Cord-Cutting, Or How to Stream your Way to Success

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a_skeleton_03

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I have been 100% cut for 3 years.

I upped my internet speed and I download every single show I watch. I was TIVO'ing everything before that anyways to avoid all commercials. I don't watch the news or anything else live except football.

I paid for the legit stream for football from NFL.com, you have to proxy to do it but that takes a couple seconds. It was $200 for every single game live and it is HD and never any downtime.

I don't regret cutting the cord at all. My system is quite robust and automated though.
 
Friday

Friday

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I have never paid for a cable / tv package.

Netflix, Amazon Prime, torrenting, relay streams for "live" events, YouTube, and my playstation have got me through my entire life.
 
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Illuziun

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I think the biggest hurdle is whether or not you can accept low quality sports streams. Everything else isn't a concern with getting for low price or free with premium quality.
 
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Gorillaz_sl

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Pretty sure NFL games are not included with the Sling TV, so that's an issue.

I have negotiated my FIOS to 65/mo with the 15/15 internet and whatever the 2nd from the bottom for TV.

I wouldn't mind more internet, but I mean we get by with 15/15.

The main issue I have...is stand alone broadband tends to be around 40-50 bucks on it's own, so I'm good with 65/mo and being able to throw on sports without too much thought process.
 
Arative

Arative

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NFL is not included in doing TV. Verizon owns the exclusive rights to stream the NFL.
 
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a_skeleton_03

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NFL has gamepass, you pay $200 for every single game in HD and streamable to any device and that is cheaper than you would pay for a couple months of cable. I just talked about it a couple posts ago.
 
Denamian

Denamian

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I've been without cable TV for 16 years, it was never a priority for me. Stopped bothering with a home phone 14 years ago so bundle pricing was never attractive.

I use Netflix, Prime, Hulu Plus and Crunchyroll, though I am dropping Hulu Plus. As with everyone else, sports are the biggest issue, but I only watch the NHL and NFL. Being a Chargers fan in NY, pirate streams are usually the only option anyway and I can always drop by my sister's house for NHL games, as she gets the NHL package from DirectTV.
 
Arative

Arative

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a_skeleton_03_sl said:
NFL has gamepass, you pay $200 for every single game in HD and streamable to any device and that is cheaper than you would pay for a couple months of cable. I just talked about it a couple posts ago.
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Sorry, I should have said mobile streaming rights, like MNF won't be viewable to mobile devices with sling TV. At least that's according to the articles I've read.
 
BrutulTM

BrutulTM

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Has anyone cut the cord without pirating stuff? It sounds like the Dish thing might be the first time that you could really do it in a legit way that most people would find acceptable. My brother has just been getting by on Netflix for years but he's not into sports and he just doesn't watch current TV shows. His wife hates it though. I suspect that a lot of the reason he refuses to get cable is that he doesn't want her sitting around watching horrible reality TV all the time like she did when they had TV. My sister gets by on Netflix alone as well but she does it because she's poor.
 
iannis

iannis

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It seems like for sports cable still has some value in it. I don't really watch sports though and can find pretty much anything else through legit means / downloading cars.

Roku is awesome. I was bummed when they fucked around with custom channels and I couldn't get actual british BBC through it anymore. Netflix and Hulu+ meets 90% of my TV watching needs. It does piss me off that they put commercials into H+ though.

Fuckers.
 
Siliconemelons

Siliconemelons

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Haven't had cable in 5 years, sometimes during the summer when the wife is home she wants it... Sports are really the only thing that suck, but a good HD antenna gets you the local stuff... we have Netflix and Hulu+ for streaming services- we both work and have 2 little kids so TV outside of %$#@ barney is not really a big time consumption- so we will see once the kids are older etc. if the "need" for live TV crops up, but by then I am sure streaming will be even bigger than it is now.
 
Void

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I've been without cable for about 2 years now I think. I use the pirating route, but still have Amazon Prime and Netflix, even though I haven't streamed anything from either in months/years. With the new Fire Stick it got a LOT more convenient though, so I might start up again. I actually download almost every movie too, even if it is available on Netflix, because I find that more convenient unless I want to watch it right this second. I've had Netflix for over 10 years though, and doubt I will ever stop paying for it unless something drastic happens.

Aside from the cost for internet, I pay $25/month for a Whatbox seedbox and $40/year for PrivateInternetAccess VPN, and belong to B-T-N which allows me to auto-download every show I want. I have Dropbox set up on the seedbox, and with $10/month for Dropbox I have 1TB of space (I've been paying for that long before the seedbox though too) which allows me to have the seedbox copy the files to Dropbox, which auto-syncs with my home pc and then I move it where I want it to go. Then I use tinyMediaManager to organize it all (by hand). You can do the same thing (and more) with usenet and Couch Potato etc. but I've found this works best for me.

I use an Intel NUC for a HTPC so you hardly even know I have a computer there. Everything streams either through that (via XBMC/Kodi) or through the Fire Stick/Chromecast through my receiver, so it all shows up on the 55" plasma. I was using a Flirc USB IR receiver that allowed me to use my remote control to control Kodi, but something with a recent Windows update/Flirc firmware update broke it, which pisses me off greatly. For now I use an ancient tablet with the XBMC remote app instead. I am considering just updating my old Plex install to work with the Fire Stick, since that little remote that comes with it is all I really need.

