We've had enough of television programming.

[tibadoe]

We tried both direct and dish, switching back and forth over the years. Wasted lots of money when there was only about 5 channels we wanted to watch out of hundreds. Got wise and cut the cable totally back in 2019. Dumped netflix also.

Now we watch SlingTV and Hulu for 1/4 of the cost we were paying. Ended up with all the channels plus some more that we wanted. Will never be going back to satellite or cable.

 

[PILOON]

With COVID we have more TV time than B4.
Only saving grace is PVR as now days 2/3 air time is commercials. (love fast fwd)

BUT, recently the TV screen is looking more like my computer screen with pop up adds everywhere.
To think that at one time CNN was commercial free during newscasts.
Heck even weather reports now have commercial content.

I still have my TV antenna but since digital broadcasting we've lost most stations due to distance and RF propagation.

 

[Oaktree]

I replaced an older Roku box recently with a newer model (Ultra LT) that also controls the TV’s power and volume. I’m very pleased. No more juggling remotes to mute. The quality of the picture seems to have improved too. (blacker blacks).

I have the Roku ultra myself...never bothered to install wi-fi, and it was the only one that had ethernet capabilities. I haven't noticed any difference in picture quality from the old cable company box, but like the additional available streaming channels (though to be fair, most of the programming on the free channels is free for a reason!).
The Roku will control the volume on the tv itself, but not the line out jacks which I use to drive an amplifier, so we still have 4 remotes (tv, Roku, amplifier & DVD player).

 

[KubotainNH]

Haven't had cable for quite a few years now and don't miss it. We got Amazon prime early on for the 2 day shipping and now use these streaming side too. Dropped Netflix 6 months ago as it turned to mostly crap and recently picked up the higher tier of Discovery Plus....hate commercials love the shows they have. Last time I was at my son's house I realized his newer Roku was way faster than our really old one so I ordered the Roku Premiere for $30 which made a huge difference. Thought about the Ultra but couldn't justify the cost. I have a digital antenna that I mainly got to watch a couple sports finals here and there but I have yet to put it up. Phone is on Vonage, have had them for 10 years maybe. Cell is a bit fuzzy in my area and just not as comfy as a regular house phone.

 

[Oaktree]

I realized his newer Roku was way faster than our really old one so I ordered the Roku Premiere for $30 which made a huge difference. Thought about the Ultra but couldn't justify the cost. I have a digital antenna that I mainly got to watch a couple sports finals here and there but I have yet to put it up. Phone is on Vonage, have had them for 10 years maybe. Cell is a bit fuzzy in my area and just not as comfy as a regular house phone.

How well does Vonage (or other VOIP systems) work? In theory it should be as good as any other landline since they're all digital these days anyway but sometimes it doesn't work out that way. Haven't bothered with a cellphone...they're expensive, service is iffy here, and I really have no need/desire to be "connected" anywhere I go.

What's the difference between the different models of Rokus (other than the cheaper ones are wi-fi only)?

 

[Diggin It]

My TV hasn't been turned on in over 6 years. Not sure why I still have it other than nobody would buy a six year old TV these days.

 

[JethroB]

I have the Roku ultra myself...never bothered to install wi-fi, and it was the only one that had ethernet capabilities. I haven't noticed any difference in picture quality from the old cable company box, but like the additional available streaming channels (though to be fair, most of the programming on the free channels is free for a reason!).
The Roku will control the volume on the tv itself, but not the line out jacks which I use to drive an amplifier, so we still have 4 remotes (tv, Roku, amplifier & DVD player).

You might want to try letting the Roku remote learn to control your amp for power and volume. Downside is you lose the ability to turn the TV on & off with it.

 

[JethroB]

What's the difference between the different models of Rokus (other than the cheaper ones are wi-fi only)?

Most of the lower priced ones don’t control TV on/off, volume & mute. They are HD not 4K if your TV supports it or you care. The Stick Plus model covers most bases for $40. I’m sure I’d have been happy with it. My Ultra LT (Light) version was $65 at Walmart.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've been married 33 yrs and I've had cable for only 1 year.

I generally watch old shows on Netfix (using one of my son's 5 users) or read a book. Much cheaper.

All it takes is for me to stay in a hotel and see all the crap on TV to make realize that it's just not worth it.

Ditto here on all points. The last time I rented a place with satellite I was looking forward to watching a movie I had never seen, which is supposed to be an alltime classic. (I don't even remember what it was now.) In the first 15 minutes they had more commercials than movie- I started timing them. I shut the darned thing off and still haven't watched that movie... whatever it was.

