CUTTING THE CABLE?

[The Heretic]

What I need is a streaming service/device that can buffer better than FireTV but work with Amazon Prime/etc.

Ideally, it would download most or all of the show.

Recast will only record OTA signals, not streaming shows.

My internet is really slow and unreliable, so I need something that can buffer better or record.

 

[cigars]

WORD!




What!? Say yes to the dress and My 6000 pound life and My big fat gypsy wedding for hours on end don't keep you and the wife entertained? You guys must be hard to please.

I'm in the same boat as you. Disgusted! I don't have a lot of knowledge how the streaming thing works. We have an old ROKU, and I get the idea that you don't need that little box IF you have a newer smart TV. Our TV is fine, though 9 YO.. We pay netflix $9.95/month to run through the ROKU. Can a person use the plain old router that we've been using for somewhere around 7, maybe 8 years. Or would the router need to have a higher output/be more powerful?

If your router is working fine, don't mess with it. If it's not, try a firmware update. If that doesn't help, buy a newer one.
Today's routers are way more efficient than routers from 7 years ago. Sounds like you have had a pretty good run with yours though.

 

[Mikej]

If your router is working fine, don't mess with it. If it's not, try a firmware update. If that doesn't help, buy a newer one.
Today's routers are way more efficient than routers from 7 years ago. Sounds like you have had a pretty good run with yours though.

My question on the router was, would this router be capable of streaming movies. Or does a person need a more capable unit. It would have to give Wifey access to the internet on her tablet at the same time.

 

[cigars]

My question on the router was, would this router be capable of streaming movies. Or does a person need a more capable unit. It would have to give Wifey access to the internet on her tablet at the same time.

Most current routers will let you stream to multiple devices effortlessly. I had an older router that I used for about five years. It wasn't high end but I was able to run my big flat screen and all of our wireless gadgets with no problem. It did movies to the TV and all of our devices
as well. It eventually died and I went with a higher end new one a couple of years ago. You don't have to spend a ton of money on one but the more expensive they are, the more complex they become. If you spend between $80-120 you should find one that suits your needs. After the initial set up with passwords, etc., they're pretty much just plug and play.

 

[cigars]

If you don't want to spend too much you can probablty find a nice router at the goodwill for cheap. Sometimes you can score a good one. Sometimes it's just a defective unit that someone donated. No way to know until you get it home and plug it in. First thing I would do is a master reset and then a firmware upgrade. Just go to the manufacturers website support section. You never know what you will find at the goodwill.

 

[Member 52301]

I use a small indoor antenna connected to a Sony flat screen television which is NOT super large. It is on an oak table not on a wall. The RCA brand cost about $10. (Walmart) and my husband got another one (General Electric) at Walmart for a little bit more money that does the same thing and the GE reception seems to be a little more VIVID. The GE one is small and has a tiny flat screen with the antenna parts. The RCA one is small, as I stated, and it has an old fashioned small base with the antenna parts. They hide well behind your television.

I do not have a connection to a cable or a dish for the boob tube on purpose. They do not call it 'programming' for nothing.

I do have a connection to a cable line for the ISP - internet. It is called Spectrum/Bresnan which has changed it's name a zillion times (Grin.) since I moved to 'town'. I do NOT like this company but I can't use Blackfoot since I live a few blocks away from their ZONE and they REFUSE to give service here. There is a huge monopoly on what is available for internet out here and my husband refuses to drop the house ISP connection and just use the library or a free place. MOST of the time, I do agree with him but not always. The money issue (ISP) is not a factor but the company's monopoly is to me.

I can't use my telephone company (Now called Century Link) for my internet provider even though they keep sending ads to me to sign up. Sorry - you can't get that, ignore the ads, even though this is a brand new built house (Green and modern.) but DSL or whatever it is called with CL does not work here or it may not even work (???) in other parts of this town. No clue! I have an old fashioned telephone aka a LAND LINE. We do not own any cellular telephones. Gasp! Grin.

I would try a indoor antenna first.

I can pick up Spokane WA PBS - 4 stations, Montana PBS - 5 stations, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX not the Fox news cable one, ME TV, MOVIES TV, ION, CW, GRIT TV and SWX which has fishing shows and college/high school sports.

I never had Netflix and I would Not buy jack squat from Amazon even though some people like that company. I never had all of those other things which people buy to save money for television.

