trying to cut the cable

vanity ^ | 3/13/21 | Dad was my hero

[Dad was my hero]

I'm considering dropping cable, cutting the cord so to speak. My cable provider (Spectrum) has been to my house 3 times over the issue of dropped audio and pixelation. The issues have been so pronounced that it can make some shows almost unwatchable. They are coming again today but I spoke with a neighbor that also has Spectrum and he said they have the same issue, so I am sure it is somewhere in their lines feeding my development.

I'm not much interested in going to a satellite dish, I've had both dish and direct TV before. I dropped dish eventually because of loss of signal and they wanted to charge me to fix it. It later turned out the issue was the base mounting came loose d/t poor installation. But I went to Direct and had the pixelation issue with them and any storms. Being in FL, we have a lot of storms during the afternoon and I don't want to have shows I'm watching interrupted with pixelation again.

I have 3 TVs and 3 DVRs (probably only need one DVR now). What I am looking to replace is the channel lineup AND the recording function I had with the DVRs. I bought a Roku streaming stick plus and got that functioning last night. It appears that I can get almost all of the channel lineup if I download the AT&T app within Roku. My questions are:

Can I record (to a cloud maybe) shows I want to see? How? Can I record one show while watching a second or record two shows while watching something else I recorded or a third show live? How?

I still having 3 TVs, do I need to get two more Rokus to use the other TVs? Only one TV in the house is a "smart" TV, the other two are older flat screens but not "smart". The Roku is currently on the smart TV. Do I need to buy two more Roku sticks to use on those TVs? Do I also need to get two more AT&T subscriptions?

So how does this work, I'm not a highly technical person.

[TruthWillWin]

No need to record shows.

Yes there is.

Recording shows is required so you can ff the commercials!

[Starboard]

Are there any streaming services that allow you avoid commercials by paying a little more? The constant bombardment of idiotic ads is really annoying.

[bert]

I had the spectrum problem you described.

I deducted $9.00 from the billed payment when I paid on line. I mailed the bill to the address indicated with a note saying there was a $9.00 penalty deduction for lack of service.

Guess what?

I received a telephone call. Spectrum is impossible to contact so the call was a surprise. I told the caller what the problem was and he told me the problem was the modem. He sent me a new modem for self installation and I returned the old one. The problem disappeared. BTW I don’t use Spectrum cable. I use YouTube TV. He also gave me credit for one of the $9.00 charges I did not pay.

I still have a $9.00 charge monthly that I do not pay.

There are many here who virtue signal about how their lives are so much better since they dropped cable. That is just so much balderdascious drivel. Do not listen to them

On the next bill was a $10.75 self installation charge. I didn’t pay it and wrote another note indicationg I wasn’t going to pay a self installation for self installing a replacement for a defective modem.

I got another call saying sorry, the $10.75 was removed from my bill

[Dad was my hero]

very helpful.
so for example, I recorded gold rush last night and today have watched it. fast forward through the commercials.

I know I can get it on demand from spectrum but the FF is disabled so I have to sit through the commercials.
Does what you described let me watch w/o commercials or FF through them?

[Big Red Badger]

$260 a Month.
Yikes!

[bennowens]

Spectrum app no longer available on Roku! If you have it fine, but you cannot download it anymore until they finish their spat.

[Kolb]

To have streaming service on every TV you will need a streaming application for each of them. Sounds like your smart TV might have a built in ability to use streaming apps, so I would check to see which apps it supports and verify their function before you purchase a Roku for that one. Most streaming applications will let you sign in with one account on at lest two devices.

Physical DVRs may not be compatible with streaming services. Likely you should ditch those entirely and rely on apps that feature DVR functions like YouTube TV, Sling and a few others. They will allow you to add shows to your "library" while streaming other shows. There may be DVR storage or library lease limitations with some services.

I'd recommend experimenting with what you already have to make sure your internet performance with streaming services is acceptable and that you like the service as a cable replacement before cutting the cord. I followed this path about a year ago and cut permanently. Good riddance to about $70 monthly in BS taxes, franchise and re-broadcasting fees!

[Starboard]

Good point. Why subsidize the liberal media if you can avoid it?

[teevolt]

It has cloud record capability. I’m on the pick 10 plan which is basically $25 a month on top of internet bill. You pick 10 channels and they’re included with all the basics for the service. Your situation sounds like you’ll probably want more, and they do have bigger plans. It isn’t perfect by any stretch, but I’ve been satisfied with performance. Other services I’ve had were Fubo and Hulu, and I liked Spectrum better than both of those.

[phoneman08]

The best streaming TV package is YouTube TV. Primarily for the cloud DVR.

Do note that the pixelation trouble you are having will likely not be fixed until Spectrum fixes your intermittent data issue.

I dropped YouTube TV not because it wasn’t good, but I found that I’m perfectly happy without a DVR since most content doesn’t need it.

