Our experience with both Roku and digital antennae have been disappointing. The digital antennae simply result in a blank screen and it takes forever to switch out of it and back to live TV. Roku sometimes won’t load at all, or just freezes the sound and picture. My husband and I are both in our 60s, so age may play a part in our technological ineptitude. It may also have to do with the fact that we still have digital cable, which we retained until we could be sure that the replacements were working properly. In any event it might be worth the cost for those in our situation to have these things professionally installed. It would add to the expense, but a one-time installation or consultation could help to save money over time.
It’s a good suggestion. But our young sons, who have every digital device known to man, were also unable to figure it out. I wonder if our idea to retain our cable service has anything to do with it.
Since we have been AT&T cell phone customers for over 15 years we bit the cable bullet last fall and went with AT&T Uverse internet service for $40/mo and we use Fire Sticks on all our TV’s. We also have AT&T’s Direct TV Now for $25/mo which totals $65 for internet and TV. We only use our cell phones so we have no land line anymore. We also have an intena on all the TV’s in case the internet goes out.
I will confess that I miss the DVR service with our old cable but we are also Beta testing for Direct TV Now’s new version which will include a new guide format and cloud DVR service. Sure there are times that I miss the reliability and picture quality of my cable but every month I do not miss the $250 bill for cable/internet/phone service. As long as my hubby gets his sports channels and I can get Lifetime and HGTV I’m happy!
Great stuff, Faith. Your last point is the key — knowing what you really want to watch and finding the most cost effective way to achieve that. There are so many channels the average subscriber receives but has no interest in watching!
I am waiting for the day we are able to build our own channel lineup and can get rid off all those extra channels I could care less about! I just hope it’s in my lifetime! ☺️
Looks like things are already moving in that direction. Here’s a service I just heard about from Spectrum: https://www.spectrum.com/choice.html. You need to use their Internet service, though.
We use a combination of Playstation Vue, Amazon Prime and over-the-air content recorded using a DVR. It gives us way more content than we could ever watch. In addition to that we rent movies every once in a while with Google Play or Amazon. Works pretty well and we end up paying about $50/month or so for everything.
I haven’t tried SlingTV, but have heard some good things about it. We’re hooked up to the streaming services (Hulu, Netflix and sometimes Amazon Prime). Also, to feed my golfing bug, I sign-up for PGA Tour LIVE, which is $40/year and gives you access to Thurs/Friday coverage of featured groups. We do have a basic cable package as well – but that runs under $30/mo w/ taxes.
We have a digital antenna and get about 40 HD channels, all the networks and 4 different PBS channels. No cable or movie channels, of course, but we also have Netflix and occasionally use Amazon on Demand. Total: antenna $0/mo., Netflix $7ish /mo., Amazon on Demand movies: $3.99 or so for each movie.
Bobbie – It’s great that you can make a digital antenna work where you live. We tried several different antennas, but just couldn’t get good reception.
We watch the news and some PBS on broadcast TV. Cost: digital antenna and conversion box.
Movies: Our public library has 1000s more than we could ever watch (check out limit is FIFTY per week!), and we can skip parts or eject the disk when the plot or the morals start to go downhill. Cost: included in our property tax, whether I use it or not.
Sounds like a great, cost-effective plan, Ron. Check out limit of 50 per week? Love it.
We used to check out movies from our library, but it’s a bit of a hike and we sometimes ended up paying late fees. We really should use that option more often, though. As you said, we’re paying for those movies with our taxes!
I would like to have Spectrum, but because we live in Nashville TN, they don’t provide service there. So my family has ATT internet only and Roku. Rarely we rent a movie through VUDU or whoever has the best price with the Roku search option. We want to add cell phone service, but this kicks the price over $100 per month. Currently paying $70 per month for internet only.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Don. There are lots of options out there, and lots of ways to spend a bunch of money. Sounds like you’ve found a plan that works for you that is also pretty affordable.