You can use your public library for movies and shows. We have given many famous shows/movies to them over the years. Eclectic collection - old movies/shows that you may not find and newer ones too. We have kept a group of shows/movies here at home too. As we age, we keep on giving after so many views. That goes for books too. I do NOT have the LARGE collection of books - library as I did growing up and for all of those years in my former large house in another state (GL) with my late husband.

I can find old and new news (!) shows, old movies, old tv shows, old westerns, British mysteries - love them, overseas news and shows, documentary shows, nature shows, religious history shows, war stories and reels, some gun shows, etc. on You Tube for FREE. Now, YT has started to ban many things when it comes to firearms. I can find some so called 'news shows' that come off of 'cable stations' and live debates/town hall meetings on there too.

Online, you can watch LIVE news if you go to the websites for specific channels for free most of the time. You can see ALL or most of the Congressional Hearings for free online too. Cspan. They have BOOK tv too. Three links too.

I Never had a cable connection for a TV or for a computer until I moved to Montana, down from the Sapphire Mountains, butt up to wilderness, to a brand new built apartment right before I built this house here in town (MT). I was in my 50's at the time. Uh huh. NO kidding. It was free and, later on, dirt cheap for the boob tube cable tv. (Promo through the brand new apartment.) It stunk. Where I lived IN town, I could barely get any FREE reception - tv station including from the university - PBS. I was too CLOSE to the mountains even in town. I did have an internet connection there at the brand new apartment - cable. Where I built this house in town... it sits sort of in the middle of town and the back part faces Snow Bowl. Mountains all around since it is in a valley. Some towers are way UP there on a thing called TV Mountain according to my husband. I think that they did that so suckers and addicted boob tube watchers rely on and have to use/pay for cable (Later on they invented 'dishes'.) instead of properly placing the towers in a section of town high enough for good reception for all of the population.

My late husband and I had Direct TV for a short time. One of his old school friends sold the deals to people in the boonies. I never had an issue with DTV but MOST of the shows did not interest us even YEARS ago! I watched the free OTA PBS stuff and Cspan on DTV most of the time. Plus my favorite old fashioned western/police shows. So did my late husband. I think that DTV bought out some other company. I had them put the tiny dish on a pole behind the lilac bushes so I did not have to see it. South side. We ran the lines, through the soil, through the full basement (All brick house.) and drilled a tiny hole in the solid oak floors UP from the basement and into the den and living room for the tiny cords which we HID behind the wood furniture. Would I do that again? NO. Most of the stuff on DTV... we never watched! But we did try it out! We did not have it for a long time. Some people have it for years and years on end. I am NOT knocking those people who ENJOY it. It was not that expensive at the time. I CANCELLED one box a day or so after he died. A week later, I cancelled the second box or whatever they called them. They were rented so if there was a problem - they had to fix it. They cost a couple of dollars. We owned the dish thing of a ma jig. A nice DTV man came in person to pick up BOTH boxes both times. I received my pro rated refund check within the month.

I never saw anything but FREE OTA aka over the air reception until that DTV time in farm/lake country - Great Lakes boonies and growing up on the East Coast.

Sometimes... I think that there may be something that I would like to see but I wait until it comes out in a cheap dvd or a blue ray if I want it badly enough. They closed up the video store here (Sigh.) which WE did use and they had 99 cents days. One day or one week if it was an older movie or show.

Like I said... try out an antenna FIRST, use the library, use You Tube, buy a cheap marked down video and rent something if you can. I am not kidding you... my library donations here (MT) and even back east when I had donated over 5,000 books were and are very much appreciated.

I tried XM before the merger with Sirius (?) for a short time in the Sapphire Mountains where I camped and stayed in a tiny log cabin. I brought that to town and tried it at the brand new built apartment too. It worked on one side of the apartment on a window sill. (Inside!) Would I try that again? NO. Why? Because many of the talk shows stink or it was some news person trying to tell me something that I already knew from the gitgo or they twisted what came out of someone's mouth.

My own music was better than what they (XM) played most of the time and I chose what TIME of day or night when I wanted to hear it.

That is another advantage of having a computer at home too. You can play most music from this country or from overseas for FREE too. It works if you don't own the record, tape or cd. You can use your computer for some concerts, any other kind of show, look at artwork at some museums (!) if you can't travel there, listen to all kinds of 'talk shows' live or for FREE on a repeat show or even on You Tube.

I keep reading online where people who own a cellular telephone use it for their computer hook up like an ISP home connection but I have NO clue how that works. So they do not use it just to talk on or for looking at some TINY SCREEN online.

