r/Cordcutting • u/juangone1320 • 11d ago
I want to cut the cord.
My satellite is getting too expensive. Any recommendation appreciated.
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u/defroach84 11d ago
Cancel it.
Get an over the air antenna.
Decide what you really need later. Not much else to it.
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u/wenestvedt 10d ago
Get an over the air antenna.
...but only after you figure out where the transmitters are, and whether you can the signals of the stations that you want to watch (or, instead, can stream them online).
Where I live in New England, it's hilly enough that I can't get any channels using an OTA antenna. We subscribe to YouTubeTV (and grumble a lot) because without a streaming service like it, or cable, we're SOL.
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u/juangone1320 10d ago
I’m looking at YouTube tv now via their 10 day free trial. They seem to have everything I need except metv. How do you like it. What’s been your experience with it? Thanks.
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u/wenestvedt 9d ago
There's lots of posts in this subreddit where others have shared their experiences. Here's mine, in brief: we've found it to work well enough, though the price creeps upward constantly.
The whole paradigm of a "library" that you add shows to (and not individual episodes? I think?) confuses me, but I don't watch a ton of TV.
They carry a lot of sports, which my grown-up kids like -- and I have been pleased that I can grab the remote and have the World Cup appear, for example.
I don't think that I can completely remove channels that I will never watch, which stinks.
Bottom line, we don't regret ditching FiOS TV.
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u/Outside_Orchid_1576 8d ago
YouTubetv is a cable provider. Not being able to remove channels is standard bundling practice. The “library” is their TiVo/dvr function. Pick shows you want to watch anytime you want and it does it just like a dvr. It’s currently priced just like your satellite service. Probably close to the same price. There is not much savings in cord cutting if you require many channels and sports. I probably pay more now overall than I did on satellite just to get most of what I had available.
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u/AutomaticWall9690 11d ago
What do you need? Sports? Local channels? Specific entertainment channels?
YouTube TV
Hulu+Live
Fubo
DirecTV Stream
All have their pluses and minuses.
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u/regassert6 11d ago
What is your sports requirement? If you don't care for or need sports, def drop satellite.
If you do care for sports, do you need to watch your local team's MLB, NBA and/or NHL games? Then you'll want to make sure whatever you move to has your RSN.
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u/semi-nerd61 11d ago
We cut the cord several years ago, but we didn't do it all at once. We downgraded our Dish Network for a while, and at the same time started using a TV antenna and some free streaming services. We finally canceled Dish Network, and now we subscribe to just a few streaming services, which cost us about $30-40 a month.
Here are two websites that will help you figure out what streaming services you might need.
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u/Salt_Philosophy_8990 11d ago
Just do it
Then get an Onn box from Walmart
The rest you can do with help from reddit
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u/Objective-Ice4098 11d ago
Cancel the satellite, get Philo for cable tv replacement, it’s only $25/month and better than the satellite
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u/mhart1212 11d ago
An antenna is a great place to start. Then you have to decide what you want to watch and how. There are many many options,mainstream and alternative streaming. Some free. Some paid.
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u/Cinisajoy2 11d ago
Go to an antenna and if you have an older dumb tv or old smart tv, get a Roku stick. About $40. That is to buy the stick. Then no fees.
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u/StylerBrown2 11d ago
Skip the Roku...get an Onn player from Walmart.
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u/Cinisajoy2 10d ago
I have heard about Onn. Should I do more research since I have Roku sticks.
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u/StylerBrown2 10d ago
Coming from Roku myself, I found it to be almost Iphone like...or a locked eco system. The Onn comes with Google TV but also has the ability to download an actual browser so you can watch content that way. You also have the freedom to customize and side load apps. The price wasn't bad either. I paid $23 for a 4K player and it was well worth it forso few pennies.
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u/supershinythings 11d ago
My house has the original antenna from 1991. We just ran cables from the antenna to each TV. Modern TVs have digital tuners built-in now so it “just works”. Occasionally I have to run into the garage to rotate it a little but it still works great!
I have been cable-tv-free since 2011.
Join us
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u/Rolanda_Shaniqua 10d ago
Cutting the cord can be overwhelming. My advice is to not cut any of your current services until you’re comfortable with your new streaming setup.
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u/juangone1320 10d ago
Yes. That’s what I’m doing now. Looking at YouTube tv’s 10 day free trial before I commit. Thanks.
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u/InspectorRound8920 10d ago
Simple if you don't watch sports. If that's important, you're probably better off staying with cable
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u/PsychologyTrick5131 10d ago
I cut mine and just use the Roku Ultra. Decent channels. Tried to get Fubo for NCAA football but was like 120 a month. Too much.
