With all the streaming services now and the cost of cable I wonder if it's really of any benefit.
Do you still have a live TV cable subscription?
- Thread starter BigSexyCat
- Start date
I do. It’s just simpler and (no brag) I can afford it. I haggle every couple of yeas. I use the internet all day long and watch TV and sports every night, so it’s fine.
yes. Basic cable is included in my rent. So internet and every channel I could possibly want (including HBO) runs me $80 a month
Absolutely. Went to steaming for a couple of years, but the cost started creeping upwards towards what I was previously paying for DirecTV, so I switched back.
Streaming has improved, but it’s still nowhere near the Cable/Satellite experience. My biggest complaint is the slight delay when watching live sports. Nothing worse than getting a text from a buddy, or when scrolling Twitter and seeing updates that haven’t happened on your screen yet. Frankly the $20-$30/month I would save, just isn’t worth it.
Streaming has improved, but it’s still nowhere near the Cable/Satellite experience. My biggest complaint is the slight delay when watching live sports. Nothing worse than getting a text from a buddy, or when scrolling Twitter and seeing updates that haven’t happened on your screen yet. Frankly the $20-$30/month I would save, just isn’t worth it.
Same here! Girlfriend and I both enjoy movies, but hate movie theaters, so we watch lots of movies on HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc on our big-*** TV. Plus, I’m a fan of rugby and I need premium sports channels to get rugby matches.
My brother and I are splitting YouTube TV.
Cheaper, can use it from anywhere, don’t have a bunch of hidden fees and box rentals, can split it amongst different households (try that with cable or satellite!)
Cheaper, can use it from anywhere, don’t have a bunch of hidden fees and box rentals, can split it amongst different households (try that with cable or satellite!)
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We switch back and forth between Dish/Direct whenever they raise rates......then refuse to lower them.
We also use Netflix through my sister-in-law........honestly, I like Cobra Kai, but most of what they put out I don't watch.
We do have Disney+ which is really getting more and more impressive.
We also use Netflix through my sister-in-law........honestly, I like Cobra Kai, but most of what they put out I don't watch.
We do have Disney+ which is really getting more and more impressive.
i prefer Cable internet, so I get a free package of basic channels to go with it. Pay for a different movie channel deal every few months.
Jailbroken firestick
Amazon prime
Disney Plus
Jailbroken firestick
Amazon prime
Disney Plus
I used to hate the idea of streaming TV. I thought it would mean needing multiple apps, buffering, etc. I eventually got sick of dealing with Direct, and then Dish removed the Fox Sports Channels, so once baseball started back I dropped it and signed up with Hulu Live.
Hulu was terrible. The interface was awful and it crashed all the time. I'm now on YouTube TV and love it. There are no delays, no buffering, the interface is great. It's essentially just like having cable or satellite, but with unlimited DVR, no weather-related issues like with satellite, and I can sign in and watch from anywhere. I'm sure it would be a different story with a poor internet connection.
Fingers crossed YTTV gets a deal with the Fox Regionals prior to baseball season.
Hulu was terrible. The interface was awful and it crashed all the time. I'm now on YouTube TV and love it. There are no delays, no buffering, the interface is great. It's essentially just like having cable or satellite, but with unlimited DVR, no weather-related issues like with satellite, and I can sign in and watch from anywhere. I'm sure it would be a different story with a poor internet connection.
Fingers crossed YTTV gets a deal with the Fox Regionals prior to baseball season.
If people have Disney Plus, why not have the bundle with Hulu and ESPN Plus? That's what I have.
Because ESPN+ is garbage and there's only so much on Disney worth watching. I prefer to not have commercials over that bundle for about the same price.
By the way, I haven't had cable or satellite in a couple of years. I tried the various streaming TV choices during that time and realized I don't really need many of the stations and gave it up.
The only thing I'm kinda missing is not having the ESPN channels but after all the crap in 2020 I haven't missed not watching much sports. If ESPN would be willing to offer a streaming package by itself, I might consider getting it.
Right now I get Netflix free from my TMobile service. I use that along with Hulu and Prime and that is plenty of entertainment for about $25. Lots of movies and plenty of TV series choices.
No cable and just dropped YouTube TV because they have added too many channels and as I was scrolling through realized there were at least 50 I never even look at, thats the whole reason I dropped cable to begin with. Might go back the Sling at some point, but for now I am ok without.
Same. Was recommended by many in here. You get unlimited recordings as well. I absolutely recommend it to anyone. Only part I don’t like is not being able to specifically turn to a channel number. You have to scroll through each one individually to get to your channel, unless I’m just an idiot and don’t know how.
YouTube Tv. Has all of the sports channels and the other basic shows we watch. Direct TV started double billing me and couldn’t get it figured out so I dropped them. Their customer service is horrid. If YouTube adds more channels that we don’t watch and raises rates,I will be done with them too.
You can set up the guide to display the channels in whatever order you want. I have all the locals first then the channels I watch for sports next in line. Saves a little bit of scrolling that way.
But if it weren’t for live sports I’d just not have YouTube TV. Between either getting it free via Comcast or my brother and I paying for it, I have Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock, Disney+, and ESPN+ (though I never watch anything on there).
Though with the ease of finding streams for sporting events these days, I’m debating telling him I’m out on YouTube TV.
