Am I insane for thinking about reconnecting the cord?

Playground
#1

Spectrum area here. My setup has always been a bit of a frankensetup, as we are on a DMA border town.

My current setup:
Spectrum choice (2 DMA locals needed), and the turners (since i used Fubo for a while)
YTTV for the remaining cable channels
Frndly for GAC,etc (damned Christmas movies)
OTA

It's basically a wash, between fees and whatnot, to go Spectrum + Entertainment package, which gives me a very equivalent channels set.

Pros:
Surround sound returns to many cable channels
Simpler billing/etc
No YTTV TVE shenanigans

Cons:
Only 6 "hard" tuners (2 Primes)
Possible CableCard sunset
Picture quality occasionally meh.

The caveat here - I could potentially go YTTV only, if i were confident enough in my OTA setup for Hartford covering me. I'm able to get the most channels I've ever gotten ever, thanks to the ATSC3 lighthouse. It's still a leap of faith, though, as cancelling Spectrum outright may prevent me from using CableCards again.

Sorry for the word salad - hoping for some constructuve support/criticism. :slight_smile:

#2

if you are speaking of spectrum, just get the streaming only service and get mostly local channels.
Hopefully internet is good.
I love Frontier.

#3

Not Insane at all ... I am glad I did not cut the cord from XFINITY ... I have 2 Primes with Cable Card and that is enough to record Cable Channels and use TVE as a backup if all tuners are in use, The main streaming Services are becoming just as expensive as any XFINITY Package.

I have several OTA tuners so I Have the OTA Channels disabled in my Channels DVR Cable Prime tuners.

#4

Funny you mention this. We were about to cut the "signal" from directv. I asked for streaming plan options and they said that's a different department. Well they didn't pass us to the streaming department but the retention department! anyway, they still want to keep us as a customer, so they took $45 off our plan (we have the very old, most basic SELECT plan). So now we pay $55 a month (for 12 months) to still stream via TVE and still have the dish + receivers for a backup. $55 is still less expensive than $65-75 plans streamers provide (including DTV Stream!).

#5

Yeah it is a shame that the price skyrocketed for almost all of these. Just a few years ago looking at $35 a month was great. But like Dennis said above. The plans are now $60 + for anything decent which pretty much negate the switch. It probably comes down to what prices you are paying for equipment. But even with that you can probably line it up with your own equipment you had to purchase.

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#6

My 2 XFinity Cable Cards are free ... I only have 1 XFINITY Box for the rest I use my FiretV's to watch XFINITY and record.

#7

When you say Spectrum Cable, are you getting most of your cable TV in the clear with your Primes (after the cablecard, are you still missing channels due to copy flag, or open)?

#8

I have almost cut the cord so many times I can't even count. I consider it every year, when Frontier tries to jack my rates. Then I waste an hour of my life on the phone complaining until they lower it again.

As others have said, the streaming services don't really end up being cheaper anymore. And with my Prime, I get ALL of my cable channels plus TVE. With streaming-only, I will be limited to what is available on TVE. Unless I want to juggle multiple TV apps. Which I don't.

#9

It really depends on how many channels and which ones you use. Philo is much cheaper for example, but if you are into sports then it’s not going to be the system for you. If you use enough channels, or want sports, then keeping cable is definitely probably about the same, especially since the retention department of cable companies can probably get deals as good or better, again depending on what channels you want.

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#10

I will never ever deal with Comcast/Xfinity again. Cut the cord years back now, after 30yrs of cable service from them. (Literally, the cable line was removed from my unit when they did a roof and siding work the next summer)
Insane prices even just for basic lowest package. The base fees alone for shit i do not want, $9 for a "Sports re-broadcast fee" I do NOT watch ANY sports. other crap they charge you for. $15 just to have a HD box!?

For years now, I Only Pay $24 a month for Philo, and use a HDHR. Why pay ~$150+ a month + $10 hike every year for the same channels, and no DVR ability. (i posted the exact cost break down and savings for me in another thread while back.)

There really is not anything on "normal TV" these days that interest me. 99.9% of shows are out on streaming services, or can be found on YT or other places. Those that air on cable tv networks, also come out on Hulu or whatever the next day, some are free to watch with adds after a while.

Cell companies now also bundle certain streaming services into their plans. Being able to record the "broadcast" of xyz show, via Channels is merely is a convivence factor when it comes to major shows. It is easier than navigating multiple streaming apps, or using Philo's some what clunky app to watch the show. Have a local copy of the recording also is nice, sometimes I like to clip out sections of a show, like clips of AFV.

