• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Folks who have cut the cable cord, advice needed

Page 5 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
PixelSquish said:
don't you think Netflix and Amazon Prime's Video offerings overlap quite a bit? that's the word on the street i think from what i've been reading.

Hulu + has current season episodes i thought also.
Click to expand...

Hulu+ and Amazon prime would be my choice because amazon prime is cheaper than netflix but gives more or less the same offerings AND you get amazon prime for all your normal amazon orders (free 2 day shipping, 3.99 next day, 7.99 same day)
 
at least somewhat. but amazon and netflix both get exclusive content from other content makers. amazon has pbs exclusivity and more documentaries which i noticed. not to pleased with the current practive. more mad at pbs than amazon for it. they are the public organization that have a responsability to not engage in these practices. but i do not watch a lot of mainstream shows so i do not know what each service has. there is liklely a equal mix of overlap and unique shows.

what kind of cooking shows do you watch? pbs has a lot of free shows at their website by the way. a lot of in kitchen shows and a lot of shows that combine cooking and travel.
 
i do like Amazon prime. I had it for 3 years. i only quit some months back because my job situation went to hell and i wasn't going to be ordering much stuff anymore.

the cooking shows i like are the competitive ones like Top Chef, Chopped, Iron Chef.
 
Netflix for TV. Amazon Prime for movies and some TV. Hulu + for cooking shows and foreign movies. Getting the local channels through the cable connection but no sub. Just a sub for 25/5 net and basic phone that Cox is making ne pay through the nose for. I love the Roku 3 boxes. Much faster than the smart apps on my Panasonic and Vizio TV's in the house.
 
Private Trackers, Hulu + (about to get canceled after 2 years due to commercials. PEACE!), Netflix, and Redbox (got 2 months for free..Its lame, imo), Pandora (paid), and Spotify (paid)

Everything except for Redbox running through XBMC. I didn't exactly cut the cord, I have HD cable with Fios because I like my science shows. That costs me like $40/m but thats OK because they let me get it with the internet. However, I don't have any cable boxes, I have a cableCard and an HD Homerun. Internet connection is 75/35.

Everything's going to be sexy when I get my Screen Innovations Black Diamond, 5.1 speaker setup and my Projector. Saving money now!
 
Last edited:
Ichinisan said:
HDHomeRun Prime works with encrypted channels. Lease the cableCARD for $2 from Comcast and you're golden.
Click to expand...

Have the older HDHR. Not making that investment for Limited Basic. Not sure if they would actually provide HD versions either (it may vary by area) without an "HD package".

It feels like we are going baclwards in time.
 
Ichinisan said:
Why do you say that? Despite the opposition from the local broadcast stations, Aereo helps those broadcasters reach more people. When they reach more people, their ad revenue also goes up.

If they're already broadcasting it over-the-air for free, there's absolutely no negative impact to having another entity help distribute the signal to reach more people.
Click to expand...

But they do believe it has a negative impact or they wouldn't sue.

Many of these broadcasters make a lot of their money from fees paid to them by the cable companies. Advertising is now a supplementary income source and channels like ESPN make real money on a per viewer fee ($4.69 per subscriber per month).

If Aereo wins it might be worth just giving up OTA broadcasts (and losing the non-cable audience) in order to keep those fees coming in and not give cable companies too much leverage. Good article on it:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20140119,0,1491027.column#axzz2rEiwjjEM
 
I never paid for cable until just recently when they offered 50mbps internet with a bunch of HD channels, HBO & Showtime for $69/mo. I'd probably pay $69 just for the internet speed so I said ok.

Only goes up to $89/mo after a year which isn't terrible either. But I'll probably dump the TV portion. I'm fine with OTA, the cable just provides a clear picture at all times and On Demand which are both useful.
 
notposting said:
It feels like we are going backwards in time.
Click to expand...

We are kinda. The pinnacle of cord cutting was sometime in 2009-2012. Its downhill from here for a while.

The problem was when Netflix and Hulu first hit, no content providers took them seriously. Netflix at first didn't have to pay as much for "syndication" rights as say a TBS did, they paid the equivalent to what was paid if Greyhound wanted to broadcast shows on their busses. Hulu was a side experiment by the content providers to dip their toe in the water, and basically be a promotion platform for their shows so people would be motivated to sit down and watch them on cable (aka be able to catch up).

So Netflix was able to amass this amazing library on content for cheap. Hulu was given episodes of new series with minimal commercials. And something happened- rather than supplement cable service people started cutting the cord.

And just like in 1999 when the music industry model of basically selling a hit song as part of a non-negotiable $15 package with other filler crap died, the tv content providers are freaking out. Movie companies still have box offices to fall back on, but these giant TV companies cannot survive in their current forms on the type of revenue online and mobile brings in.

So Hulu gets more commercials and less new content. Netflix has less than a few years ago and some big stuff is gone. Content is starting to be pulled into walled gardens where access is still tied to a cable subscription.

