There are some drawbacks to streaming. Occasionally there are buffering problems with live TV. And it is much simpler to just flip on the tv and pick a channel than to navigate to hulu via roku and get it to load the show you want. My husband got frustrated with some regularity while trying to watch baseball games. But since our cable bill was as high as $180 at times (including internet and phone) and it was as low as $110 with streaming tv, it was worth it. Of course… it is more now!
Cable bill to get a package that has both CNN and CNBC: $120/month. Sling: $30/month. It is worth 2 extra clicks to get to the right channel! We invested in a $50 HD Roku to smarten up our smart TV… Sling buffering issues solved.
We haven’t had buffering issues but frequently had problems with cable quality. Could it be your internet speed?
What do you have that is costing you $110 for streaming?
I love @abasket’s idea…I’d pay someone a fee to help me figure this out. We pay $320/month for cable, internet and a landline to comcast.
I’ve contemplated trying to figure out if we can save money by cutting cable with minimal downside but quickly become overwhelmed so we just stay with what we have. We do have netflix and prime and our needs are covered. Dh enjoys just about every sport, we like the major networks and HBO/Showtime.
Someone mentioning sling reminded me that we had sling when it was brand new…I actually recall that we paid a not insignificant fee to have service ‘forever’. This was when to company was in its infancy and we had a friend (not in touch any longer) that was an executive there. I should call and see if they have any record of us. Maybe that’s a place to start.
Can someone answer a question: if you cut cable, do you only need roku or a stick (chromecast, etc.) if you have an older TV? The two TVs we use most are new enough that netflix and amazon are options that show up on the screen…if a kid comes home or we have a visitor, they might use an older TV.
@doschicos — not sure if it’s a speed issue; it might be. I don’t watch much live tv and it never happens with sites like Netflix. But the cable company increased the minimum internet speed some months ago and there is still occasional trouble watching some shows. Doesn’t happen often.
When we cut the cord, we were paying $60 for internet (now $65), $15 for Ooma landline, and $40 for Sling. Now we use Hulu, which is going up to $55, so up to $130 unless we make some changes.
It would be possible to get a landline for free with Google voice, but it’s a hassle to set it up. You can’t port a landline directly, so you would have to port it to a cell phone and then port to Google voice. Then you can buy a gadget to use it with a landline phone. Seems like work.
@collage1 - yes, you only need a roku or similar device. We even used a version of a roku stick (I forget which one) to resurrect an analog TV from 1997 for my husband to use in the basement while exercising. (Picture’s not great, lol).
We cut the cable a few years ago and started with an antenna for local programs, Prime because we’ve had amazon prime for years, sling (for sports) and netflix. Last Christmas one of my sons got me hulu. I was not aware of the price increase because the account is in his name.
We had sling orange. I may have upset the whole savings from no cable because a few days ago I decided I was going to see if one of our streaming services offered MSNBC live. I was at first excited to see that it was offered as an extra for $5 a month on sling. So I went into our account added it and then found out that it was $5 if we had sling BLUE! Frustrated, I threw caution to the wind and changed from $20/month of Sling orange to Sling orange and Blue PLUS news extra for $45. Good thing I pay the bills. Sling is sneaky. Sling orange has the sports my husband likes. And because we live in a semi-rural area with little competition, we’re also paying a fairly high price for internet only.
Thanks for the response. Okay, so half of it is internet. I never include internet in the cost because I’d have that anyway. Have you been happy with Ooma? I need to make that switch.
Ouch! That is high. What finally got me to cut the cable cord was when Xfinity bumped me up to $240 at the beginning of the year for triple play. At $320, I’d definitely be looking for some new options!
Me, too. Not too rural these days with more “sprawl” but I still only have one internet option.
@collage1 yikes. Why are you paying so much?
First off do you really need a land-line? It took us years (and after the college acceptances) to figure out that we don’t. We would like never check for messages or let it ring to get it later. Most of people we know already ditched theirs…
What shows /sports are important to you and your family?
Do your TVs have an hdmi input?
How many TVs do you have connected to your Comcast cable?
If you have a security system is it though Comcast?
How fast is your internet? Upload /download speeds… Hint :you can use Ookla for infinity https://speedtest.xfinity.com/
Is this speed slower then what your paying for? It usually is.
So you can try the smart tvs software but it’s usually slower then then let’s say an Amazon firestick. This is easy to set up and just need internet /wireless. You can try it out while you currently have cable.
