[Atunah]

So moving into a house has gotten me into gear to try this. Our triple play thingie bill with uverse has now reached 300 bucks. Yep, that is right, 300 american dollars. It just kept going up. Promos ended and all that. That is for internet, TV and phone. So I started just internet with Spectrum at the house. Uverse gave us a whopping 24 download in the apartment, we get up to 400 with spectrum. Then I signed up for youtubeTV for $40 to get locals and a bunch of other stuff. When we get closer to moving I'll get Ooma and move our home phone over to that for $5.5 a month of taxes.

If I feel still frisky I'll add PhiloTV to get the history channel and hallmark and other stuff youtubeTV doesn't have for another $16.

This will bring down the cost quite a bit. As far as premium channels go like HBO and starz, I will get them as I need them. One at a time via prime video. I already have that and netflix and hulu. I will cancel one of those, probably hulu.

After that no more worrying about the home phone number and being locked into a deal with a cable company. We didn't have much of a choice where we lived, still live for now. Not much choice at the new house either really, its ATT or Spectrum. I am waiting for google fiber to come closer.

We been testing YoutubeTV out at the house and here still at the apartment. We aren't moved yet. Its working really flawless and even tennis looks good. Tennis is always my test with streaming. Wee ball going really fast and all that.

They did have to bury a orange cable in my new backyard. Looks a bit like garbage right now but its been raining.

I did this cold turkey after thinking about it for a while. But I couldn't really do much while still in this apartment dead spot.

Oh, unlimited DVR recordings with YoutubeTV. And no more paying an extra fee for a 2nd box from the cable company. We just put Roku's on the TV's.

 

[CegAbq]

I am in the serious investigation phase for a similar cord cutting; have been reading up on Youtube TV & will have to investigate Ooma

 

[Atunah]

I did a lot of comparing of the channels. Hulu live, direct TV now, SlingTV, youtubeTV and Vue playstation. There is a reddit forum for the youtubeTV and they convinced me. I also find more of the channels we watch there. I like Smithsonian for example and we get all the locals. YoutubeTV is not available in all cities though so you'll have to check.

And for a little more one can always add all the foodnetwork, history channel, hallmark stuff with PhiloTV.

Its just going to depend on what channels are needed and compare them. YoutubeTV also has a unlimited DVR to record. Anything, it keeps for 9 month. Cloud DVR of course. We tested it for 7 days on trial and it looks really good. Just like my current cable. Although I guess Uverse isn't really cable, its kind of streaming already from the box to the TV.
Good thing is they are all easy to cancel and start again so one can try one after the other.

Only thing to keep an eye on is the internet. Spectrum does not have any limits, but ATT does if one doesn't get the triple play. I think its 1TB. Which is a lot, but when you stream basically everything, it adds up quick.

 

[CegAbq]

I checked with my son (who is a geek & programmer). We currently have the full package from Xfinity/Comcast. If we went with internet only, then we would get 1Tb. I told him what my general TV usage has been (and I have a Tivo as well, so Youtube's cloud recording/storage is very attractive), and he didn't think the 1Tb limit would be any problem.

I'm curious about the Ooma that you mentioned, and I've been trying to get more info. Is it a device that you connect to your internet modem?

 

[Atunah]

Yes, you hook it up via the router.



It has 911 too unlike some of those services. If you don't want the premium plan, you only pay the local taxes each month. For me it will be around $5.50 in Texas. Depends on where you are. THey have a website where they explain things and you can check if your number is transferable.

 

[KindleGirl]

So moving into a house has gotten me into gear to try this. Our triple play thingie bill with uverse has now reached 300 bucks. Yep, that is right, 300 american dollars. It just kept going up. Promos ended and all that. That is for internet, TV and phone. So I started just internet with Spectrum at the house. Uverse gave us a whopping 24 download in the apartment, we get up to 400 with spectrum. Then I signed up for youtubeTV for $40 to get locals and a bunch of other stuff. When we get closer to moving I'll get Ooma and move our home phone over to that for $5.5 a month of taxes.

