that seems like a major issue for YTTV in some other markets. Wonder if they drop the price, or how they move on from here.

Also, wonder if they will ever get NFL Network. I haven't had NFL Network since I moved in spring 2018 and switched to YTTV, but I do miss it.
 

bosockboy

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Jul 15, 2005
19,862
St. Louis, MO
Yeah as mentioned it's not an issue up here in the Boston area but that seems like a major issue for YTTV in some other markets. Wonder if they drop the price, or how they move on from here.

Also, wonder if they will ever get NFL Network. I haven't had NFL Network since I moved in spring 2018 and switched to YTTV, but I do miss it.
These pick your poison scenarios are awful. Hulu TV has NFL Network but no MLB.
 

Couperin47

Member
SoSH Member
And thus everyone goes back to cable.
well efficient marketing is supposed to be about reducing the friction required for consumption. This balkanization of media is producing the exact opposite: figuring out how to get the channels you want, how to subscribe/pay for each, multiple inconsistent interfaces and guides and hardware needed to connect. Someone, somehow is going to figure out how to aggregate these again so it's not a complex online game just to see wtf you want.
 

SumnerH

Malt Liquor Picker
Dope
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Jul 18, 2005
31,888
Alexandria, VA
well efficient marketing is supposed to be about reducing the friction required for consumption. This balkanization of media is producing the exact opposite: figuring out how to get the channels you want, how to subscribe/pay for each, multiple inconsistent interfaces and guides and hardware needed to connect. Someone, somehow is going to figure out how to aggregate these again so it's not a complex online game just to see wtf you want.
I'll be curious to see if those studies that showed Netflix cutting piracy dramatically indicate a the opposite as its model of low price and one-stop-shopping is reversed.
 

Couperin47

Member
SoSH Member
I'll be curious to see if those studies that showed Netflix cutting piracy dramatically indicate a the opposite as its model of low price and one-stop-shopping is reversed.
Everyone is now increasing the balkanization to the point that nobody is 'broadcasting'. Traditional premium cable can't obtain many of the major hit movies as Disney, Marvel etc keep them for their own channels, Netflix is suddenly starved of huge swaths of it's prior content, now and then a channel can drive interest with a GoT, but it's a gamble that risks a huge investment and a total crap shoot. Nobody wants to have to bet on which channel will have the most hits next year. Most are not interested in having to reshuffle their subscriptions every 6 months. More and more of those who are young and savvy enough to do that are going to say 'fuck this', turn to their VPN and just pirate the 2-3 movies from a channel they otherwise don't care about. The problem is, even if you want to reaggregate, nobody wants to cooperate (see the endless Sinclair type disputes). Say someone like Roku wants to be able to offer you a connect to each channel (cable, stream, etc) and handle the billing etc...can they really aggregate a single guide or just assume everyone now consumes in bulk and doesn't care wtf is 'on' ? That don't work for sports, news etc. Someone has to be able to offer convenience. What we have now is encouraging increasing churn and piracy and the impending slow death of the satellite option will make it all worse.
 
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edoug

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Jul 15, 2005
6,007
well efficient marketing is supposed to be about reducing the friction required for consumption. This balkanization of media is producing the exact opposite: figuring out how to get the channels you want, how to subscribe/pay for each, multiple inconsistent interfaces and guides and hardware needed to connect. Someone, somehow is going to figure out how to aggregate these again so it's not a complex online game just to see wtf you want.
I believe this is what you may want. It is a couple of months old and doesn't show the Sinclair Fox sports stations.



