VANITY: Tech Help Needed To Break Free From Cable

Self | Oct 26, 2017 | Self

[xp38]

Over the air. Back to the antenna.

[jonno]

bookmark - good post.

[dp0622]

THANKS EVERYBODY!!

[dp0622]

Thanks!

[pgkdan]

I’m a Washington Nationals fan. If I could figure out a way to get the games without cable I’d cut it tomorrow. So I’m stuck with cable for the foreseeable future.

[TomGuy]

You will likely find Internet higher if you are not on cable Internet. My cable requires at least basic cable TV in order to get cable Internet. My telephone company requires basic landline to get DSL Internet.

Those, of course, already add to the cost.

I watch a lot of Netflix/Amazon Prime streaming. My cable company just raised the data load to 1TB per month for all levels, except fiber which is now 2TB. Mobile/DSN/Satellite, etc., cannot even compete with that amount of data. Of course, my cable will probably bump up their Internet fee in a month or two.

The data limits are important if you intend to do a lot of streaming. Some mobile claim unlimited streaming, but read the fine print. Most streaming sources are increasing the quality — hi def and superHD — which increases the data transfer. I can stream a 3 hour sports event via the FoxSports app on my android tablet, and it will eat about 7GB of data allocation.

[RGVTx]

There is a thread on FR about Roku, very informative.
Added XTV to Roku yesterday for live tv. Love it. It is free. It has many of the channels we get on Dish.

[dp0622]

I’m a Jets fan (dont laugh).

They can be on cbs, nbc, fox, abc, espn or nfl station in any given week.

I can’t stomach more games than just my team because of colin and company.

[SueRae]

Pinging to follow post.

[vladimir998]

What your looking for is an HDMI cable. You can buy them online or in stores. You may have to do a little research to figure out which one is best for you. I bought one in a store and another one from Amazon. They work great. Seriously consider getting a wireless though. Having extra wires can be a hassle. If you have something wireless, you can take it with you on trips and use in hotel rooms, etc.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=hdmi+cable

[dp0622]

THANKS ALOT MAN.

yeah, a wired from my laptop ALL the way across the room to the TV is a broken neck waiting to happen!!

[bobcat62]

One more vote for the latest AppleTV.

[um1990]

I’ve been doing this for years, and always got a good deal.

This year couldn’t.

So, I dropped cable. There are a few good shows the kids like, and I told them they can buy seasons from Amazon if they want. Far cheaper, and direct feedback (and monetary support) that we are buying family friendly programming, and getting rid of the rest.

My setup:

- TW high speed, new customer price negotiated.
- Ooma VoIP (in place of landline phone. Ported
Home number, have had for many years) - if you want my discount code for new customers, let me know
- TiVo - Moving from Roamio Pro to Bolt. Bolt supports OTA. Can stream to Phones, Tablets, etc. via WiFi to multiple devices. Also have 2 TiVo Minis, integrated with Roamio/Bolt via Moca networking. A little expensive but great integration.
- TiVo supports streaming ( Amazon, Netflix, etc)
- Old laptop connected via HDMI (thru Denon AVR) with compact wireless mouse/touchpad, can do pretty much anything with this, including Pandora, Prime Music, stream movies, pictures, music from NAS

Felt good to call and cancel cable (TV), I hope we stick with it

[V_TWIN]

I installed a $50 HD antenna in my attic for the locals. Just ran cable from the attic to each tv. If you already have cable run to each room all there is to do is make the connections. Gets more than 20 channels. : )

https://www.amazon.com/RCA-Compact-Outdoor-Antenna-Range/dp/B0024R4B5C/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1477496739&sr=8-7&keywords=hd+tv+ant

[KC Burke]

Anyone starting this process should start by gathering two general items.

1. Find out what broadcast stations are strong over the air to an inexpensive one-time cost of an antenna. Go here: http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

2. Find out the cost of a “broad-band” internet connection for your house. Cable company, phone company, power company are likely sources.

From those two items all else is add on.

[vladimir998]

“yeah, a wired from my laptop ALL the way across the room to the TV is a broken neck waiting to happen!!”

And that’s exactly why I am going to get something like a wireless HDMI or a Roku (which does the same thing, only better!). I want to get it done before Thanksgiving. Too many people, too many wires, watching movies, some disaster will happen!

[Dacula]

BMFLR

[dp0622]

That there is a recipe for trouble!! :)

Wireless sounds great!! Thanks.

WTH happened in 20 or so year?

I couldn’t use a PC, went to school for it, got work and watched everything that’s happened the past 20 years.

Who would have DREAMED of this stuff when we were kids!

[GailA]

Use a Zip line for your internet and wireless. We are rural and our provider does not cover AT&T cell service. We are total cell. Nor do they have Cell service. Put up a old fashion TV antenna, it will pull in 30 some channels. Now if hubby would drop the ‘special’ pkgs on Direct basic would work just fine. But he has to have Sports, Nascar, car repair shows, car auctions, so he can relive his childhood of those old beauties.

[wyowolf]

I wish we could, we rarely watch anything except football, college and pro...