Dumping Cable for Streaming

[delcecchi]

OK, thanks.

[Big Dave2]

I've been finding it hard to cut the cord even though none of us in the house watch cable very much. I need to get my internet through the cable company so if I cancel cable my internet service goes up and if I add something like Hulu or Sling to get sports  I won't be that far off from my basic cable bill I am paying now. 

There are other small problems as well.

-Only 1 person can be watching Sling at a time.
-My internet data is capped so I would have to upgrade plans again and that would cost more money
-I have been told that it is not advisable to hook up an antenna to my existing coax cable that is also bringing in the internet. It appears that not only would I need to buy an antenna but I would need to run another coax to the TVs.

Cutting the cord is not always as easy as it seems so I keep the cost down by owning my own modem and I only have extended basic channels. No DVR, movie channels, etc. I don't even have digital cable.

I'm more concerned about our cell phone bill than I am the cable bill.... 

[delcecchi]

Typically the connection from a cable box to a TV is an HDMI cable, not a coax.    So the antenna connects to the "antenna" input and the cable box, roku, chromecast,  all use HDMI.   

What kind of cable internet do you have that has a data cap?   Could you switch to DSL from phone company?   

An antenna likely would get all the local channels out of MSP.

Edited October 28, 2017 by delcecchi

[Cooperman]

5 hours ago, Big Dave2 said:

Only 1 person can be watching Sling at a time.

I believe with Sling Blue, you can stream to 3 devices.

[Moon Lake Refuge]

On 10/28/2017 at 1:20 PM, delcecchi said:

Typically the connection from a cable box to a TV is an HDMI cable, not a coax.    So the antenna connects to the "antenna" input and the cable box, roku, chromecast,  all use HDMI.   

One coax for antenna, but your cable internet is still fed through coax so one would have to be setup on that.  

 

On 10/28/2017 at 11:27 AM, Big Dave2 said:

-I have been told that it is not advisable to hook up an antenna to my existing coax cable that is also bringing in the internet. It appears that not only would I need to buy an antenna but I would need to run another coax to the TVs.

You should have all of your lines split in the basement or garage somewhere you could just split the one off for your cable internet and run the rest through antenna.  Completely independent but your modem would be in a room that doesn't have TV.  But agree to all of your other points.  To get comparable service it wouldn't save me much either, so I'll just keep playing the song and dance with the cable company to 'renegotiate' every year.

[Big Dave2]

On 10/28/2017 at 1:20 PM, delcecchi said:

Typically the connection from a cable box to a TV is an HDMI cable, not a coax.    So the antenna connects to the "antenna" input and the cable box, roku, chromecast,  all use HDMI.   

Typically, but not always. I don't use a box, I just run the coax directly to my tvs. That saves box rental fees.

On 10/28/2017 at 1:20 PM, delcecchi said:

What kind of cable internet do you have that has a data cap? 

Mediacom

On 10/28/2017 at 1:20 PM, delcecchi said:

Could you switch to DSL from phone company?   

Absolutely not. DSL is too slow.

On 10/28/2017 at 1:20 PM, delcecchi said:

An antenna likely would get all the local channels out of MSP.

Yes, I know. My camper sitting in the driveway gets about 30 some channels. Half of them not worth a darn, just like cable.

[delcecchi]

DSL speed does really depend on location.  They just upgraded our area here.  I am considering it.

[Blackhawkxp]

After looking at all my options it is pretty much a wash between cable, satellite, and streaming in my area.  By the time we bump up the speed and data plan for my internet it would basically cost the same as satellite options when you add in streaming plans from PlayStation Vue and the like.  MVTV scrambles most channels in my area so over the air isn't really a viable option for locals.  I am pretty much stuck with the satellite providers in order to get the best bang for my buck.  All options after taxes and equipment fees were $95 - $120.00 per month.  Directv being the cheapest with a little negotiating.  Just and FYI according to Mediacom you use 1.3G for 1 hour of streaming of Netflix or similar service.  I assume this is per device but i am not sure. 

[delcecchi]

Over the air signals scrambled?  Never heard of such. And what is mvtv?