https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/youtube-tv-vs-philo-vs-hulu-vs-sling-tv-vs-fubotv-vs-watch-tv-vs-att-tv-now-updated-december-2019/
Everyone is now increasing the balkanization to the point that nobody is 'broadcasting'. Traditional premium cable can't obtain many of the major hit movies as Disney, Marvel etc keep them for their own channels, Netflix is suddenly starved of huge swaths of it's prior content, now and then a channel can drive interest with a GoT, but it's a gamble that risks a huge investment and a total crap shoot. Nobody wants to have to bet on which channel will have the most hits next year. Most are not interested in having to reshuffle their subscriptions every 6 months. More and more of those who are young and savvy enough to do that are going to say 'fuck this', turn to their VPN and just pirate the 2-3 movies from a channel they otherwise don't care about. The problem is, even if you want to reaggregate, nobody wants to cooperate (see the endless Sinclair type disputes). Say someone like Roku wants to be able to offer you a connect to each channel (cable, stream, etc) and handle the billing etc...can they really aggregate a single guide or just assume everyone now consumes in bulk and doesn't care wtf is 'on' ? That don't work for sports, news etc. Someone has to be able to offer convenience. What he have now is encouraging increasing churn and piracy and the impending slow death of the satellite option will make it all worse.
Companies are losing billions of dollars because of piracy plus however much more because of password sharing and they are going after them hard. Obviously there probably will always be piracy but the risk of the channels you are paying for might suddenly disappear is much greater.
 

MuzzyField

Well-Known Member
Gold Supporter
SoSH Member
Everyone is now increasing the balkanization to the point that nobody is 'broadcasting'. Traditional premium cable can't obtain many of the major hit movies as Disney, Marvel etc keep them for their own channels, Netflix is suddenly starved of huge swaths of it's prior content, now and then a channel can drive interest with a GoT, but it's a gamble that risks a huge investment and a total crap shoot. Nobody wants to have to bet on which channel will have the most hits next year. Most are not interested in having to reshuffle their subscriptions every 6 months. More and more of those who are young and savvy enough to do that are going to say 'fuck this', turn to their VPN and just pirate the 2-3 movies from a channel they otherwise don't care about. The problem is, even if you want to reaggregate, nobody wants to cooperate (see the endless Sinclair type disputes). Say someone like Roku wants to be able to offer you a connect to each channel (cable, stream, etc) and handle the billing etc...can they really aggregate a single guide or just assume everyone now consumes in bulk and doesn't care wtf is 'on' ? That don't work for sports, news etc. Someone has to be able to offer convenience. What he have now is encouraging increasing churn and piracy and the impending slow death of the satellite option will make it all worse.
The young and savvy demographic is going to win and I've already joined them. The need to play the quarterly earnings circus has the legacy and soon to be dead (not generating enough revenue to pay for programing like sports) distribution model focusing on getting the older cord cutters experimenters to return to their comfort zone. They better have a really solid plan-B. A significant number of the older cord cutters, like me, have successfully adapted and that helps the push forward.

If you provide value they won't pirate the content. Piracy of video is on the rise for a reason and AT&T, CBS/Viacom, Comcast, Sinclair, and the rest are to blame. These same companies have not learned from the music lesson and appear eager to make the same mistakes.
 

Couperin47

Member
SoSH Member
In the short term it's going to get worse, then the smaller players are going to die and finally there will be an answer. I'm an old fart but as a techie all my life I'm also availing myself of the VPN based option, but it's inconvenient. I'm not going to live to see it, but I hope the 'reaggregation' doesn't result because we have only 3-4 media companies left in the entire nation...20 years of Republican administrations might give us that solution.
 

TrapperAB

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Nov 25, 2002
3,030
West Hartford, CT
For those of you who, like me, have Hulu Live (to watch the Celtics with my boy), and were stuck watching on an iPad because Hulu Live wouldn't work on a PS4...

As of March 3rd, Hulu Live now works on PS4.

I had no idea -- just turned on Hulu to watch Jack Bauer do Jack Bauer things with the family (because torture is what unites all families), and there was the Celtics game. Fitting, I suppose, since watching the Celtics unable to rebound was, in fact, torture.
 

tonyandpals

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Mar 18, 2004
7,856
Burlington
Going to cut cable TV as all I really watch on it is hockey, and there is no hockey. Then ease into YouTube TV or something when stuff comes back as it seems like the cheapest option to get NESN. Kids and wife are adept in using netflix/youtube/disney+ on the firestick, so I think we'll be good for a while.
 