If I feel still frisky I'll add PhiloTV to get the history channel and hallmark and other stuff youtubeTV doesn't have for another $16.

This will bring down the cost quite a bit. As far as premium channels go like HBO and starz, I will get them as I need them. One at a time via prime video. I already have that and netflix and hulu. I will cancel one of those, probably hulu.

After that no more worrying about the home phone number and being locked into a deal with a cable company. We didn't have much of a choice where we lived, still live for now. Not much choice at the new house either really, its ATT or Spectrum. I am waiting for google fiber to come closer.

We been testing YoutubeTV out at the house and here still at the apartment. We aren't moved yet. Its working really flawless and even tennis looks good. Tennis is always my test with streaming. Wee ball going really fast and all that.

They did have to bury a orange cable in my new backyard. Looks a bit like garbage right now but its been raining.

I did this cold turkey after thinking about it for a while. But I couldn't really do much while still in this apartment dead spot.

Oh, unlimited DVR recordings with YoutubeTV. And no more paying an extra fee for a 2nd box from the cable company. We just put Roku's on the TV's.

Did you make the leap to YouTubetv? How do you like it? We are thinking of making the same jump since cable is getting so out of hand with prices. How is the dvr part working for you? I definitely want a dvr since that's how we end up watching most of our shows.

 

[Atunah]

I am very very happy with YoutubeTV and I also have Philo. And Ooma. Haven't had an issue with either of them. I get the premiums like starz, acorn, britbox, etc as I need them. I had Starz to watch outlander and cancelled it for now. I do that all under my amazon account as its so very easy to come and go for a month. Don't have to call anyone.

I was also a very heavy DVR user, but our DVR was pretty small in hard drive size so I always ran out of space and it was old so would act up. The Uverse DVR that is. There is unlimited DVR with YoutubeTV. Its a wee bit different to get used to overall, but now that I got the hang of it, I just hit the "plus" button to record series anytime something looks interested. Unlimited. And they keep the recordings for at least 9 months. If that show or episode is broadcast again on any of the channels, that 9 months get reset to another 9 month. If that makes sense. There are also on demand shows that are just there. It is fast, no skipping and no lag when changing channels. So basically this DVR is way better than before.

I am now using the $150 a month I save from before and put it to the principal each month on mortgage. 

Its kind of really freeing. If I want to cancel something, its just a button press. Before I had to call and call and you know the drill with cable. And as some know, I don't do well with phones and having to talk to CS and try to get stuff done.  Besides the internet fixed cost, everything else is easy to switch. I tried Youtube TV for I think 7 days, liked it and stayed. But I could have cancelled, then tried hulu live, or vue or directtv now. Some rotate through them all year round. Just depends on what you watch.

 

[*DrDLN* (dr.s.dhillon)]

I have smart TVs in family and bed rooms. Get all the major networks using indoor wall antenna. I stream lot of stuff. I am more happy with my arrangement than my son who uses cable and dish..... It costs me nothing other than internet access that I need anyway.

 

[Atunah]

A lot of folks use just antennas for the locals. That all depends on of course what you can pull in. I am not allowed to put antennas on our roof. And we also would not be able to get all of them clear where we are. I also need a few other things to watch so a service that gives all the locals and most of the other basic channels we mostly watched is perfect for me. Still way cheaper than the gazillion channels via cable I used to have.

Now what will be interesting is how the internet companies are going to deal with all the cord cutters. Many already have data caps, which I expect to go lower or tiered and the prices are going up on that. I am with Spectrum and the deal they made with the goverment to let the merger go through (TWC/charter) means they cannot apply any data caps until I think its 2022 or 2023. But, we are in a 2 year promo deal which when done goes up $25. Have to reavaluate at that point.

Amazon makes the Recast, a device to use with a firetv that is connected to antennas and then acts like a nice DVR and guide. For those that have antennas and can actually get a good amount of channels that way.