#11

Paramount does this a lot Broadcast 1 Episode then all the rest are in their APP (Yellow Jackts .. Criminal Minds etc ... Also TNT will not have any new shows will broadcast more sports. My Primes are very seldom busy only time is to watch sports.

The Death of Cable TV: TNT No Longer Airs New Original Scripted Programs | Cord Cutters News

#12

I just finally ditched FIOS TV and went (for now) to YTTV. I'm trying to cut expenses where I can. I had two Primes /w cable cards, but I was paying $152 total for FIOS internet / tv. When I decided to see what I could save, I found I could get internet only from FIOS for $49.99 and faster at 300 Mbps versus the 200 Mbps I had, so faster speed. Gotta loves how these companies jerk you around.

In the midst of this, I just found out my senior citizen mother was paying Verizon $102 a month for internet only and they had her locked into a 2 year contract no less unbeknownst to her that she had to pay $186 to get out of. These corporations are happy to take advantage of people whenever they can, letting people way overpay if they're not aware they shouldn't be. Sick stuff.

YouTube has a 3 month intro price at $54.99 + tax price and /w T-mobile I can get another 12 months at that price. If I pay with an Amex card, I can get another $20 off for 3 months with the current Amex opt-in deal. So $34.99 + tax for 3 months and then another 12 months at $54.99 + tax with the T-mobile deal. That's real money when you multiply it out.

Yea, there are pros and cons and the savings isn't huge, but $40+ savings adds up over time and I'm not locked into any TV contracts. Yea, I won't have as good a setup as I had with FIOS TV, but it's getting harder and hard to justify paying that much for cable.

I sold my Primes and my Connect Duo and reinvested in a Flex 4k and a new antenna and can now pull in all the majors very well. This gives me flexibility down the road to just go OTA or move to something cheaper (i.e. Philo).

Maybe I'll regret it down the line, but cable cards are probably going away sooner than later.

#13

Very little DRM in my market, thank goodness

#14

If I could get both market locals from TVE (and thus into channels), I would do this. Can't, though.

#15

Currently I get internet (300) and TV from my cable company for $162/mo including taxes of about $4.
It's reliable, simple, includes one DVR, no additional cable boxes, I use Channels and streaming boxes.
This includes a $45 discount for loyalty or something, IF that ever goes away $207/mo... NO WAY. !
I could get at&t 300 for $55, Youtube TV for $65, lets say $4 taxes, total $124, savings $38/mo, $456/yr.
YTTV does not have GAC(wife), so lets add $11/mo for Frndly, new total $135,savings $27/mo, $324/yr.
$27/mo savings Not worth it for me,
I'd still have Channels DVR $80/yr, $6.67/mo no matter what for TiviMate m3u, commercial skip, etc
and not having to pay $6/mo for each additional cable box on 4 tv's & Projector, no Channels add $30/mo.
As long as I can keep my $45 discount I will stay with the cable company, depending on annual $ increase.

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#16

Don't overthink it: it's only TV. If it works for you, then that's good.

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#17

I have Spectrum Cable and a prime and prime extend. Unfortunately i can't watch or record any DRM channel which there are several and how they choose what to encrypt is beyond me. Why would you DRM a shopping channel?

I'm considering using my OTA Extend HDHomerun and getting Philo for $25 a month. Spectrum rental for my cable card went up to $6/month which is ridiculous. It used to be $2.
TVE with Philo doesn't have all the channels the Philo app does, either.

Problem is that i am tied to SageTV and moving to Channels will require me to get new extenders. Ugh

#18

I am using SageTV with M3U/XMLTV input From Channels DVR get everything that Channels gets that way.
SAGETV Shares all tuners with Channels DVR. The things you can do with Channels DVR is amazing.

There is one person in my household that will not give up SageTV.
Sage with TVE from Channels DVR.

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#19

If I were in your position, I'd dig all my Primes out of storage, activate cablecards and never have to worry about TVE instability again (at least until they retire cablecards entirely). It's not complicated.

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#20

DRM is the real dreamkiller in this context, if that’s not standing in your way, then I’d say go for it. In my case Spectrum DRM’s nearly everything I’m interested in, so I saved the $5 monthly charge and gave back the cable cards to them when I switched away from TiVo. SDV was starting to get annoying too. Channels on AppleTV works better for me in all situations, and most of my appreciation comes from the fact that the recordings are accessible by any app and are easy to transfer and stream to any device. Thankfully the indoor antenna on an HDHomerun also picks up my locals.

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