Sanity check from you cord cutters

[thekkfan]

I usually get around 325 down on hardwired connection. Our laptops are older, 802.11g so upper 20's is all they can get wireless. But iPad & our phones can hit mid - upper 200's speeds on 5Ghz connection but were 175ish (if I remember correctly) with the cable company's supplied wireless router on 5Ghz so the Nighthawk is faster - or just has a better signal getting down to 1st floor. They can't use that much, but can test there....

If I'm streaming a movie or something and do a speed test on a different device, I'll still hit that device's wifi limit. The router appears capable of supplying several connections with a lot of bandwidth simultaneously. Maybe ping or upload a little worse, but nothing drastic - not halved.

No idea how fast Roku sticks can go but doubt they could suck up more than a 3 y/o laptop. Everything I've read for streaming seems to indicate 10mbps down is most you'd need for HD streaming per device (don't know about 4k, but don't have it), so going down to 100 for me should be sufficient. Absolute worst case for us would be 3 TVs streaming, 2 phones or iPads doing something light like facebook or a word game, burglar alarm, and security camera DVR all using bandwidth simultaneously. Will find out I guess since everything for 2 TVs arrives tomorrow, but I think even maxing out 100mpbs down wouldn't happen in our house.

I have had as many as five streams going from different sources (amazon, netflix, hulu, etc) without any issue on 100Mbs. Mine usually runs around 95-97 down and 12-13 up. The real test is if you can get that speed 24hrs/day or does it degrade when your area is heavily populated, like after everyone gets home from work? I don't live in a heavily populated area, so our node doesn't get as much traffic as some.

 

[CMV]

I have had as many as five streams going from different sources (amazon, netflix, hulu, etc) without any issue on 100Mbs. Mine usually runs around 95-97 down and 12-13 up. The real test is if you can get that speed 24hrs/day or does it degrade when your area is heavily populated, like after everyone gets home from work? I don't live in a heavily populated area, so our node doesn't get as much traffic as some.

That's good to know - 100 should be fine for us

I'd say my speeds are pretty consistent. I work same hours as most people, so it's evenings or weekends i'm using internet at home. I've never tested and got under the "up to 300mpbs". Really real close to that 325 # down all the time & has been for a few yrs. As far as I can tell, TWC/Spectrum has always over-delivered on my speeds - never tested below 300 unless I pick a server in Australia or Japan - anything eastern US is always above. I would assume that would stay the same downgrading to 100mpbs service - I'd always get right around 100 unless I have other stuff using network or picking a real far server

 

[CMV]

Soooo....got the airTV tuner and antenna setup. That lets me stream the OTA stations to 2 devices simultaneously but only have 1 antenna. I get 14 channels. Got Roku up & running on upstairs TV. That one had picture going to TV, sound going to AV receiver with surround sound. Was simple setup with cable box, but I could not make it work that way with Roku. Eventually gave up the tinkering and just ran 2 speakers right from TV - I could not get sound to work thru the receiver no matter what - optical cable, component cables, nothing would work for me. But once I got the sound sorted out, everything worked and really like the simplified Roku remote. Was impressed that it it just "knew" what my TV was and controlled power & volume instantly. Got Sling, Netflix, Prime, OTA channels running fine.

Played around switching thru menus, seeing what Roku had, what sling had, navigating prime & netflix on the new interface, everything seemed fine. After a bunch of that settled on some netflix documentary, and everything froze up. Audio started getting choppy, then 0 response from remote. So no idea what that's all about. What I found out hard way is: there isn't a good way to reset the Roku stick. It's behind TV, it's power cord is tucked away out of sight behind it too. So it's some effort to move TV, get to the Roku stick or its power cord for a reset. Really hoping that isn't a common maintenance task, but will relocate power strip if it is.

Otherwise only remaining issues/things to sort out are mostly OTA channels. Antenna says 50-85 miles in description. Was $19 so probably not a real good one, but reviews were really good. It's pretty much just a piece of flimsy plastic about a sq foot, mounted high on 2nd floor window, pointing directly south (way back of house faces). So I need a better one or just need to play around & figure out how to aim this one better. I figured since most stations were generally south, splitting the difference would be best. Will continue messing with it & get other TVs up & running this weekend.

 

[thekkfan]

View attachment 595899

What did you use for this map? I'll post what I get compared to the map.

 

[CMV]

DTV Reception Maps | Federal Communications Commission

I'm going to play around with antenna placement/aim some & see what happens. It's first place I stuck it & put it there since that was most convenient and out of sight, but pointing direction I thought would be best.

In all honesty I could have the thing pointing due north.....I'm guessing at which side of it is the "front" since there is no indication. One side is shiny smooth plastic, the other more of a matte texture - I'm assuming that side is the "front" since it looks nicer. I'd guess @ $19 and the style of it, probably not a good one to try and pull more distant stations. The name brand one might be better or might have to go to a more substantial or attic mount.