 

[Sandpiper]

My TV set up is pretty good.  I'm in Chicago 'burbs.  My TV is connected to a good rooftop antenna (top of 5-story condo building) so have good reception of networks and local channels.  I have TiVo.  Whenever I've gotten a new box, I pay for lifetime service.  My current TiVo box is seven years old and working fine (knock on wood) so not adding in any cost for that.  I currently pay AT&T $50 per month for internet.  I'd have that even if I wasn't streaming.  Now . . . I pay $75 per month for various streaming apps.  Both Netflix and Amazon Prime give you a lot of choices for TV viewing.  (Not including Prime in total because Prime gets you so much more than just TV.). In the $75 I'm also paying for five other streaming apps which I don't watch a whole lot.  Any I could eliminate?  Hmmmmm.  Some I pay for annually so don't see a monthly charge.  Paying for streaming is like a la carte cable.  I've never had cable or satellite. 

 

[Cuechick]

I cut the cord a few years ago and have never regretted it. I recently moved to a new little bungalow and could not get any antenna channels at all. So I am full on streaming! NBC has live streaming in my area so I get local news and the Today show so I am happy.

My go to channels are Netflix (though I have considered dropping it just because I have not been watching it that much but decided to give it another month, also I think my price might go up if I do that then come back later, which I will when the Crown comes back ), Hulu (which I just added back when they dropped their price to 5.99), Amazon Prime, Youtube (so much good free stuff on there, old movies, Judge Judy, funny videos on thrifting and other personal interests) and I use a free channel called Pluto which has a variety of older programing from old stand up to crime doc shows like Forensic Files. For some reason I like to fall asleep to these type of shows.

 

[Atunah]

Ah yes Pluto. I like to run the Norway train ride in backround.  . I also like putting it on Sky News. I can't watch any US based news anymore. That and the Tageschau stream. I get BBC world news on youtubetv, but its a lot of loop playing, same segment over and over and over. Good for catching up though.

My husband likes the old really bad b movie stuff. Old scifi and such. I go back to reading.

I had to subscribe to CBC all access to finish watching Hawaii 5.0. It used to be on Netflix, then cbs yanked it to put on their own pay stream. It is horrific. The absolute worse streaming I have encountered so far. CBS all access that is. Audio out of sync, huge amount of commercials, glitchy. I am trying to finish watching in the month I am paying so I don't have to do any more than that. They do have the very first season of Bold and the Beautiful.  . It has meaning to me as that was one show my mom and I watched together many times on lunch in Germany. It was and probably still is a very popular soap in Europe. We watched it from the first episode back then, just a few months time shifted of course as everything was.

But that was the goal for me. Only having 1 or 2 of those extra channels at a time, instead of all of them and not watching. I do have Netflix still as they have brought in a lot of international stuff I like. I might drop Hulu, not sure. I do have the more expensive plan because all the commercials drive me nuts, I might go down though with the price increase now.
But with YoutubeTV, netflix, amazon prime, hulu and the rotating other channels, I am still paying way less than before. Oh, I do pay for TennisTV also, its a must have for me and I would pay that no matter what TV provider I use. Best service for watching ATP tennis. I have to watch the grand slams on ESPN unfortunately.

 

[CegAbq]

As I have explored cutting the cord, at one point I was trying to determine what internet speed I might want/need.
Right now I have Xfinity Triple Play service with a pretty fast internet speed.
When I tried to look at just getting Xfinity's fastest connection, because I was already a customer it was pretty hard to get a true estimate of the cost, but it seemed like they would stick it to me just to get the fast speed.

So then I was wondering what speed I would really need to allow 2 people to stream movies and several other devices to connect for other reasons.

Could you say what speeds you have and how happy (or not) with that speed?
I think we only have Xfinity & Century Link as options in Abq. But if I didn't need Xfinity's top speed, that might make all this work for my family.

