Well, from my point of view Spectrum has screwed me and themselves.

[WebSnyper]

I don't know, it's a Linksys router and it seemed to be working ok until last week. I'll have to test it and see.

Is the machine in question hard wired to the router or connected via WiFi? If WiFi, what speed of card in the PC and what speed of router are you dealing with B, G, N?

 

[Mark-DuCo]

I use Sling TV and an antenna for local channels. I am very happy with Sling for $25 a month. I get all the channels I used to watch on Dish and now I have the On Demand selection too. DVR is available, but extra and I really don't need it with on Demand.

 

[flightsimmer]

OK, I'm the only one home and everything is turned off, TV's, Computers, etc, etc, just my main computer and it is hooked directly to the router (hardwired).
I went to the Spectrum web site to test my speeds and got 23.7 down and 2.0 up, tested again 18.9 down and 2.3 up. That doesn't sound good at all if it is supposed to be around 100mbs?

Now, my router (Linksys) is maybe 2-3 years old, I don't remember exactly but I didn't have any problem until Spectrum switched to all digital last week.

 

[GTM]

Cut Dish Network about 2 months ago and have gone to over-the-air via Silicon Dust HDHomeruns and an outdoor antenna. I'm also using the Channels DVR, which integrates nicely with my Apple TV. We also use Netflix. Haven't missed Dish yet and the video quality via OTA is much better than satellite. I didn't realize it until this past weekend when I was at my inlaws and we were watching some Dish Network-based TV.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Well, apparently they're keeping their promise this time. My TV dropped out for a few seconds, came back for a minute or so, then went away. The internet farted about the same time, so I was wondering if it was backhoe fade, but I guess it's time to hook up the TV box. Why is it every day that someone from outside my world insists on inserting himself into it? They're harshing my mellow.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Oh, what fresh hell is this? I put the box in, waited 27 years for it to download its current software, and promptly went to a screenful of... nothing. It helpfully puts a phone number to call them, which after I've gone through the background check (including anal probe) tells me there's a known outage in my area, but their kamikaze technicians are dutifully snuffing themselves out in order that service is restored in time for me to get the callup for my interstellar colonial voyage. If I want, they'll call me when it's functioning, but not before another 6 hours, because they don't want to disturb my gentle slumbers, or call before I've left for work and can deal with it, as the case may be. The joke's on them, I'm not leaving the house tomorrow.

Ok, this Sling thing. They call it TV a la carte, but I haven't seen any options on it other than the base package plus other packages, and for the modest few channels I ever watch, I'd be into them for base plus three packages. Am I reading something wrong, or would I just be paying someone else for the same thing I already have? I particularly want to find a system where I don't have to pay the CNN and ESPN taxes. That's become a fixation.

 

[flightsimmer]

Well I guess I was wrong.
I thought Spectrum was screwing me and themselves, turns out I was wrong.
It seems that Charter Communications, Time Warner, Bright-house and Spectrum are all being bought out by AT&T Communications.
So if my wife switches to AT&T it won't matter one bit, she will still be their customer. Follow the money.

The Supreme Court ruled In AT&T's favor today and against the Department Of (some) Justis.

In other news, I tested my Internet connection and found that both my hard-wired and my WiFi
connections are running the same, SLOOOOOOOOW rate. I doubt that Spectrum will even care
since their busy disconnecting customers.

 

[Hoosierdood]

Well I guess I was wrong.
I thought Spectrum was screwing me and themselves, turns out I was wrong.
It seems that Charter Communications, Time Warner, Bright-house and Spectrum are all being bought out by AT&T Communications.
So if my wife switches to AT&T it won't matter one bit, she will still be their customer. Follow the money.

The Supreme Court ruled In AT&T's favor today and against the Department Of (some) Justis.

In other news, I tested my Internet connection and found that both my hard-wired and my WiFi
connections are running the same, SLOOOOOOOOW rate. I doubt that Spectrum will even care
since their busy disconnecting customers.