 

[thekkfan]

I get all of these in map below, and my strongest are NBC on Sauratown Mt and FOX, CBS out of Roanoke. I have my antenna pointed to the SSE towers for WGHP(FOX) and WFMY(CBS) down off 220 (no rotor, its fixed). So I'm getting a stronger signal from Roanoke off the back side of the antenna.

Mine is very similar to this in dimensions. I have it mounted in the attic hanging over my bedroom so prob around 25' off the ground, shingle roof .......... Digital Advantage HDTV Outdoor TV Antenna-Channel Master CM 2018 (CM2018)

Have this exact preamp also..... Outdoor HDTV VHF/UHF Antenna Amplifier/Booster-Channel Master CM 7777HD (CM7777HD)

 

[Oaktree]

That's good to know - 100 should be fine for us

I'd say my speeds are pretty consistent. I work same hours as most people, so it's evenings or weekends i'm using internet at home. I've never tested and got under the "up to 300mpbs". Really real close to that 325 # down all the time & has been for a few yrs. As far as I can tell, TWC/Spectrum has always over-delivered on my speeds - never tested below 300 unless I pick a server in Australia or Japan - anything eastern US is always above.

Must be nice. I think 100 is the absolute top that Spectrum offers here, my service is 25 and it's adequate for anything I need to do. Certainly not worth paying extra for anything higher. Not that I'm all that impressed with Spectrum's customer service, but when they took over from TWC, they did up the speed from the 15 I had before.

What I found out hard way is: there isn't a good way to reset the Roku stick. It's behind TV, it's power cord is tucked away out of sight behind it too. So it's some effort to move TV, get to the Roku stick or its power cord for a reset. Really hoping that isn't a common maintenance task, but will relocate power strip if it is.

I have a Roku and it seems to go stupid and needs to be rebooted once a month or so. Mine's the Ultimate (I think)...it's the one that has an ethernet connection, since we don't have wifi here.

 

[kcflhrc]

If you cant do what you need to do on 100 meg then you should take a step back for a reality check. And get outside more.

 

[thekkfan]

If you cant do what you need to do on 100 meg then you should take a step back for a reality check. And get outside more.

I totally agree. :thumbsup:

 

[CMV]

So everything is working on 2 TVs. Still waiting for the freebie stuff from Sling to get the 3rd TV up, but it's in guest bedroom so no big deal.

Plan A was to give it a month or so & make sure we were good with the change, but this setup seems to be just fine. Was going to keep their service & equipment "just in case" we figured out we just had to have cable.

I think I'll go with Plan B and return all their stuff tomorrow & cancel everything (except internet). About the only things lacking are #1 DVR & #2 the music channels

#1 - we recorded several things, but reality was rarely went back and watched them. Just streamed those episodes. When we had Uverse, you could fast forward the commercials for something you recorded. With TWC/Spectrum, you couldn't FF. ever. So watch half of something & want to watch 2nd half later? Nope - can't even FF back to where you were. So pretty much just watched what we recorded alternate ways. I can just plug an external hard drive to my AirTV box and record my OTA channels, but kind of thinking there is no need. Most recent few episodes of anything we'd record seem to be easy enough to just find streaming.

#2 - I'm sure there are options with Roku to replace this. Prime music already set up so that's 1. But mrs cmv will turn on a music channel (not VH1 - but one of those 50-some music channels that just plays songs with 0 talk, commercials, or interruptions) and have that on for background music while cooking or housework, or anything else she's doing & wants some music going. There were a couple that were classic country from different decades/time periods that she really liked and a couple upbeat religious (like KLOVE). So will need to do more exploring into what we have to see what's available and similar.

But really after just a few days, I don't see any reason why I'd want to plug the TWC/Spectrum stuff back in (and feel somewhat foolish having not done this a loooong time ago).

 

[thekkfan]

So everything is working on 2 TVs. Still waiting for the freebie stuff from Sling to get the 3rd TV up, but it's in guest bedroom so no big deal.

Plan A was to give it a month or so & make sure we were good with the change, but this setup seems to be just fine. Was going to keep their service & equipment "just in case" we figured out we just had to have cable.

I think I'll go with Plan B and return all their stuff tomorrow & cancel everything (except internet). About the only things lacking are #1 DVR & #2 the music channels

#1 - we recorded several things, but reality was rarely went back and watched them. Just streamed those episodes. When we had Uverse, you could fast forward the commercials for something you recorded. With TWC/Spectrum, you couldn't FF. ever. So watch half of something & want to watch 2nd half later? Nope - can't even FF back to where you were. So pretty much just watched what we recorded alternate ways. I can just plug an external hard drive to my AirTV box and record my OTA channels, but kind of thinking there is no need. Most recent few episodes of anything we'd record seem to be easy enough to just find streaming.

#2 - I'm sure there are options with Roku to replace this. Prime music already set up so that's 1. But mrs cmv will turn on a music channel (not VH1 - but one of those 50-some music channels that just plays songs with 0 talk, commercials, or interruptions) and have that on for background music while cooking or housework, or anything else she's doing & wants some music going. There were a couple that were classic country from different decades/time periods that she really liked and a couple upbeat religious (like KLOVE). So will need to do more exploring into what we have to see what's available and similar.

