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.
That's all I needed. Never missed cable for one minute. Except perhaps the NFL (before they went anti-American). But even then, it gave me an excuse to spend the day at Buffalo Wild Winds with a pitcher of beer and a lot of dry desert heat wings. Or at the local pool hall.
Between Amazon Prime, YouTube, Hulu and Netflix (yeah, I know), I have virtually unlimited content and never run out of things to watch. But lately I've been tapping into RSBN, NewsMax and Rumbler. Might check out the OANN offerings as well.
Okay, thanks.
That’s the last grasp that hubby has, for not cutting the cord, completely. May have to find out who has the best local/sports package/s.
Yup. We dumped cable years ago. There is very little on cable that you can’t just stream from the internet.
On my Roku we have access to a channel called Locast. it’s free with an annoying occasional 10-second begging for $5/month, but for as little as we watch local TV, we just suffer the begging ads.
you got it to work? I wanna if possible stick with my CRTV- way better contrast and can view from any angle- plus i’s paid for-
I’ll give the adapter a try-they are pretty cheap- thanks for the info-
Just saw that FuboTV has ATT Sportsnet, as well as other, regional, sports channels.
It’s about $65/mo.
thank you for all thos links, i will check those out for sure- didn’t realize a console could be used- i do like hte picture on our old dinosaur TV- mostly for viewing angle quality and conctrast
There’s a time to be thrift and make something last, and there’s a time when making it last costs more. Retrofitting a CRT TV is the latter.
My recommendation:
1. Buy a flatscreen with a Roku built in (not a competitor, a Roku). Roku is the easiest to use and has the most channels.
This saves you $50 by not having to buy a second device to stream through (no standalone streaming box).
Walmart has these:
32” - $118
43” - $218
50” - $248
Remember, this is a TV & Roku combo, so deduct about $50 from the TV price to see what you would be paying for the TV only.
2. Get an antenna.
Go to tvfool.com to see what type of antenna you need. It will also give you an idea of how many channels are broadcasting in your area.
If you re near a city, you’ll probably just need a flat wall mount. I’ve had good luck with the Monster brand. Set my brother up with this one: https://www.monstermounts.com/antennas-1/mai7011 . $40.
So, we’re talking about spending somewhere between $160 & $300. It might seem like a lot, but this setup should last you at least 10 years. Spending $30 a year on your TV setup isn’t too bad. That’s less than going out to eat once a year.
Your TV is something you’ll use everyday. Don’t spend a fortune, but it’s not something you want to go super cheap on either.
would rather stick with CRTV- yeah, its a hog, but we like the picture on it- eventually we’ll probably have to switch, but for now we wanna if possible stick with old tv- if we can get internet TV like pluto on it
[ thank you for all thos links, i will check those out for sure- didn’t realize a console could be used- i do like hte picture on our old dinosaur TV- mostly for viewing angle quality and conctrast ]
Just make sure everything works ( as in is compatible ) before you buy
There isn’t a CRT TV in the world that comes close to the picture quality of a flatscreen—not one; not even close.
I used to think VHS had pretty good picture quality. I played one recently and was appalled at how bad the VHS quality was.
Part of the reason I remembered VHS as being better quality is we played them on a CRT TV. The poor quality of the VHS tape was masked by the poor quality of the CRT.
Honestly, if you are holding on to a CRT TV for the “picture quality”, you’ll fooling yourself.
You should look into SLING TV.
On Sling, TCM is a $5 upgrade to either of SLING.TV’s base packages. (Sling has two different base packages. $25 & $30 IIRC) That same five dollar upgrade also delivers The Film Detective, another channel delivering curated film content quite similar to TCM.
“2. Get an antenna.”
I would add “Get a DVR”. The ability to watch when you want rather than when it is broadcast is great and also thee ability to skip commercials.
I might look into that after I mine out Britbox.
I can watch it on my iphone, or on TV with chromecast.
Got the app yesterday, loving it.
ill have to disagree- there iws more to picture quality than resolution- as i said- the colors are much better with CRTV when looking from angles- the contrast is also better- , which makes for more immersive viewing, especially on film noir movies, again, when viewed from the side- I’d rather not have washed out colors and contrast than higher resolution- in my opinion- I haven’t seen an lcd yet, that we could afford, that looks great at side viewing angles, and i also don’t car for the ‘stretched out’ look of the wider format- again, these are just personal preferences
thanks fr the work looking those up- if we decide to go that route, I;ll certainly check those out- i really do like the colors and contrast in our Crtv though- resolution notwithstanding
If color and contrast is your big worry, you should look at a plasma flatscreen instead of a LED.
A litte more electricity use, but has darker blacks.
we were looking at oleds- well, wishing really- they do look nice- but the whole burn in issue- but i guess they have soem now with ‘guarantee’ about burn in not being a problem for a number f years- so that might have changed-
We’ll check he plasma, hadn’t looked at those in years- that might be an option too- thanks
Go to https://www.tvguide.com/listings/ to see what is in your area.
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