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Getting rid of Cable TV.....*Limited OT please"

22,984 6,520 October 13, 2014 at 04:04 PM in Chat (3)
Anyone done it? If so what are you using for movies, tv shows, etc? ( not torrent sites Stick Out Tongue )

I'm cancelling cable and was wondering what everyone uses these days. Hulu, Netflix, HD Antenna, Chromecast, Roku? Dontknow
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Joined Jul 2003
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> bubble2 35,346 Posts
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DC
10-15-2014 at 02:19 PM.
10-15-2014 at 02:19 PM.
Quote from The.Walrus :
It comes with everything you need with the exception of screws to mount the mounting bracket to something. I just used some decking screws to attach mine to the rafters in my attic. For my installation, the mounting bar actually points down with the antenna essentially 'hanging' from it. The mounting bar is highly customizable, and it works really, really well.

I now get every OTA channel within about 50 miles of my house, even the low power ones that are broadcast from behind the direction in which the antenna is pointed. So even though this antenna is a Yagi, it seems to act more like an omni as far as channels it pulls in. Dontknow
Yagi will give you greater performance, but a narrower slice of the sky, so if you have to major TV broadcast areas, you'll have to pick one or the other with the Yagi, but get BETTER signal from that group, vs. the omni that will get more channels, but poorer signal quality.

That mount is the same mount as the DirecTv/Dish DBS antennas use.
I took my DTV dish down and clamped my OTA Yagi on to it. Was freaking Perfect! woot
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Joined Dec 2009
I AM The Walrus
> bubble2 1,031 Posts
The.Walrus
10-15-2014 at 02:44 PM.
10-15-2014 at 02:44 PM.
Quote from DC :
Yagi will give you greater performance, but a narrower slice of the sky, so if you have to major TV broadcast areas, you'll have to pick one or the other with the Yagi, but get BETTER signal from that group, vs. the omni that will get more channels, but poorer signal quality.
Which is why I was so surprised to get two channels from behind the antenna.

The vast majority of my stations are between 26° and 87°, so I aim my Yagi at about 57° to pull them all in. All of those channels show up with near 100% signal full time.

I then have a channel that is 28 miles away at 317° that is near 90% signal, and a low power independent channel that is at 213° with around 70% signal. Yagi is pointed away from both, but they come in nice strong. Oorah. woot
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Joined Jul 2003
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> bubble2 35,346 Posts
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DC
10-15-2014 at 02:49 PM.
10-15-2014 at 02:49 PM.
Quote from The.Walrus :
Which is why I was so surprised to get two channels from behind the antenna.

The vast majority of my stations are between 26° and 87°, so I aim my Yagi at about 57° to pull them all in. All of those channels show up with near 100% signal full time.

I then have a channel that is 28 miles away at 317° that is near 90% signal, and a low power independent channel that is at 213° with around 70% signal. Yagi is pointed away from both, but they come in nice strong. Oorah. woot
NICE!!!!

I've pointed @ 182 and get the Sacto Stations. If it wasn't for it's position (side of the house) I might be able to get the Marysville/Yuba Stations to the North of me.

All in all, I get about 33 actual channels 3-1, 3-2, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, etc...
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> bubble2 6,985 Posts
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mmathis
10-15-2014 at 03:49 PM.
10-15-2014 at 03:49 PM.
Quote from fsyowad :
Can someone explain Plex on the Roku to me? I signed up for an account a few years ago but never used it .I found I still had an account. I don't remember it costing anything to use, but after downloading the app an my Roku it says I have a 30 day trial. What does this service actually cost if I just use it for movies and TV?
You get a 30-day trial, and then there's a 1-time fee of $5 to purchase the Roku app. After that, Plex doesn't cost you anything. You can stream stuff from Plex channels (I use the CBS channel mostly), or you can stream your own media (movies, TV shows, music, pictures). If you want to stream to more than just your one Roku, you would need to pay $5 for each device, but once you've bought the app there are no more fees.

You can also purchase PlexPass, which has monthly / yearly / lifetime costs, if you want. It adds additional features on top of what you already get for free...whether those features are worth paying for is up to you. One of the better benefits IMO is that all apps are free while you have PlexPass. Not very worthwhile if you just have the one Roku, but if you've got a couple smartphones, a tablet or two, and a few Rokus, then it may be worth looking into, since it saves you $5 for each of them.
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Joined May 2012
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> bubble2 2,031 Posts
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lifexpert
01-18-2015 at 07:51 PM.
01-18-2015 at 07:51 PM.
Quote from BostonGirl :
Comcrap pissed me off last week...lol..so the hubby and I talked it over and decided to get rid of everything but the internet. laugh out loud
There's really nothing we can't get that another service doesn't offer anyways.