But really after just a few days, I don't see any reason why I'd want to plug the TWC/Spectrum stuff back in (and feel somewhat foolish having not done this a loooong time ago).

Not sure if your sling is pay extra for dvr, but the hulu live I have includes 50hours of recording.

Really curious to see if your OTA improves with a better antenna and preamp. There's no reason you shouldnt be getting those two towers down 220 unless you are in a hole.

Pandora and a couple others are available for Roku for streaming music channels.

 

[CMV]

Sling wants $5/mo for cloud DVR. Or I can plug a HDD into my AirTV and have free DVR for OTR channels.

I am curious too. Haven't heard anything from sling about when the free stuff will ship, but kind of suspect a similar sized indoor antenna will perform roughly the same. Maybe not though - I really think the little amplifier on mine does zilch since results & signal strength are exactly same with/without it.

Signed up for free Pandora but haven't tried it. No idea how many commercials it has. But can't be any worse than just picking a random FM station I guess.

Mrs cmv was off work today so she dropped off all the cable boxes, router, etc to Spectrum office. Called after work & cancelled all but internet. Ugghhhh that was over an hour on the phone, talking to 3 different people, but they finally did what I asked and dropped all but internet. Turns out their lowest tier internet is 200/20. No "basic" or anything - standalone internet starts at 200, so worrying about 100 maybe getting bottlenecked isn't a concern. Still about same price as ATT for 50 so not switching there. Plus, AT&T Uverse contractors beat on my door every other day - literally ring the bell, I see them read the no soliciting sign, then they pound on the door like they're the police. My responses are very un-Christian-like..... But I can't see anyone doing business with people that annoying. Literally every other day. Probably every day and they just come when we're at work sometimes making me think every other day.... but that's an entirely different rant.....

Hasn't changed yet, but this is what I typically get with my 300Mpbs service:

And this will be my new bill (plus whatever taxes & fees they tack on):

I think that's an awful lot for just internet. Maybe 5G cellular will be an option at some point soon? Although my current 4G has data caps. We don't come close to hitting them, but if 100% was on that network we would easily go over. But I was paying $210/mo for phone, cable TV, and internet. So $65 + $30 for Sling ($25 plus $5 for the extra lifetime/hallmark channels) is less than half at least.

This is next best option AT&T and a 12 month intro rate + data cap at that....

 

[thekkfan]

Mine is $64.99 for 100. It was $44.99 for the 12 month promo, but changed in January.

I'm wondering if they have you on a promo at $65 and will increase later. Better ask. And that being their bottom tier sounds like BS. Go to the website, put in your zip and see. Give a different street adress other than your own. Otherwise it will say you already have service and wont show you certain pkgs. Its all a marketing game-- I was severanced out in Dec '17 after 23 years, so I've seen the many, many games that have been played year in and out.

 

[Zerk]

I haven't had cable, high speed internet, or dish, for years. Not sure about sanity.

 

[CMV]

She didn't say it was a promo rate but on their website looks like 24 months. 2 yrs from now, maybe some better alternatives? But no mention of introductory offer, promotional period, anything to indicate price she quoted wasn't the "real price". The confirmation email with price change estimate also has no mention of for X months, promo, intro, etc.

I did ask a few times if there was a lower speed option that cost less and she said this was lowest. The choices she offered me were 200/20, 350/30, or gig which I forget specs but 940 maybe? But those 3 were it. No 100 option.

When I get home tonight will speed test again....assuming the changes happened overnight. Just curious to see what mine will test at after the change.

 

[IXLR8]

I use the free Spotify for music, so far I have had about 1 commercial per hour. I can deal with that for free music. At the moment I don't see a reason to upgrade to their paid premium service that is commercial free.

 

[westcliffe01]

Doing something similar here in MI due to high price of Comcast/Xfinity internet.

Got a prepaid phone with Verizon. $30/mo with 500k of data (cheapest option)
Added a prepaid wifi spot 4G LTE with unlimited data and streaming. When combined with prepaid phone and autopay it costs $45/mo. Since my wife can take it anywhere with her, she now has unlimited data on her $30 phone. And unlimited streaming on phones tablets and smart TV.

Since verizon has good service all over, we can use the hotspot on vacation or even if we move. Seems like the best deal I can find now given that there are no phone/cable based service providers in my area that can do internet for less than $80/mo.

 

[dennis103]

We went with Hulu live after try OTA, not that many channels in our area of Maine. We had to add a few Roku sticks to the TV's that weren't smart. We love it. I would recommend paying the fee for limited commercials, you can thank me later.

 

[CMV]

Hulu looks like it offers a lot more, but costs more too.

How does limited commercials work? What is on when the commercial would be playing? Or are you watching everything in more of an "on demand" way vs live broadcast?

 

[dennis103]

Some shows have commercials. (no rhyme or reason that we can figure out). The ones that skip commercials have a pause then right back to show. We pay $50.95 live w/ no adds. They call it no adds, but its limited adds.