Saints Rest

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We are looking to cut TV and phone from our life, mainly to save money in these trying times. We watch very little on TV as it now stands -- mostly live sports and they ain't happening for awhile, so I can figure out how to get them later.

So my options (here in Stratford, CT) are Frontier "Simply Vantage Premium Internet 70M" for $34.99 plus fees (coming to $44.99 plus tax and $75 installation) or Optimum (which I now have for TV/Internet/Phone for the absurd price of $235/month, but which could be cut back to Internet only for somewhere around $100/month for the speed I currently have (nominally "up to 200mbps down, 35mbps up"). Presumably, I could find a slower connection speedier a cheaper price, but their site is hard to decipher, what with all the fees and such.

It drives me crazy that Altice One is offered for $64.99/month for 12 months, but Optimum won't honor that price because I"m an existing customer.
 

Red Sox Physicist

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Jul 15, 2005
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It drives me crazy that Altice One is offered for $64.99/month for 12 months, but Optimum won't honor that price because I"m an existing customer.
They might if you threaten to switch to the other provider. You need to get them to transfer you to the retention department when you call in to try to get that deal.
 

cornwalls@6

Less observant than others
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
6,247
from the wilds of western ma
I’m delving into YTTV, watching on a Visio smart TV that I float between a bedroom and my patio. It’s not hooked up to cable, and I watch using the built in YTTV app. Kind of a trial run to see if I want to ultimately cut the cord. One major issue: on YTTV live, some channels stream fine, some are riddled with freezes that fill me with a homicidal rage. And naturally, two of those are NESN and NBC sports Boston. Those are an absolute deal breaker. I have Xfinity internet, and the TV is currently located pretty close to my router. My questions are:

Is this likely an internet issue with my WiFi network?
Is the built in App an issue? And would going to a fire stick be a better option/resolve the issue? At minimum I want have this TV fully functional for Sox/bruins/Celtics watching on my patio, when/if sports returns this summer. Long term, I would like to transition away from Comcast and their exorbitant bills. But if this bullshit is what I’m in for, no thanks. I’ll hang up and listen.

Ps. The TV has lots of other built in apps(Netflix, amazon, regular YT, etc.) all seem to stream with no issues.
 

CR67dream

blue devils forevah!
Dope
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Oct 4, 2001
7,189
I'm going home
I’m delving into YTTV, watching on a Visio smart TV that I float between a bedroom and my patio. It’s not hooked up to cable, and I watch using the built in YTTV app. Kind of a trial run to see if I want to ultimately cut the cord. One major issue: on YTTV live, some channels stream fine, some are riddled with freezes that fill me with a homicidal rage. And naturally, two of those are NESN and NBC sports Boston. Those are an absolute deal breaker. I have Xfinity internet, and the TV is currently located pretty close to my router. My questions are:

Is this likely an internet issue with my WiFi network?
Is the built in App an issue? And would going to a fire stick be a better option/resolve the issue? At minimum I want have this TV fully functional for Sox/bruins/Celtics watching on my patio, when/if sports returns this summer. Long term, I would like to transition away from Comcast and their exorbitant bills. But if this bullshit is what I’m in for, no thanks. I’ll hang up and listen.

Ps. The TV has lots of other built in apps(Netflix, amazon, regular YT, etc.) all seem to stream with no issues.
As we established yesterday, I'm pretty much right down the Pike from you, and I'm loving YoutubeTV since I switched several months ago. I had to keep spectrum for the internet service, but I'm saving a small fortune, and have had no issues at all when live streaming. I did the three week free trial before I took the leap and was hooked, and I'll never look back.

In short, my guess is that there's a technical glitch somewhere or your signal isn't very strong. Can you do a speed test? IIRC live streaming eats up a hell of a lot more bandwidth than recorded programming, but I could certainly be wrong about that.

The thing I love the most is being able to bring my entire lineup with me wherever I go. It was great for the B's and C's, and I was looking forward to having the Sox in my pocket this season. I hope you can figure out your issue, because the YTTV product is fucking awesome when it's running properly. I also tried Sling and Fubo, and found YTTV to be far superior.
 