FWIW all of the streaming platforms are owned by the major media conglomerates or some other giant in Google with YouTube.
I know most folks don't care about that, they want ease of use and to save money.
I'm simply saying that because some folks think they're sticking it to the man with streaming. The media companies are getting your money either way, and it's exactly why you see the services prices continue to increase and become commensurate with "standard" cable company pricing. It was always headed this way . We've generally gotten past the point where its the 100% more cost effective option for families.
For bachelor dudes I'd say its probably still the way to go.
But to be clear, if they aren't already break even from the usual Spectrum, Charter, whatever nonsense they soon will be.
And that's fine, to each his own. There just seems to be a lot of shock and surprise from folks who don't seem to fully understand how this all works.
I know most folks don't care about that, they want ease of use and to save money.
I'm simply saying that because some folks think they're sticking it to the man with streaming. The media companies are getting your money either way, and it's exactly why you see the services prices continue to increase and become commensurate with "standard" cable company pricing. It was always headed this way . We've generally gotten past the point where its the 100% more cost effective option for families.
For bachelor dudes I'd say its probably still the way to go.
But to be clear, if they aren't already break even from the usual Spectrum, Charter, whatever nonsense they soon will be.
And that's fine, to each his own. There just seems to be a lot of shock and surprise from folks who don't seem to fully understand how this all works.
Disagree to an extent....streaming gives you choice in who receives your money with a cable subscription your forced into cable bundles and that money is sent to Time Warner, Comcast, etc for channels you may never watch. Those companies make billions through carrier fees by forcing local companies to carry all their programming or none. That’s where they make the largest chunk of their money not advertising.
Some do, some don't. You're right about those two. But, for example, Disney owns Hulu, CBS owns one of them, Google owns YT, etc. I agree with you about sticking it to the horrendous carriers, I dropped Spectrum in 2015 and never looked back. I haven't bothered to look into who owns each regional carrier, ie Cox has their name on LSUs floor. I always assumed some major media outlet above them owns those. Time Warner is obviously its own titan.
I'm personally just done giving any of them my money. I'm young. I find plenty of streams per gratis online. And I listen to Tom and Mike anyway call the games while its on my TV or CPU. So if they stop the free streaming, no biggie. Ill just listen to the radio call.
TL
R: meet the new boss, same as the old boss.Better than Dish was despite both supposed to be HD. Some of the channels are in 1080P as well.
You can also adjust the quality down if you happen to be streaming over your phone's data connection so you don't burn thru your data rapidly.
I have DirecTV and several other subscriptions like Netflix, Prime, Hulu, Disney+, etc. plus all the free ones like Tubi, Pluto, Crackle....
I have been conflicted over this recently whether to cut the cord and stream online. At the end of the day, DirecTV gives you everything in terms of sports. If not for sports, I'd do neither. So far none of the streaming services carry regional sports networks so there goes getting local MLB team down the drain on regional FOX Sports affiliates.
I don't think I can keep my current ISP if I cancel the TV portion? Anyone have Xfinity and know the answer to that?
Yes you can. Parents did it back when I was in college and we switched to Dish for TV.
DirecTV, but I work at AT&T and pay like $10 a month.
Pay a little more for a live service. With it, you can use your subscription to stream a lot of stuff on an Apple TV/FireTV, etc. If you want quality tv, which, of course, is everywhere now, get something like YouTube TV or AT&T TV, which is $69.99 + taxes/fees and no longer requires a contract if you sign up online.
Pay a little more for a live service. With it, you can use your subscription to stream a lot of stuff on an Apple TV/FireTV, etc. If you want quality tv, which, of course, is everywhere now, get something like YouTube TV or AT&T TV, which is $69.99 + taxes/fees and no longer requires a contract if you sign up online.
When we moved last year, we dropped DirecTV (it got too expensive and the credits/deals ran out) and got Spectrum. We have an unbelievable 2-year introductory price that includes the internet obviously, basically every regular channel, HBO (including HBO Max) and Showtime. Next year when it is up, I'll re-evaluate.
If I didn't like sports, it wouldn't make sense; but for now it is the best option.
We do have Netflix, the Disney Bundle and Amazon Prime too.
If I didn't like sports, it wouldn't make sense; but for now it is the best option.
We do have Netflix, the Disney Bundle and Amazon Prime too.
Yes, just call them to cancel the TV. I have DirecTV and Xfinity internet. Probably the best internet I've ever had and thankfully so here in Central, Ky. My only option of fiber in the area.
My parents and brother had the amazing active employee discounts when they worked for AT&T. It incredible what they save in the discounts they had for DirecTV, internet and phone but well deserved for the long hours put in.
Almost cancelled DirecTV in December and was leaning towards AT&T TV after a lot of research because of the sports channels provided compared to other sites. Managed to get my bill lowered for the next year and may end up doing AT&T TV when the 2 year contract ends in Jan. 2022. The sports package with regional networks and DVR functionality are the only reasons I haven't switched to streaming altogether.
I hope that they improved Youtube TV........I had it two years ago and it was ****.......
When I worked for AT&T I didn’t any good discounts. I got a better discount on my phone and direct tv when I worked for Best Buy. Of course that was 10 years ago