 

[Atunah]

I think one could easily stream 2 streams with 50 down. I have 400, but really over wifi one doesn't get that. Only reason I got that was because we went from ATT to Spectrum and so we got a 2 year lock on a discount. I probably should have gone with the 200, still way enough. Now in 2 years we'll have to call them and ask to 'downgrade so it doesn't go up in price so much. They really only had 200 as the lowest available here.

Unless you stream a lot of stuff in 4K at the same time, you don't really need the gigabyte stuff. Unless of course you get some offer or its the same price.

just as a compare we had 24 down with ATT uverse before we cut the cord and already streamed a lot. At times 2 TV's and we have a ton crap of stuff hooked on the network. The issues we had wasn't so much the speed but congestion, due to many apartments on the same uverse box. Even the 24 down when it worked had no issues with streaming, even 4K.

Over on the cordcutter reddit some folks basically cancel and then sign up again with say the husbands or wife's name to be a "new" customer again to get the deals. Or see what else is available. I went and put my address into all the websites as if I was a new customer. As in whats available for that address. I only had 2 options here, ATT and Spectrum.

You might have to call them though, I think it was easier for us to just cancel the whole thing once we had it set up with another. they did try the, let me see if its available at your new address. We cut then off saying, there is already  internet, we just need to cancel. 

I say 100 would be plenty. Or even 50-75 if you get a good deal. What speed do you have now?

 

[Sandpiper]

Could you say what speeds you have and how happy (or not) with that speed?
I think we only have Xfinity & Century Link as options in Abq. But if I didn't need Xfinity's top speed, that might make all this work for my family.

I'm in the Chicago 'burbs. Only two choices for internet here -- Comcast / Xfinity and AT&T. I have AT&T U-verse. With that you have choice of three speeds. I have 17 Mbps, middle of speed choices. Only me here. Primary "juice" users are my computer which is always on and TV. TiVo needs internet. I don't stream a lot, but when I do I have no problems with it. Knock on wood. So 17 Mbps works for me. Currently paying $50 per month for it.

 

[Cuechick]

I have 25 Mpbs with a company called Northland, this is uber fast compared to At&T which was suppose to be 12 (honestly high enough unless you're a gamer) but with their constant "flexing" it was often less than 4 Mbps! My company gives me actually 2 lines so my Roku is on one and the rest of my devices are on the other but honestly it would not be a problem with one line.

 

[CegAbq]

Many many thanks for your input on speed. This will really let me go back to Xfinity & reassess what I need (& don't need).
My thought on what I needed for speed was making the cost for their fastest internet-only service still approaching what I've been paying.
I may be able to cut the cord yet.

 

[Sandpiper]

As I said I have 17 Mbps.  Besides computer and TiVo / TV using juice, I also have an Echo, two Echo Shows, an Echo Tap, Fire tablet, iPad, iPhone, Kindles.  I think that is everything.   

Every time I've checked the speed, it always has been right around 17 Mbps.  AT&T U-verse also offers something like 6 Mbps which would be too slow and 54-ish which I have no need for or want to pay for.  Wonder why the extreme difference between 17 and 54? 

 

[sjc]

Hi Atumah!!!
I  am ready to jump ship w cable companies after nearly 40 years...and just go wi-fi n stream. What does having youtube TV, Philio, and Ooma run (appx.)costwise for all 3 per month??

 

[Atunah]

Ooma depends on where you are. You only pay taxes. Ionly have the basic plan. Here are all the costs.
https://www.ooma.com/legal/rates/
You do have to buy a ooma device to get started and its $40 to transfer your number if you need to. I buy pay as you go so put like $10 in the account so I can call my mother in Germany. Cheaper per minute than att was for me.

per month:
$6.47 ooma
$16 or $20 Philo (They have 2 tiers. I got a prepaid 6 month on sale during christmas.)
43.30 ($40plus tax) youtubetv

So with the top tier philo total would be $69.77

I used to pay around $300 for the 3. So adding the internet I have right now is another $66 for spectrum on a 2 year locked in price. So from $300 to $135.77.