cuttin the cord update
[NOTE - I am a long time mgoblogger, I do not work for any companies. Just want to give you all an update]
Hey all,
Took the plunge to get rid of cable ($135 month--every month). Thought you might want an update on some stuff.
As far as I can tell - Sling does NOT have BigTen. They just cut relationship (or something).
We ended up with DirectTV NOW. Week in and honestly - we LOVE it.
Pros: $50 per month (still have to pay for internet - $35 month). lots of channels. Great picture no lag thus far. cancel and renew when you want, no penalty.
Cons: does not work with all systems on the TV. (didn't work with our Xbox One). Right now, pay two months in advance, and they give a free Roku. Ours came in a few days, works great. I am not sure if you can use a DVR - so that is kinda limiting. Have not seen any other negatives yet.
Anyway, that is all. thought you might like to know.
August 12th, 2017 at 10:40 PM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 12:54 AM ^
no TV, believe me, you'll wish you had cut it long ago. All you need is a relatively decent internet connection. I haven't had a tv in years and every time I walk into sams club it's "newer! bigger! more f'ing pixels!! curved screen! EXTRA BIG ASS TACO with MORE molecules!!!"..
So glad I got off that freakin' hampster wheel.
August 13th, 2017 at 3:24 PM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 9:38 AM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 10:36 AM ^
$600/year invested with historic S&P 500 returns results in nearly $60,000 after 25 years. Someone give this man A NEW CAR!
August 13th, 2017 at 12:04 PM ^
Sure, if people invest $600/year over 25 years, congrats. But far, FAR more likely, they just spend it on something else. Probably a couple more video games, an extra dinner or two, maybe a slighter better car on lease.
Again, these are all personal preferences. But I don't see people putting up posts every time they buy an HP laptop over a MacBook.
August 13th, 2017 at 1:37 PM ^
I love it when strangers on the internet criticize other strangers on the internet how to spend their money.
Listen, I don't particularly care for these "cord cutting" threads every other week. If you want to cancel Comcast for Sling TV or whatever - go online, do your research, make a decision. I don't make a post every time I buy a Michigan t-shirt.
However, if someone wants to save $600/yr on their TV bill, I'm not going to make fun of them about it.
August 13th, 2017 at 2:10 PM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 3:06 PM ^
Someone give this man a medal
August 13th, 2017 at 7:01 PM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 8:33 PM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 10:36 AM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 10:42 PM ^
My internet almost tripled in speed.
And I have BTN, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and many more.
But thanks for playing.
August 12th, 2017 at 11:06 PM ^
Hm. I pay $115/mo for 300mbps internet + HD + DVR + sports pkg (BTN FS1 MLB etc). So, you save $30 but lose DVR, right?
August 12th, 2017 at 11:11 PM ^
Wow, shit! That is a great deal. We save $30 bucks for the 7 "sports" months
Then $85 month for 5 months.
Truth be told, I will miss DVR.
August 12th, 2017 at 11:32 PM ^
Gotcha. I've always considered leaving but I DVR way too much.
August 12th, 2017 at 11:41 PM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 12:48 PM ^
On Demand is prettty good instead of a DVR for non-sports, but for Spectrum* I've noticed that they've started getting inconsistant in when they put up the shows, which can be frustrating. (I love Smantha Bee, but if I don't watch it live Spectrum sometimes puts it up the next day and sometimes 5 to 8 days later. For a current events show that doesn't work.)
For Sports, a rewind feature is essential. Most Michigan games I start 15-20 minutes late so that I can skip the commercials and most of half time, by the end of the game I'm in real time. Sacrilege I know. It's also great for rewinding plays in case that isn't obvious.
August 13th, 2017 at 2:21 PM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 6:10 PM ^
How does that work, exactly? You drop the TV package and will still only pay $35 for internet? Most providers will just jack up the rates on the internet once you drop TV service. Honest question because I'm just as interested in finding a solution as the next guy.
August 12th, 2017 at 10:42 PM ^
Does that have any problems if other people are online?
I am moving in a few weeks and was looking at ATT Direct TV Now. The one thing holding me back is that you don't get any live local TV stations. So if I wanted to watch a CFB game on CBS or NBC (we play at ND next year, etc..) I don't think I would get it with Direct TV Now - correct?
