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Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV
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Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV


Jul 13, 2019, 9:16 AM

Finally got fed up with my high Spectrum cable TV bill for 300 channels of stuff my wife and I never watch. That plus the fact that Spectrum and the ACC have yet to come to an agreement on the ACC Network made me finally look into another TV source.

I settled on PlayStation Vue as my streaming TV provider and so far I'm glad I made the move. I'm using Roku boxes with the PlayStation Vue app and it works really well. Now I get just the channels my wife and I actually watch and have cut our monthly costs by over $50 a month!

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I think the cable & satellite TV companies are really losing


Jul 13, 2019, 9:25 AM

customers. I heard that DirecTV lost over a million customers the first quarter of this year.

Then I've heard some folks say, " But you have to include the cost of the internet!" No, because aren't you going to have internet, regardless of your source of TV?

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Re: I think the cable & satellite TV companies are really losing


Jul 13, 2019, 10:39 AM

Direct TV getting ready to lose another subscriber within two weeks. Me! Bill has gone from $79 to almost $179 in three years and service is always a problem especially when any weather surfaces. Rather than trying to cross sell all the crazy stuff they promote that I don't care about,they should be looking for ways to retain customers like customizing packages, lowering cost, etc.

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Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV


Jul 13, 2019, 10:03 AM

I have Hulu live, Netflix, Amazon, HBO and Showtime. All less than $100. I was paying $250 in Dallas for cable (with internet). SO glad I made the switch.
After internet, I still save almost $100 a month. The only startup cost was buying new Apple TVs.

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I'm old and am just starting to grasp


Jul 13, 2019, 9:01 PM

streaming. My question is how far is streaming behind live action? I have used watch ESPN on my phone and it has been way behind the live broadcast . Have they been able to improve that?

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During my Playstation Vue free trial period I tested


Jul 14, 2019, 8:43 AM

my cable TV connection vs the live TV PS Vue stream. The PS Vue stream seemed to be about 10 seconds behind the cable TV connection. Not enough to be a bother to me and certainly not worth the additional costs of keeping cable TV...

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It is definitely behind, but that's never bothered me. I


Jul 14, 2019, 5:50 PM

have been talking to Dad (directv dish) both watching the same basketball game during NCAA tourney and he would yell about a play that was two plays away for me. Sort of like walking through the parking lot of DV during a blowout, hearing the stadium yell, then seeing the play a bit later on one of the TVs at a tailgate.

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Re: I'm old and am just starting to grasp


Jul 14, 2019, 8:44 AM [ in reply to I'm old and am just starting to grasp ]

^^^Be aware that the old WatchESPN app on the iphone no longer works, and you have to download the ESPN app to watch now. Go ahead and check that app to ensure you're ready for football season. It's not totally intuitive for us old guys. I ended up having to uninstall the ESPN app that I had, download the new one, and then go thru the sign-on process again.

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Yeah my Comcast bill was up to like $160/month and i didnt


Jul 13, 2019, 9:05 PM

even have a great channel package. Internet + streaming is easily $50/month less and you don't have to pay all of the taxes and fees that the cable companies charge. $60 dollar internet is literally $60 a month.

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Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV


Jul 14, 2019, 12:59 AM

I'm looking for an alternative myself . . but $50 a month is pennies IMO. THat wouldn't sway me one way or another. What I want is something that is easy. I don't want to turn on this box, grab this remote, turn that one, sign in this etc. Plus I have multiple Tvs which are linked wireless . so if I dump my provider, I have to come up with a new way to do that. Its not as easy as it sounds.

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Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV


Jul 14, 2019, 7:01 AM

^^^^^^Ditto. I'm only having cable to watch my Tigers and assorted other sports.

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It's not as difficult as you may think,


Jul 14, 2019, 7:11 AM [ in reply to Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV ]

but it is more cumbersome than cable/satellite. Just calling your provider and threatening to cancel is usually enough to get $50-$90 knocked off your bill.

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Re: It's not as difficult as you may think,


Jul 14, 2019, 1:51 PM

I have a cut off date of the 24th . .haven't heard back from them yet, trying to get me to stay. I would consider Dish . if I can figure a way to get NFL. I'm looking at a Firestick now, along with streaming. I don't think I want to buy and own all the equipment to supply my house wirelessly. It's a large house ( very long ), the Directv stuff works. I can only hope Dish stuff works as well if I go that route. From what I'm reading, the Firestick wants you to get a VPN, then stream from out of the country :( Personally, I wish teh NFL would just sell a package their self. I'd gladly pay them and get Dish or another source for TV. But unlike many that mention it here, IO do watch a lot of channels. I love all the science stuff, the history stuff, car stuff, etc. So I like access to a lot of channels.