EnochRoot

New Member
Feb 7, 2020
90
Baltimore, MD
I’m delving into YTTV, watching on a Visio smart TV that I float between a bedroom and my patio. It’s not hooked up to cable, and I watch using the built in YTTV app. Kind of a trial run to see if I want to ultimately cut the cord. One major issue: on YTTV live, some channels stream fine, some are riddled with freezes that fill me with a homicidal rage. And naturally, two of those are NESN and NBC sports Boston. Those are an absolute deal breaker. I have Xfinity internet, and the TV is currently located pretty close to my router. My questions are:

Is this likely an internet issue with my WiFi network?
Is the built in App an issue? And would going to a fire stick be a better option/resolve the issue? At minimum I want have this TV fully functional for Sox/bruins/Celtics watching on my patio, when/if sports returns this summer. Long term, I would like to transition away from Comcast and their exorbitant bills. But if this bullshit is what I’m in for, no thanks. I’ll hang up and listen.

Ps. The TV has lots of other built in apps(Netflix, amazon, regular YT, etc.) all seem to stream with no issues.
I would invest in a Fire Stick or other streaming device. They will likely have a more stable/secure YTTV app. However, I would like to know about your router. How new is it? Is it a mesh router? I ask because my house had a few dead/weak spots for WiFi, and certain times during the day the neighbors devices on their WiFi would cause interference. I live in a row house down here in Baltimore, MD. I bought an Eero router located in my entertainment center on the ground floor, and one extra beacon to plug into an outlet upstairs near my bedroom. It’s simply the best WiFi experience I’ve had in my 20+ years of working with them.
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
17,363
YTTV via Roku on wired and wireless connections is rock solid for me. Smart TV apps are notoriously crap.
 

cornwalls@6

Less observant than others
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
6,247
from the wilds of western ma
As we established yesterday, I'm pretty much right down the Pike from you, and I'm loving YoutubeTV since I switched several months ago. I had to keep spectrum for the internet service, but I'm saving a small fortune, and have had no issues at all when live streaming. I did the three week free trial before I took the leap and was hooked, and I'll never look back.

In short, my guess is that there's a technical glitch somewhere or your signal isn't very strong. Can you do a speed test? IIRC live streaming eats up a hell of a lot more bandwidth than recorded programming, but I could certainly be wrong about that.

The thing I love the most is being able to bring my entire lineup with me wherever I go. It was great for the B's and C's, and I was looking forward to having the Sox in my pocket this season. I hope you can figure out your issue, because the YTTV product is fucking awesome when it's running properly. I also tried Sling and Fubo, and found YTTV to be far superior.
My plan was to do exactly what you did. Pare my Comcast service down to internet only, and go completely with streaming/YTTV for everything else. I’ve run health checks for my WiFi on the xfininty app, and keep getting told everything is fine, though I’m not sure how thorough or accurate that is. The disappointing thing is that the gas and electric company in Westfield has been offering their own fiber optic/high speed internet for more than a year now. People I know who have it rave about the strength and speed. But unfortunately, it is not available yet in my area, due to underground utilities , I believe. I’m definitely going to keep chasing this. I’m so ready to stop handing Comcast nearly 300.00 a month.
 

cornwalls@6

Less observant than others
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
6,247
from the wilds of western ma
I would invest in a Fire Stick or other streaming device. They will likely have a more stable/secure YTTV app. However, I would like to know about your router. How new is it? Is it a mesh router? I ask because my house had a few dead/weak spots for WiFi, and certain times during the day the neighbors devices on their WiFi would cause interference. I live in a row house down here in Baltimore, MD. I bought an Eero router located in my entertainment center on the ground floor, and one extra beacon to plug into an outlet upstairs near my bedroom. It’s simply the best WiFi experience I’ve had in my 20+ years of working with them.
I’m afraid my technical knowledge of routers is at the remedial level. This is a Comcast/Xfinity router, that claims to have 1G capacity. Other than a couple of brief outages, I’ve had no issues with it for anything else. I live in a pretty typical, older suburban development, with a little bit of space between houses, so not sure if there’s interference from any of my neighbors devices/networks. I’m definitely going to invest in a fire stick. Seems well worth the cost to keep trying this, and if it does work, I’ll need a couple of them anyway to ultimately cut the cord entirely.
 

