Thread Number: 92190  /  Tag: Other Home Products or Autos
Streaming TV vs. Cable
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Post# 1167607   12/26/2022 at 22:15 (458 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

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The area cable TV provider is eliminating cable TV for streaming.  They've apparently developed a streaming/app service with choice of an "economy" (20 channels) or "standard" (100 channels) package, plus add-on packages "digital value" (29), "movie services" (39), and "music" (50).  Includes 200 hrs of "DVR in the cloud" storage.  Introductory offer includes up to three free Fire TV Sticks.  Also works with Nvidia Shield, Google Phone/Tablet, Apple TV/iPhone/iPad, or PC browser.

Also requires their cable Internet service, or their TV/modem (rental) if on other Internet services.

The parents have had cable TV for years with the provider of question, so are losing it effective 1/16/2023 if not signed-up for the streaming service.

I switched mom today to the provider's Internet service so that part is covered (after they fix whatever is the problem causing very slow and erratic speeds).

Mom has absolutely no understanding about any of it.  She'll never use the cloud DVR part.

I'm trying to figure out if a Roku or buying a Fire Stick would end up a better $$ prospective than paying for the provider's streaming service.

She doesn't watch much TV but I've been unable to get her to write a list of specific programs.  Some game shows, sitcoms, news, maybe some daytime talk shows.  The area network affiliates typically have no-cost news apps.

A trick is that she likes to watch Astros baseball, and sometimes Seahawks football.  I don't watch sports but my understanding is it requires a paid subscription to ... something, which seems to be the "standard" + "digital value" packages ... highest $$$.

Looking for input from others about what they're using.





Post# 1167615 , Reply# 1   12/27/2022 at 00:22 (458 days old) by hobbyapocalypse (Northeast Pennsylvania)        

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Did you look into what's available Over-the-Air in your area? With an antenna I get about 25 channels. Most of what your mom wants to watch could be available OTA.

My elderly parents have cable but mom says she would cancel it if it wasn't for dad who likes the History channel, Nat Geo etc. From what I know about Roku it seems like it would be a good add-on option to whatever local programs are available OTA.




This post was last edited 12/27/2022 at 00:37
Post# 1167640 , Reply# 2   12/27/2022 at 11:19 (457 days old) by jakeseacrest (Massachusetts)        

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I have a Roku TV in my living room and a Fire Stick in my bedroom. We have basic cable and internet from Comcast/Xfinity. Every year our cable bill goes up and I try to renegotiate it to no avail so after the new year I'm cancelling it. The only things I watch over the air are the news and Judge Judy anyway.

Post# 1167643 , Reply# 3   12/27/2022 at 11:36 (457 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)        

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What really irritates me about cable TV is that you have to pay for so many channels that we never watch and never will watch. Plus they charge a $25 per mo. fee for broadcast TV. WTF! The GD digital signal comes over the air for free, I seriously doubt that Comcast is paying the government or anyone else to transmit that signal to us. If we could have a roof top antenna I would consider getting rid of cable TV and stream the channels that aren’t able to be received over the digital HD signal.

More and more subscribers are going to start to ditch cable TV. If they were smart these companies would allow customers to choose the channels that they want on an a la carte basis. It would feel like less of a rip off if customers were only paying for the channels that they will actually watch.

Eddie


Post# 1167649 , Reply# 4   12/27/2022 at 12:29 (457 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine)        

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My niece lives in Portland's Historical district. No rooftop antenna or satellite dishes are allowed. You either have Time Warner cable, nothing or Roku. Those with Roku swear by it for saving money and more like a'la carte choices. I am going to look into it as Directv keeps charging more for extra shopping and garbage channels. Years ago I had Primestar, before Directv took them over. Primestar charged you a low fee for the signal and you chose what programs you wanted to see and you could cancel the program any time. Channels were cheap on Primestar most were under $1 per month.

Post# 1167656 , Reply# 5   12/27/2022 at 13:59 (457 days old) by LowEfficiency (Iowa)        

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Surely in a city like Portland an indoor antenna would suffice?

