Thinking of cutting the cord, need answers

[Teal]

Our cable company sucks. It's the only game in town, they know it, and they squeeze us harder than the Five Families collecting protection money. We're paying on the order of 140-150 bucks per month for bundled cable/internet. We have a smart tv with apps like AMC, ESPN, etc. Of course, the XBO has those apps and then some.

So, assuming we see it's financially feasible, what we'd like to do is cut our cable, bump our internet speed slightly, and go to streaming. But we've never even investigated anything like that. We rarely watch TV. We watch TWD, and sports, the wife likes HGTV, but...that's about it. I'm really not versed in tech as much as many of you guys, so I don't even know where to start, what to watch for, what sacrifices (if any) will be made by cutting the cord.

ANY help at all would be fantastic.

[Aristo]

It's going to impact your data limits pretty significantly.

[tjung0831]

I jumped on Directvnow early. $35 flat gets me 100 channels. With that said, it's been very beta test like but I knew that going in....a lot of problems the first couple of months but it's been very good lately. PS Vue is the better option right now as it has far more features...just not as many channels as Directvnow for the same price. Hulu is also coming out with a live tv service sometime this year which will compete with Directvnow, PS Vue, and Sling.
You said you weren't watching much tv so not sure if that's something you'd be interested or not but I'm in it for the long haul...not going back to cable or satellite.

[Teal]

It's going to impact your data limits pretty significantly.

Good or bad?

[Rodster]

I've been cable free for over 10 years now. I watch just about anything for free via the web including live sports. You will see an uptick in your data usage but most internet providers offer unlimited or generous amounts of monthly data usage. I'm currently using Comcast and I have a 1TB data allowance. I never come close and that's with streaming all kinds of stuff including sporting events.

You can purchase a TV streaming device such as an Apple TV, Shield TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku etc or you can use a tablet and download apps. On my tablet I have Kodi for live streaming, Pluto TV. There are many apps available to watch free TV.

Both NBC and ABC show pretty much all their shows for free, the day or week after they played on air. If news is your thing there's plenty of live streaming apps for that. Walmart has a free app that lets you view movies for free.

[Aristo]

It's going to impact your data limits pretty significantly.

Good or bad?

Everything you stream is just downloading data.

[Teal]

Yeah, I should've known that. With cable one, we have 100mbps, but at only 300g per month. So that might not work after all. I dunno. Game speed is fine, but 300g goes fast on this XB1.

[Aristo]

Well, you are early in your ownership, which is always a much heavier download period. Once you have all the stuff you missed and care about, you won't be downloading nearly as much. Of course, as I say that I downloaded Ghost Recon, ProjectCars, Force Unleashed, and Fallout Shelter yesterday, as all were free.

But cutting the cord usually means a cooperative ISP. When we cut for two years we had Charter, which has no caps. In the end, we saved less than it was worth for the hassle. There were some shows we bought, like Walking Dead and some of my wife's stuff. Honestly, it was just easier to get. Able again and record the shows rather than buy episodes.

The worst part of cutting the cord is sports. If you are a fan of local teams, there just is t a convenient way to watch the NBA, MLB, and the NHL. And unless your ISP is really nice, you also lose ESPN, which takes a ton of college sports with it. If you are a fan of out of town teams, the league passes for streaming aren't bad. But they blackout local content.

Right now, you learn pretty quickly why a la carte is not a thing. You quickly run a bill close to cable. Especially when I started to hit bars more often for sports.

[Pete1210]

Right now, you learn pretty quickly why a la carte is not a thing. You quickly run a bill close to cable.

That's what I figured. I'm paying about 170 for cable/internet/phone package. Internet with streaming TV service would be around 120.
If it was up to me I could live with Internet only and OTA TV, but family would revolt.

[F308GTB]

Yeah, I should've known that. With cable one, we have 100mbps, but at only 300g per month. So that might not work after all. I dunno. Game speed is fine, but 300g goes fast on this XB1.

No doubt you can go over that 300gb limit, but you will pay. Companies are getting wise to cord cutters and jacking prices for non-bundled users.

[Diablo25]

Just saw this. YouTube streaming TV from Google. Looks like a great option...once it arrives. $35/month. Eventually (year(s)) I can see going to this. $35/month and load up on internet service.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/28/technol ... index.html

[Aristo]

It is kind of funny that cutting the cord essentially means finding a different kind of cord.

[Teal]

It is kind of funny that cutting the cord essentially means finding a different kind of cord.

Yep, that's exactly what it's looking like. Think we're gonna bump up the bandwidth, cut the cable, and get a dish for cheaper. (for two years, anyway). Honestly, the minute amount of time we spend watching the idiot box makes paying for anything a waste of money. An app to watch TWD, the ESPN app, Mobdro on the tablet for ESPNU and a host of other stuff, some rabbit ears for local...and that's it, really.