Unfortunately, the crappy equipment that Spectrum gives you isnt good at all. I recommend that you get a new cable modem first of all. Then get a new router. If you are streaming anything (Netflix, Sling, etc) make sure that the new router has MU-MIMO so you don't have buffering issues. Get a router that is AC1900 or higher.

All said and done, you will be into it for around $200-$250. It sucks, but sometimes it is the price to play their stupid games. If you are still having issues on your computer, try running a speed test on your phone connected to wifi. If it is still slow, contact Spectrum and raise hell since you are paying for 100Mbps and they arent giving it to you. If it is fast on your phone and not on your computer, you can get an N band wifi adapter for your computer.

 

[flightsimmer]

I did run a speed test on my hardwired computer, my computer on WiFi only and my phone, they are all virtually the same, 20 down 2 up.

But since we're leaving Spectrum I doubt that they will care.

 

[Indy317]

I've been wanting to cut the cord for some time but she has to have her Soaps.

Now from my point of view it looks like Spectrum has shot themselves in the foot and my wife decided to go with AT&T instead and I noticed several AT&T installer trucks in I our area this week but it will be at least 10 days before they can get to us. Looks like it might be a mass exodus.

Now for my tv, I'm thinking about going to an antenna on the roof for about $40. What are the rest of you doing?

Soaps are OTA for the most part, so I'm not sure why your wife thinks she "needs" cable to get soaps. I priced everything out until I knew what we were looking at. Our old company at another house only charged $2/month for their boxes. Tiny boxes. These boxes are larger, and it is possible they can access the main DVR unit, but that I'm not sure of.

Anyways, here is what I'm doing, there are a few ways I plan on possibly going:
#1: Get a decent HDTV antenna. I have cables in my attic/unfinished bonus room already. I will hookup the antenna to a Channel Master 8-channel booster I ordered from Amazon. I also purchased cable cord supplies since I have to get these coax cables done anyway.

#2: We already have Netflix for use on one device. It is just my wife and I so we might go up to two devices (basically TVs).

#3A: I will likely either be buying a Roku or Amazon Fire TV/Stick

#3B1: Sling TV is the Dish Network internet TV service. They offer the basic Roku device for free (at least one). I think others are like $20 for the basic ones. We'll likely get at least two, but maybe three and just switch it around. If swapping from TV to TV isn't advisable, I'll likely just get five or so for all our TVs. I also might get the Amazon Fire Sticks instead. They are about the same price. Sling TV is $20/month for the basic, most popular cable channels and "local" channels (I have no idea if they are just any ABC/CBS/etc. affiliates or the local ones--UPDATE: Due to another post, I checked, they don't offer the local channels at all. They do offer an ABC channel, but other locals you'd have to do OTA and end up needing your own DVR. So I think Sling TV is out for us. Also, DirectTV NOW is also offering one free Roku Stick). I'll be adding $5/month for DVR and $5/month for Lifestyle Extra (wife has to have her Hallmark). So that will put us at $30/month. If wife's PBS shows don't do so well with this service (they do claim they offer some sort of PBS channel), we'll become members for the $5/month and I'll likely just tell her to use the laptop to connect to the TV and watch that way.

#3B: If Sling TV doesn't work, we might go with Direct TV Now (this isn't a sat dish, this is again an internet based deal). For $35/month you get the basics similar to Sling TV but it includes the two Hallmark channels my wife wants. However there is no DVR service that they advertise. As such I'll end up having to buy a DVR to record OTA shows I want. There is a good unit that can record up to four shows at once and I think most of the higher end units allow you to add external storage like an external HD. These units are going to run $300-$400, plus any extra storage device if you need one. Plus you'll need a channel guide to record (I think, you might be able to do manual entries, but you'll need an on-line guide to lookup times on your phone, laptop, whatever) and I think it is another $5/month. Again, I'll need Roku or Amazon TV Stick.

#3C: Lastly is Hulu. I have that built into our main TV, but the smaller TVs that are Smart TVs didn't come with that app built-in, which really sucks. Hulu is the most costly. It is cheap for the basics but to get all your local channels and maybe the popular cable channels, the price goes way up. Still cheaper than cable TV for now. Plus the higher end TV service comes with a built-in DVR with a guide.