Post# 1167657 , Reply# 6   12/27/2022 at 14:19 (457 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)        

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I've had a Roku stick for a couple of years and would never go back to cable.  I paid once for the stick, and now the only monthly charges are for streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, Prime, etc.  You get to pick what you want -- including your high speed internet provider -- and the best thing of all is that I don't have to deal with those loathsome sports and shopping channels.  There are services that offer local channels as well, for a monthly fee.

 

There is definitely a learning curve with the streaming menu, but it's not a big deal once you get the hang of it with the remote.  Just be sure the TV has a port for the stick.  I prefer a dumb TV with a stick as opposed to a smart one that is self-contained.  I made the mistake of upgrading to a smart TV a few months ago and it has been aggravating me ever since, seemingly with a mind of its own, updating itself and reverting to factory defaults, etc.   Smart TVs have replaced setting the VCR as far as frequent urgent calls from your parents are concerned.


Post# 1167659 , Reply# 7   12/27/2022 at 15:03 (457 days old) by joeekaitis (Rialto, California, USA)        
Like History Channel and Science Channel?

joeekaitis's profile picture

 

Look into Philo.  $25.00 a month, over 70 channels.



CLICK HERE TO GO TO joeekaitis's LINK

Post# 1167666 , Reply# 8   12/27/2022 at 16:21 (457 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

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I'm trying to figure if subscribing to networks or streaming sources à la carte for what mom wants to watch is more economical than the provider's prepared packages.  The cable bill is/was running $161 monthly not including internet.  They were on their local independent teleco's minimum internet of 25 Mbps @ $55/month (typically clocks 20 Mbps), much too slow for streaming.  100 Mbps is $95/month, 300 Mbps is $135/month ... so nope.

I upgraded her yesterday to the cable provider's 200 Mbps service $65/month.  It's running much slower and erratic on speed tests (1 to 40 Mbps, once each 85 and 135).  Remote tech guy identified problems, onsite appt in a couple days, possibly the coax drop from pole to house needs changing.  I'm on the same service (different town) and tested just now at 240 Mbps.

Adding the provider's charges for their full streaming package would be back to probably $185 monthly.

Hulu has a Live TV option at $70/month, which is still more total $$$ than seems reasonable.  Much less without Live TV.

Her little bedroom TV is both dumb and no HDMI.  Her family room TV isn't smart but has a couple HDMI jacks so a Fire Stick or Roku can be done.

I have a smart TV in my bedroom with Android OS.  It sometimes gets flaky/ornery.  I can deal with it but mom couldn't.


Post# 1167674 , Reply# 9   12/27/2022 at 16:42 (457 days old) by MattL (Flushing, MI)        

 

 

 

Is It Cheaper to Pay for Streaming or Cable? We Do the Math



CLICK HERE TO GO TO MattL's LINK

Post# 1167716 , Reply# 10   12/28/2022 at 00:26 (457 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

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Matt, there will no longer be traditional cable TV available from the provider (Sparklight) ... as in a television signal fed into the home via a coax cable dropped from a utility pole and connected to the television.

Sparklight is discontinuing "cable TV" for a streaming platform of their concoction that combines groupings of channels into a choice of two basic packages (Economy and Standard), plus some optional add-on packages.

It works via:  Amazon Fire TV Stick, Nvidia Shield, Apple TV, iPhone/iPad, Sony & Sharp TVs with built-in Fire TV, PC or Mac with web browser.  It apparently doesn't work with Roku.  They provide up to three free Fire Sticks on an introductory offer.

The subscriber must have internet, either A) via Sparklight or B) another service.  An additional "TV box" must be rented from Sparklight if B.

So I suppose it's a type of packaged "cable TV" but only as a streaming platform over an internet connection.

The question is whether the economics are better via Sparklight's packaged channel choices (which includes a bunch of channels mom will never watch) or chosing among the array of other streaming services that are available via our own Roku or Fire Stick for specific desired channels to get the programs she wants to watch, IF they are available à la carte.  (DISH or DirecTV are also choices, there is nothing else available in this area.)