I don't watch a ton of sports anymore, but I would if I had better options I'm sure. I just yesterday purchasedAmazon.com: Mohu Leaf 50 Indoor HDTV Antenna (Certified Refurbished): Computers Accessoriesbecause it looked like a great deal and I needed a new one. I'll let you know how it works out. If it gets the Super Bowl clearly, it will be worth it already. I'd pay for MMA-TV too, but can't get in like others have said.

I torrent because I couldn't stand to wait until the season is over to watch some shows, and because it is easy. And I do it for movies anyway, so why not TV? I get most of the shows before they even air here in California anyway. Commercial free no less. If I didn't torrent, I'm sure I'd have Hulu Plus and whatever else was needed, but with torrenting I absolutely love my setup and wouldn't go back to paying easily $100 more a month for cable.
 
Rangoth

Rangoth

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I am 100% cord free also, just watch netflix and whatever is free from amazon prime(occasionally buying new releases when they really peak my interests). I was streaming them with chromecast, but I think I am going to switch to Roku for the god-search feature, which just sounds fucking amazing for a simple user like me.

The only thing I can't find a way to buy easy, and I'm sticking with it because I seriously have faith in 5ish years or less it will change, is the custom shit or sports. Even HBO 2 GO I think announced they will let you buy their shit without a cable subscription now. The cable companies are trying to get all these exclusive deals because it's the only way they can hold their shitty packages. Give major sports franchises a few years and you'll be able to buy a MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL season pass or whatever direct stream all games for some price. It will probably be high, but fuck it, I'd rather pay one time for just what I want over shitty monthly cable.

Unless you are just some die-hard sports fan or must see tv shows the second they come out I really see no reason for cable anymore.
 
Gravel

Gravel

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Vvoid_sl said:
I use an Intel NUC for a HTPC so you hardly even know I have a computer there. Everything streams either through that (via XBMC/Kodi) or through the Fire Stick/Chromecast through my receiver, so it all shows up on the 55" plasma. I was using a Flirc USB IR receiver that allowed me to use my remote control to control Kodi, but something with a recent Windows update/Flirc firmware update broke it, which pisses me off greatly. For now I use an ancient tablet with the XBMC remote app instead. I am considering just updating my old Plex install to work with the Fire Stick, since that little remote that comes with it is all I really need.

I don't watch a ton of sports anymore, but I would if I had better options I'm sure. I just yesterday purchasedAmazon.com: Mohu Leaf 50 Indoor HDTV Antenna (Certified Refurbished): Computers Accessoriesbecause it looked like a great deal and I needed a new one. I'll let you know how it works out. If it gets the Super Bowl clearly, it will be worth it already. I'd pay for MMA-TV too, but can't get in like others have said.

I torrent because I couldn't stand to wait until the season is over to watch some shows, and because it is easy. And I do it for movies anyway, so why not TV? I get most of the shows before they even air here in California anyway. Commercial free no less. If I didn't torrent, I'm sure I'd have Hulu Plus and whatever else was needed, but with torrenting I absolutely love my setup and wouldn't go back to paying easily $100 more a month for cable.
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I use the Ortek remote control for mine. It works really well, and if I ever decide to use a Harmony again it gels well with it.

I have an outdoor HD antenna, so I'm not sure how it compares, but the signal for it is significantly better than DirecTV. My in-laws visited for Christmas and were amazed at how much more clear the HD is.

And I find the same thing with living in California regarding shows. They're generally downloaded an hour before they'll even air locally. So for something like say, Game of Thrones, I'll have already downloaded an HD copy and finished watching it before it evenstartsto air here. You can't beat that. Plus I have it all automated at this point so I literally don't have to do anything.
 
Crone

Crone

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Rangoth_sl said:
Unless you are just some die-hard sports fan or must see tv shows the second they come out I really see no reason for cable anymore.
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Sports yes. But often times I have new shows before they air locally, because I'm on the west coast, and the torrent is on the east coast.
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so I see it sooner.
 
A

a_skeleton_03

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I can't quite explain how awesome a fully automated system on a NAS is. It is so insanely easy and sometimes I forget about a new show I added into my database 6 months ago and it just magically shows up in XBMC.
 
Crone

Crone

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a_skeleton_03_sl said:
I can't quite explain how awesome a fully automated system on a NAS is. It is so insanely easy and sometimes I forget about a new show I added into my database 6 months ago and it just magically shows up in XBMC.
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Sickbeard is awesome like that. It'll keep checking on shows that are marked as wanted, but not downloaded. Usually a new post happened, that hadn't been DMCA'd yet, and so it grabbed it quick for ya.
 
Lejina

Lejina

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I never had cable since I moved out of my parents place 20 years ago. I torrent everything and I just got on board with streaming stuff: bought a Chromecast in December and setup a Netflix account. Never really cared for watching sports.

I can't stand the ads, watching TV at someone else's place reminds me why I'd never pay for cable.
 
Kuriin

Kuriin

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For those who cut the cord (I'm interested in this), I take it you're not able to watch actual live TV? Trying to find ways to save $$.
 
chaos

chaos

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Kuriin_sl said:
For those who cut the cord (I'm interested in this), I take it you're not able to watch actual live TV? Trying to find ways to save $$.
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No. Honestly I don't miss it, stuff I thought I would miss like Food Network or whatever I just don't. I get only the shows I absolutely want to watch, and I spend the rest of the time doing other shit.
 
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