cuttin the cord update

Submitted by sheepman on

[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.

 

MGoBoard
Football

reshp1

August 12th, 2017 at 11:11 PM ^

I did PS vue last year and was very happy with it. This year YouTube TV seems like the better deal. So far it's been pretty good. Biggest gripe is the channel guide doesn't let you look more than 24 hours ahead. You can search by team and tell it to record anything a team is scheduled for, but I like to manually tell it to record a couple hours after the allotted time in case a game goes into OT. The whole thing is driven from your smartphone, so at least you don't need to be at home in front of your TV to set uo recordings.

Joined: 10/31/2011

MGoPoints: 34177

qbwaggle

August 13th, 2017 at 1:10 PM ^

  • Vue works with Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, and Roku. You do not need a Playstation of any kind to subscribe to Vue. (I've heard the Roku app sucks, mainly due to lack of Guide feature, but have never used it)
  • In fact, from everything I have read, the PS3 is a WORSE platform than Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV. Sluggish, etc.
  • I have Vue with Apple TV. I do not own a Playstation 3 or 4.
  • In fairness I've read that Vue works really well with PS4, and might even get some features ahead of time. But I would never say you need a PS4 to get the most from Vue.
  • Vue for Apple TV works well. I think it's the closest streaming option to regular cable.
  • It's not perfect. Sometimes buffers, etc.
  • I have lots of other thoughts on cutting the cord and the various services (I've tried them all, except YouTube TV because they don't offer any TV apps yet - I don't want to cast from my phone) - but I've already typed too much.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 496

qbwaggle

August 13th, 2017 at 1:47 PM ^

Reread it, he said "PS3/PS4".

I'll listen to an argument on the PS4, although my going-in opinion is the difference vs other platforms is marginal to the point of negligible - but I'd be open to hearing the argument.

Re: PS3 - go to the Vue subreddit and read what people say... laggy, poor framerate, difficult to watch sports... Best results?

I threw in my other comments on Vue in my prior comment. Not all applied to OP. Sorry if that was confusing.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 496

qbwaggle

August 13th, 2017 at 1:22 PM ^

I see your point and don't completely disagree, I just think the definition of "cutting the cord" has changed a bit - such that it includes the streaming services.

Regardless of what you want to call it, I like the concept of the streaming TV services for a few reasons:

  • No contracts. If I want to cancel, I go online and cancel. 2 minutes and done.
  • No equipment to rent and return. I use my own streaming box that I own. No rental fees, nothing to return when I cancel/switch providers...
  • ...I can easily switch from Sling to Vue to DirecTV Now to Hulu.
  • It CAN be less costly. When I had Comcast/DirecTV in the past, it wasn't the "base cost" that was expensive. It was all the HD fees, broadcast fees, equipment rental (4 TVs in my house), DVR surcharge, etc. Once those fees are considered, it was less costly for me to go with streaming. It is definitely NOT for everyone, but options are good.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 496

Geh Blau

August 13th, 2017 at 12:03 AM ^

I got PS Vue -- it has a cloud DVR that stores shows up to 28 days, lets me pause, rewind, and fast forward live television, and gives me pretty much all sports channels I need for Michigan, including BTN and all the March Madness networks. It's $45 a month, and my internet is $25 a month (only a 25 Mbps connection). I don't really have any problems with streaming, so for $70/month I'm pretty happy.

Joined: 02/23/2012

MGoPoints: 45

drjaws

August 13th, 2017 at 12:05 AM ^

new house a month ago. I pay $50 a month for 75 mbps internet and it comes with local channels (streaming via xfinity app). Then $45 a month for PSVue. I split Hulu and Netflix with my son (he uses our Netflix acct and vice versa). $105 for all the cable, sports, movies and TV shows I'll ever want to watch ever. 12 months x $25 a month savings = $300 a year. Pays for my new badass modem and router I bought in less than a year.

