Streaming TV

[rcole_sooner]

I think in the end, if one watches a lot of different sources, then streaming is going to cost the same or more than cable. It looks to be about $10 a month for any one source.

 

[LocoTex]

We finally ditched cable when it got over $200/month. Now we have all streaming - DirectvNow for regular TV content as well as Showtime and HBO and Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Vudu etc. All for much less than we were paying for cable. just be sure you have a fast internet connection. Never going back to cable.

 

[Crotch]

I think in the end, if one watches a lot of different sources, then streaming is going to cost the same or more than cable. It looks to be about $10 a month for any one source.

The one thing is it is only going to get more expensive.

But so is cab;e as they lose more customers

 

[Zungle]

For main stream live sports there is almost no good way around the large monopolies.....

The cheapest I could do is Dish Top 120 $59 per month....then add Hallmark family for wife.

Then I utilize Netflix,Hulu,Vuduu and any of the ROKU apps and channels.

 

[rxbandit]

For main stream live sports there is almost no good way around the large monopolies.....

The cheapest I could do is Dish Top 120 $59 per month....then add Hallmark family for wife.

Then I utilize Netflix,Hulu,Vuduu and any of the ROKU apps and channels.

There are free HD streams for every game of every major sport. Like I said earlier, just need a little bit of internet savvy. I've watched every Packers game, Bucks game, NFL/NBA playoffs, Superbowl, you name it this way for the past 5 years.

You can also get an HD antenna for free local channels if that's more up your alley.

 

[James R]

I use an android cable box.
Cost me about $100 for the original purchase, and after that it’s just internet bill, unless you want IPTV (which is thousands of live tv channels), which costs me $130 a year.
Streaming isn’t illegal in Canada, so that’s not an issue for me, but a good VPN to cover your tracks doesn’t cost much either.

 

[Howard2k]

I have Netflix and for sports I find streams on the net. Sometimes that means I’m fighting against ads, but for the price it’s unbeatable.

It’s probably five years since since I paid for cable.

One consideration is that if you are going to be primarily streaming you need to rightsize your internet feed. Most people have way more bandwidth than they need anyway, but you really need 30-40Mb/s per concurrent stream if you’re using HD. Most of the platforms that I’ve looked at seem to manage on lower bandwidth volumes too, but 30-40Mb/s should be ample for decent quality.

So six TVs but only ever having two streams active you want 60-80Mb/s.

 

[Kamen_Kaiju]

I have Netflix and Prime, that's about $30. total
Viki and AsianCrush is $5. each
and internet is $40.

so $80 a month and I have tons of stuff to watch.

Plus you can download just about anything you want.

 

[rxbandit]

I have Netflix and for sports I find streams on the net. Sometimes that means I’m fighting against ads, but for the price it’s unbeatable.

It’s probably five years since since I paid for cable.

One consideration is that if you are going to be primarily streaming you need to rightsize your internet feed. Most people have way more bandwidth than they need anyway, but you really need 30-40Mb/s per concurrent stream if you’re using HD. Most of the platforms that I’ve looked at seem to manage on lower bandwidth volumes too, but 30-40Mb/s should be ample for decent quality.

So six TVs but only ever having two streams active you want 60-80Mb/s.

Those numbers are way high, 10 Mbps per simultaneous 1080p stream is totally fine. If streaming 4k you'd want about 20 Mbps per simultaneous stream. More is always better though.

 

[67tripower]

I got rid of DirecTV about 5 years ago, tired of price increases and renting ancient equipment.

I've tried pretty much every streaming service out there. Right now, I'm using YouTube TV. 70 channels, unlimited cloud DVR for $50/mo.

I believe YouTube TV, Playstation Vue, Hulu, Sling, etc. all offer free trial periods. Try them out, keep what you like and ditch the others.

 

[Howard2k]

Those numbers are way high, 10 Mbps per simultaneous 1080p stream is totally fine. If streaming 4k you'd want about 20 Mbps per simultaneous stream. More is always better though.

