Cutting the Cord

[galactawitz]

I had sling tv for about a year basically to watch ESPN for basketball and ISU football. Only few downsides were no Fox Sports stations for ISU football, and there were times for me where it lagged way behind and quality issues. I have had PS Vue for about a month and haven't had as many lagging issues. Plus content is pretty far superior even though I'm paying a little bit more.

 

[Triggermv]

Since we are talking cutting the cord, I figure it might be worth throwing out some advice as well on getting your internet costs down since internet cost and speed suddenly become more important. With that said, I've totally learned that the the name of the game in internet costs is 100% competition and whether there is any. When we first moved into our new house 7 years ago, all that was offered for internet was cable internet through Mediacom at whatever speed I wanted to pay for and Quest DSL (through phone line) at only like a maximum of 2 mbps (completely worthless). This essentially meant that Mediacom had ZERO competition and they knew it. They definitely do their research on what areas have competition and what areas don't. Therefore, I was paying full prices and any time I tried to negotiate, they pretty much told me to take a hike. I was screwed

Now, fast forward a couple years and then a local service in Cedar Rapids called Imon finally came into my neighborhood and EVERYTHING changed. Imon started offering basement-level pricing to get new customers of like $25/month for like 20 mbps internet (2 yr contract), so I jumped ship to them in a heartbeat. Now, ever since then, Mediacom has essentially done everything short of begging me to come back by offering equivalently low rates pretty much every month either by mail or shoot, even having dudes knocking on my door. With that said, I really hate Mediacom, so all I've done twice now with my Imon low contract expiring is giving Imon a call and saying hey, I'm being offered this by Mediacom, what can you guys do? In response, they've either matched Mediacom or even done better. In my last most-recent go around to match Mediacom, I am now on a 2-year contract where I get 50 mbps (yes, 50!!!) for $35/month through Imon.

Anyway, moral of the story is COMPETITION!!!!! I can't emphasize that enough. Therefore, if your area does have competition, I recommend trying my strategy. If not, may good people have mercy on you..... All you can really do is hope some competition finally comes to town.

 

[cycloneworld]

Sounds like PS Vue is the way to go for sports. What hardware is required (I don't have a PS4)?

 

[JY07]

Actually, I've heard Apple TV is going to improve this a lot more in the future.

Google is also trying to implement something like this; however, their first demo on it was over two years ago and it still hasn't really materialized.

I think the goal would be to allow for multiple sources (PS Vue subscription, netflix, local antenna DVR, etc) and present everything as if they were normal channels (or on demand channels) like you'd have in normal provider's channel guide, and access everything from one source opposed to going in an out of various apps

 

[CysRage]

Since we are talking cutting the cord, I figure it might be worth throwing out some advice as well on getting your internet costs down since internet cost and speed suddenly become more important. With that said, I've totally learned that the the name of the game in internet costs is 100% competition and whether there is any. When we first moved into our new house 7 years ago, all that was offered for internet was cable internet through Mediacom at whatever speed I wanted to pay for and Quest DSL (through phone line) at only like a maximum of 2 mbps (completely worthless). This essentially meant that Mediacom had ZERO competition and they knew it. They definitely do their research on what areas have competition and what areas don't. Therefore, I was paying full prices and any time I tried to negotiate, they pretty much told me to take a hike. I was screwed

Now, fast forward a couple years and then a local service in Cedar Rapids called Imon finally came into my neighborhood and EVERYTHING changed. Imon started offering basement-level pricing to get new customers of like $25/month for like 20 mbps internet (2 yr contract), so I jumped ship to them in a heartbeat. Now, ever since then, Mediacom has essentially done everything short of begging me to come back by offering equivalently low rates pretty much every month either by mail or shoot, even having dudes knocking on my door. With that said, I really hate Mediacom, so all I've done twice now with my Imon low contract expiring is giving Imon a call and saying hey, I'm being offered this by Mediacom, what can you guys do? In response, they've either matched Mediacom or even done better. In my last most-recent go around to match Mediacom, I am now on a 2-year contract where I get 50 mbps (yes, 50!!!) for $35/month through Imon.

Anyway, moral of the story is COMPETITION!!!!! I can't emphasize that enough. Therefore, if your area does have competition, I recommend trying my strategy. If not, may good people have mercy on you..... All you can really do is hope some competition finally comes to town.

