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Author Topic: Cord Cutting  (Read 6720 times)
Dave Gray
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« Reply #15 on: October 17, 2017, 05:37:48 pm »

^ I'm still trying to figure that out myself, yet I do it.
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MyGodWearsAHoodie
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« Reply #16 on: October 17, 2017, 06:08:10 pm »

I once looked into it.  At the time because of bundles buying internet alone wasn't much of a saving over the bundle that included TV and if I was going to do that much streaming it would require a larger data cap which defeated all of the cost savings. 
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Phishfan
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« Reply #17 on: October 18, 2017, 09:59:40 am »

Bundling makes it almost impossible to completely cord cut around here. I know a couple who got a cheaper rate and faster internet just by keeping the basic cable package.
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pondwater
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« Reply #18 on: October 18, 2017, 02:20:51 pm »

^ I'm still trying to figure that out myself, yet I do it.
Just stream them off reddit or get an NFL2go sub. Had to pay in bitcoin though, that was an interesting experiment, haha.


Bundling makes it almost impossible to completely cord cut around here. I know a couple who got a cheaper rate and faster internet just by keeping the basic cable package.
Yeah, I would just call every year or two and threaten to cancel and they would get me back down to around $75-90 a month for TV and internet. They called my bluff the last time and only gave me a bump in my internet speed from 50 to 75. Which is basically useless since I can easily stream 1080p with a 20Mbps connection. They are some tricky fuckers. I bet if someone came out with a true à la carte cable TV and internet package, they would take over the market.
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Spider-Dan
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« Reply #19 on: October 18, 2017, 04:20:52 pm »

A la carte cable TV is not what people think it will be.  Your ESPN is being subsidized by millions of single women that don't watch it, as is their Lifetime by you.

The numbers I've seen indicate that with a la carte cable, most bills would stay about the same but you'd get less channels.
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Tenshot13
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« Reply #20 on: October 18, 2017, 04:29:21 pm »

I've started the process of cutting the cord.  Ordered my HD antenna today, going to buy the new Amazon Fire TV dongle when it comes out on October 28th.  Just need to decide on Youtube, Hulu, DirectTVNow, etc. as a streaming service.  Should cut my bill in half.
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pondwater
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« Reply #21 on: October 18, 2017, 04:54:05 pm »

A la carte cable TV is not what people think it will be.  Your ESPN is being subsidized by millions of single women that don't watch it, as is their Lifetime by you.

The numbers I've seen indicate that with a la carte cable, most bills would stay about the same but you'd get less channels.
I wouldn't order ESPN nor Lifetime. Neither would millions of people. Most of the channels being subsidized are highly overpriced. They would either have to reduce their prices to compete or lose subscribers which in turn would make them have to raise rates which in turn would make them lose even more subscribers in a never ending loop until they don't exist anymore. Let all the channels price themselves accordingly and the problem will fix itself by the consumer making their own choices.

And to politely refute your point. SlingTV $20 package includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, and Lifetime. Again, for $20. I don't care what bogus propaganda numbers someone put out to downplay à la carte pricing, it's all a scam.  If the online providers can do it, the cable companies can do it. They just don't do it because they are like used car salesmen and want to fuck you out of every penny they can. And then to add insult to injury they add an extra regional sports fee for some shit show channel they make you buy and you never ever watch. Hopefully the online providers will make them rethink their tactics when they lose enough subs.
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Spider-Dan
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« Reply #22 on: October 18, 2017, 07:42:52 pm »

The irony of your position is that without net neutrality, as long as you are getting your internet from a company that also provides TV content, "cord cutting" won't matter.  They can raise your internet price and/or cap your downloads to make up for whatever money they are losing on the TV side.  Comcast and Time Warner will exempt their TV services from the download cap, as will AT&T and Verizon.  And the vast majority of U.S. markets have exactly two choices for broadband internet.

But I'm guessing you don't subscribe to the false Democrat narrative about the importance of net neutrality.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2017, 07:46:54 pm by Spider-Dan » Logged

pondwater
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« Reply #23 on: October 18, 2017, 08:14:16 pm »

The irony of your position is that without net neutrality, as long as you are getting your internet from a company that also provides TV content, "cord cutting" won't matter.  They can raise your internet price and/or cap your downloads to make up for whatever money they are losing on the TV side.  Comcast and Time Warner will exempt their TV services from the download cap, as will AT&T and Verizon.  And the vast majority of U.S. markets have exactly two choices for broadband internet.

But I'm guessing you don't subscribe to the false Democrat narrative about the importance of net neutrality.
Are we changing the subject and interjecting politics in order to deflect just to argue? I don't recall anyone bringing up democrats or republicans in this thread. Please stay on topic. Again, if Sling can sell a skinny  à la carte package with 3 different ESPN channels and Lifetime for $20 a month then the big cable companies could also. Actually they could probably do it cheaper since they have more subscribers to leverage. The fact that there are several companies doing it kind of refutes whatever numbers you found. 
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Spider-Dan
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« Reply #24 on: October 18, 2017, 08:22:53 pm »

Fair enough.

