Cut the cord!

[MikeDeTiger]

And of course Netflix/Hulu/Prime is basically just me being generous and not using Kodi add-ons for everything   

The specific way I used it was not illegal, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't probably immoral.  That said, the FCC has nixed Exodus for now, so until I find an alternate source that good and set up a VPN, I am no longer using it for anything, and frankly ~$25-30/mo for all those services ain't much, and gets you nearly everything other than current HBO shows.  Plus my ISP won't send me letters in the mail.  I can't be prosecuted for the way I used Kodi, but my ISP theoretically has the right to refuse me service. 

[MikeDeTiger]

Also, here's my other plug for Sling, or more accurately, against DTV Now.  It's owned by AT&T who along with Verizon is leading the charge against Net Neutrality.  For which they can both eat a dick.  I feel filthy enough having a Verizon phone right now, and I'm not inclined to help the schmucks at AT&T in their battle to own (and cripple) the InterWebz.  This place, among millions of others, would rot to nothing.  I'd steer people away from VZ's go90 also, but......go90, LOLz

Sling is owned by Dish, and as far as I know, they're not involved in that insanity. 

If the FCC doesn't have the same common sense they had in 2009, I guess we'll ALL be switching to DTV Now.

[Thumper]

Also, here's my other plug for Sling, or more accurately, against DTV Now.  It's owned by AT&T who along with Verizon is leading the charge against Net Neutrality.  For which they can both eat a dick.  I feel filthy enough having a Verizon phone right now, and I'm not inclined to help the schmucks at AT&T in their battle to own (and cripple) the InterWebz.  This place, among millions of others, would rot to nothing.  I'd steer people away from VZ's go90 also, but......go90, LOLz

Sling is owned by Dish, and as far as I know, they're not involved in that insanity. 

If the FCC doesn't have the same common sense they had in 2009, I guess we'll ALL be switching to DTV Now.

Your research is pretty much spot on.  One you didn't cover was Playstation Vue, you might want to check that.  Sling is the most mature platform at the moment and is probably the way I would go if I hadn't gotten in on the early offer on DirecTV Now.  I get the Go Big package + HBO for $35 per month.  Now it it $65 and not worth it IMO.  DirecTV Now has a cloud DVR in Beta and is supposed to be available to all subscribers in the fall.
I have a lifetime subscription to Playon Desktop which allows me to record any streaming video (not OTA) to a PC and play back whenever.  It also skips all commercials.
I have Netflix and Amazon Prime but I had them even when I had satellite TV so I don't consider them as an additional cost.
AirWave is an antenna with built in Wifi so it can transmit to all your devices without running coax cable everywhere.

[rolltidefan2]

Tvfool says I need an attic mounted antenna.  My cable if run through my crawlspace.

How do I get the antenna signal through to my TVs?  Run the cable through to the crawlspace?

Anyone have a beginner's checklist as I'm not sure how these things work

[betarhoalphadelta]

Tvfool says I need an attic mounted antenna.  My cable if run through my crawlspace.

How do I get the antenna signal through to my TVs?  Run the cable through to the crawlspace?

Anyone have a beginner's checklist as I'm not sure how these things work

Some of these antennas can connect to your WiFi... Of course you'll need power in your attic for that. And for that you then need a box (Roku or similar) that can connect via WiFi to the antenna signal.

I'm assuming you also have cable internet, yes? I don't know what happens if you try to put your antenna signal and your internet signal on the same cable, so if you have cable internet you may have to split that off at the incoming cable signal to the house.

[Thumper]

The Mohu AirWave is one many have been waiting for.  It was supposed to be available at Best Buy for $150 last June.  IF it is a good antenna and has decent wifi capabilities, it looks close to ideal.

[MikeDeTiger]

I still don't quite get it with that thing.  I think I'd have to see one set up and in action, because the descriptions are either currently inadequate or I'm too old and dumb to understand these new-fangled gizmos. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

It's quite simple, actually. It's an antenna with a built-in tuner. So it can decode the OTA signals all on its own. It then connects to your WiFi.

Other devices (phone/tablet, Roku/Amazon Fire TV/Apple TV, some Smart TV's) can connect to the antenna through an app just like they connect to Netflix or Hulu. That app will play the OTA channels on the device.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Article talking about the free options for watching streaming college football:

http://cordcuttersnews.com/legally-watch-college-football-free/

As most of us are P5 fans, this doesn't give us a great deal of help. But if you're a fan of some of the smaller conferences (C-USA and MWC being the G5, a few smaller FCS conferences as well), there are options to stream some of those games.

And of course, they highlight that over 100 games will be free OTA on the major networks. And for my money the picture quality watching via antenna makes that the best way to watch those games, rather than streaming them, even if streaming is an option.

[betarhoalphadelta]

So I made my decision... Signed back up for Sling Orange today.