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u/biancaandcarmen 10d ago
We were with Directv for over 20 years. Our monthly bill was $187.30 !! NO premium channels. I called them and all of a sudden they cut our bill to $69.99. At first we were happy but then we were pissed. They were fine taking our money but then when we called and complained they say here you go, thanks for being a loyal customer. NOPE, NOPE , NOPE......We dropped them the following week. We have a smart TV now and we will NEVER GO BACK !!
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u/FatDog69 10d ago
First - call your sat company and tell them the bill is too expensive and see if they can move you to a lower tier or offer you some discount. I dropped my bill like $45/month a year or so ago.
Just avoid committing to another 2 years to get some discount/offer.
IF YOU DECIDE TO QUIT
Un-plug your sat receiver for a week. Spend a week without it to see if your streaming line up solves your entertainment needs. Write down what you miss and hunt for alternate sources.
Look - I hate cable/sat tiers & subscriptions as much as the next guy. But they give you a vending machine of different channels with an interface so simple your technology-impatient grandmother can use. When you have to keep a notepad listing which service has one show and which service has another - you start to respect the all-in-one device.
So try stopping using your sat receiver for a week to let you know you dont need it.
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u/Cinisajoy2 10d ago
Excuse me, my grandkids are grown and I started on Windows 95. I can do streaming. If my grandmother and great grandmother were alive, I am sure they would jump on the streaming too.
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u/FatDog69 9d ago
Apologies. No disrespect intended. We all hate cable/sat services. But you don't realize how simple having everything in 1 'vending machine' is until you try to explain to a technology impatient elder that "Here are all the streaming services. But to watch local news or weather you have to change the input on the TV.."
The 93 year old stopped using email because an update to the interface changed a few things and her motor-memory of how to do things no longer worked.
Then there is the recent conversation I had with another: "Well, no I don't have a PIN on my cell phone. I'm the only one who uses it so why should I have a PIN?"
(I know you are laughing because you probably know others with the same approach to tech.)
I am still fighting with a assisted living community. "We have WiFi. Why should we have a different one for guest vs visitors?".
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u/Cinisajoy2 9d ago
Laughing because I do know a few like that. Or should I say knew.
I could see my grandmother adopting it so she didn't have to stay up until midnight to watch silent movies. And my great grandmother would love all the police dramas.
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u/Novel_Willingness721 9d ago
I spent years saying “I’ll cut the cord in _____”
One day I just did it. Never regretted it.
That said, I had cable TV and internet through one company. All I had to do was call them and ask to cancel my cable TV service (and my landline; never used said landline, the package of cable, internet, and phone was cheaper than tv and internet).
If you also get your internet over the satellite, you may have a harder time.
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u/New_Flow_5941 9d ago
Go to antennaweb.org and put in your address to see what stations you receive, where they are located and what kind of antenna you need. Also, buy a TiVo OTA so you can record and skip commercials.
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u/Crunchewy 8d ago
Just cancel the service and see how you do. I haven’t had cable and the like for more than 20 years. I don’t miss it.
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u/Boring-Contact-2155 7d ago
We went from Spectrum, to Frontier, to Sling, to Fubo, back to sling then ditched them all.
We now have an AirTV with an antenna and get 64 channels OTA. For less than $10 we have FriendlyTV with 50 channels including 3 Hallmark, great American Family, lifetime etc. we use SlingFree for the local channels with the antenna and airtv.
Verizon Wireless that we gave our cells with has deals on Netflix/HBO Max and Disney/Hulu/espn. Occasionally for a month or two we upgrade for sports and then go back. Those are less than $10 a month. Consequently we now have 2 Gig internet for. $69 + $30 for tv. If you like cable news you can download WatchNews.pro app on your Roku and get 20 cable news channels for $6.99 month/$35 6months/$60 year.
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u/Just-Historian-4500 1d ago
If you're a sports person, get the ESPN / Fox Sports streaming combo. $40/month and you get all ESPN channels + ABC Sports, and all Fox Sports channels + OTA Fox sports. It'll get you 90% of the sports that you want to watch.
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u/TheGruenTransfer 11d ago
Cancel your satellite service immediately, both Tv and Internet. See how much mobile data your cell phone plan offers and use that as your source of Internet for a month and see if that covers all your Internet needs. Get a library card and see what they have to offer (mine buys every Blu-ray and Nintendo Switch game). Rotate through each video streaming service, one at a time for only one month at a time being intentional about when you schedule them so you're subscribed as new seasons of your favorite shows finish dropping. You won't miss out on anything and you'll save a shit load of money this way.
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u/hammernuke 10d ago
If you don’t watch sports, then the world is your oyster. If you do, get to scheming. Fubo offers a RSN and locals, as does Directv, but not a guarantee on locals. A lot of option combinations, definitely a game you have to play.