Sanity check from you cord cutters

[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.