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Cutting the Cable cord


praise_gibbs

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not with a good antenna, in fact it is less of a problem than with cable/sat (even in hurricanes)

 

 

It can certainly be more hassle than it is worth ,but it depends on what you want....and want to pay for.

 

Trust me, I've tried all types of antennas. The best are the ones outdoor. If you can tell me one that works indoor then go ahead. I've tried flat antennas, old wire antennas that were connected to a digital tuner, hdtv antennas with bunny ears...they all fail. This is like a "Poor Signal Vortex" though, I swear  :lol: And I live RIGHT outside DC. No hills, no skyscrapers, nothing to obstruct the signal...

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Do you know what a good OUTDOOR antenna would be?

and where do you live?

 

i actually get perfect reception at least 99% of the time on the channels that i get with just my TV receiver (it is a fairly new "smart tv") and a pair of old rabit ears attached outside my house where the coaxial cable used to connect to the street line.  (it is at ground level, and just sort of leaning against my house behind where my trashcans/recycle cans are stacked.  I live in McLean, and the cable just happens to end on teh side of the house that is facing downtown (in my case East South East) 

 

I just thought that if i had a kick-ass outdoor antenna, and if i put it up on my roof, instead of down behind my trashcans and cars, i would be able to get MORE channels.   I have to say... i still have the crapola digital convert boxes that you could get with the $50 coupon when they fist stopped broadcasting analog.... and those things suck donkey testicles.   if the signal is interrupted for 1/10th of a second, a 3 second message pops-up to tell you that the sinal has been interrupted (gee--- thnks!).   But the expensive digital receiver that comes with my over-priced TV is good :)         (this is the first TV i had bought since the 1980s... until last year, my "big" tv CRT screen was smaller than my computer monitor)

Edited by mcsluggo
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--------

 

right now i get channel

 

4 (2 stations)

5

7 (3 stations)

9 (3 stations)

14 (2 stations, one spanish, and one movie)

20 (3 stations)

26 (pbs 4 stations)

30 (multiple)

32 (pbs 2 stations)

 

several more channels with many stations in the 30s and 40s, but i forget their numbers.  there is aljazeera, BBC, and som e russian stations here, but most are asian with some OTHER asian subtitles

 

50 (3 stations)

64 (4 stations)

 

 

 

all i ever usually watch are the retro stations and PBS 

 

4-2 (retro tv) 

7-2 (retro tv)

9-2 (retro tv)

14-3 (old movies)

20-2 (old movies)

26 (pbs)

and 50


that is a LOT of TV.. really.  and then i have netflix, and several online stations through googlecast, plex, and Frodo (the PC image of xboxmediacenter)

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So Sunday during the race my DTV was giving me signal 771 every couple minutes and totally freezing the picture. We had a couple people over for drinks during it so I said, alright, screw this. I pulled my Leaf antenna out of the new fresh packaging (was waiting to move to open it) ... and boom, got clear, crisp HD on Fox for the rest of the race with no interruptions.

 

Can't wait to make this official. Fudge these jerks.

Edited by JamesMadisonSkins
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Trust me, I've tried all types of antennas. The best are the ones outdoor. If you can tell me one that works indoor then go ahead. I've tried flat antennas, old wire antennas that were connected to a digital tuner, hdtv antennas with bunny ears...they all fail. This is like a "Poor Signal Vortex" though, I swear  :lol: And I live RIGHT outside DC. No hills, no skyscrapers, nothing to obstruct the signal...

 

I built a gray-hoverman and stuck it in the attic,simple and cheap and it picks up all kinds of stations...or ya can stick it outdoors

 

if ya don't want a outside or have a attic the fractual/ leaf ones are best

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  • 2 months later...

How would I watch nats games if I cut the cord? I live in Bethesda.

^You could get a Roku and a subscription to MLB. I'm one month into life without cable. We have a roku and subscriptions to amazon prime and hulu. So far so good. The amazon subscription I mostly got for 2 days shipping, the prime streaming is just extra to me. 

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^You could get a Roku and a subscription to MLB. I'm one month into life without cable. We have a roku and subscriptions to amazon prime and hulu. So far so good. The amazon subscription I mostly got for 2 days shipping, the prime streaming is just extra to me.

Pretty sure you can only watch out of market games with MLB.TV.

Really, sports is the only thing keeping me connected to cable. That and HBO.

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The problem is if you're a sports fan it's too difficult to cut the cord.  You'd have to pay for MLB.tv (because you know that MLB is cracking down on free streams) and then get a proxy just to watch. Or you could just turn on your TV and switch to MASN. 

 

I used to cut the cord too. But as a sports fan it's just too convenient to keep the cable cord, even if all I watch is sports. I just pick up my remote and switch to TNT or ESPN or MASN on demand. Just like that. No bad streams, no lag, no disconnections. 

Edited by ixcuincle
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Drives me crazy. I still can not pull the trigger.

 

No one seems to be able to give me all the answers even after a little research.

I forgot to post it in the other thread we were discussing this in.  But I got on HBO's website and it listed HBO Go available only for people with subscriptions to the channel through their local cable or satellite provider.  Then it had a list of every provider that offered it.  No option to purchase a subscription directly from them.

 

I don't know how their contracts work, but if they would stick together, they could really stick it to the cable/satellite providers if they pulled the same move that WWE pulled and release a channel via app for streaming online.  I'm willing to bet it would be a huge success and the cable companies couldn't afford to scrap them like they did WWE PPVs, HBO is a beast.  