Our experience with both Roku and digital antennae have been disappointing. The digital antennae simply result in a blank screen and it takes forever to switch out of it and back to live TV. Roku sometimes won’t load at all, or just freezes the sound and picture. My husband and I are both in our 60s, so age may play a part in our technological ineptitude. It may also have to do with the fact that we still have digital cable, which we retained until we could be sure that the replacements were working properly. In any event it might be worth the cost for those in our situation to have these things professionally installed. It would add to the expense, but a one-time installation or consultation could help to save money over time.
Or just ask a teenager you know to see if he or she can figure it out. Our kids have taught me about some features I never knew my iPhone had!
It’s a good suggestion. But our young sons, who have every digital device known to man, were also unable to figure it out. I wonder if our idea to retain our cable service has anything to do with it.
Since we have been AT&T cell phone customers for over 15 years we bit the cable bullet last fall and went with AT&T Uverse internet service for $40/mo and we use Fire Sticks on all our TV’s. We also have AT&T’s Direct TV Now for $25/mo which totals $65 for internet and TV. We only use our cell phones so we have no land line anymore. We also have an intena on all the TV’s in case the internet goes out.
I will confess that I miss the DVR service with our old cable but we are also Beta testing for Direct TV Now’s new version which will include a new guide format and cloud DVR service. Sure there are times that I miss the reliability and picture quality of my cable but every month I do not miss the $250 bill for cable/internet/phone service. As long as my hubby gets his sports channels and I can get Lifetime and HGTV I’m happy!
Great stuff, Faith. Your last point is the key — knowing what you really want to watch and finding the most cost effective way to achieve that. There are so many channels the average subscriber receives but has no interest in watching!
I am waiting for the day we are able to build our own channel lineup and can get rid off all those extra channels I could care less about! I just hope it’s in my lifetime! ☺️
Looks like things are already moving in that direction. Here’s a service I just heard about from Spectrum: https://www.spectrum.com/choice.html. You need to use their Internet service, though.
We use a combination of Playstation Vue, Amazon Prime and over-the-air content recorded using a DVR. It gives us way more content than we could ever watch. In addition to that we rent movies every once in a while with Google Play or Amazon. Works pretty well and we end up paying about $50/month or so for everything.
I’m starting to feel like I’m the one spending too much on TV!
I haven’t tried SlingTV, but have heard some good things about it. We’re hooked up to the streaming services (Hulu, Netflix and sometimes Amazon Prime). Also, to feed my golfing bug, I sign-up for PGA Tour LIVE, which is $40/year and gives you access to Thurs/Friday coverage of featured groups. We do have a basic cable package as well – but that runs under $30/mo w/ taxes.
PGA Tour LIVE? I think we’re about to starting paying another $40 a year.
We have a digital antenna and get about 40 HD channels, all the networks and 4 different PBS channels. No cable or movie channels, of course, but we also have Netflix and occasionally use Amazon on Demand. Total: antenna $0/mo., Netflix $7ish /mo., Amazon on Demand movies: $3.99 or so for each movie.
Bobbie – It’s great that you can make a digital antenna work where you live. We tried several different antennas, but just couldn’t get good reception.
We watch the news and some PBS on broadcast TV. Cost: digital antenna and conversion box.
Movies: Our public library has 1000s more than we could ever watch (check out limit is FIFTY per week!), and we can skip parts or eject the disk when the plot or the morals start to go downhill. Cost: included in our property tax, whether I use it or not.
Sounds like a great, cost-effective plan, Ron. Check out limit of 50 per week? Love it.
We used to check out movies from our library, but it’s a bit of a hike and we sometimes ended up paying late fees. We really should use that option more often, though. As you said, we’re paying for those movies with our taxes!
I watch PureFlix 7.99 per month – no cable can’t afford it – a friend of mine stays with me twice a week and logged me in to her Netflix for free.
LouAnne – I had never heard of PureFlix. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
I would like to have Spectrum, but because we live in Nashville TN, they don’t provide service there. So my family has ATT internet only and Roku. Rarely we rent a movie through VUDU or whoever has the best price with the Roku search option. We want to add cell phone service, but this kicks the price over $100 per month. Currently paying $70 per month for internet only.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Don. There are lots of options out there, and lots of ways to spend a bunch of money. Sounds like you’ve found a plan that works for you that is also pretty affordable.