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Cut the Cord to Pay TV
The beginning of September 2013 I suspended my Directv account and went to Internet TV only. I took my laptop computer and attached it to my 55 inch not smart TV in the Family Room. So I have offically joined the ranks of Cord Cutters.
I also bought a Google Chromecast that I installed in an available HDMI port and hooked up the USB for power to USB port on the TV.
Because my frequent flyer miles were about to expire by the end of September I also got a free 50 inch Smart TV from Uniteds mileage program.
For content I subscribed to Aereo and Netflix streaming service. Neflix has the best video streaming quality, Aereo is OK though and has a cloud based DVR service. I record all the Football I want to watch and any shows that are worth viewing.
And as of this week I can watch Aereo DVR content and live TV on my Samsung Galaxy S4 (android 4.2 or higher). On the S4 the football games look fantastic with no fast action flicker. Aereo also works on Apple products. The fees for Aereo start at $8 per month, Netflix is also $8 per month both with one month free trials. So far I see no reason to need Huluplus a Comcast owned company now.
Now as to smart vs dumb tv, vs Chromecast, vs laptop I would have to say that of the three Chromecast is very high on COOL but lower on practicality usability. So I rate the laptop TV combination with remote wireless keyboard and mouse as the best, Smartv second (no Aereo app yet for a lacal channels), and Chromecast last.
My wife is the only sad person around here now... cannot get her favorite cable news that she was addicted to. Also using the laptop is just a little bit technical that only now after 2 months of being off Satellite is she even beginning to try to use without my doing it for her.
Anyway I would have to say that I do not see any reason yet to reactivate my Directv account and pay $93 month if the only thing we are getting is a All News channel. The only reason that would push me back is a Happy Wife is an Inexpensive Wife, so far though is aint Happy pay Directv $1200 a year has cooled her displeasure so far. I let you know if she keeps complaining...
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Cut the Cord to Pay TV
Yes with Directv you have price creep, to stem it you have to call and ask for the customer retention department ans say that you want to disconnect the service. They will try to convince you to stay with offers of $10 off for this and that and stuff for free for a short period like free showtime or Starz etc..
Once you leave they know it may be a long time before you come back if ever. But after checking out Comcast I would have to say Directv has better phone support.
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Cut the Cord to Pay TV
Six month update:
1) In October cut the cord with the local phone company for phone service and moved home phone number to VOIP with Vonage.
2)Last week had Comcast Business 50MB/10MB internet installed, canceled phone company DSL 10/.6 internet.
Next step is to completely cancel Directv as I was on 6 month max account suspension which expires in March.
We have 3 DirecTV DVRs that have hundreds of hours of content on them but not once in the last three months have we watched anything on them.
The main things we are using remains Aereo, and Netflix. To a lesser extent other internet available content. Netflix has very good video quality, Aereo is not as good and based on the load on their servers is subject to some buffering delays and pixel choppiness on fast action shots. But I can gennerally live with it. Mostly improved with Comcast speed improvement.
I have tried Amazon Prime Video and HuluPlus. Amazon prime is not bad but most content with few exceptions is on Netflix and Netflix is easier to use by a wide margin. Huluplus is owned by Comcast and they show mostly current content that I can record on Aereo where I can skip commercials, Huluplus forces you to watch commercials!
The cable companies and Aereo are going tot he supreme court over their service. Looks like the outcome may not support my cord cutting position. Of the 110 million families in the US with TV only 10 Million watch with an antenna.
So if Aereo wins it is likely that ABC CBS FOX and NBC will change their over the air (OTA) broadcast practices to no longer transmit all episodes of first run shows OTA and sports, only providing content to Cable and Satellite firms.
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Dialup ....How does Chromecast work? I've only just begun to see the little 'widget' forsale in the sale flyers(Best Buy, etc).
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Hi Woodie,
Wow I was just thinking about how I started using Dialup many many many years ago and how laptops do not come with modems or sometimes no DVD player anymore, high speed networking is so dominant.
What speed do you get on Dial Up?
Chromecast is very high on COOL, lower on practical so far.. It depends on the use of a very high speed WiFi network in your home that is connected to a very high speed internet provider 10 MB per sec would be very good you might be able to stream with gaps at lower speeds. Dial up must be below 1.5MB so I don't think you want to go that direction.
How long does it take to load the pages on the Tractorpoint site?
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Dennis, did the cable companies win their court case?
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The cable companies and Aereo are due in Supreme Court later his Spring so the final decision is yet to come.
However the Cable and Satellite providers scored a recent win in the western states where a Federal judge placed an Injunction on Aereo prohibiting them from doing business in six western states pending the Supreme Court decision.
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Ok that is what I was afraid of.
I have a Mobile Version of Tractorpoint for Smartphones and Tablet users.
On your dialup connection you should use this site instead. Even at the speeds you mention it will be much faster than the full site.
Not all things are available on the mobile version and sometimes things will go to the full version, but for reading and responding to threads you will be better off with the Mobile view.
Try the link below.
http://tractorpoint.com/cgi-bin/dev/pda_main.pl
Link:
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Let me know how much better mobile version works for you!
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I think Hughes is associated with Directv. The only gotcha with satellite Internet is that you pay by usage. Which might be better than what you have. You just have to be careful as one movie streamed would Gigabits alone.
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I have considered cutting the cord for a while, haven't had the guts to do it yet.I have had my laptop wired to TV through HDMI for years.......
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Cutting the cord is probably the future of the home entertainment market.
Yet right now I have to admit it is one of those mixed metaphors where as a attempting to be a pioneer or ahem cost saver, you wind up spending more money on other things.
Much as my father laughed at me 20 years ago with my wood stove firewood cutting penchant. He enumerated all the costs, work, and injuries sustained in the name of saving money on heat. Pickup truck, chain saw, splitter, wood stove, chimney, hours and hours of hauling and stoking. And the inevitable accident like crushing my finger in the log splitter.... Or my neigbor burning his house down jsut before Xmas.
So on cord cutting my high end Laptop has now become a permanent entertainment center in the family room, so I cannot use it in my office. So I got a desktop for my office that I am running Linux on. So when I need something on my laptop like Office 2013, I remote access the laptop. To make the network better for streaming I replaced by aging router with the Netgear Nighthawk ac1900 r7000 for $200. Then I canceled by land line and DSL and got high speed cable at 50MB for $120.....
So as you can see you can really save money by staying with your current cable or satellite provider rather than cutting the cord.... hey but I am having so much fun with all these gadgets, for this much entertainment I would have to spend much much more or would I ?
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