Cutting the cable cord Direct TV Now option

MacDaddy

MacDaddy

Training wheel examiner
Bit of a rant/talk about an option to go without "cable."

If you haven't looked into, there is a way to not pay a cable bill. Our's has crept up over the years to more than $120 a month. No movies, nothing special, almost the lowest tier available from Uverse.

I've gotten tired of fighting with them, and decide it was time to cancel. So, I've researched, talked with others about the options, and finally settled on Direct TV Now. They've got a pretty good channel selection, local channels, and would be less than half the $$ for the package.

Noticed they keep running different specials - trial period of 7x days, trial of 30x days, pay 2 months in advance and get an Amazon Fire, pay 4 months and get an Apple TV. This is where I decided they aren't so great.

First, you have to sign up for an account in order to start the trial. Ok, that is fine - but then you have to tell them to cancel before the end of the trial. Well, that's fair.

Second, if you prepay to get one of the devices - you no longer have a trial period available. You also cannot get a refund on the un-used prepayment. What? So, if I get the trial, I'm no longer a new customer and can't prepay to get a new device. If I prepay to get a new device, I'm not allowed a trial period and I'm out of luck if I don't like the service or can't use it.

Yeah .. not such a great option.
 
DirecTV Now is AT&T. Not a huge shocker to me to hear that. I tested that out and their apps for using DirecTV Now are horrible. Lots of buffering and out of sync audio/video. YoutubeTV is the best bet in my opinion. It is offered in the Atlanta area now and only 35 bucks a month with all the local channels.
 
rolltidega said:
DirecTV Now is AT&T. Not a huge shocker to me to hear that. I tested that out and their apps for using DirecTV Now are horrible. Lots of buffering and out of sync audio/video. YoutubeTV is the best bet in my opinion. It is offered in the Atlanta area now and only 35 bucks a month with all the local channels.
Click to expand...
Knew they were bought by AT&T, was hoping it hadn't messed things up so bad ... guess they have.

YouTube was my second choice. Not nearly as many channel options, but they do have an amazing link thru Google - go figure since they were bought by Google.
 
We have had Hulu for several years and are very happy with it. The only problem is where we live the only internet available is att
and it is slow. Max of 6Mps down with only 44k up. If you have to watch local channels get a antenna and watch for free.
We have a antenna but very seldom watch the local stations, as it is nothing but commercials and programs I don't care for.
You can get a much better picture from the antenna direct then through cable or the net as they compress the signal
so it takes less bandwidth for cable or net.
 
We just cut the cord. Went to Hulu Live and Netflix both via the Roku.
Our bill was $160 a month for Uverse. It's now $40 for Hulu Live and $7.99 for Netflix.
That's over $1300 a year savings! And we are watching the same shows we watched before. Even local channels.
Hulu Live is still in Beta stage, but so far, I like it. There's been some buffering issues and sometimes it has a glitch in the matrix and rewinds and plays back a small section, but all in all it's been good. I'm sure those issues will be worked out in time. Like I said, it's still in Beta.
 
We had satellite service through Direct TV, but they kept removing channels while increasing the price. We have been using a Roku for a year now getting Netflix and Amazon Prime. I will have to look into Hulu live, but the problem here is slow Internet speed as we have Windstream and no other internet options.
 
Appreciate the feedback!

No surprise, DirectTV just started another deal - prepay 3 months and get the Apple TV for free. Ok, I bit.

Watching it now, using my laptop working with an existing Chromecast. Will see how it goes.
 
I need some basic techie info. Currently have Uverse and the 16meg internet.

Most of what we watch is on YouTubeTV. So, now, if I get rid of Uverse and leave the internet, does the TV then work off the wi-fi of the internet? A "smart" tv with the wi-fi recvr built in, or can I use the "sticks", or both?

I needs a TV-Streaming for Dummies lesson.
 
Glassdogs said:
I need some basic techie info. Currently have Uverse and the 16meg internet.

Most of what we watch is on YouTubeTV. So, now, if I get rid of Uverse and leave the internet, does the TV then work off the wi-fi of the internet? A "smart" tv with the wi-fi recvr built in, or can I use the "sticks", or both?

I needs a TV-Streaming for Dummies lesson.
Click to expand...

I'd recommend a Roku (www.roku.com) device. They are the best in my opinion. It'll work with any TV and now supports YouTube TV.
 
Glassdogs said:
I need some basic techie info. Currently have Uverse and the 16meg internet.

Most of what we watch is on YouTubeTV. So, now, if I get rid of Uverse and leave the internet, does the TV then work off the wi-fi of the internet? A "smart" tv with the wi-fi recvr built in, or can I use the "sticks", or both?