EnochRoot

New Member
Feb 7, 2020
90
Baltimore, MD
I’m afraid my technical knowledge of routers is at the remedial level. This is a Comcast/Xfinity router, that claims to have 1G capacity. Other than a couple of brief outages, I’ve had no issues with it for anything else. I live in a pretty typical, older suburban development, with a little bit of space between houses, so not sure if there’s interference from any of my neighbors devices/networks. I’m definitely going to invest in a fire stick. Seems well worth the cost to keep trying this, and if it does work, I’ll need a couple of them anyway to ultimately cut the cord entirely.
Yeah, your first step would be to look for a better version of the app. A device that sells streaming options is more motivated to have a better platform for apps to be developed (and maintained) than a smart TV and its operating system. Hopefully that solves things.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Jul 15, 2005
37,055
Hingham, MA
Yeah, your first step would be to look for a better version of the app. A device that sells streaming options is more motivated to have a better platform for apps to be developed (and maintained) than a smart TV and its operating system. Hopefully that solves things.
I have a couple of smart TVs but I ended up purchasing a Roku for each despite them being able to host YTTV directly. I do find that performance has been better since getting the Rokus. YMMV.
 

EnochRoot

New Member
Feb 7, 2020
90
Baltimore, MD
I have a couple of smart TVs but I ended up purchasing a Roku for each despite them being able to host YTTV directly. I do find that performance has been better since getting the Rokus. YMMV.
Yeah. To be honest, I only give my TV access to the internet through my router in order to periodically check for firmware updates. I leave all internet streaming access to the devices I have identified to handle it.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
SoSH Member
Oct 31, 2013
72,430
Survey tidbits (shown on CNBC)

60% have cable mainly to watch sports

Decline in 80% ratings for NBCSN
Decline in 42% ratings for ESPN
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
SoSH Member
Oct 31, 2013
72,430
How do I get access to Bravo? (on a computer) Basically only need it for Top Chef. Have access to most of other "basic" cable channels, but I'm not paying $50 a month for 1/2 season of one show. Last time I didn't have Bravo via a tv, I could just go to Bravotv.com but that's not working in 2020.

-TIA
 
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foulkehampshire

hillbilly suburbanite
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Feb 25, 2007
5,099
Wesport, MA
I've cut the cord for around 3-4 years now and do not regret it. Though I don't think cutting the cord its as awesome from a value perspective as it was - say - 5 years ago.

1) Mlb.tv blackouts are easily circumvented with a vpn. Its great and I consider it non-negotiable addition with a mlb.tv subscription.
2) If it were up to me (it's not 100%) the only steaming service I'd retain is Prime Video due to the other perks and value that membership brings.
3) While I've been a steady Netflix subscriber since "Instant" went live, I'm finding the content increasingly lacking. Saturated market and all. Some of the exclisive content (Looking at you, Ozark) is awesome but I dunno if its worth 12+$ a month.
4) I have a free subscription to Disney+ as a Verizon unlimited customer. When the 12 month promo expires, I'm seriously considering swapping Netflix for that Disney+/Hulu/ESPN bundle.
5) Pirating has never been easier. I stood up a NAS server to host my legally (and not so legally aquired) content. Its awesome and I recommend it 1000% for a multitude of reasons. QNAP, Synology provide great ootb options. Plex on whatever is also great but I'm not in love the the fire-stick application.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,055
Hingham, MA
Yeah I cut 2 years ago - no regrets at all - but agreed that the value isn’t as awesome as it used to be. My combined internet + TV bill used to be somewhere in the $150-200/month range, now I pay $55 for Verizon internet and $50 for YTTV, plus $7 for Disney+. I have a Prime subscription so that was already a sunk cost. And then I bum Netflix from my brother’s account (and he bums our Disney+). So all in I’m at ~$112/month excluding Prime. Before I moved I had to get Sunday Ticket for the Pats, that helped a bunch to be able to get out from that. And a nice feature of YTTV is that I can disconnect it for months at a time with no penalty. For instance once Top Chef wraps up I’ll likely cancel for the summer with no live sports. And then in the fall if sports are back and network TV shows start up again I’ll turn it back on.
 