Joined: 02/26/2014

MGoPoints: 46868

Durham Blue

August 13th, 2017 at 12:13 AM ^

Anyone here have Google Fiber?  They are rolling it out in Durham and I am seriously contemplating changing over for both Internet and TV.  I currently have Time Warner cable, which I despise with a passion, and DirecTV.  I like the DirecTV channel lineup but it costs me $120 per month.  And I pay TWC another $55/mo for crappy Internet.  I think Google Fiber will offer 1000 Mb/sec and pretty much the same channel lineup that I currently have for about the same as what I'm paying now.  TWC speed is half that, or probably much less.

Anyway, just looking for feedback on Google Fiber Internet and TV.  Thanks.

Joined: 10/09/2008

MGoPoints: 30055

Jaxpo

August 13th, 2017 at 12:37 AM ^

Living in S. Korea I pay 29 dollars a month for the fastest internet in the world.  It is going to suck coming back to the U.S. where i get to pay 2 or 3 times that for a lesser product.

Joined: 08/17/2014

MGoPoints: 2429

UMBSnMBA

August 13th, 2017 at 8:19 AM ^

I think they just raised it to $45/mo for the version with BTN.  I do save over $50/mo and am still using the cable internet (sorry 300 mbps is hard to give up).  The nice thing about the cable internet is the access to the streaming versions of all of the cable channels. 

BTW, I definitely prefer Amazon Fire TV over Roku.  I have both.

Joined: 05/12/2013

MGoPoints: 3178

umich1

August 13th, 2017 at 9:25 AM ^

Those of you that "cut the cord" and still pay for a bunch of streaming video aren't doing it right.

We only use an over the air antenna, and we probably use it for an hour per week. Our TVs in our house mostly just collect dust.

If you quit cold turkey, you'll find you replace "channel surfing with nothing on TV" with much more fulfilling things in life.

My .02

Joined: 09/14/2009

MGoPoints: 6398

umich1

August 13th, 2017 at 11:01 AM ^

Until I did some math.

$230/month x 12 months = $2,760 / year. That's what I was paying.

As a season ticket holder, I'm in Ann Arbor for half the football weekends.

That leaves $2,760 to spend at a sports bar over 5 football Saturdays to break even. I can watch games at Ruth's Chris over filet and lobster, and still not come close to that kind of spend.

And with the over the air antenna, I'm likely getting the marquee games on CBS and ABC anyways.

Sure there are sacrifices to cutting the cord, but I'm in my 8th month so far and I feel completely content with my choice. Plus, suing a major corporation in small claims court was much fun!

Joined: 09/14/2009

MGoPoints: 6398

umich1

August 13th, 2017 at 2:04 PM ^

To each their own; we live in America after all. Cable TV, and streaming video, are services. It's a personal decision on what price you are willing to pay for those services. There is no right or wrong answer. For me, I was tired of the monthly bills that kept inching up another $1 or 2 for new surcharges, despite being under a contract. I was tired of turning on the TV, and not finding anything I wanted to watch across 400 channels. I thought about cutting the cord for YEARS, and wish I had earlier. I simply want to share my experience in case others are in a similiar spot I was, reaching for the courage to cut the cord fully. And anybody who is under contract, but keep finding new surcharges tacked onto their bill, small claims court is your friend. $40 filing fee and things get fixed real quick. And you only pay the fee if you lose. I don't miss any of it.

Joined: 09/14/2009

MGoPoints: 6398

Minus The Houma

August 13th, 2017 at 10:18 AM ^

Who has been using YouTube TV and what is your streaming device? I have a roku now and used it with ps vue last year during football season. I think I was paying $55/month in Philly to make sure I could watch every UM football game. The channel browsing was pretty terrible. The final product of actually watching the program was great though.

I'm more interested in YouTube TV this year and will be in the market for another streaming device too. What kind of recommendations do you have?

Joined: 09/04/2011

MGoPoints: 3413