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  • 1 month later...

sorta related

 

DOJ to Congress: Make online streaming a felony
 
 
 

By Kate Tummarello - 07/24/14 05:08 PM EDT

The Department of Justice is pushing Congress to increase the penalties for streaming copyright-infringing content online, and some lawmakers are listening.

Repeating previous calls from the administration Thursday, David Bitkower, acting deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said online streaming of pirated content should receive the same consequences as illegal downloading.

 

Online streaming “can be just as serious, and in fact, potentially even more serious” than downloading, “and the penalty should reflect that,” Bitkower said at hearing on copyright infringement held by the House Judiciary subcommittee on intellectual property.

While infringing on copyrights through downloads is a felony, infringing through streaming is a misdemeanor, carrying a significantly shorter maximum prison sentence if convicted.


Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/technology/213285-doj-to-congress-make-online-streaming-a-felony#ixzz38Qo6sjR6 
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook

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Of course the big companies want to protect their content and if everyone keeps cutting they can't make money

 

It's like that thing with the Supreme Court and streaming

 

It's not your content to stream, it belongs to the broadcasters and if someone is illegally streaming their stuff, they have the right to block it, fair or not. Besides, those streams are too inconsistent and blocky. I have Fios and they're still buffering, and they're not HD. You pay for cable so you can watch that exact same thing on a big TV without it being blocky or poor resolution. 

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Of course the big companies want to protect their content and if everyone keeps cutting they can't make money

 

It's like that thing with the Supreme Court and streaming

 

It's not your content to stream, it belongs to the broadcasters and if someone is illegally streaming their stuff, they have the right to block it, fair or not. Besides, those streams are too inconsistent and blocky. I have Fios and they're still buffering, and they're not HD. You pay for cable so you can watch that exact same thing on a big TV without it being blocky or poor resolution. 

 

they could offer ala-carte service, the bundled crap is a imposition and driven by monopolies in markets

 

next it will be a felony to invite your friends over to watch a game w/o purchasing a group pass

 

 

where's my pitchfork? 

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they could offer ala-carte service, the bundled crap is a imposition and driven by monopolies in markets

 

next it will be a felony to invite your friends over to watch a game w/o purchasing a group pass

 

 

where's my pitchfork?

You & I have been agreeing way too much lately, LOL

I need MSNBC ONLY

and Friday night HBO for Bill Maher. You?

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You & I have been agreeing way too much lately, LOL

I need MSNBC ONLY

and Friday night HBO for Bill Maher. You?

 

AMC and some out of market /blacked out NFL games

 

back to being different  :P

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I have a cable subscription because it's packaged cheap with my internet, but I made it through last year with hardly any TV.

 

Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime have been an effective trio for me, but the real kicker is the magic of HDMI. Get a really long cord off of Amazon for cheap and put your computer by your TV (assuming it has a port) and just stream everything you watch. You'll save hundreds a month and be able to watch anything you want to, including all sports. I've been doing that for years. The drop in quality is, of course, noticeable. But you won't really miss out on anything, ever.

 

New TV shows: http://www.couchtuner.eu/

Sports: http://www.vipboxam.co/

Movies: http://solarmovie.ag/

Edited by Bacon
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My way really isn't cutting the cord, just sticking it to the monopoly TV carrier companies.

This might not work in your area, but check to see how many recievers you can have on 1 satellite TV bill. Max that out as long as the upcharge is not something stupid like $50 an extra box. Then order the full package, everything they got and split those receivers among friends & family.

You pay 1 huge satellite TV bill, but it's split amongst 4-6 people. The package I get would run me $150 with tax a month, $1,800 a year, but split with 4 other guys I work with, in down to $30 a month or $360 a year.

Helps if everyone already has a dish, or save more with a new subscriber getting free installation and a discounted introductory rate.

Thing us, you really need to trust the people you split with. Only other downside is we can't plug in a phone line to download a PPV, then the provider will know where the box is, but I can still call the 1-800 on screen and order that way.

The provider around hear used to lock the boxes to 1 dish, but people around here started complaining having to pay 2 bills for home & cottage, so they unlocked them

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Doing this middle of next month. That's when DTV is disconnected. We're keeping just the internet connection and going with Netflix,Hulu,Prime,ect. Just getting tired of paying a bunch of money for a bunch of channels we don't watch,(alot of them the infomercial kind). We'll see how it goes. Saving will be a bunch monthly so that's a good thing. 

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Yeah, we've got the Xfinity bundle, out of sheer necessity. Most of his phone calls are out of state for business, and it could be 8-10 straight hours he's on the phone (the only reason I had to get an unlimited plan for my cell, lol, or I'd still be PAYG)...and there are some little perks I'd just scream if I lost...pausing live TV, caller ID on the screen, etc.

I had to watch most of last season on RedZone (didn't get to see much as scoring was at a minimum), so I've gotta have a better plan for this season...the satellite subscription/HDMI thingy didn't do so well last season & we dropped it...the sound never matched the play(not a huge deal-breaker, but annoying enough to make me throw a Styrofoam brick at the TV, which is usually reserved for bonehead things like swinging gate).

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I built a gray-hoverman and stuck it in the attic,simple and cheap and it picks up all kinds of stations...or ya can stick it outdoors

 

if ya don't want a outside or have a attic the fractual/ leaf ones are best

 

what language are you speaking here?

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