It's time again, cutting the cord options?

[stanger89]

So it's that time again, I'm coming up on the end of my promo discount, so it's time to investigate again.

I thought I had a free period with Sling with my LG B7, but apparently only from select sellers, and not where I got mine. So off I go to research the different options.

There's still a few things I watch on cable, so I'm looking at something to fill that in. YoutubeTV was sounding good, feature wise, but it has almost none of the networks/shows I care about. Oddly, DirecTV Now actually has pretty much everything I want in their base package, but there's a rub... "DVR"

Of course the question is, do I really need it. Most all of these services have VOD, how well does that work. Anyone tried them?

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by stanger89

So it's that time again, I'm coming up on the end of my promo discount, so it's time to investigate again.

I thought I had a free period with Sling with my LG B7, but apparently only from select sellers, and not where I got mine. So off I go to research the different options.

There's still a few things I watch on cable, so I'm looking at something to fill that in. YoutubeTV was sounding good, feature wise, but it has almost none of the networks/shows I care about. Oddly, DirecTV Now actually has pretty much everything I want in their base package, but there's a rub... "DVR"

Of course the question is, do I really need it. Most all of these services have VOD, how well does that work. Anyone tried them?

Our cable company just pulled a really dirty move, which may end up in small-claims, but I digress. Because we like TiVo soooo much, it’s really hard to switch. And OTA TiVo doesn’t work either, since we’re 50 miles from transmitters. Direct TV would make the most sense, but yeah.....dvr

[stanger89]

I may have to try it, they've got a 3 months for $10/mo promo going, which is "cheap" and should be plenty of time to find out how it works.

From a practical perspective, I don't really care if something's "DVR"d or VOD. I'm not a hoarder like some folks here, shows that are worth keeping, I get on Blu-ray since the quality is so much better. I also don't tend to save up shows and watch them later. I just never watch anything live, so all I "need" something that will let me watch the shows/episodes I want when I want to.

[Taddeusz]

We got rid of cable TV a couple years ago now. We like Sling TV. We've looked at DirecTV NOW but have decided to stay with Sling even though we don't get as many channels on the orange plan. Our reasoning is that, depending on the channel, Sling provides a sort of DVR by keeping around recently aired episodes for a period of time. DirecTV NOW sort of has this feature but it's not nearly as extensive and Sling's. Sling also has a streamed DVR feature but we don't subscribe to it so I don't know how it works.

[samgreco]

I am in the same spot as you Stanger. I just want to watch the shows I want, when I want and don't necessarily need to hoard them. There are few shows I keep for extended periods. But few.

And those that I have hoarded over the years I find I rarely go back to. And like you, the ones I go back to, I buy to get the quality.

So bottom line, I just need to know that what I want is available VOD so I can get to it. Or that there is a DVR with reasonable storage limits (time and size).

[SHS]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

Our cable company just pulled a really dirty move, which may end up in small-claims, but I digress. Because we like TiVo soooo much, it’s really hard to switch. And OTA TiVo doesn’t work either, since we’re 50 miles from transmitters. Direct TV would make the most sense, but yeah.....dvr

I'm 50 miles and I still manage get 30+ channel with my ATSC Antenna
You all do know Steaming Live TV is not considered Cord Cutting as it is a subscription with live TV service including Sling TV, Philo, YouTube TV, PlayStation Vue, DirecTV NOW, Hulu’s Live TV beta, and Fubo TV.
By the way this maybe use to any what the diff https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/phil...february-2018/

A real Cord Cutting will only use an Antenna and nothing more and there are min option hardware and software solution.

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by SHS

I'm 50 miles and I still manage get 30+ channel with my ATSC Antenna
You all do know Steaming Live TV is not considered Cord Cutting as it is a subscription with live TV service including Sling TV, Philo, YouTube TV, PlayStation Vue, DirecTV NOW, Hulu’s Live TV beta, and Fubo TV.
By the way this maybe use to any what the diff https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/phil...february-2018/

A real Cord Cutting will only use an Antenna and nothing more and there are min option hardware and software solution.

Technically, sure, but paying $20 month for Sling TV vs nearly $100 per month for cable TV is a no brainer. We get all the channels we care about watching live for a quarter the price. If the only programming you care about can be watched on OTA then more power to you but reality is generally more nuanced than your black and white version of cord cutting.