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No VPN with Firestick.


Jul 14, 2019, 2:22 PM

All of the streaming devices (Firestick, Chromecast, Roku, Apple TV) work the same way. They simply turn your dumb TV into a smart TV. They plug into an HDMI port on your TV and connect to your WiFi to stream the shows. If you have a smart TV you don't need one of the devices; your TV is already streaming capable.

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"Dabo crushed my soul." --- Classof09


Dish suxor.


Jul 14, 2019, 2:41 PM [ in reply to Re: It's not as difficult as you may think, ]

A couple years ago I switched to cable. A couple months go by and I get a bill from them for service for the past 2-1/2 months. I call them up and say I cut the service off when I switched. They said no you didn't because you didn't return your 8 year old equipment. Nobody told me I had to return it, it was a worthless box and remotes anyway. I sent them the equipment and they still billed me for service. I didn't pay it, they sent it to collections and dinged my credit. I refuse to pay, luckily I'm in a place in life where why credit is good and I don't need credit, but it dropped my credit score 100 points. They are FOS, I cancelled my service, of course I did, I had cable!

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I would go with Roku over Firestick


Jul 14, 2019, 6:29 PM [ in reply to Re: It's not as difficult as you may think, ]

Firestick doesnt currently support youtubetv streaming service, but supposed to be by year end.

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Re: It's not as difficult as you may think,


Jul 14, 2019, 5:17 PM [ in reply to It's not as difficult as you may think, ]

Dito; the squeaky wheel usually gets the oil. (Where have I heard that before)....

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Agreed! Does anyone have a great way around this yet?


Jul 14, 2019, 7:27 AM [ in reply to Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV ]

Sports and unfortunately Bravo/E! channels are what I need to maintain.

Thoughts?

I have dumb TVs too so do I need to upgrade them all?

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No you just need something like a Roku


Jul 14, 2019, 7:33 AM

They make USB sticks that plug right into the back/side of the TV or small boxes that look like a little cable box. I've had better luck with the boxes as they seem to have better hardware in them but they are slightly more expensive (I think the nicer Roku boxes are in the 70-100 range).

Those come with a remote and become your hub for everything. You launch all of your streaming apps from the homescreen.

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Re: Agreed! Does anyone have a great way around this yet?


Jul 14, 2019, 7:35 AM [ in reply to Agreed! Does anyone have a great way around this yet? ]

If you have HDMI ports you can just pickup ROKU boxes, around 20.00 at Walmart . Lots of free movie apps on there . As for the cable you could get Sling Orange and Blue package and get the channels you want

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If you use a Roku box, then changing to a streaming service


Jul 14, 2019, 9:11 AM [ in reply to Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV ]

is very easy. The Roku box essentially takes the place of your "cable box". I have one remote that controls both the Roku box and TV.

In my case I have a Roku Ultra box - Amazon is running a deal right now on the Roku Ultra for $69 - $30 off their normal price of $99. The Roku Ultra comes with a remote that has the ability to control both your TV as well as the Roku box. Anyway, I simply installed the PS Vue app on the Roku Ultra box and just leave it running all the time. I simply cut the TV off and the next time I cut the TV back on the PS Vue stream is still streaming live TV. If I want to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or something else I just switch to the app I want on the Roku box and go from there - all on the same remote with no need to mess with the TV inputs or anything else. I've put Roku boxes on 3 of my TV's and I can run the PS Vue live TV stream on all 3 at the same time without a problem.

I've tried numerous methods of streaming video to my TV and the Roku is the easiest of them all - both from remote control perspective and a app/interface glitch free experience. Both my wife and I think the Roku streaming solution is just as easy as regular cable.

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Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV


Jul 14, 2019, 5:11 PM [ in reply to Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV ]

That's exactly the problem I have. But in my case I have renters. Up to 5 TV;s streaming at the same time. I did my homework and Playstation Vue is more for multiple TV's. But it is true that you would have the internet even if you didn't stream. You just would have a lesser internet package. I even have VOIP for my home phone but I don;t need to have the fastest internet.

