Talk to me about Hulu, Sling, Firesticks, etc

[doddg]

Well, we did it. We cut the cable. I'm sending AT&T all their crap on Monday.

We made a one-time layout of about $350 for an antenna, a Roku, a Tablo DVR, and a hard drive. Now the only cost for TV will be $16 a month for Philo, a streaming service that offers about 45 cable channels. I also signed up for Pluto TV, which is free and has lots of free movies (with commercials) and some TV stations. Landline and internet will still be with AT&T for $57 a month.

We're down to $73 a month for TV, internet, and landline and didn't give up much.

Be careful when you drop ATT about the equipment.
When I left ATT years ago I was warned by the shipper (don't remember which vendor I used), they said to make sure to keep my receipt b/c many people said ATT claimed that they hadn't shipped it back and charged them on their account.
I also found out that the shipper simply threw away some (or all, not remember) of the equipment b/c they really didn't want it back anyway.

I had Comcast for yrs. then had to go back to ATT when I moved.

Planning on going to Sling with one of their packages: don't need sports, but HGTV, Hallmark, and some nature/documentary channels when when ATT raises everything too much, again.

My son (34) has never had cable, just the internet (does alot of gaming online), and my daughter (husband a cmp geek) cut their cable yrs. ago and had various vendors for channels/movies.

 

[hoosierdoc]

We went with fire sticks and Hulu, dropped xfinity. Good enough for us

 

[Ziggidy]

I have OTA with DVR+ and Roku. The difficulty you will have is not with any setup but with changing routines, I tried for years to "guide" my parents with newer technology. Never really worked. When we dropped cable, we had to give up some channels (i.e. Food Network) but over a short time, we stopped missing it.

I'd be interested in what you final configuration will be. Good luck!

 

[Cameramonkey]

Im wrapping up the install on a Plesk DVR on my home server so I can record TV programs and movies. Pretty nice. Only costs $5/month or a lifetime license for $120.

Pairing with this to record OTA signals.

https://www.amazon.com/SiliconDust-...rds=hdhomerun&qid=1553990523&s=gateway&sr=8-3

 

[Snapdragon]

I'd be interested in what you final configuration will be. Good luck!

See post #20.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Im wrapping up the install on a Plesk DVR on my home server so I can record TV programs and movies. Pretty nice. Only costs $5/month or a lifetime license for $120.

Pairing with this to record OTA signals.

https://www.amazon.com/SiliconDust-...rds=hdhomerun&qid=1553990523&s=gateway&sr=8-3

For those less computer savvy or who dont have extra computers laying around... This is a better option.

https://www.channelmaster.com/OTA_DVR_s/336.htm

 

[easy]

OK, so, all these streaming devices require wi-fi and sufficient bandwidth, correct? Cuz out here in the boonies there is no cable, the local phone company doesn't serve up tv, and the only way for me to get wi-fi is through dish.net.

Suggestions? Other than moving closer to a town.

 

[Cameramonkey]

OK, so, all these streaming devices require wi-fi and sufficient bandwidth, correct? Cuz out here in the boonies there is no cable, the local phone company doesn't serve up tv, and the only way for me to get wi-fi is through dish.net.

Suggestions? Other than moving closer to a town.

Redbox.

Sorry, you exchanged the perils of city life with the benefits of the 21st century.

Though if you have good cellular signal and dont abuse it, you can possibly look at a mobile data service.

https://get.straighttalk.com/hotspot/

(or similar)

Edit: when I could only get 5mbit/s DSL I was able to make it work on Netflix, etc by configuring the account to only stream in Standard Definition to save on bandwidth. So it can be done with capped plans like this successfully.

 

[AngryRooster]

OK, so, all these streaming devices require wi-fi and sufficient bandwidth, correct? Cuz out here in the boonies there is no cable, the local phone company doesn't serve up tv, and the only way for me to get wi-fi is through dish.net.

Suggestions? Other than moving closer to a town.

Look for a place that does wireless LOS. Where are you?