New thing being rolled out, YouTube live.

[fishingstar]

mvtv is a rural internet provider in central  mn based out of Granite Falls.  I switch to them about two months ago. In the Granite area they offer TV also. If it is a true over the air I don't think they can scramble the channels. The only way they can if they are relaying the signal off there own towers. 

[Blackhawkxp]

MVTV is a wireless internet and TV provider that owns the local tower.  Unfortunately we live about as far away from any other towers in the state so it basically forces us to have a TV provider of some sort.  About the only local over the air channels we get out here is Pioneer and ABC out of Redwood.  Rare occasions we can get WCCO but it is spotty.  

 

[Duffman]

I just went with Sling Blue, digging it so far. Lame that ESPN isn't included on the more expensive package. Had to buy a Amazon Fire TV, and will probably get a second one for the little lady and her Lifetime (all men are evil) Channel obsession.

So now I can watch most of the MN sports on Fox Sports North.

 

[jbell1981]

30 minutes ago, Duffman said:

I just went with Sling Blue, digging it so far. Lame that ESPN isn't included on the more expensive package. Had to buy a Amazon Fire TV, and will probably get a second one for the little lady and her Lifetime (all men are evil) Channel obsession.

So now I can watch most of the MN sports on Fox Sports North.

 

Can you DVR shows with Sling yet? When I had it, you couldn't which was part of the reason I discontinued it. I wish it was true alacarte  (as advertised) where I could actually pick the channels I want from the ones they offer. 

[delcecchi]

They claim something about "cloud dvr" for $5 per month.   Can you get that?  Works on some channels.  

Quote

Cloud DVR is available to customers who own Sling TV-supported Amazon Fire TVs, Amazon Fire TV Sticks and Fire tablets, Android TVs, Android mobile devices, Apple TVs, Roku™ streaming players and Roku TVs™, Windows 10 devices, and XBOX One consoles and will expand to other devices over the next few months. Cloud DVR customers have access to 50 hours of storage for just $5 per month.  

Eligible customers who created their account through Amazon may add the DVR feature through the Sling TV app on their Amazon Fire TVs, Amazon Fire TV Sticks and Fire tablets. All other eligible customers may add the DVR feature to their account by signing in to their account on sling.com/account and selecting Change Subscription. The option to add Cloud DVR will be under Extras.

 

[Big Dave2]

Has anyone tried the Hulu live TV thing yet? You get all of Hulu movies and tv shows plus live TV like Sling but it's $39.99.

[jbell1981]

11 hours ago, Big Dave2 said:

Has anyone tried the Hulu live TV thing yet? You get all of Hulu movies and tv shows plus live TV like Sling but it's $39.99.

I have been contemplating it but haven't yet. The cost has been holding me back. I currently have Hulu's no commercial plan for $11.99 and if I went live I would want the no commercials live plan which is $43.99. Then if you want more than 50 hours of DVR (and the ability to fast forward through commercials) it is an additional $14.99. More than 2 screens at a time is also an additional $14.99. (You can get both for $20/mo). 

If you are not an existing customer you can try it for 7 days free. Unfortunately I can't since I am an existing customer (which led to a lively discussion with one of their customer service reps). 

[jbell1981]

Does anyone have any good tips on streaming both ESPN and NFL Network?

I can get ESPN on Hulu Live ($44/mo) but it doesn't look like they have NFLN.

On Sling, ESPN is on Orange but NFLN is on Blue so I would need to get both which would be $40/mo.

On Playstation Vue I can get both with their Core plan ($45/mo). Although I haven't tried, I'm guessing that I can't get this through our Xboxes, which is what we use on 3 of our TV's, so if I went this route I would need to buy some additional Roku's (what we use on our other TV's).

Directv Now (their no satellite streaming service) ($35/mo) has ESPN but doesn't appear to have NFLN.

 

Edited December 13, 2017 by jbell1981

[Big Dave2]

Not sure if this will help......

https://www.sbnation.com/2017/9/7/16171262/nfl-without-cable-tv-cord-cutting-streaming-online-how-to-watch