Posted on 01/01/2015 12:04:49 PM PST by OregonRancher
We want to get rid of DirectTV, go with cable for internet, yet at same time, be able to watch FOX, etc., movies. How do we do it?
Ditch DirecTV. If you have good wireless service use that.
I gave my television set away 4 years ago... and everything you need to see is posted on FR... which I can browse with my smartphone over the wireless with an unlimited data plan.
Roku or Chromecast (or a smart TV or Blu-Ray player) may help.
As an alternative, they make antennae that work almost like cable TV does now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8ONsvFv670
We pay $80/month for cable TV and it’s 200 channels that may as well be a desert. Out of all of it, we may watch 6 to 8 channels with any regularity.
Sooner or later, the cable channels (and local stations) should think about offering a web subscription to a streaming feed of their broadcast. At that point, cable and satellite will be in a world of hurt. Satellite will still have folks in the boonies who have no other alternative, but I wonder if there are enough of them to keep it going...
just a thought, check and see if you can get AT&T Uverse, we bundled 2 cells, cable tv and land line and really saved about 100 a month over phones separate and direct tv
1. Locate your nose.
2. Pay through it.
If you are after the cable news channels, then you will likely have to get TV service from the cable company. No alternatives that I know of. I cut DirecTV some time ago, but I get pretty much all of my news from the internet anyhow.
Check your local cable companies most basic package. Typically they offer a barebones slate of channels and what you are willing to live with just might be on it.
BTW, what part of Oregon are you in?
I spent $250 on a Channelmaster DVR+ and have never looked back. Broadcast TV is good enough for me. And having all of the functionality of a DVR to boot!
http://www.channelmaster.com/Products_s/329.htm
They can be pretty ornery when you try to cancel or downgrade; they keep trying to pass you off to better ‘closers’. You just have to keep politely saying ‘no, I want to cancel, please’, and wear them out :-)
Be ready to spend quite a while on the ‘phone; but when it’s done you’ll feel triumphant!
-JT
If you’ve no access to Direct TV, try the following links. First, HAVE NO IDEA AS TO HOW TO DISPLAY ON TV, but if you have a good monitor and connection speed you will find it works. When one link is unavailable, we continue down the list until one is found that does work. In the past we’ve had few problems but found it works for us.
As for free OTA channels...if allowed to install an outdoor antenna, google how to make an antenna with copper coat hangers and make and install one yourself. DH did this and with the homemade antenna an entire television parade has opened up for us. Last night on one channel we watched a marathon of the Burns and Allen Show, Jack Benny Show. There is a movie channel available which is as good as Turner Classic. Cowboy shows galore....Rawhide, Bonanza, Rebel, Maverick, etc...many of the oldies our Dads would never miss.
The powers that be must have come of the same generation as we...they schedule many old shows long since forgotten and missed as time goes by. I Dream of Jennie, One Step Beyond, Hart to Hart. Wow!! A grand Christmas gift all for the taking.
FOX NEWS STREAMING
http://www.hulkus.com/watch-fox-news-live-streaming/
replaces hulkus (12/29/14)
http://vaughnlive.tv/newzviewz
http://www.tvonlinelive.net/Watch/Fox_News-Online-4729.html
http://www.wwhdtv.com/watch-fox-news-live-streaming/
http://www.foxnews.ws/
http://ripsink.com/foxnews2.html
Good luck!
Roku
I was wary of changing from DISH and dragged my feet over switching.
Totally worth it.
It is a bit different and took a bit to get used to it.
They have both FOX and FOX Business. Free.
Not live but archived a day or so.
Also has hundreds of other free channels besides the pay options.
I got the Roku 3 that lets you plug in headphones.
Absolute bliss in a noisy room.
One of my daughters has it separately in her room and recently one of the batteries leaked in the remote.
Roku service was very responsive. They immediately sent her a new remote.
Very happy.
minor correction
“All Jazz” is costing the providers about 4 cents per month, it’s one of the very cheapest channels, not surprising given its trivial viewership.
Sfl
That's the conclusion that I've come to. Between FR, American Thinker and the occasional peek at foxnews.com, I learn everything I need to know. I'm considering DirecTv, but only if I can sign up without a contract.
Stay with Directv to get Fox News. BUT, call Directv and talk with the Customer Retention People and find Discounts, Cheaper Programming Package and free upgrades to latest Receivers.
I have been a Directv Subscriber since 1995. I pay under $70/month with the Select Package and some discounts.
I have looked at Cable, Fiber Optics, Internet and can’t find anything that suits me for the money - except Directv.
Good Luck.
It isn’t always freezing during commercials, it is just showing a blank screen. That is actually when the networks allow the cable companies to insert their commercials.
Amazing! Was looking at a Freeper post, and was talking to the wife about posting the same question.
In my case, we have charter internet. If I could get rid of that, I would. Of course, we need the internet for streaming.
I did an audit of what we actually watch on cable. Not much, and I’m tired to give my money to shows that I simply don’t watch.
I do watch football. Suits on cable, and that’s about it. My goal is to only pay for what I watch. BTW, I am an Amazon Primer. So I hear that give me free streaming. Do I need some kind of device?
I’m going to make that call.
Thank you so much.
My DirecTV bill has creeped up to $116.00 a month.
Too much for just me and my desire for Fox News.
Like you, I’ve been a subscriber since ‘94-95.
Ping for later read. I too want to cut the cable cord.
The only thing that is holding me back is sports. I like to watch college football and the NHL.
Now some will say get a ROKU or Apple TV etc.
All those units are is a dumbed down computer. Get you a desktop computer with a wireless keyboard and mouse and you have all sorts of possibilities.
The possibilites:
1.You can create your own DVR system and record shows you watch on the internet (There are open source programs that allow you to record these shows.)
2. You can create your own music storage system. Store all your music on one of your hard drives (you can put multiple Hard Drives on a desktop and really big ones now for cheap)
3. Store all of your home movies/videos on a hard drive and watch them anytime with a click of a mouse.
4. Buy digital Downloads of Movies or TV series from Amazon etc. and store them on your Hard Drive.
5. Watch all manner of free and cheap for pay TV on your computer and you can do so in High Def TV (same goes for the digital downloads and the DVR as well)
Here are some of the sites you can watch for Free:
Then there are the pay sites like:
Then there are the sites like Hulu that can be either free OR pay sites.
And that is just a small sampling.
You can get ALL NFL Games on the net just not live but On demand and it's only about 60 bucks a year. I figure in a few years there will be a live option available as well.
We have two Ruku3 devices and both are now over heating and require frequent rebooting. (Unplug the power and re-plug) we’ve run them off of AC and USB power. USB power worked great for about a week, then it also needed rebooting just like with AC power.
We now use the Wii U for NetFlix.
My computers all have Amazon Prime and Netflix also. That and primewire.ca is enough.
IMO, I think Ruku3 is not ready for primetime.
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