Also, Amazon has their own TV service, but you need a Prime account to view the shows. My main TV has an Amazon.com app, but I don't think the others do. It would be very smart for anyone looking to buy new TVs to get one with a full set of built-in Apps. Some have Hulu, Roku, Amazon, CBS All Access, etc. built-in. Also, if your wife only cares about CBS soaps, Amazon just made a deal with CBS to get all access as part of their subscription service. I think it runs another $5-$15/month, which might be cheaper than using an antenna, plus $300-$400 DVR plus the $5/month DVR guide to record the shows.

I was really behind in all this and finally had to do some serious research on it. We got our one free box from Spectrum and in about a month we are cutting the cord. A lot of these services are offering cable TV channels and you get to pick a package you want. I don't really care too much for sports, so me paying around $5/month or whatever just to get ESPN as part of my cable package doesn't make sense to me. These services are going a la carte while cable TV is shooting itself in the foot.

Need to remind everyone: Our Spectrum Internet is discounted due to a package. I fully expect it to go up around $15-$20/month. I have at least one other option, NineStar, and possibly Century Link, but their prices will likely be about the same.

 

[T.Lex]

Subbing for this.

We have 2 TVs that I've just been running non-box cable on. So now I need to get the simplest/cheapest/smallest OTA setup for them.

 

[Indy317]

Spectrum allows you to to use their Streaming app on either Samsung TV's or a Roku device. Get rid of all your cable boxes (or just keep 1 for DVR service) and use Roku on all the other TV's. Just make sure your network is strong enough with a decent router to use the streaming app. Thats what I did with Spectrum. I pay about $105/month for cable and internet.

Figured Spectrum offered this, but never looked into it. How exactly is your cable bill broken down? We have Spectrum internet and the very basic cable package. Is there a discount for just having one "hard wired" TV for their DVR service?

 

[Indy317]

Well I guess I was wrong.
I thought Spectrum was screwing me and themselves, turns out I was wrong.
It seems that Charter Communications, Time Warner, Bright-house and Spectrum are all being bought out by AT&T Communications.
So if my wife switches to AT&T it won't matter one bit, she will still be their customer. Follow the money.

The Supreme Court ruled In AT&T's favor today and against the Department Of (some) Justis.

I think the writing was on the wall for cable anyway. Too many people have been cutting the cord. I think this latest digital box thing by Spectrum is to try and make it simple for the stupid minded, while fleecing them with yet more reoccurring monthly fees. Wouldn't surprised me if many people are going a mix of OTA and streaming. Some will get the Sat offerings, until they price themselves out of the market. Eventually there will just be two or three players, as it wouldn't surprise me if Amazon or Google does something like buy AT&T. The future is definitely streaming and local channels are going to be in for a battle because people will likely try OTA since their network partners are putting all the TV shows on-line/on-demand (ie: CBS all access). These companies know people want to pay for just what they want to watch. YouTube, Amazon, Netflix, they are all studios now making their own shows and movies. I've watched some of the Netflix stuff and it basically is a full spread of what appears to be decent shows for almost any audience. You want comedy, they have those. You want drama, they have that. You want uncensored, got it. I think there are plenty of people who want to be in the entertainment field. Netflix was paying Kevin Spacey $500K/episode for House of Cards. The highest network folks get up to about $1M/episode. There are so many actors and actresses who would be very happy with just making $50K/episode, or say $500K/year. I've been fairly impressed with some of the B/C list and no name/up-and-coming people in these shows. The entire industry is now like a snow globe that has been shaken. Who knows what things will look like when things settle down.

 

[dung]

I cannot stand spectrum. When TWC upgraded our base speed to 200 Mbs Spectrum came in dropped me to 100 Mbs and jacked up our rates. Unfortunately, I don't have any other viable options for internet service. However, I was able to fire them for TV. I now use Playstation Vue and have a channel selection more to my liking and don't have to rely on their ****ty DVR boxes.

Despite Playstation being in the name just about any streaming device can use it. The cloud DVR functionality works pretty stinking good and I have had had no real problems with the service.