Nice! I'm hoping Imon comes to my neighborhood soon in Cedar Rapids. Right now I only have Mediacom and Centurylink. I just got off the phone to get Centurylink going. 12mbps for $30/month for a year. No bad but better than than $50/month Mediacom wanted if I were to remain with them. I am stacking PSVue with it so this should be a great combo. I'll take $65/month for internet and TV over $130 any day! Now if/when Imon moves to my neighborhood, I'll really be sitting well!

 

[aeroclone]

Google is also trying to implement something like this; however, their first demo on it was over two years ago and it still hasn't really materialized.

I think the goal would be to allow for multiple sources (PS Vue subscription, netflix, local antenna DVR, etc) and present everything as if they were normal channels (or on demand channels) like you'd have in normal provider's channel guide, and access everything from one source opposed to going in an out of various apps

So I'm a Google Fiber sub, and the current service offers something similar to this. The TV boxes, in addition to the traditional TV and DVR services, also have built in app support for Netflix, YouTube, and a few others. The guide and smart search will actually return results including live TV, on demand, DVR, or streaming services and launch them directly from the main TV guide. You still have to load in and out of the apps, but it is all done from the same interface, on the same remote, and on the same input. The only downside is that the app selection is pretty limited. However, each box also functions as a Chromecast, which opens you up to any video app you have on your phone or tablet.

Of course this is all offered up through a paid TV service, so it doesn't fit the bill for cord cutting. But it is a step in the right direction towards an interface that could blend different apps and services into a more seamless experience.

 

[ceeboe]

We've gone through proabably similar to others, had DirectTV, used Sling for awhile, and now are onto PS Vue. Cord cutting isn't as reliable, but we're definitely saved at least $50 a month.

 

[JessicaP7]

We kept basic cable and high-speed internet (it was a 3 year fix priced which helped) but only use Hulu and Netflix now. It's just not worth the extra money for an abundance of channels we'll never watch.

 

[ripvdub]

Amazon fire stick/tv or I think a Roku stock recently has it too. Ipad and android devices as well.

 

[ceeboe]

Sounds like PS Vue is the way to go for sports. What hardware is required (I don't have a PS4)?

multiple device work. Roku, PS systems or course, Amazon products. Apple TV does not have it as this time.

 

[Triggermv]

Nice! I'm hoping Imon comes to my neighborhood soon in Cedar Rapids. Right now I only have Mediacom and Centurylink. I just got off the phone to get Centurylink going. 12mbps for $30/month for a year. No bad but better than than $50/month Mediacom wanted if I were to remain with them. I am stacking PSVue with it so this should be a great combo. I'll take $65/month for internet and TV over $130 any day! Now if/when Imon moves to my neighborhood, I'll really be sitting well!

Well, while you don't have Imon yet, at least you have high-speed Centurylink as an option. I didn't even have that at first. With that said, yep, still hope for Imon. They are pretty awesome actually. I think it is Fiber or something because I don't even need a cable modem anymore. I just plug an ethernet cord from the ethernet wall jack they put in my wall directly to my wireless router. That's it. Also, their customer service is amazing, especially when compared to Mediacom (very low bar). Not only does any phone call pretty much go straight to a person (maybe one keytouch to get there), but they are also amazingly nice and pleasant to deal with. Same thing goes for their repairmen who come out. The repair people also don't ding you for everything when they come. Shoot, I didn't even mention that they'll do great stuff too like buy up a bunch of tickets to events around Cedar Rapids and then offer them out free to all their customers. We've taken advantage of this multiple times. In fact, I'd say everything they do is almost the opposite of Mediacom.

 

[Clonefan32]

We cut the cord for a few years and recently went back with Direct. We tried different internet configurations and we continued having trouble with it being laggy. The picture wasn't great and it buffered more than I wanted to. Also, the setup of our house made it very difficult to get local channels with a fairly nice, leaf antennae.

We figured between paying more for internet in hopes that it would improve the streaming, a Sling membership, Hulu and upgrading our antennae to the point we could reliably get local channels, we weren't saving enough money to justify the headaches involved.

 

[Triggermv]

We cut the cord for a few years and recently went back with Direct. We tried different internet configurations and we continued having trouble with it being laggy. The picture wasn't great and it buffered more than I wanted to. Also, the setup of our house made it very difficult to get local channels with a fairly nice, leaf antennae.