To get live local TV (channel 2,5 7,9,11,32 etc depending on your area) you can simply get an HDTV antenna, scan your TV stations and done. Costco has the antenna. If you get a service like Hulu Live you can get the local live TV stations also but I prefer the HD antenna. Sometimes just easier to change inputs and you don’t use a user either.
Pick a service like Hulu Live and try it out for a week free I think. That will give you the cable like channels like CNN, ESPN, HDTV etc
I went one step further and bought my own router and modem. Much faster and cheaper in long run and no monthly fees.
Want a great reason to switch? Add up “just” your equipment fees plus your taxes on your Comcast bill. I couldn’t believe how much I was spending each month just for that. I took everything back and switched the next day.
Ask questions and will try to help.
@lookingforward and anyone else with sling - I talked to a sling representative and was basically told I would need an AirTV box and external harddrive (plugged into the airtv) in order to record local TV channels? Does that sound right?
We’re geographically close to Detroit so we pick up all the channels from there (and parts of Canada and Ohio) with the indoor antenna. So no need for a big outdoor one.
Between buying the airtv for both TVs + the antenna, it almost seems like Hulu might be cheaper (not in the long-run but in the short run that’s quite a chunk of change).
Sorry, I can’t help with that one. We don’t bother recording local TV. If I want to watch something at a different time than when it was on TV, I just stream it on my computer from the network’s website.
There are many different types of boxes out thee like Airtv. That is just one company.
I think we are keeping Hulu live for now even if it went up. We are talking like a $5.00 difference compared to Youtube live or the such.
I haven’t had an issue with Hulu finding what we want to watch/record. I even rarely use the dvr since I can usually find what I want/when I want it. My watch does dvr a few things.
Look at Best Buy, Microcenter or on amazon for Airtv types of devices. Maybe just do one tv as a trial?
Check this out. You can do both your tv’s on it but check the setup. Think its just through wifi. I have not used it but have been following it through its updates. Looks interesting for TV over the air.
or this one that I am looking at:
I really value having a landline so we won’t be letting go of it at this point.
We have 4 TVs and 1 DVR. Two TVs are new and are used pretty frequently; two are rarely used and are older.
Dh has said that the ESPN channels aren’t enough. I’m not a sports fan so I don’t know the various stations he needs but he watches football, hockey and soccer. Beyond the sports channels, we watch the traditional networks, HBO and Showtime.
I checked our download speed and it’s 110…no idea if that’s good or bad. We do not have security through xfinity.
Not sure I have the energy and time to take this on at the moment but it’s definitely on my list. My bill is on autopay (same amount each month) so I haven’t looked at the breakdown in awhile. That may be a first step when I’m ready to get motivated. I appreciate reading about how others have tackled this.
@doschicos — very happy with Ooma, but we are paying for the premium service that allows call blocking and caller ID. The call blocking is very robust — you can block by number range and you can block by name, including partial names . I have blocked a bunch of town names that spammers use when they call — I send them to voice mail so in the unlikely event that a call might be legitimate, they have some access. Ooma also supposedly blocks calls with Nomorobo. Calls blocked by Ooma’s filtering don’t ring at all, but they definitely miss some calls that are on Nomorobo’s known spammer list. Spam call numbers have plummeted. Ooma also lets me automatically redirect calls to my cell if there’s a power outage.
@collage1 —100 mbps is more than you could need. We cut the cord with 25 mbps and that was enough to support 3 people streaming.
I don’t miss my landline AT ALL. It finally became nothing but robocalls. Just an annoyance to have to screen. I moved to cell only (plus a # that works on wifi) a few years ago. (I just realized that I could set up an old phone that can access wifi only with that number if I want. I use it on my regular phone now with an app. Hmm…)
My cell carrier blocks a lot of spam calls but I also set up a system whereby if a # isn’t in my contacts it comes in but only on silent, my voicemail prompts people to leave a message because I don’t answer if I don’t know the #. So if anyone real, they do.
I like maintaining a landline because cell reception isn’t the best in my home. I find it extremely aggravating trying to have a phone conversation with poor cell service.
@doschicos makes sense, we used to have that issue too, though no more.
But there are wifi options too. The “landline” offered in bundles by the cable companies is effectively that.
Yes, that’s what I have. Still expensive hence the desire to switch to Ooma. I’d save at least $35 per month. I haven’t had a true old-fashioned landline for many years.