I needs a TV-Streaming for Dummies lesson.
Click to expand...
So, what I learned (others can feel free to correct or add)
1. Your Internet package is separate from your "tv" package
2. Your TV will need to get content (shows) from somewhere if you stop TV service
a. From another cable provider
b. Smart TV's often have built-in "aps" to get shows from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Youtube etc. BUT, those usually require a membership. The TV will need internet access, most of them have wireless capabilities.
c. There are devices (Chromecast, Apple TV, Roku, etc) than can connect to the Internet (wireless, and some have wired), and pull content over the internet. BUT most of the content requires a membership.
d. In my example:
1. I already had a Chromecast, which allows you to transfer stuff from a browser on my laptop to the TV. The package I paid includes a free Apple TV - which is another device (has more goodies and a remote), and it should show up in a couple of weeks. The Chromecast requires a smart phone or Chrome browser on your laptop in order to select a "channel".
2. In order to view most "channels", you need to pay for a package from one of the providers - DirectTV Now, HuluTV, PlayStation Vue, Youtube TV, etc. The prices are usually a great deal less than regular cable - BUT you may not have any, or most, of your local channels, and you won't have the hundreds of channels to pick from. We got the $50 a month middle package, which includes a few local channels, and about 90% of the channels we typically would watch.

Feel free to hit me up if you have additional questions, it has been quite the learning experience!

So far we are into day 2, and it is working for us. The phone aps aren't the best, but they work. Mrs. Mac caught onto the laptop version, using the Chrome browser, pretty quickly.
 
cptlo306 said:
Youtube TV is adding more channels (CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, TBS, TNT, truTV, and Turner Classic Movies) and more sports. Price is going up for new subscribers to $40/month.

https://www.androidauthority.com/youtube-tv-add-channels-also-raise-prices-837517/
Click to expand...

I would predict that within a few years, the streaming and "cable" offerings/packages are going to merge into the same thing. Figure we will take advantage of the lower streaming prices as long as we can.

Finding that we watch fewer and fewer shows these days.
 
MacDaddy said:
I would predict that within a few years, the streaming and "cable" offerings/packages are going to merge into the same thing. Figure we will take advantage of the lower streaming prices as long as we can.

Finding that we watch fewer and fewer shows these days.
Click to expand...
I think you're right. The price will merge at whatever the traffic will allow. If nothing else, it will hold cable rates down for a couple of years like satalite did.
 
MacDaddy said:
I would predict that within a few years, the streaming and "cable" offerings/packages are going to merge into the same thing. Figure we will take advantage of the lower streaming prices as long as we can.

Finding that we watch fewer and fewer shows these days.
Click to expand...
It won't be long until we'll have a single "broadband" connection that will carry everything except the main power. All communications, entertainment and information, etc.
 
MacDaddy said:
I would predict that within a few years, the streaming and "cable" offerings/packages are going to merge into the same thing. Figure we will take advantage of the lower streaming prices as long as we can.

Finding that we watch fewer and fewer shows these days.
Click to expand...

Someday there will be a Musk type person that will pioneer build your own packages where you pay for just what you want and not the other crap channels in the "bundle". If they can do that for less than the bundles, it will take off like a rocket.
 
The biggest issue with the build your own packages, at least today, is that all these channels/networks have to get paid and they negotiate with providers to get added to their service, whether it is cable, satellite or streaming. I don't know of a good alternative as I can see it get to the point for a la carte where each individual channel charges a monthly fee to use it. So you if want ABC, CBS, NBC, the broadcast channels, pay $5 a month EACH and use their own apps for it. It would suck badly if they do that which is why they want to partner with providers. I have a feeling Google/YouTube is going to be the big winner here since they already carry all the broadcast networks and have a decent amount of other channels for $35.00 a month. If I could have convinced my wife that was the way to go then we would have done it. But the warning is if you are going to only stream and if you watch a lot of stuff, you better pony up the money for unlimited data with your Internet Provider. Comcast Residential will provide unlimited for an extra 40 bucks a month.

Anyway, streaming is going to be the future but money talks so who knows what the final cost will truly be.
 
Interesting thread...

I am looking into cutting the cable also... currently I have ATT; internet, Uverse 300, and 2 cell lines... and yeah, the bill is too much!

Over the last weekend, got WiFi and the TV connected... enjoying the streaming experience with PrimeTV (Amazon)... watching some old favourites.

My research suggests for streaming packages: YouTubeTV and Vue (part of Playstation) are the two most robust packages... need to spend some more time researching.
My kinda new (new as of black Friday weekend 2017) Samsung 4K TV (65" 8000 series) has the apps for most of the streaming sites, except Vue.
Not sure if there is an app I can download, have not figured out how to download software to the TV yet (and honestly am a bit hesitant... as I have read horror stories about bricked TV's :( :( :( )

I may compare the numbers... and go by an ATT phone store (you can do Uverse business there)... and try to twist their arm into a deal... threaten to leave, etc.
I suspect I will need a back-up plan if I do... as I could well find myself without internet... :(

Anyhow, enjoying the thread... thx to all who contributed!

GA (short for JawJa)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top