Don't we have to have comcast basic cable to have internet connection?
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Joined Dec 2006
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> bubble2 22,984 Posts
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Original Poster
BostonGirl
01-18-2015 at 08:58 PM.
01-18-2015 at 08:58 PM.
Quote from lifexpert :
Don't we have to have comcast basic cable to have internet connection?
No you can just have internet. But you will find internet + basic cable is actually $5-$10 cheaper then just internet alone. Go figure. laugh out loud
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Joined Aug 2003
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> bubble2 4,292 Posts
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fsyowad
01-18-2015 at 09:06 PM.
01-18-2015 at 09:06 PM.
Quote from BostonGirl :
No you can just have internet. But you will find internet + basic cable is actually $5-$10 cheaper then just internet alone. Go figure. laugh out loud
If you have their TV service thats one less customer for the competition.
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Joined May 2012
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> bubble2 2,031 Posts
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lifexpert
01-18-2015 at 09:16 PM.
01-18-2015 at 09:16 PM.
Quote from BostonGirl :
No you can just have internet. But you will find internet + basic cable is actually $5-$10 cheaper then just internet alone. Go figure. laugh out loud
So what's the point to cancel basic cable tv and pay more then?
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Joined Sep 2009
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> bubble2 6,964 Posts
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zzyzzx
01-21-2015 at 11:49 AM.
01-21-2015 at 11:49 AM.
I use an antenna connected to my Phillips DVR. Similar to this DVR that you could buy today:
http://www.amazon.com/Magnavox-MD...772&sr=1-1
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> bubble2 4,384 Posts
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jeepdog
01-21-2015 at 12:53 PM.
01-21-2015 at 12:53 PM.
Quote from zzyzzx :
I use an antenna connected to my Phillips DVR. Similar to this DVR that you could buy today:
http://www.amazon.com/Magnavox-MD...772&sr=1-1
So it's more like a VCR than a Tivo in functionality? With only one tuner, correct?
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Joined Jun 2008
My name is Walter
> bubble2 6,360 Posts
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marg_fan
01-21-2015 at 01:34 PM.
01-21-2015 at 01:34 PM.
Quote from zzyzzx :
I use an antenna connected to my Phillips DVR. Similar to this DVR that you could buy today:
http://www.amazon.com/Magnavox-MD...772&sr=1-1
Quote from jeepdog :
So it's more like a VCR than a Tivo in functionality? With only one tuner, correct?
It does get limited listings if the station broadcasts it in the PSIP signal. It is usually only a couple of days of listing though. A drawback is it records in 480i instead of the native 720p or 1080i then upconverts it. Sadwalk
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zzyzzx
01-21-2015 at 03:17 PM.
01-21-2015 at 03:17 PM.
Quote from marg_fan :
It does get limited listings if the station broadcasts it in the PSIP signal. It is usually only a couple of days of listing though. A drawback is it records in 480i instead of the native 720p or 1080i then upconverts it. Sadwalk
Correct. It's really just like a VCR except with much better video quality, much greater storage capacity, and a built in DVD player/burner. It only does standard def. They do make hi-def models, but there is no built in DVD player/burner. If you live in an urban area, there is most likely lots of channels and I can record more TV than I can watch.
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jeepdog
01-22-2015 at 08:44 AM.
01-22-2015 at 08:44 AM.
Quote from zzyzzx :
Correct. It's really just like a VCR except with much better video quality, much greater storage capacity, and a built in DVD player/burner. It only does standard def. They do make hi-def models, but there is no built in DVD player/burner. If you live in an urban area, there is most likely lots of channels and I can record more TV than I can watch.
So it is only standard definition, and you have to program it like a VCR? For $450 I would want more. For only $100 more one can get a Tivo roamio with lifetime service.
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zzyzzx
01-22-2015 at 09:27 AM.
01-22-2015 at 09:27 AM.
Quote from jeepdog :
So it is only standard definition, and you have to program it like a VCR? For $450 I would want more. For only $100 more one can get a Tivo roamio with lifetime service.
What's wrong with programming it like a VCR? I can lookup TV schedules on the internet and plan accordingly.

For around the same money you can get one with Hi-DEF, it just won't have a DVD burner. Also, ones with smaller hard drives are available for less money (or at least used to be).

The DVR I recommend would not have any monthly fee or require a phone or internet connection, unlike your TIVO. Some of us actually hate monthly fees. Even if you get TIVO lifetime, it's $700 according to their website, and that's way more.
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Joined Jan 2015
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> bubble2 3 Posts
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Freadd
01-22-2015 at 10:12 PM.
01-22-2015 at 10:12 PM.
There are many other sites other than torrents to watch movies
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