[SHS]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

Technically, sure, but paying $20 month for Sling TV vs nearly $100 per month for cable TV is a no brainer. We get all the channels we care about watching live for a quarter the price. If the only programming you care about can be watched on OTA then more power to you but reality is generally more nuanced than your black and white version of cord cutting.

That true if have no data caps

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by SHS

That true if have no data caps

Good point. Cox has a 1TB cap but we rarely exceed 500GB. Not currently worried but the imposition of data caps is a major concern, YMMV.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by SHS

I'm 50 miles and I still manage get 30+ channel with my ATSC Antenna
You all do know Steaming Live TV is not considered Cord Cutting as it is a subscription with live TV service including Sling TV, Philo, YouTube TV, PlayStation Vue, DirecTV NOW, Hulu’s Live TV beta, and Fubo TV.
By the way this maybe use to any what the diff https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/phil...february-2018/

A real Cord Cutting will only use an Antenna and nothing more and there are min option hardware and software solution.

what antenna are you using? How high up? terrain between you and transmission - flat, or hilly. Lots of things besides miles...

[wayner]

I am in Toronto and I can get channels from Buffalo transmitters which are about 80 miles away - although I have a pretty clear LoS across Lake Ontario. If I orient my antenna more towards the east I can also pick up Rochester channels.

Check out TV Fool and see what it says. http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?opti...pper&Itemid=29

An antenna like a CM4228 or CM4221 mounted in your attic or on your roof can pick up channels from long distances. I have a CM4228 mounted on the outside my house.

Digital TV is unlike the old analog TV. You either get the channel or you don't - you don't get "snowy" channels like in the old days. But if a channel is marginal then you may lose it in bad weather conditions - not unlike satellite and you may get break-ups in the video feed.

[SWKerr]

There is no perfect Line Cable substitute. Each one has a compromise of some kind. I have tried Sling TV, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, Hulu and Youtube TV. I currently have DirecTV Now (Grandfathered Pricing from original offer) and YouTube TV.

To me YouTube TV is by far the best but it may lack some channels you want. I really like the unlimited DVR space since you don't have to manage you library. If you think you might watch it just record it. The is a 9 month retention limit but that is enough to record a whole season of something and bing watch. There are some VOD replacements but they seem pretty limited and the amount of forced add watching pretty short unlike some other services.

DirecTV has the best channel selection and I have the original $35 price so I have kept it as a fill in and to see if the DVR option matures into something worthwhile. (Plus Free HBO for now) DirecTV Now DVR in the Beta really sucks and I have low expectations for it. What DirecTV Now does have is good VOD selections and a lot of login access to Network apps directly which has even more VOD access. For a lot of people DirecTV Now would be fine once they have the limited DVR working.

I am still recording OTA locals with EMBY and use PlayOn to record some shows to the server as well. But...I find I am using YouTube TV for everything at this point. I could drop DirecTV Now and would not miss it. But keep in mind I also have Hulu, Amazon and Netflix so shows I miss with YouTube TV will probably eventually show up on the other providers at some point.

I really could have got by with any of the Cable replacements but all had warts of some kind.

Playstation Vue had poor GUI, 30 limit on recordings and lots of adds on on-demand and very limited client support.

Hulu was fine for normal service but the GUI does not work will for live TV. Plus management of the DVR space was cumbersome and constant even when I expanded the space.

Sling TV was my first test and prior to the DVR option but I have not read much that would make me try it again. The packages were complicated and there were no local station options. Overall better than Playstation and Hulu but on par with DirecTV Now.

I like this site for Cord Cutting news. Here is a comparison grid of all the services with supported apps and channels:
https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/phil...-january-2018/

[RonBoyd]

Originally Posted by stanger89

Oddly, DirecTV Now actually has pretty much everything I want in their base package, but there's a rub... "DVR"

First, let me say that I am completely happy with DTN... and I live in a place that has around 80 OTA stations available.