I want BTN, but every place I looked at that would have BTN would also be $45-50/month. Instead Sling is $20. With the antenna, I don't need locals, so there's no benefit for me with the ones that provide locals.

While I'll miss out on BTN as well as FS1/FS2 there, I don't think that Purdue will be good enough that I'll care if I miss a game here or there. Maybe next year I'll make BTN a priority.

I managed to somehow get the new signup deal and get a Roku Streaming Stick for free... Going to pass that along to my girlfriend's dad who is looking into cutting the cord himself...

[MikeDeTiger]

I don't have the guts to do this right before football season, so it's probably going to be January-ish for me. 

I had originally looked at DTV Now, Sling, and to a lesser extent Vue, and I thought Sling was going to be my pick, but I read how the sports add-ons work wrong, and then I also read Sling is 30 fps (although it's 60 for the ESPN family).  After re-evaluating, I think Vue would be my choice right now, and I'm currently doing the 5 day free trial this week just to check it out and see how it works, how I like it, etc.  It is a different world than cable/satellite, and there are a few ways in which it's clunkier than tradition TV, but most of those aren't problems for me with the way I consume television.  Channel surfing is the most obvious glaring difference to me.  But I don't channel surf, hardly at all.  This could be an issue on football days, when I absolutely do a lot of that, and it's just not nearly as convenient with Vue.  But I don't know that it's enough of a drawback to offset the big savings. 

I've also looked into Hulu Live TV and YouTube TV since my last posts.  Hulu seems ideal if they'd get the AMC family of networks (and I'm hopeful that maybe that will be done by the end of the year).  YouTube TV looks wonderful, but it's simply not available where I live, and who knows how long until it will be.  I'll re-evaluate in December/January and see where they all stand at that time, and probably make a decision. 

bwarbiany, let me know how it goes for you.  Also what platform you're using Sling on and what your comments are about it.  From what I read, platform/device can be critical to different services, and that's no surprise.  There's a lot more moving parts here than cable/satellite which is end-to-end handled by one company.  I've read that most people prefer boxes to sticks, for example, and prefer to hardwire them instead of streaming wirelessly.  But, I'm testing Vue this week on a FireStick (wireless of course) and I've had no problems.  I'd just like to collect more info from people actually doing it on what they find works best with what. 

Also, if you (or others) have a way to track your data usage, I'm curious about that as well.  My ISP has a data cap of 1 TB/mo., which I've never even come close to before.  But I'm unsure as to how much internet TV would bump that up. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

bwarbiany, let me know how it goes for you.  Also what platform you're using Sling on and what your comments are about it.

I used Sling from mid-2015 up until this spring on a Roku Streaming Stick. I just recently restarted Sling and it's on a Roku Premiere+.


I've found Sling has been consistently upgrading their UI over this time. I've generally been happy with it. The streaming stick can be slow when navigating the Sling app, which I think is more likely due to inherent processing power limitation on the stick. So far (only a few days now) it seems snappier on the Premiere+.

I've read that most people prefer boxes to sticks, for example,

Yes, but only because the boxes tend to have more powerful processors, more RAM, etc. User experience is HUGELY impacted on waiting for things, and you'll wait less on the box rather than the stick. The stick for both cost, power supply (they sometimes must be fed by the TV's USB output port), and cooling HAS to have a lower-end processor. So the user experience from a stick will have a very difficult time being as responsive as the box.

and prefer to hardwire them instead of streaming wirelessly.  But, I'm testing Vue this week on a FireStick (wireless of course) and I've had no problems.

I like it hardwired, but never has a problem with the stick via wireless on my main TV. I will state that in the bedroom, I was having trouble getting a reliable wireless connection on the Roku stick. Part of this might be that it was stuck behind the TV which may have interfered. We now use my girlfriend's Apple TV, which although connected wirelessly, gets a much better signal (and it's not blocked by the TV).


I think it's just a personal preference that if I can hook something up wired, I'd prefer to.


But wifi is plenty fast enough for anything you need to do, as long as it's 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.11ac. The only one that might be questionable is 802.11b.

Also, if you (or others) have a way to track your data usage, I'm curious about that as well.  My ISP has a data cap of 1 TB/mo., which I've never even come close to before.  But I'm unsure as to how much internet TV would bump that up. 

Don't worry about it. Here's my last 3 billing cycles. I'm not going to get anywhere near 1 TB/month from this.

(Note: not sure why this is only showing up as a thumbnail. But I'm not going over 100 GB in any individual month.)

[MikeDeTiger]

Thanks!  I'm learning a lot here. 

[DevilFroggy]

Well with the Pac-12 Network being available on Sling that made cutting the cord that much easier for me, along with moving back to Phoenix where I get plentiful OTA channels (crystal clear even at 31.8 miles from the nearest towers).