Experiment in Cutting the Cable

I'm not sure how successful I will be, but I am beginning an experiment to go to streaming movies and TV and see if I can't cut the cable (just maintain a fast internet connection).

I have ordered an Amazon Fire TV box and a Roku 4. I may end up returning one of them, but may keep both (there are some apps in Roku I cannot use with Fire TV). I downloaded the CetusPlay app onto my phone and plan to use it to load Kodi onto my Fire TV.

I think the big question will be whether the streaming works smoothly or whether or whether it skips and freezes.

I will report back on my progress.

 

Who is your internet provider?

I'll be following your progress - kudos for the topic.

 

I'll be doing the same once my 2-year contract with DirecTV expires. I've realized that I almost never watch regular TV except the occasional ball game. If I get the hankering, I will buy an MLB season streaming plan, which I am sure will be WAY cheaper than cable/satellite plus extra innings. My habits have become much more compatible with Netflix/Amazon. I would much rather binge watch a British period serial drama at the time of my choosing, than whatever "reality" male bovine digestive by-product happens to be on when I turn on the TV.

 

Verizon Fios.

BTW I will also do a review of Amazon Fire TV and the Roku 4 and compare them to let people know which one works best for which applications, or if they don't work very well. Kodi is supposed to allow you watch local network TV via streaming. I am hoping that will work well..

 

I now use an antenna for locals and a Firestick with Kodi for everything else.

 

Yeah, don't forget, you always have OTA content with just an antenna. Good luck, keep us apprised.

 

As an old hand at cord trimming, I suggest a TiVo Roamio. It's a wonderful DVR with a modern high definition user interface and built in streaming applications for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Go and You Tube. Right now refurbished, over the air only, high definition Roamios are on sale for $199. That include a lifetime of the unit programming guide fee. $199 means no monthly fees. I just bough one for a friend who refuses to pay for cable and he loves it.

TiVo DVR Holiday Sale Whiteout Event 2016 - Buy Now to Save. »

My cord trimming saga started here, Cutting the cord with TiVo and a Blu-ray streaming »

 

We cut the cord over a year ago and have been using both the Roku and Amazon Fire Tv streaming boxes. I find the Roku to be the easiest to use, most intuitive and most realible. We eventually went 100% Roku. Unless you just really love Amazon, I wouldn't bother with it. While they both work well with wifi, I would definitely plug in with an ethernet cable if the option is available. I had to increase our internet speed also, and with multiple services at any one time, I can't say we are really saving much money.

 

My wife and I got tired of paying too much for AT&T FIOS so we turned it off and tried putting Amazon Fire systems in our 3 rooms. It didn't work out. I was unhappy with the picture quality and dropouts, and VERY unhappy with the user interface, the hassle of having to subscribe to numerous services just to get basic channels, the horrible remote, and the lack of a DVR. I concluded that Amazon Fire is a bare bones entry level system for starving students and the like, that did not even begin to give us what we wanted.

In the end she found a good DirecTV promotion and we went with that. The cost was surprisingly low. The UI and remote are "almost" as good as our previous AT&T system. One benefit (which I had quietly hoped for) is that our internet is faster and more reliable now -- presumably because TV now comes from the dish, which of course is totally separate from our data feed, since we kept the data portion of our AT&T plan.

 

If you cut the cable, what's the best internet option?

 

Your question is why I prefer to phrase it as cord trimming. While I get my local broadcast channels over the air, I still need an internet service provider, ISP.

 

I have another DVR suggestion, the ChannelMaster DVR+. I've had mine for 2 1/2 years and it's still working great. You get two tuners, so you can watch one show while recording another, and you also get free guide info. I know some of the OTA DVRs out there charge you for the guide, but ChannelMaster does not. You also get some OTT channels, and some built-in apps like for YouTube and Pandora.

I'm now almost 5 years with no cable, and I do not miss it, or the bills, at all. FWIW I find myself watching youtube more than anything else. There are so many things being produced independently now and put on youtube, it is even more of a destination for me than regular TV is. But when I do sit down to watch TV I find I do need to have that DVR action of being able to rewind and play back and go to a library of stored stuff.

 

The Amazon Fire TV arrived last night and the start of the experiment went extremely well. The picture quality is amazing and I had no issues with freezing or dropouts. I watched a movie from Amazon Prime and shows on NBC.

The first thing I did was download CetusPlay from the app store on my phone. This allowed me to load Kodi onto my Fire TV. In order to access a lot of additional video apps, including those that allow me to stream live TV, I loaded the Fussion Addon installer using these instructions. I was then able to load multiple add-ons to allow access to a huge number of video sources, including live TV. Here is an article of some of the best add-ons for Kodi.

 

For those using either TiVo or ChannelMaster, I have two questions:
1) Can they stream to more than one TV?
2) How is the guide refreshed? I assume the device has Internet access.
Thanks.

 

TiVo has an accessory, the Mini, that permits distributing around the house. Mini »

"Expand the TiVo experience to other TVs in your home. No additional TiVo service fees required. Not now. Not ever.

• Access your favorite web apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime and more
• Browse TV and movies, schedule recordings and more
• Works with TiVo BOLT, Roamio, and 4-tuner Premiere (The addition of a MoCA adapter is required for Roamio 500GB and Premiere)"

TiVo's programming guide is refreshed via the web. You can go wifi but for the best streaming quality on Netflix and such I use an Ethernet cable.

To get the greatest variety of streaming content I also incorporated a Roku into my cord trimming. Between over the air, Netflix, Amazon Prime, You Tube, public library disc loans and the stray Redbox rental, my family had plenty of content.

 

I was cable free for 6 years and it was fine. Used roku, hbogo, and amazon prime streamed thru a Roku. I relented and got cable again because I REALLY wanted to watch Nationals baseball. It does stink to have cable for one purpose though. I wish I didn't have it honestly.

 

We enjoy some shows on network TV so what is the best option for cutting (or trimming) the cable while still getting HD network shows?

I'm not sure how well an over-the-air antenna would work in our area, is that the only option?

 

I just ordered an HD TV antenna and a Tivo 4 tuner Roamio DVR.

 

Go to this site and enter your address and it will show you what channels you should be able to get

 

Los Angeles is flooded with over the air digital TV, standard and high definition. IIRC, LA is all UHF so if you place a UHF TV almost anywhere you'll get a lot of stations. For some reason the FCC gave the Philadelphia area PBS and ABC affiliates permission to stay in the VHF band. This means that solid digital TV reception in Philadelphia means going back to the 70s with a rooftop UHF/VHF antenna. The good news was that when the money was spent I was enjoying stunning, uncompressed, over the air high definition TV that smokes Fios, cable or satellite TV. Sunday football, prime time dramas, and even PBS documentaries look much better.

 

well almost all channels come up as "A roof-mounted antenna is probably needed to pick up channels at this level and above" or "These channels are very weak and will most likely require extreme measures to try and pick them up"

I wonder what "extreme measures" refers to?

 

Aluminum foil suit and hat, while hanging from the gutter ?

 

They make rooftop antennas that you can move around and aim with a remote control (like some of the old broadcast antennas), those would probably help with at least some of the weaker signals.

 

I think that extreme would involve elevating and combining large antenna arrays in multiple directions. My ex wife still has my old setup but If I "needed" to pickup alternate network affiliates from Allentown pennsyvania I would have to invest in a super directional UHF antenna and stack it with my local UHF/VHF antenna.

 

With digital over-the-air transmissions for TV now, aren't UHF and VHF now a thing of the past? As in, isn't that analog bandwidth free now and digital TV transmits over different frequencies than the old analog?