Jim Ed Rice in HOF

Red-headed Skrub child
SoSH Member
Jul 21, 2005
8,252
Seacoast NH
My wife and I retreated North to our cottage that previously had no internet/cable (used our neighbor's wifi for general ipad/iphone surfing after they gave us the password years ago). Given that I have to work I had to upgrade to our own internet, bought a Roku and signed up for YouTube TV.

The question is can my kids use a Roku and our YTTV account through the Google Family option at our house roughly 1.5 hours South of here but still in the "Boston Area" market? Is there something that will prohibit them from doing that since they're not in the same zip code? Both houses are in NH if that matters. I'd love to drop Xfinity cable if I can and have been thinking of doing it for a while.
 

gtmtnbiker

Member
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Jul 15, 2005
1,724
The question is can my kids use a Roku and our YTTV account through the Google Family option at our house roughly 1.5 hours South of here but still in the "Boston Area" market? Is there something that will prohibit them from doing that since they're not in the same zip code? Both houses are in NH if that matters. I'd love to drop Xfinity cable if I can and have been thinking of doing it for a while.
Should be do-able. They just need to login with their accounts at your home location. I share my account with two other people and login their IDs on my computer every 2-3 months. No issues thus far.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Jul 15, 2005
37,055
Hingham, MA
Yeah when I log in from another city, it lets me watch stations from that local area, as well as my home area. Key is setting up your home area to be your home area.
 

McBride11

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
22,109
Durham, NC
These are likely questions answered prior in this thread but I am not a good searcher on here...

-Roku vs Amazon cube / fire stick? I am also trying to set up smart home with Alexa / Amazon Echo if that matters

- Is there a way to watch old Pats SB games? I currently have 5 wins DVR'd on (from live or NFL Network replays) but will lose my DVR when I cut Comcast Cable (Will have to keep their internet in my condo). Is there also a way to watch without a DVD player?

-Leaning towards YTTV over Hulu (basically bc it has MLBN and Hulu does not). Any concerns I am missing?
 

McBride11

Member
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Jul 15, 2005
22,109
Durham, NC
I have YTTV, it's very good. especially the DVR. I don't have a smart home but If I did I'd just go with Amazon products. It seems easiest.The Patriots SBs are on youtube. I just asked Alexa for the Falcons game, and it came up. Just that easy. Or maybe try this.


https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-do-i-transfer-files-from-my-comcast-dvr
yttv or regular yt? Or if you have yttv there isnt a difference anymore?

running regular YT thru my samsung smart tv seems clunky but im probably doing it wrong.
 

edoug

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
6,007
yttv or regular yt? Or if you have yttv there isnt a difference anymore?

running regular YT thru my samsung smart tv seems clunky but im probably doing it wrong.
Their is a difference. YTTV is basically cable tv. It doesn't have the NFL network. So I watched the Pats on the youtube app. You'll be fine. In fact you'll be sorry you didn't do it earlier. About Comcast internet since will stream everything, or almost everything.Yhis will help you decide if your internet speed is enough for your needs.
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/internet-speed-what-you-need,news-24289.html
 

McBride11

Member
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Jul 15, 2005
22,109
Durham, NC

The Talented Allen Ripley

holden
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2003
12,723
MetroWest, MA
YTTV adds ViacomCBS channels to its lineup, monthly fee increases to $64.99.

Today, YouTube TV is adding eight ViacomCBS channels to its lineup. The new channels include: BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount, TV Land, and VH1.

YouTube announced in May that a group of ViacomCBS channels would be added this summer, in two phases. In total, there will be 14 new channels added to the lineup.

With the addition of the new channels, YouTube TV will be raising its monthly cost to $64.99 beginning July 30, 2020.
That's a $15 jump per month in one swoop. I'm not quite hellbent on dumping YTTV just yet, but I'm certainly looking around at other options.