Help an Old Man Cut Cable

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Originally Posted by BigD1
How far are you away from the TV broadcast towers? With the right antenna and preamp if needed, you can reliably receive signals at 60 miles. I know there are exceptions like a mountain between the broadcast signal and the receiver.

Right...I'm 165 mi. from the TV broadcasters antennas and get great TV with an expensive antenna. 5 channels and then use fiber for apple TV and Netflix piggybacked on relatives accounts.
 
There is also IP TV services on Android Boxes. They are super popular here among our friends/family because naturally we get hosed for cable.
 
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I'm rocking smart TV's, but we cut the cord back in June. Have not missed that $130 a month DTV bill. Using Comcast for internet, 25mbps download, is more than enough for 2 1080p streams at once while playing Xbox online. I'm using an Apple AirPort Extreme router, functions way WAY better than my Netgear AC1750 ever did.

We use YouTube (the free version), Hulu, and Netflix.
 
Originally Posted by bullwinkle
I will add-GOOD internet is required, you'll need at least a decent DSL provider, fiber would be better, to be able to stream without interruption, esp. in 1080p or 4K. That's where my problem is, good broadband alone isn't that much cheaper than a bundle, then have to add Hulu, or Sling, etc.



I measure 25 mbs from testmy.net, and get FireTV 4k just fine. FYI.
 
My closest TV is 120mi with mountains in the road. The feed in dispute is over 200 with BIG mountains between.
Incline plain wrapped around an axis.
Smoky
 
Originally Posted by saginawmale50
Figure on about 1gb an hour data usage.
Not sure about other HD streaming sources, but Netflix, for example, streams at around 5 Mbps, which is 2.25 GB/hour.
 
One thing to check into is read your internet agreement. A lot of internet providers will automatically bill you if you go over a certain amount of data. Sometimes they use the term "unlimited", but it could be a trick....yeah, unlimited until you hit a certain amount and then BAM....they add to your bill. Also, it's not only that you need really good internet, but check your signal strength throughout the day. You may get great signals in the morning, but as the evening rolls on and people get home and start cranking up their internet use, you may have a way weaker signal.
 
Originally Posted by Schmoe
You may get great signals in the morning, but as the evening rolls on and people get home and start cranking up their internet use, you may have a way weaker signal.
You're mixing up signal strength with network congestion, but your overall point is valid - it's worth checking if you're getting the advertised speed at all times of the day.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by Schmoe
You may get great signals in the morning, but as the evening rolls on and people get home and start cranking up their internet use, you may have a way weaker signal.
You're mixing up signal strength with network congestion, but your overall point is valid - it's worth checking if you're getting the advertised speed at all times of the day.



It's very rare with most providers to get maximum speeds consistently-throughout the day.
 
In a thread last week, I mentioned we were getting rid of DirecTV and going with two Roku stick + for our TV needs. Our special, reduced satellite dish rate from last year was expiring on the 14th and we weren't going to pony up almost $100 for the cheapest package they offer which is what we have. I called to cancel and ended up with a retention service rep. To make a long story short, we kept the same service for even less than we were paying the prior year that was already heavily discounted. Living here in the mountains, OTA viewing really isn't a viable option. So the decision was easy, stay with DirecTV another year and address the issue again next January. If we had access to fiber as an option for our internet service, we might have made a different choice. But now we have two Roku Stick + we can experiment with as far as functionality at the same time on a DSL fed internet connection (received the 2nd Roku in the mail but haven't installed it yet).

Smoky14, have you tried to talk to a rep from the retention department? The one I spoke with encouraged me to call back next year and speak with them again before speaking with anyone else from the company. It might be worth a shot. It definitely was for us, especially with our limited alternatives like you have. Good Luck.
 
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