Post# 1167755 , Reply# 11   12/28/2022 at 19:10 (456 days old) by 48bencix (Sacramento CA)        
People are not informed

No one gets the newspaper anymore. Local TV stations are the remaining source of information about the community. Any cable package or satellite package that includes local stations is very expensive. The streaming packages with local stations are expensive also. Antenna reception varies and many cannot get the reception. One wonders how many died in Buffalo because they were really not aware how bad the storm would be. It was reported in the news 5 days ahead of time, in newspapers and on local TV. Our Sacramento library offers free New York Times and Wall Street Journal, on line. You have to log into the library and then into the news sources. Check out what your library offers on line for free and stay informed.

Post# 1167768 , Reply# 12   12/28/2022 at 20:20 (456 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

Thanks, Glenn, for this information.

Post# 1167771 , Reply# 13   12/28/2022 at 20:44 (456 days old) by bpetersxx (laf in on the banks of the Wabash River)        

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I use a roku streaming device and have for years

have had 3 of them thru the years the first one that came out a roku 2 xs but it failed so I got a roku express 4k+

my favorite podcast has a app on the roku and I watch that

I use weather nation for weather info

I do not watch too much but this works out fine for me there is so much to watch and it is free

Glenn got me to thinking about isp's so I have a post about isp's


Post# 1167782 , Reply# 14   12/29/2022 at 02:19 (456 days old) by LowEfficiency (Iowa)        

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Any reason you're not trying an antenna for broadcast TV?

It's by far the cheapest option, and sounds like exactly what they need based on what was listed in your first post.


Post# 1167804 , Reply# 15   12/29/2022 at 09:09 (455 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

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Antenna is problematic at mom's location, in a weak zone, distant from the broadcast towers.  Everyone in the town had to have tall masts and boosters on their antennas back in the day and could receive only the Houston ABC, CBS, NBC affiliates, and two UHF independents.


Post# 1167815 , Reply# 16   12/29/2022 at 14:36 (455 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)        

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Since OTA TV went to digital broadcasting in 2009,  I've been able to pull in channels that transmit from 45 miles away with just rabbit ears and an indoor "bowtie" UHF antenna.  This would never have been possible with analog signals.

 

With a good high gain antenna (even if it's an old school type), your parents may be able to get clear reception (it's all or nothing with digital) on most or all of the stations in their area.  At our previous home, I salvaged the UHF portion of a '70s rooftop antenna and mounted it in the attic.  The number of channels we received increased over what we were getting with rabbit ears/bowtie in an upstairs bedroom, and the signals were steady regardless of weather conditions.  In our current home, I'm using that same indoor antenna combination in a first floor bedroom and I'm still able to pull in about half of the OTA channels from Sutro tower in SF.  That's plenty for my 1950 Admiral, which I use once in a while to tune in when there's a breaking local story, watch Amy on Jeopardy, etc.


Post# 1167824 , Reply# 17   12/29/2022 at 16:48 (455 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

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Broadcast towers are 70 miles distance.


Post# 1167842 , Reply# 18   12/29/2022 at 22:00 (455 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California)        

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Like Ralph, I use a rooftop antenna aimed at the nearest broadcast point, which in my case is Mt. Sutro in SF, and get fantastic reception. According to Google Maps, it's about 20 miles between the Mt. Sutro broadcast antenna and my house. As the crow flies.

 

In fact when I retired I sought to conserve $$ and dropped the cable TV service. I get along OK with PBS and local news.


Post# 1167859 , Reply# 19   12/30/2022 at 01:34 (455 days old) by MattL (Flushing, MI)        

I'm always on the verge of dropping Directv.  If/when I do Sling might be my service of choice at $35. 

