Have you tried checking the “experimental” TVE Locals box in your DVR settings? Because my Spectrum locals (with Select package) came through without an issue in my area. The only local that I think no one gets from TVE locals is CW but I could be wrong.
I also have the TV Choice package. I would have gone with Essentials but it is missing 3 key channels I want and includes a lot of channels I don't care about.
I can get the locals through TVE in my area but I use an antenna to get those because it is better quality than the TVE feed.
It comes out cheaper than if I had any of the other OTT services along with my internet only bill.
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I'm already getting locals through an Hdhomerun Quattro. I have an extra Hdhomerun dual I can use but really have no need for it. So I'd rather save the $12.95.
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I had Choice then I learned you can get new customer pricing after 32 days. So in the meantime I use YTTV or Hulu live for a month. One good thing about choice is you get premiums for$7.50 each or 5 for $15.
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I’ll have to look at that premiums pricing. 5 for $15 would be awesome.
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Do premiums work in Channels DVR?
No
So does the "choice" package include TVE access for all the channels you choose?
Also is the $58/mo you quoted including the internet?
It does include TVE. It does not include internet. They do offer an internet plan called Internet Assist which is $17.99 a month for 30Mbps. Or $22.99 if you include the Wifi modem.
The website you pointed to said the choice plan was $30/mo, so is the other $28 just fees and stuff?
$12.95 broadcast fee plus tax. So it should be around $48 plus internet
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Ok, gothcha. Thanks.
I'm trying to get my wife to let me cancel cable and TiVo. She’s been trying out Sling but doesn’t like it. So thinking maybe this plus Channels might work.
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My Spectrum Essentials is $19.99 / month plus $1.90 in communications taxes; then their promo pricing for bundling with internet (which is required anyway, so that’s weird) knocks the $20 off, so it’s technically free. I use a HD HomeRun with my antenna for locals.
I always loved my TiVo, and Channels is as close as it gets, especially with Channels’ one-click commercial skip.
It will all depend on what your must-have channels are, which is why I keep YTTV as a TVE source (and DVR backup) as well, but I had the same channel availability with Spectrum’s Silver Package (including locals) w/ their cloud DVR. Spectrum’s App and DVR functionality is awful though.
Find an old computer and set up Channels DVR with their trial period and test it out. I can tell you now the Sling TVE support is very limited, so if you use that to test it, then you’ll be restricted on the available channels BUT you’ll be able to test the functionality at least, before you make the switch for good. For greater TVE support, you can always run the trial periods for YTTV or Fubo.
I looked at the essentials plan and it's missing a couple of her "must have" channels. The choice plan has them all available but picking just 15 might be an issue. I'm going to need her to figure out what’s available streaming and what’s not, and use that as a guide.
Right now we’re paying for the Silver plan that’s over $100/mo, so dropping to $30 would be a big savings.
You can do Select plus tier one and save $30. It's Silver minus HBO and Showtime. You should be able to bundle and save even more.
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Yup. I went through every internet TV option out there. Sometimes it’s hard to find the right package to please your wife. 
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Wait until they charge $21 for Local Broadcast Fee with Choice in your market. We started at $5.95 for it. Of course cable cards were $2.00 each and are now $6. I have 4 Tivos with lifetime, 3 on choice, and 1 OTA, So its $21+ $18 cable cards and what used to be $22 for choice is now like $35 i think. Choice 10. I am beginning to explore channels DVR and got it installed via docker on my Synology NAS today. It works great for a while and then starts erroring out. -17 error or something. sometimes a restart of the docker will fix, sometimes a reboot of the tivo stream client i am using works out. Just getting my feet wet with channels-dvr. Nas is a Xeon 8 core cpu with 32GB memory. It does not do hardware decoding so i dropped that line from the container config ( at least with a dated synology kernel version) I think the CPU actually supports it , just not kernel. i do not have a HD homerun or Tablo, but thinking about one at least for OTA. I am using the TVE docker as well and experimenting with iptv as well.
May not be an ideal time to buy either device, until NextGenTV (ATSC3.0) transition is better defined. Hopefully before the end of this year we will know which devices will have NextGenTV capabilities or if they have been crippled. We may have several more years with the current standard, but can't be sure yet.
I have managed to get my spectrum account and a family directv account going and am quite impressed. the ILM dma Wilmington, NC will not get ATSC 3.0 for quite some time. No rush to prepare for that never coming.
The local broadcast fee is exactly why I jumped on the TV Essentials package for $20/month, it has no local channels, so no additional broadcast fee (I suppose that was Spectrum's intent).
Between an HDHomerun with 4 tuners for the locals, Hulu Live TV, and TV Essentials to fill in the Hulu gaps, it's been pretty decent, thanks to Channels DVR for pulling this all together in one seamless guide/package.
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