 

[KubotainNH]

How well does Vonage (or other VOIP systems) work? In theory it should be as good as any other landline since they're all digital these days anyway but sometimes it doesn't work out that way. Haven't bothered with a cellphone...they're expensive, service is iffy here, and I really have no need/desire to be "connected" anywhere I go.

What's the difference between the different models of Rokus (other than the cheaper ones are wi-fi only)?

I can't tell the difference between the old school land line and Vonage. Vonage may be even better sound wise. Only issue is if the internet is down so is your phone but you can set it to forward if it is down. My internet goes down way more than Vonage, it's a rarity for the VOIP to be down. It can be set to e-mail any voicemails which I like.

As for the Roku, the Premiere does do 4k and has more memory than some of the lesser units plus the latest wifi electronics. The Ultra has voice remote, volume on the remote and an ethernet connection. It may also have bluetooth. The only thing I may have liked is the wired connection, the rest I don't care about. You can compare here: Roku

 

[kcflhrc]

Blah, Blah, Blah. Heard it all before. I pay $70 a month form my Dish, well worth it. By the time you may for internet, streaming services and all that crap your right back at what I'm paying and the Dish is so easy to use and record stuff plus it has all the programming I watch. ESPN, FS1 and several other's. It's cheap entertainment.

 

[lman]

Blah, Blah, Blah. Heard it all before. I pay $70 a month form my Dish, well worth it. By the time you may for internet, streaming services and all that crap your right back at what I'm paying and the Dish is so easy to use and record stuff plus it has all the programming I watch. ESPN, FS1 and several other's. It's cheap entertainment.

You will never beat the price ota-$0. I'm happy with it and the price.

 

[Danica]

We've about had it with broadcast television. $125 a month for satellite TV and 95% is cr@p but we watch it anyway out of inertia. Worse, I'm forced to pay for programming that I detest funding and yet it's part of a forced package that insults anyone's intelligence. Our Internet speed is fast enough that we can go with a few programs on a HULU or something like that and pick up the local news networks on our TV if we want.

The possibilities of available time are endless. More seat time. More barn time. Wax the truck. More exercise and doing things for us that have a net benefit on the outcome of our lives. What's wrong with that?

I swear a visitor to this country watching network programs would think Americans are the most disease ridden, ill people on earth. Every other commercial is for some sort of pharmaceutical product. And the side effects profiles make the original ailment look preferable to taking the risk of the medicine. It is the single biggest reason I’m going to cut cable and go all Hulu, Netflix, Amazon prime and showtime on demand.

 

[Oaktree]

Blah, Blah, Blah. Heard it all before. I pay $70 a month form my Dish, well worth it. By the time you may for internet, streaming services and all that crap your right back at what I'm paying and the Dish is so easy to use and record stuff plus it has all the programming I watch. ESPN, FS1 and several other's. It's cheap entertainment.

You do make a good point, all these people claiming they're "saving money" by "cutting the cord", then they spend almost as much for subscription services as they did for the cable tv package. I suppose if you live where you can get a decent assortment of channels OTA maybe it can work out but for many of us rural folk OTA tv is something we used to get years ago, but no longer.
I will say on demand streaming is nice, but what's the goodstuff-to-crap ratio on most streaming channels? Pretty low from what I've seen.

We're not big tv watchers, maybe an hour or two a night (especially in the winter, less in summer), and the "free" streaming channels and the limited ultra basic package from the cable co. are plenty.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I swear a visitor to this country watching network programs would think Americans are the most disease ridden, ill people on earth. Every other commercial is for some sort of pharmaceutical product.

Or because pharmaceuticals are so overpriced that they are the only ones who can afford to advertise.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I let my son pay for the streaming services

 

[Pixguy]

We subscribe to Hulu for the 5.99mo and still see commercials.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

So buy a 2-bay or 4-bay UHF antenna for local news and enjoy the savings.

The satellite dish is essential for local TV, but we can get everything else from the internet. Locast covers some areas in my state, but not mine. We do get one local AM radio station, one AM and two FM stations on repeaters from 80 miles away.

 

[MoKelly]

I let my son pay for the streaming services

Us too. But, I heard Netflix is cracking down on access from 2 different locations.

MoKelly

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Us too. But, I heard Netflix is cracking down on access from 2 different locations.

MoKelly

He dumped them, they lost the goods shows they had.