Posted on 11/10/2020 12:11:46 PM PST by Mount Athos
The cable guy just fixed the internet. I disconnected the cable box to see what cutting the cord was like.
Commenters recommended Pluto TV, which was available as an app through my PS4. It's free. It took about 60 to 90 seconds to download and install. I found it in about one minute scrolling through all the apps listed on the PS4.
You can go to Pluto.tv to view their website, and see how to connect, whether by smart tv, a streaming device like Amazon Fire stick or Roku or the PS4, or even on your phone.
There are more than a hundred channels, from a Star Trek channel, to a Sci-Fi channel (which also plays some Star Trek), to an entire channel of CSI repeats, and an entire channel of 007 movies, 24 hours a day.
Newswise, they have OANN, Newsmax, The Blaze and others. They have liberal networks too, like Bloomberg News and I think a version of CNN and MSNBC and NBC News, too.
They seem to have a deal with CBS in particular. There are a dozen or so local CBS News channels.
There's a lot of British stuff, from Father Ted to Classic Doctor Who.
There are a whole bunch of Pluto-branded versions of channels like Comedy Central and MTV and that crap. I don't know if these are the actual channels or maybe like highlights of the channels. The Comedy Central channel has repeats of Crank Yankers, so maybe this is just some of their older material?
There are also a lot of movie channels, like "90s Throwback," "80s Rewind," "70s Classics." 80s Rewind was playing Hellraiser 2, followed by Heathers.
In addition to a lot of Live TV channels, there's also a lot of On Demand stuff. For example, I can watch the 007 movies playing on the 007 channel, but I could also watch, say, Doctor No on demand.
Again: this is free.
Although you don't have channels that I know people watch a lot of, like ID and HGTV, they do have their own knockoff versions of that kind of programming.
And also: Free.
But if you have to have some of those cable channels, like ID, you can get Philo TV, which has 63 channels for $20 a month. That doesn't seem worth it to me, but then, I don't watch ID.
I'm surprised. I'd say "delighted" but that sounds like something that closet case David French would say upon seeing tonight's chosen buck.
Given that this stuff is free, it makes it pretty affordable to buy the occasional series like Always Sunny in Philadelphia or What We Do In the Shadows on Amazon Prime.
Here's a sample of their channel lineup now. You can scroll the different categories available on the left, and scroll down the actual show listings in the middle/right.
This is going to be super-easy, barely an inconvenience. I don't watch a lot of TV anyway. I just sometimes put something on when I'm bored and getting ready for bed. Obviously, Zero Dollars is a good price to pay for this level of TV.
Check it out. And thanks to everyone who suggested it.
Zero #!&* dollars.
Well, I mean, I do have to pay for internet, but I was already paying for that.
I'm so happy I will never pay for ESPN, ABC, MSNBC, CNN or Fox again.
Goodbye, *!$&ers. When the ratings aren't budging, that's me not watching.
What’s good about local TV?..its just a less polished version of regular cable shows ..second hand fake news?
I suppose some people need to ween off the tube gradually ...so as to avoid the DT’s?
Personally, i like the download route when it comes to the old shows..which are better anyhow. And then their are podcast..like Red Eye Radio and the like.
Get an antenna and a Roku box. I spend all of $6 per month for Britbox which has tons of shows that we like. You can get other free movies channels, though they have commercials. An antenna will get you the local broadcast stations if you like any of them.
Lots of options. Cable is on a death spiral.
You can get an adaptor setup to patch HDMI to your CRT TV. I’d send you my old one if I hadn’t given it to the thrift store.
[ to any cable cutting gurus- can tis be done on an old CRTV television? (I know there is an HDMI to component or S-video converter- but not sure if it will work with services like pluto, or roku or whatever? ]
You could probably buy an old PS3 ( Playstation 3 ) or another video game console that has the analog hookups
https://www.gamestop.com/video-games/playstation-3/consoles/pre-owned
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3_technical_specifications
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3_technical_specifications#Connectivity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto_TV#Availability
It doesn’t list PS3, so maybe a playstation 3 may not be the best option.
But I think an old video gaming console ( if it supports streaming ) may be your best bet if you want to keep the old CRT tv.
Honestly it may be cheaper to get a newer TV that has all the roku circuits built into it.
You may be able to get a smart TV fro between 90-150 dollars that has roku built-in to it.
Smart move. We connect Pluto with our ROKU. Best channel on the devise. Only detriment found would be the Pluto guide, perplexing at times. Anticipate that improvement, but in the meantime the channel’s shows are still being watched.
Pluto began with a small number of options, increased these bigly over the past year.
You can watch (most) local news stations on Roku and phone apps....for severe weather updates, etc.
I remember that cable was supposed to be ad free - that’s why we paid the cable bill. That sure didn’t last long.
Disconnected cable yesterday and returned the boxes and remotes.
It feels great !
What are folks doing for watching locally airing baseball games, that have black outs?
For example....we have the MLB app, but, they black out the game, if it’s regionally carried.
BKMK TABLO
It does! We did this, oh must be 5 years ago. I only wish I had Turner Classic Movies. That was about all I watched with cable. $150 per month was too much for one channel. Lol.
A tube?
Walmart has a 32 inch LED for $88.
CRT televisions are electricity hogs. The $88 flatscreen would literally pay for itself in electricity costs.
Just breakdown and buy a flatscreen.
They all carry different channels, shows and movies, most with ads. My best recommendation is to go to the web page for each service. There you can see what live channels they offer, as well as what kind of shows and movies are playing. I watch Pluto and IMDB most of the time, and sometimes Crackle. But having them all available provides a much broader choice. For example Xumo has a lot of channels with live sports, travel, cooking, etc., but not as much with movies and TV shows. Which one(s) would be best for you would depend upon your viewing habits.
I got a new antenna and get 25 stations now. It was 20 bucks. It’s flat like a mouse pad.
You will probably have to sign up for a package that includes the sports channel that covers you local team. There is not much baseball on the broadcast networks and MLB.tv will not show your local team.
Bkmk
They are owned by CBS/Viacom and expect to see a 2 hr movie in 3 hrs with all the ads interrupting it.
Otherwise, it’s a decent alternative to cable.
I have been using the Firestick for close to a year now. I loaded Kodi 18 to get all the new movies and shows that the Firestick doesn’t have. Only problem with it is it takes almost a gig and if you are low on storage, you will have to remove applications and clear cache periodically.
I recommend an attic antenna for better reception of over the air signals. Of course an outside antenna is the best option, but doesn't fly to well in the suburbs. Another option (that I had no success with) is the flat window/wall antennas.
Here are some 4 star rated Walmart antennas. Personally, I would recommend one of the roughly $40 RCA or GE attic antennas.
Walwart has a pretty decent return policy if it doesn't work out for you, and if you don't mind standing in the return line for 10-15 minutes.
Here, we do without, actually by choice.
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