Anyway, I am unsure what "DVR" means exactly. If you are referring to recording programs similar to how STV does, then maybe I can help. I use PlayOn (https://www.playon.tv/) to record and then play back with STV (HDT300). PlayOn works very similar to STV in that you schedule the recordings and then forget about it... or manually record "live" broadcasts. Of course, the biggest problem is the lack of a Program Guide so you have to do a little searching in order to schedule the recording.

[SHS]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

what antenna are you using? How high up? terrain between you and transmission - flat, or hilly. Lots of things besides miles...

Channel Master product
1: CM-3020 or know as Advantage 100 Antenna
1: CM-7777HD Amplify Adjustable Gain Preamplifier
1: CM-3092 3’ Tripod Mount
1: CM-3212HD 2-Way Splitter
1: 7' In Ground Pole old Sat pole (thanks to Dishnetwork LoL)
100': PCT RG6 Tri-Shield
50 count bag: PCT TRS-6LMG Compression F Connectors
1: PCT Compression Tool PCT-RH-CT
1: Coax Coaxial Cable Wire Cut Cutter Stripping Tool look like this
1: Ground block
1: 4' copper ground rod 20' bear solid ground wire 10AWG
25 count: Cover style of Weather Boot look like this
25 count: Barrel style of Weather Boot look like this

Here a photo it not very high about on 15ft to 20ft give take a few feet off the ground with boat load trees in the way when look at this where I'm at in Vinita, OK

[SHS]

Originally Posted by RonBoyd

Anyway, I am unsure what "DVR" means exactly..

It means Digital Video Recorder which it refer to format unlike VHS or Beta or NoN Digital formats aka old school analogs signal

[wayner]

Originally Posted by RonBoyd

Anyway, I am unsure what "DVR" means exactly. If you are referring to recording programs similar to how STV does, then maybe I can help.

That's exactly what it means. And nothing else is as good at this as SageTV. Often the streaming solutions can have shortcomings, like inability to skip commercials or (for sports) being able to start at the beginning of a game when it is under way. Nothing else that I have seen also allows you to quickly skip through parts of a recording the way that SageTV does. This makes it invaluable to me when I watch sports. I am not really a football fan but it lets me watch all of the action of the Superbowl in about 20 minutes. Watch a play SkipFwd,SkipFwd, SkipFwd, Watch a play, Skip Fwd...

[RonBoyd]

Originally Posted by SHS

It means Digital Video Recorder which it refer to format unlike VHS or Beta or NoN Digital formats aka old school analogs signal

Oh! I apologize. I thought it meant: "A digital video recorder (DVR) is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD or other local or networked mass storage device." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_video_recorder)

Which is what PlayOn does. My mistake. Sorry about that.

[RonBoyd]

Originally Posted by wayner

That's exactly what it means. And nothing else is as good at this as SageTV. Often the streaming solutions can have shortcomings, like inability to skip commercials or (for sports) being able to start at the beginning of a game when it is under way. Nothing else that I have seen also allows you to quickly skip through parts of a recording the way that SageTV does. This makes it invaluable to me when I watch sports. I am not really a football fan but it lets me watch all of the action of the Superbowl in about 20 minutes. Watch a play SkipFwd,SkipFwd, SkipFwd, Watch a play, Skip Fwd...

I agree. However, I was suggesting PlayOn as an addition not a replacement. STV is definitely without peers as far as the play back mode is concerned. However, it has not quite caught up in the area of recording "Streaming" sources yet.

In any event, PlayOn does strip commercials when using its built in viewer. (I haven't researched how to convert that to STV but I am sure there must be a way... if not now but some day soon)

[korben_dallas]

Getting sports in high def seems to be a tough proposition. Services I've looked into usually have one or more limitations like only 720p, only stereo sound, no dvr, schedule blackouts, and no coverage of that particular sport.

Still haven't found anything that beats SageTV with HDPVR recording component+optical audio from cable stb.. just wish it was more stable and less complex.

[trk2]

Originally Posted by korben_dallas

Getting sports in high def seems to be a tough proposition. Services I've looked into usually have one or more limitations like only 720p, only stereo sound, no dvr, schedule blackouts, and no coverage of that particular sport.

You're not going to do any better than 720p for most sports regardless if it's streaming, OTA, cable or satellite. ABC, ESPN, FOX, Fox Sports and MLB Network all broadcast at 720p as networks.