It seems like the best streaming device though, as it has all of the ESPNs, BTN, FoxSports, and ABC games can be viewed through ESPN App on the TV.
I might just stick with cable for a few years as I will be in a new market and can get locked in with a sweetheart deal for a year or two.
August 12th, 2017 at 10:49 PM ^
We haven't noticed any. We have 100mb service though, which might play into it.
We have ABC, NBC, Fox, FS1. We do not have CBS - one limitation I forgot about.
August 12th, 2017 at 10:51 PM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 10:58 PM ^
Sorry with all the stuff - it ends to be about $50.
I told WOW I was cancelling. They gave me a 5 year, $50 discount (no contract). I am not sure why they did it. When I spoke with the installer, he told me they got so many complaints they wanted to change their image.
August 12th, 2017 at 11:33 PM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 11:33 PM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 12:09 AM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 7:28 AM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 10:50 PM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 11:22 PM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 10:54 PM ^
I haven't paid for cable in nearly 3 years and I don't miss a thing. Between free live feeds of news on YouTube, a NetFlix account, and all the free HD sports you could want on vipleague.se I am very satisfied. Give it a try, you can always opt back in if it's not enough.
August 12th, 2017 at 10:59 PM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 10:18 AM ^
With any sort of rudimentary proper knowledge, you can prevent those issues.
August 13th, 2017 at 12:06 PM ^
vipleague.se
So, you don't pay for the services you sorta want and instead illegally use it from somewhere else. Again, you do "miss a thing"; it's live sports in HD. And you take it from somewhere else. Which is fine, that's a choice. But you don't get to crow about how you are saving money AND getting what you want.
August 13th, 2017 at 1:06 PM ^
I believe I just did "crow" about it.
August 12th, 2017 at 10:56 PM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 12:12 PM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 10:58 PM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 11:07 PM ^
That is a great deal.
I just get tired of paying for it all summer long, when we hardly watch TV.
Also, we can bring the roku camping and tailgating (I hope) with us with a hotspot. What I had seen, we couldn't do that with normal cable without a lot of expense.
August 12th, 2017 at 11:00 PM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 11:02 PM ^
I have directv and the local cable guy comes by a couple of times a year to try to sell me less channels for more money. He can never match it and I send him away frustrated every time.
His only ammunition to try to get me to go back to cable is that I would not lose signal during bad weather. When I tell him I only lose a signal when there is a tornado outside he becomes very mad and then finally leaves. I love torturing the guy every time he stops by.
August 12th, 2017 at 11:19 PM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 11:04 PM ^
August 14th, 2017 at 11:14 AM ^
The most recent time I tried this, they didn't budge and I had to follow through with canceling.
August 12th, 2017 at 11:04 PM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 11:05 PM ^
That comes from satelitte/cable vs streaming is absolutely night and day.
I've had a rare situation where the DirectTV went down because it was a complete blizzard and had to switch to the ESPN App to pick up where I left off. And when the signal came back, I cannot believe how much crisper it is to watch compared to streaming.
I know cutting the cable is all the rage, but for quality of viewing, it is not even comparable.
August 12th, 2017 at 11:16 PM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 1:05 AM ^
That comment is so on point I wish you were my real uncle.
This never gets mentioned when people want to celebrate saving like $30/month because they've cut the cord (yet in most cases still use log-ins of their family or friends). Streaming quality compared to legit cable HD is trash. Throw in buffering, lag, etc... Also, the simplicity and the smooth guide cable has, along with DVR.
If you don't watch a ton of TV and want to save a little money, sure cable cutting can be a smart move. But there's this trend that people act like it's a life changing mantra you would be foolish not to participate in.
I skipped going out to dinner tonight with the girlfriend and picked up fast food instead, and guess what I just saved as much or more this month than what cable cutting would have done for me.
August 13th, 2017 at 8:45 PM ^
August 13th, 2017 at 9:17 PM ^
A lot of streaming issues have to do with home internet connectivity as well as provider bandwidth, and you only mentioned one provider who is only available in limited markets.
Also, you're comparing streaming to DISH, we were comparing it to traditional hard wired cable, which is night and day when it comes to comparing service issues.