Companies like Sling, Netflix, Hulu etc. are able to exist because companies like Comcast, Time Warner, and AT&T are prohibited from putting the screws to them, due to current net neutrality laws.  These laws are presently being dismantled by an entity that is outside the scope of this discussion.

So I'd say that while your plan works just fine today, it won't work if/when Comcast is allowed to charge you extra for Sling/Netflix/Hulu traffic but provides Xfinity TV services "at no extra cost," which is their goal in sans-net neutrality circumstances.
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pondwater
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« Reply #25 on: October 18, 2017, 08:39:53 pm »

Fair enough.

Companies like Sling, Netflix, Hulu etc. are able to exist because companies like Comcast, Time Warner, and AT&T are prohibited from putting the screws to them, due to current net neutrality laws.  These laws are presently being dismantled by an entity that is outside the scope of this discussion.

So I'd say that while your plan works just fine today, it won't work if/when Comcast is allowed to charge you extra for Sling/Netflix/Hulu traffic but provides Xfinity TV services "at no extra cost," which is their goal in sans-net neutrality circumstances.
I understand your argument about the internet side. While it is related, it's a separate issue. I was specifically talking about your statement that a la carte packages wouldn't work and would cost the same just with less channels. The existence and cost of services like sling, DTV Now, and others kind of proves otherwise. Dish even has the flex pack for $45 which is satellite based which would render the whole internet issue moot.
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Dave Gray
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« Reply #26 on: October 18, 2017, 09:22:23 pm »

I'm now three days in and I wish I'd done this long ago.  The biggest downside is that you can't easily switch between stuff to channel surf.  So, the idea of half-assed watching news while half-assed watching sports, while jumping to see what's on Discovery is dead.  That's taking some getting used to.  TV watching has to be more deliberate.  Although, I think that may have advantages of its own.

Also, you do have to be kinda tech saavy...but not very....to make this work.  There is a fair amount of switching between apps to load up what you want.  This is especially true if you're using multiple channels, like an antennae, XBOX, and laptop connected through HDMI simultaneously.  Then you're not only managing which device input you need, but also which app to choose on which device.  Not an issue for me, perhaps a minor issue for my wife and kids, but a major issue when grandma is over to babysit.
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Spider-Dan
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« Reply #27 on: October 18, 2017, 09:33:40 pm »

Dish Network's Flex Pack - as you point out, satellite-based - is an outstanding example of what I'm talking about with a la carte service.

For $35/mo, you can get the Flex Pack with ~50 channels, including TBS, TNT, Discovery, History, CNN, and many other popular "basic-level" channels (but not the ones I list below).
Want local stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox)?  $10 extra.
Want ESPN, ESPN2, FS1?  $10 extra.
Want Disney Channel & Nick?  $10 extra.
Want Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, Weather Channel?  $10 extra.
Want SiriusXM music channels? $7 extra.

Or you can pay $50/mo and get all of the above plus several dozen more channels.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2017, 09:43:07 pm by Spider-Dan » Logged

pondwater
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« Reply #28 on: October 19, 2017, 04:30:29 am »

Dish Network's Flex Pack - as you point out, satellite-based - is an outstanding example of what I'm talking about with a la carte service.

For $35/mo, you can get the Flex Pack with ~50 channels, including TBS, TNT, Discovery, History, CNN, and many other popular "basic-level" channels (but not the ones I list below).
Want local stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox)?  $10 extra.
Want ESPN, ESPN2, FS1?  $10 extra.
Want Disney Channel & Nick?  $10 extra.
Want Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, Weather Channel?  $10 extra.
Want SiriusXM music channels? $7 extra.

Or you can pay $50/mo and get all of the above plus several dozen more channels.
But that's you who want's everything listed below. Not everyone is going to load up on all the add ons. My TV is on from about approx. 12pm-8pm Monday-Friday. And probably all day on the weekends if I'm home. But the majority of the time it's just background noise and I'm only half watching what's on. In the package that I have, AMC, Comedy Central, FX, SYFY, TBS, TruTV, TMC, and The Weather Channel are the only channels I have on 90% of the time. There is literally nothing else on that I want to watch when I look through the guide. I have the NFL2go to cover the games and Kodi to cover basically any movie ever made.

So basically, I could get Sling Blue for $25 and have all the channels that I currently watch plus a few that I don't currently get and then add 9 Showtime channels for $10 and have a lot more of what I want to watch for $35. Also, remember that the $50/mo from the cable operators is going to be $60-65 by the time they add all their bogus fees and taxes.   
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Spider-Dan
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« Reply #29 on: October 19, 2017, 12:28:47 pm »

The $50/mo I cited is the basic Dish package with 190+ channels, so the fees and taxes will be identical to the Flex plan.  If you add just one of the channel groups for the Flex plan, you are at $45/mo and saving a mighty $5 to lose over half your channels.  If you add two channel packages, you're now paying more for fewer channels.  This is EXACTLY what I was talking about with a la carte pricing.

I have the NFL2go to cover the games and Kodi to cover basically any movie ever made.
This isn't addressing the question.

If the question was, "How can I watch stuff for free?" then the answer is, "Pay only for internet access and use various internet sites to stream/download everything else."  But everyone already knows that, so that's not a very useful question.
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