Netflix is smart- they see the end game. They know that content providers will ruin their success before they will accept less revenue, so they are cutting out the middle man and making their own content.

Maybe in 5-10 years you will be able to add a HBO subscription to a Netflix account and then real change will come more quickly.
 
After receiving a 55% increase from our cable company, we dropped our service down to internet only about 2 months ago now. We aren't in a populated area so with an antenna we get the big 4+ PBS then use MCE to schedule and download shows off of there into a folder structure where we have PLEX serve up shows plus our library of movies to our 3 roku clients.

Honestly, after just one month I don't understand why we ever really had cable. Channel Surfing is just about the same with Netflix, Hulu+, Amazon (2 of which I was already paying for with cable anyway). Do I miss extended cable shows? Yes, but eventually the seasons will come to whatever service I have.

I've been thinking about getting the new Simple.TV2 box that would let me set recordings and such from the Roku and watch live TV channels also, but that's an added expense I don't really want. Supposedly the new Silicon Dust product coming out will allow watching live antenna channels through your roku, I'd be happy to try that out.

It should also be noted that our internet use is now through the roof. Video delivery over IP is just so inefficient compared to cable/terrestrial/satellite. We have been eating up 300GB for the first month and looking the same going forward this month. So if you have a data cap, you'll have to watch out.

All in all, dropping from $196/mo down to $70 was worth the hassle.
 
norseamd said:
thought so.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_...nid=2470954011

this is what is available for free streaming everything you listed but top chef. julia child is a very good cook if you want to watch her.

the selection on amazon prime instant video has surprised me. not everything that i would want but still a large selection.
Click to expand...

Current seasons (meaning last 3-5) of chopped and iron chef not available. I know because I watched all the available episodes on amazon. Twice. (DIY syndication!)
 
We are planning on cutting the cable very very soon. I'm ordering an aerial from amazon.com this weekend. We spend $118 a month for silver cable plus hd/dvr rental fees. It's ridiculous imho. We also have netflix and amazon prime, we just have cable for the sports, but its ridiculous the amount of money we waste just for TV.

We're halfway between Topeka and KC and this should pick up channels from both hopefully.

http://www.amazon.com/Channel-Master...nelMaster+2016
 
Last edited:
I just checked with my local digital tv provider. Looks like I can get all the channels I want including Red Zone without all the fluff Dish puts in plus expanded local channels (dish gives me Seattle not Spokane, I get both with the local guys) all for $30/month less bundled with my existing fiber internet through them. Wont be cutting the cord, but will be cutting the cost. Until there is a viable way to stream sports over Roku and get other channels I'll be tied to cable...
 
-slash- said:
Until there is a viable way to stream sports over Roku and get other channels I'll be tied to cable...
Click to expand...

The advantage of being a football fan of the "home" team, their games are always on broadcast.

But I'm not a sportsaholic so I could lose it completely and not care. 90% of the time what I want is to blow away my one free hour of the day numbing my mind before bed, and see the news daily. I can do this with roku alone really.
 
TwiceOver said:
The advantage of being a football fan of the "home" team, their games are always on broadcast.

But I'm not a sportsaholic so I could lose it completely and not care. 90% of the time what I want is to blow away my one free hour of the day numbing my mind before bed, and see the news daily. I can do this with roku alone really.
Click to expand...

The disadvantage of not living in the same place you few up is you don't get to see your team play nearly as often. =( Nobody wants to watch the Bears anyway. All 'bout dem Cowboys!
 
-slash- said:
Exactly. I want a reliable channel I can switch to so that I can watch NFL games or Redzone. I know I can find live streams of all the games illegally. I can do that now without Roku.
Click to expand...

Agreed

With the NFL especially it seems very hard to cut the chord. You used to be able to use Sunday Ticket on your ps3 but they discontinued that this year, so I doubt we'll see a Roku channel. Then you still wouldn't be able to view ALL of the games on the Roku, the two that are playing on the local channels will be blacked out on the Sunday ticket app so you'd have to change inputs to TV to view the local games.

It's ri-god-damned-diculous
 
slag said:
$300.00 just to watch football. I think they accidentally added a "0" to the end of that price because there's no way in hell I could see paying $300.00 just to watch football for a few months. Am I the only one?
Click to expand...

Considering, NFL Sunday Ticket costs $300 a year and a ton of people purchase it, I think you are the only one. If you want to watch a team that is playing at the same time as a local team, you're not getting that game without some extra "feature".

The thing is, the $300 package on DirecTV comes with the app and online streamed version, so really, only one person would be required to be a DTV subscriber and he could let his friends use the online version with his user / pass. I know a couple people that did that.

Also, for quite a while DTV has been offering a free year of Sunday Ticket when you subscribe to DTV, and it has to be working, because they still offer it and people continue to resubscribe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top