We figured between paying more for internet in hopes that it would improve the streaming, a Sling membership, Hulu and upgrading our antennae to the point we could reliably get local channels, we weren't saving enough money to justify the headaches involved.

We cut the cord for a few years and recently went back with Direct. We tried different internet configurations and we continued having trouble with it being laggy. The picture wasn't great and it buffered more than I wanted to. Also, the setup of our house made it very difficult to get local channels with a fairly nice, leaf antennae.

We figured between paying more for internet in hopes that it would improve the streaming, a Sling membership, Hulu and upgrading our antennae to the point we could reliably get local channels, we weren't saving enough money to justify the headaches involved.

Yeah, I hate to break it to people, but an outdoor antenna is almost a must if you want to become a serious cable cutter. One of the best investments I've made. Granted, there was a cost to getting it wired and put up, but I'm cool with one-time costs that pay dividends over many years.

 

[DSMCy]

Yeah, I hate to break it to people, but an outdoor antenna is almost a must if you want to become a serious cable cutter. One of the best investments I've made. Granted, there was a cost to getting it wired and put up, but I'm cool with one-time costs that pay dividends over many years.

Can I ask what all you had done for this, cost, etc?

The previous owners of my house had Mediacom. I found where the cable enters the house, but I can't figure out where it splits to go to every room. My thought was to hook an antenna the the outside hook up.

I was also hoping to install the antenna in the attic. I think I'm going to climb around up there this fall when its cooler and see if I can figure out how to run it to a few rooms myself.

 

[Triggermv]

I bought this outdoor antenna off amazon and it works perfect for me:

https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Aspen-...d=1469559017&sr=1-27&keywords=outdoor+antenna

However, I've heard these ones are the best out there, but I can't confirm that and it is more expensive:

https://www.amazon.com/ClearStream-...d=1469559060&sr=1-12&keywords=outdoor+antenna

To go with the antenna, you'll need a J-Mount Bracket to mount it:

https://www.amazon.com/Antennas-Dir...id=1469559151&sr=8-4&keywords=j-mount+bracket

So, as you can see, you'll have at least $50ish tied up into an antenna/mount assembly. I then called my local satellite company to see if I could pay them to install it on the roof and run the cables. They said they don't do that, but gave me the number of an individual guy of theirs that does it on the side, so I called him. He ended up mounting it on the roof, running the cable (tucked it really well where it was hidden), ran it into the house with a hole and a rubber grommet type of thing, and then installed a splitter that sent it to all the different rooms. Total cost he charged me was $100, therefore I paid $150 total when it was all said and done. Well worth it now after about 5 years with it. I looked at it in the amount of cable bills it would take to pay it off and I figured it was worth foregoing about 2-3 months of cable for it.

 

[ripvdub]

These antennas work pretty well for us. At least ones like it. Slickdeals always has coupons for them.

https://www.amazon.com/1byone-Miles...F8&qid=1469560870&sr=8-24&keywords=Tv+antenna

 

[cydline2cydline]

I live close to DSM and so I am going to try a few things tonight to see if I can get away with a cheap antenna. I will report back with results.

http://disablemycable.com/quick-test/

 

[cyIclSoneU]

We've gone through proabably similar to others, had DirectTV, used Sling for awhile, and now are onto PS Vue. Cord cutting isn't as reliable, but we're definitely saved at least $50 a month.

Curious what your take is on Vue picture reliability vs Sling. When I had Sling it buffered more frequently than I liked.

 

[mred]

Curious what your take is on Vue picture reliability vs Sling. When I had Sling it buffered more frequently than I liked.

I've only had Vue for around 10 days and haven't used it a ton, but so far it's been much better than Sling from a stream quality standpoint, including fast-forwarding (which was really iffy on Sling). My experiences are strictly on Roku.

 

[ceeboe]

Curious what your take is on Vue picture reliability vs Sling. When I had Sling it buffered more frequently than I liked.

Agree on the statement above. The quality and reliability has been far better for Vue than Sling. There are a few channels that have their issues, and its all based on bandwidth which we occasionally have buffering during peak hours. There is a delay as expected.

The one channel we've had the hardest time with is Freeform. My wife watches a show on there and it's usually 15 minutes behind normal start time, and the buffering is a constant issue during peak hours. But ESPN, Discovery, etc. I haven't noticed that type of behavior and they tend to be more reliable.