I keep Netflix at $18 per month. Amazon because I have Prime and HBO Max that is no additional cost with my At&t cellphone.

I add various streaming services such as Curiosity stream, Apple TV, Paramount Plus, Disney TV and drop them once I’ve viewed what I’m interested in on those services.

That said, Spectrum needs to fix your cable problem because the data loss causing the pixelation problems will almost certainly affect streaming too.

[polymuser]

I have only Internet from cable, 20mb, $45/month. 20mb speed has been fine for one TV with streaming (Roku apps) plus PC, phone & tablet on wifi.

Pluto is great for older series. Been watching Johnny Carson and Carol Burnett. I miss the good stuff that used to be.

Also have a good rooftop antenna (Stacker) with rotor and preamp for over the air TV. Great for FM stereo, too.

[Steven Scharf]

Folks always refer to the concept of “cutting their cable” when they really mean they are eliminating the TV aspect of their cable. If you have an active wire coming into to your house and are paying for internet, then you still have “cable”.

There are wireless options coming and in some places they can make more sense. Here in Maine we have something called RedZone. They have not done a good job in marketing as I don’t know anyone using it. https://www.redzonewireless.com/ $46.99 per month

Not really applicable in this situation, but a cell phone hotspot can provide as good of service as cable internet. I went to an unlimited data plan so that I could utilize this when I need it. I probably have the cheapest internet of anybody here. I pay my downstairs neighbor $20 a month to access their internet via wifi.

[phoneman08]

Anything over 100 Mb is overkill for streaming. Gig internet service will not improve your streaming quality one bit.

The most important thing is to have good wireless coverage within the home and use ethernet where practical.

[Seruzawa]

With the Roku we have Amazon Prime because we use the free shipping being old and sequestered. We added Britbox and it’ll take years to see all the mystery shows. The Roku gives a lot of channel options. Cable is just a waste of $. TCM is the only thing I miss.

[Dad was my hero]

helpful post. thanks.
all the TVs have HDMI ports so that shouldn’t be an issue. So I need add’l roku sticks or fire sticks for the TVs.

I will be watching the roku stick for a while now that you’ve given me the head’s up. Thanks again,

[sevlex]

It really depends on how you use a dvr.

For me, it’s all about time shifting and ad skipping. Back when I was on Comcast, my dvr was a Win7 HTPC using a Silicon Dust HDHR3. Playback was thru Media Center and I could use fast play. A 1hr show would be consumed in 30minutes.

The nice thing was that the recordings were mine forever.

The switch to streaming meant no more keeping recordings but that’s really no big deal.

I still use the HTPC, now with the YTTV app. That allows for fast play that the smart tv app doesn’t have.

BTW, the picture quality is way better than the compressed garbage that Comcast foisted on us via cable.

[KenD]

Some years ago I started using a Tablo device to which I have connected an antenna. What to use for an antenna will vary with what you're trying to do but I'm using an "omnidirectional" model at the moment. The Tablo device offers DVR for off the air stuff and a guide of available stations. The Tablo device and antenna are in the attic (HOA restrictions) and I watch programming using an app on a Firestick (5 TVs in different parts of the house).

Once you get over the cost of the Tablo box the rest is pretty easy. I ALSO stream from Hulu and Netflix and OAN if I wish to, again with apps on the Firestick.

[Big Red Clay]

We use Hulu for live TV. We like Hulu because they offer a ton of content along with the streaming live cable stuff. Their DVR function works really well.

We cut the cord at my house a couple of years ago. We pay less than half of what we did for cable on a monthly basis and have so much to watch. We use Roku sticks except for the new Samsung that we purchased in December and they work great. It is very handy to be able to add and drop services with a couple of clicks.

Just make sure you have really good wi-fi. We had to upgrade after we started streaming exclusively. We also purchased an antenna so we could watch sports on our local networks. There are about 30 on air channels available where I live and it is more free content.

I couldn’t imagine going back to cable. It was a little scary getting rid of it but we are so glad that we did.

[Dad was my hero]

interesting response.
I’ve had no problem with contacting their support, I get through every time.
They’ve replaced almost every thing in my house from the initial splitter to the cables in the walls. They tried to tell me it is the DVR in the living room - since that is the one I watch the most, but when I turn on the TV in the computer room it occurs there too. They’ve deducted 33 from my last bill and 23 last night d/t the inconvenience that I’ve had.

[newfreep]

Another Spectrum internet & app customer here.

Overall, very pleased with quality of service although the internet has been increasing in price.

I now pay $75 for 100MB - typically get 120-130MB - so no buffering on movies, live events, etc.

A couple of years ago it was “only” $60/mo.

Waiting for fiber and its faster speed and lower price.

As an aside, Spectrum internet customers can add their basic TV package for $15/mo and get many/most of the desired channels.