Cutting Cable - Update

[chiknbut]

Thought I'd update this for those interested in things like Sling.

I'll admit, I was completely intimidated at the idea of slashing my cable bill and going with Sling. But it's so amazingly easy. And I definitely want to encourage anyone else to do it.

Cut my bill significantly. And until I got Sling I never realized how repetitive these movie channels are. Why the fuck was I paying so much money for so many years? And my children pretty much only watch Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Absolutely no issues with wifi.

[pdub]

Even if people really want to stick with cable ( I bounced from Dish back in 15 ) you should call them up and say you're cancelling and if they ask why/what you're doing just mention that Sling/PSVue/DirectTVNow just has better pricing.

They'll counter with some sort of 6 or 12 month deal and you'll save money at least in the short term.

[NewtonHawk11]

Thought I'd update this for those interested in things like Sling.

I'll admit, I was completely intimidated at the idea of slashing my cable bill and going with Sling. But it's so amazingly easy. And I definitely want to encourage anyone else to do it.

Cut my bill significantly. And until I got Sling I never realized how repetitive these movie channels are. Why the fuck was I paying so much money for so many years? And my children pretty much only watch Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Absolutely no issues with wifi.

Yep the buffering is no issue. The only thing is I've noticed a bit recently is that audio on ESPN will get ahead of visual. Nothing big, but started happening about a month ago here and there.

But my family lives off of Sling, Netflix and Amazon Prime. Don't need anything else and it's getting us by so easily.

[pdub]

Sometimes my feed will get slightly behind to where people i'm texting with know what's happening before I do ( or the reverse if they're on a different streaming TV plan ).

[NewtonHawk11]

Sometimes my feed will get slightly behind to where people i'm texting with know what's happening before I do ( or the reverse if they're on a different streaming TV plan ).

Yeah I have about a 20 second delay. So if I follow the game on twitter or get alerts on scores or whatnot, sometimes I'll see it on my phone before actually seeing it.

So that's frustrating, but I've done better at avoiding those phone alerts.

[Deleted User 62]

How do you watch KU games that aren't on CBS, etc?

[PhDhawk]

Sometimes my feed will get slightly behind to where people i'm texting with know what's happening before I do ( or the reverse if they're on a different streaming TV plan ).

no one texts with you

[TDub]

Damn contract with dish goes another 16 months or I'd have done the same thing

[TDub]

And it's true I have no friends so the texting problem wont be an issue

[shindig]

I still need to make the switch, probably this summer. I pay $150/month for Google Fiber (TV + 100 mbps internet). Keep the internet and Sling is around $25/month. I also have Netflix and Amazon Prime.

[NewtonHawk11]

How do you watch KU games that aren't on CBS, etc?

Sling has an Orange package that has ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNNews, ESPNU and ESPN3 and so on along with many other channels for $25/month. They then have a Blue package that has the Fox Sports channels among many others for $25/month.

Can combine those together and pay $40 a month or so.

So incredibly easy. Only bad thing is, you can stream up to 4 devices on Blue package. But only one device on Orange. So you can't watch KU basketball on one TV, and your wife watch it in the other room at the same time.

[pdub]

Sometimes my feed will get slightly behind to where people i'm texting with know what's happening before I do ( or the reverse if they're on a different streaming TV plan ).

no one texts with you

I text myself.
That's why there's a delay.

[Deleted User 62]

How do you watch KU games that aren't on CBS, etc?

Sling has an Orange package that has ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNNews, ESPNU and ESPN3 and so on along with many other channels for $25/month. They then have a Blue package that has the Fox Sports channels among many others for $25/month.

Can combine those together and pay $40 a month or so.

So incredibly easy. Only bad thing is, you can stream up to 4 devices on Blue package. But only one device on Orange. So you can't watch KU basketball on one TV, and your wife watch it in the other room at the same time.

How does that work with 4 TVs that are all Smart with Sling apps.

[NewtonHawk11]

How do you watch KU games that aren't on CBS, etc?

Sling has an Orange package that has ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNNews, ESPNU and ESPN3 and so on along with many other channels for $25/month. They then have a Blue package that has the Fox Sports channels among many others for $25/month.

Can combine those together and pay $40 a month or so.

So incredibly easy. Only bad thing is, you can stream up to 4 devices on Blue package. But only one device on Orange. So you can't watch KU basketball on one TV, and your wife watch it in the other room at the same time.

How does that work with 4 TVs that are all Smart with Sling apps.

You can watch the "Blue" Channels on all the TV's. So FS1, NBCSN, Golf Channel, HGTV, A&E or whatever else. But can't watch a KU game on ESPN on all 4 at once.

[pdub]

With DirectTVNow you can stream 2 devices at once with their standard package.
DirectTVNow is a little more expensive ($40 gets you the ESPN/ESPN2 you need) UNLESS you're an AT&T customer.
In that case, you get DirectTVNow for $15 and HBOGO for free.

That's what we ( me ) do.

[Deleted User 62]

I have Direct TV right now, about $150/mo

[pdub]

In the end, cable/directTV/dish is still going to get you a slightly better picture and for sports, faster delivery ( not lagging behind ). You also might be able to change channels a bit faster ( like in .3 seconds rather than .9 seconds ). And you might get more channels - but not necessarily. And finally, depending on your internet service, you might get buffering occasion.

In the end, those issues weren't enough to stop me from saving 60-80 dollars a month.

[Deleted User 62]

Buffering is a concern for me.
Sometimes, our internet gets sketchy.

2 kids gaming, sometimes 3 gamers (I play a bit of COD WW2 and Far Cry)...2 or more TVs...phones, etc

[pdub]

Yup.
Dunno what your speeds are but if you did try to switch, you might need to amp up to 100mbps+ kinda plan - that is, if you all are doing these things all at once.
I have a lowly 20mbps plan and don't experience any issues if i'm watching TV and someone is browsing but sometimes will get slight buffering if that other someone is watching TV too.

For people who don't want to even think about those hassles, I get why they stick with cable/dish.

[Deleted User 62]

I am maxed out at mbps. Even had the powered repeater systems installed in 2 hallways.
Still sketchy.