Netflix claim 25Mb/s for their top tier. You’re right though, my numbers are on the high side. I hate the thought of overpaying for Internet service but at the same time I want some buffer. But not like my buddy who pays for a 1Gb/s connection which he simply cannot push. We’re at least both in the same ballpark.

 

[Fret Hopper]

One thing I found out the hard way is that you need to make sure you router/modem is up to date, which I think is on DOCSIS 3.1 right now. If you are using DOCSIS 1 or 2 equipment then you will run into buffering issues no matter how fast your connection.

DOCSIS 3.0 or 3.1 you can use a slower connection and get no buffering.

 

[Zungle]

There are free HD streams for every game of every major sport. Like I said earlier, just need a little bit of internet savvy. I've watched every Packers game, Bucks game, NFL/NBA playoffs, Superbowl, you name it this way for the past 5 years.

You can also get an HD antenna for free local channels if that's more up your alley.

I'm pretty internet saavy and in my case there are zero legitmate work arounds......there are plenty of garbage sites,back feeds etc..... sites and feeds constantly on the run.... no Thanks

HD antennae isn't option...been there.....I live to far out with to many hills and interference.

 

[rxbandit]

I'm pretty internet saavy and in my case there are zero legitmate work arounds......there are plenty of garbage sites,back feeds etc..... sites and feeds constantly on the run.... no Thanks

HD antennae isn't option...been there.....I live to far out with to many hills and interference.

I never claimed they were legitimate, but they work perfectly. There's some very reliable sites nowadays. I'll keep enjoying them, to each their own

 

[Zungle]

I never claimed they were legitimate, but they work perfectly. There's some very reliable sites nowadays. I'll keep enjoying them, to each their own

All good....

Where I'm at we have no cable available and limited internet speeds.......

 

[Tone deaf]

I like Roku. It will allow you to use all the services (Netflix, Hulu, etc), add tons of free channels and lots (thousands) of 'hidden' channels including stuff like traffic feeds from Buenos Aires (honestly, I watched it). Add to that a decent OTA ("over the air") antenna to get your local channels.

 

[Shred Astaire]

I like Roku. It will allow you to use all the services (Netflix, Hulu, etc), add tons of free channels and lots (thousands) of 'hidden' channels including stuff like traffic feeds from Buenos Aires (honestly, I watched it). Add to that a decent OTA ("over the air") antenna to get your local channels.

Yeah I have a roku and thats the device i used to access my services....except Crave TV because they don't have a Roku app dangit. I use my xbox to watch that.

Roku is good stuff....simple interface, easy to use.

 

[SteveC]

We cut the cord two years ago, for the exact same reason. Our cable/internet bill was $200++/month. We are back with Comcrap now, for about 8 months. Streaming is not all that. At least for us. We even had an OTA antenna. It was just a huge PITA to deal with all the different providers and finding content that we ACTUALLY WANTED TO WATCH.

We have 3 TV's and it's really nice to turn them on, look in the guide, pick and watch. I have ZERO interest in reruns from the past and how many "orginal shows" on the Streaming services can you watch.

Plus, I like the news, sports and live events... none of which are easy (or sometimes possible) with Streaming. So, we have limited cable & Netflix. It's more than enough for us and it's right around $200 month.

Yea -- its sucks paying the cable bill. But, Streaming was not worth it to me. Truth told, we only saved about $75 month. If it comes to the point where $75 month is a problem, I have bigger problems than cable TV.

 

[ns2a]

Hulu for TV and YouTube TV for sports (baseball - I cancel after the season).

Sling was great for sports, but they took away my regional sports network.

Hulu LIVE sucks for sports.

 

[Tone deaf]

The OTA antenna gets you the local networks and a bunch of channels you'll never watch. For me, with OTA I get most of the NFL, golf and major sports events (on the major networks) for free (excluding the $20 for the antenna). I really don't watch much tv. So, I don't need cable. I watch a bunch of show and can find them on various streaming sites.