I do have a very good antenna setup and my HD Homerun 4k box shows well over 100 channels available from 2 markets.  95% is content I have zero interest in, but all the major networks are available. This unit has 4 tuners, 2 of which can receive the new ATSC 3.0 standard slowly being rolled out, only advantage is for techies like me that want the best image quality on a high end 4K display.  I couple this with  Channels DVR with is just like having a cable box, same grid layout and recording capability.  Channels also has the capability to utilize TV anywhere which allows you to view and record cable only channels if you have access to a cable or sat login info (yours, or a trusted friend ;-) ) Works great with a firestick, computer, phone or tablet but no roku support will be available. Costs $80/y or $8/m.  Hd Homerun can be had for $100 or less for non 4k model.  Channels DVR does require a computer to act as a server be connected and on 24/7 could be setup on a Raspberry pi or an nVidea system if you like.

 

Sound complicated, it is just a bit, but once set up the end user interface is great for anyone of any age. And  could work well even w/o an antenna feed with tv anywhere......


Post# 1167961 , Reply# 20   12/31/2022 at 11:14 (453 days old) by DaveAMKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)        

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Streaming easily replaced and is replacing cable, just as from the time you got that cable installed no longer needed that rabbit-eared reception-getting TV…

Things are so compact now, you can get, watch and do (& order off of Discogs, MusicStack and eBay via payment through PayPal for my hard copy medium which is still ever massive) to the point where you one day never again will see all those radio and TV towers nor even need that satellite dish on your house you tried for television on, though my wife maintains Sirius for her car radio, though I ditched FM playing the same ol’ sane ol’ for a good AM that plays better in her car than mine but cannot tune in on my stereo at home…

So change with the times, I say…



— Dave


Post# 1168555 , Reply# 21   1/7/2023 at 11:53 (446 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
The cable service guy visited on 12/29, replaced the coax drop from pole to house.  He was astonished that it had apparently never been changed in all the years.  Much better.  I get 229 Mbps via WiFi there on my phone.  The computer is still slower (112 to 119 Mbps) but that apparently is because the ethernet port on it is the older 100 Mbps standard, which is not a significant problem because mom never any longer uses the computer, only I do when there.

I decided to go first with a Roku for mom.  I tried my Roku 2 XD that I haven't used in years.  It didn't work very well even after the coax problem was fixed.  It's presumably too old and underpowered.  I bought a new one for her which works much better.  She said that the picture quality is better in comparison to HD cable over coax.  :-)

Now to figure out over the following weeks/months after cable service ends on 1/16 which streaming subscription service(s) will best fit her needs.

An irritating aspect is that the previous internet service was canceled on 12/29 but the provider (local telephone company) billed for the full month of January (auto-pay so it can't be stopped), presumably because they couldn't adjust the billing in time.  The cable service is also billing (auto-pay again) for a full month of January service, which should be only a half-month.  That should all be fixed on the next bill but it's still irritating.


Post# 1168719 , Reply# 22   1/8/2023 at 14:03 (445 days old) by vacerator (Macomb, Michigan)        
Buffering

can be an issue with streaming. Even with hiogh internet speeds. If os, just hardwire the streaming device (ex. Apple TV nuuk box) to your wifi router.

Post# 1168744 , Reply# 23   1/8/2023 at 16:41 (445 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California)        

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Last night a little after midnight I was watching SNL via broadcast. Suddenly the signal went out. All the other broadcast channels were fine, though, my assumption is that KNTV stopped broadcasting its signal. I did some googling and discovered that KNTV's broadcast license expired sometime in December 2022. I don't know if this is related, but it seems logical that it might be.

 

All the other TV signals from Sutro Tower in SF are fine, as far as I can tell.

 

Anybody else in the SF Bay Area lose the KNTV/NBC broadcast signal lately?

 




This post was last edited 01/08/2023 at 18:16
Post# 1168753 , Reply# 24   1/8/2023 at 18:19 (445 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California)        

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KNTV update:

 

Just checked, the KNTV Channel 11 NBC station is back!

 

Yay!

 

(only took 12+ hours)

 

Update: Just the two broadcast KNTV channels are back, 11. 1 and 11.2... 11.3 and 11.4 still out. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what hppens with those. Not that I watch those two channels that much anyway.

 



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