If the average amount you save is $50.00 a month. I agree, that;s nothing. If you need to steam 5 TV's together, then you are forced to upgrade to the highest internet speed (to keep from buffering.) That $50.00 saving is quickly eaten up in upgrading to the fastest internet speed. *At least in 12 months when you've bill triples) LOL

Believe me, I'm an old Clemson Hippy (left over from the early '70's). Their is nothing like "sticking it to the man". But if you do the math and are steaming multiple TV;s (as much as I hate to say it, it doesn't make economic sense. Yet. Maybe ATT or cable will go 'al a cart' before I die, LOL. No Chance. Maybe....Go Tigers ( In 1972 believe it or not = Oklahoma beay Clemson in football 66-3. I believe Clemson did score 3 point.

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Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV


Jul 14, 2019, 8:48 AM

No offense intended toward the ladies, but be careful how complicated you make it for your wife. I can only speak from personal experience, but sometimes what is simple to one gender is complicated for the other one. For me, I cannot cook and can't seem to learn, nor want to, so cooking is complicated for me.

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Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV


Jul 14, 2019, 2:25 PM

Amen to this. It's the only reason I still have cable TV in addition to streaming.

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Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV


Jul 14, 2019, 2:43 PM

I switched to PSvue with a Roku box after my Spectrum bill topped out at $185 after a $45 increase in the space of five months. I kept Spectrum for internet access since I'm not confident about the quality of Windstream's Kinetic service which looks to be the only other option in my area. Will have to check it out further if Spectrum increases the price, which no doubt they will at some point. After more than 15 years as a TW/Spectrum customer, one of the reps graciously offered a $10 per month discount when I turned in the cable tv equipment. Would quit watching tv before going back to them for that service.

Message was edited by: BerlinSPY73®

Message was edited by: BerlinSPY73®


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the only good politician is a dead politician.


Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV


Jul 14, 2019, 4:25 PM


I switched to PSvue with a Roku box after my Spectrum bill topped out at $185 after a $45 increase in the space of five months. I kept Spectrum for internet access since I'm not confident about the quality of Windstream's Kinetic service which looks to be the only other option in my area. Will have to check it out further if Spectrum increases the price, which no doubt they will at some point. After more than 15 years as a TW/Spectrum customer, one of the reps graciously offered a $10 per month discount when I turned in the cable tv equipment. Would quit watching tv before going back to them for that service.

Message was edited by: BerlinSPY73®

Message was edited by: BerlinSPY73®



Amen to your Post. For the last three years Spectrum has raised my rates for the same service every Spring and was topping $195 this year. The Cable TV industry is really broke and is a big reason people are leaving them. Among their failures is that they treat new customers better than customers that have been subscribed to their service for a long time. Customer loyalty means nothing to the Cable TV industry. For example, Cable companies give great "new customer" rates that expire after a set period of time (i.e. 6 months to a year). Once those "new customer" rates expire you now become one of their many existing customers that they subsequently treat like crap. They raise your rates through the roof with no warning and only offer you some minor pittance of relief from their jacked up prices when you call and complain.

If the Cable TV industry was smart they would offer loyal customers (i.e. folks that have been a customer for more than a year) a pricing discount for every month that they remain a customer. As it is, the Cable TV industry uses the exact opposite model with customer rates increasing the longer they are with them. Because of competition, people are no longer trapped to this customer model and people are getting fed up with it and leaving Cable TV.

I too, am sticking with my Spectrum Internet service for now (I provide my own cable modem) as I don't really have a better high speed Internet option at the moment. Quite frankly, high speed Internet service is the only thing keeping the Cable TV companies above water. If 5G delivers all that it is promising, it may very well be the final death blow to Cable TV as we know it. There is a reason Spectrum is trying to get into the mobile phone game - they see the writing on the wall and are trying to find an alternative business in order to be alive 10 years from now.

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Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV


Jul 14, 2019, 5:13 PM

You're totally correct in describing the way Spectrum treats loyal customers. Have never understood their mindset. Had called the "customer retention group" a few times for better rates, but tired of that hassle which resulted in very little relief. My last rate of $185 was certainly brought into focus when I noted that over a five year period the cost would be $11,100 assuming no increases. Still have their modem since the wife wants to maintain a landline connection and those can't be bought elsewhere. Good luck with your new setup.

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Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV


Jul 14, 2019, 5:27 PM [ in reply to Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV ]

That would be true assuming that the cable companies and ATT 'had a brain which they do not.

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Re: Finally made the transition from cable TV to streaming TV


Jul 14, 2019, 5:19 PM

It seems pretty obviously the cable/internet/TV industry is missing the mark . . . on what people really want. Maybe someone can take a step back and see what a large majority, of at least older subscribers, want.

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