I had DIAL UP INTERNET in the GL - boonies region and in the Sapphire Mountains (MT).

Cate

 

[Member 52301]

PS:

I just asked my husband this question. A HDMI cable can hook up from your lap top computer (Desk top if it has a socket.) to the back of your newer television if your television has that thingey or thing on the back. They cost about $30. and we got one from Walmart in town. So if you want to watch something on a bigger screen off of your computer, you can do this easily.

You can watch (FREE) all of the main OTA stations LIVE off of your computer and hook it to your HDMI cable to your television if you want a larger picture. ALL of the OTA stations have their own websites where you can watch them later on not only live.

I APOLOGIZE if I do not know computer lingo since I am self taught and I can't always remember the proper terminology.

I apologize for any typos since it takes me some time to type out short and long posts with my hand issues too. I try to double check myself before I push the post reply button.

One advantage if you don't watch a lot of television or are not online reading/posting all of the time is that you can easily read a book a day.

Best wishes to you.

Old Lady Cate

 

[Stomper]

PS:

I just asked my husband this question. A HDMI cable can hook up from your lap top computer (Desk top if it has a socket.) to the back of your newer television if your television has that thingey or thing on the back. They cost about $30. and we got one from Walmart in town. So if you want to watch something on a bigger screen off of your computer, you can do this easily.

You can watch (FREE) all of the main OTA stations LIVE off of your computer and hook it to your HDMI cable to your television if you want a larger picture. ALL of the OTA stations have their own websites where you can watch them later on not only live.

I APOLOGIZE if I do not know computer lingo since I am self taught and I can't always remember the proper terminology.

I apologize for any typos since it takes me some time to type out short and long posts with my hand issues too. I try to double check myself before I push the post reply button.

One advantage if you don't watch a lot of television or are not online reading/posting all of the time is that you can easily read a book a day.

Best wishes to you.

Old Lady Cate

Thank GAWD..... someone who properly uses "there, their, they're, two, to, too, sew, so!!!




Ms Cate,

You only had one spelling typo.... "to" instead of "so".

tiny dish on a pole behind the lilac bushes to I did not have to see it

I encourage you to explore the use of word contractions, they're quite liberating.



Welcome to the, online spelling & grammar fascist society!





By the way, if I'm picking on you that means I don't dislike you.

 

[Member 52301]

Thank GAWD..... someone who properly uses "there, their, they're, two, to, too, sew, so!!!




Ms Cate,

You only had one spelling typo.... "to" instead of "so".




I encourage you to explore the use of word contractions, they're quite liberating.



Welcome to the, online spelling & grammar fascist society!





By the way, if I'm picking on you that means I don't dislike you.

Thank you.

I did catch that and went back to correct myself right before I read THIS post.

I am slow and getting up and down for a fresh cup of coffee does not help my old fingers and typing was NEVER my forte'!

Nice to meet you. Take care!

Cate

 

[Stomper]

Nice to meet you. Take care!

Cate

Ditto, Ms Cate!

 

[No_Regerts]

Thank GAWD..... someone who properly uses "there, their, they're, two, to, too, sew, so!!!




Ms Cate,

You only had one spelling typo.... "to" instead of "so".




I encourage you to explore the use of word contractions, they're quite liberating.



Welcome to the, online spelling & grammar fascist society!





By the way, if I'm picking on you that means I don't dislike you.

Didn't click







LOL

 

[Stomper]

Didn't click







LOL

'gerts.... don't you do it.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Thank GAWD..... someone who properly uses "there, their, they're, two, to, too, sew, so!!!




Ms Cate,

You only had one spelling typo.... "to" instead of "so".




I encourage you to explore the use of word contractions, they're quite liberating.



Welcome to the, online spelling & grammar fascist society!





By the way, if I'm picking on you that means I don't dislike you.

We've never seen scene seeeen sen a person he does dislike on here then. Lol

 

[Stomper]

We've never seen scene seeeen sen a person he does dislike on here then. Lol

I didn't say that if I'm picking on you that I like you...

 

[clearconscience]

I did this about 2 years ago.
I bought a Roku, and use netflicks, Amazon prime, Roku channel, and youtube.

So I pay for internet, netflix, and prime.
Instead of the $200 for cable.

 

[Joe13]

My Internet with Comcast is about $110 after taxes.

With basic cable it's the same price so I have it and don't use it.

I know too many people who went to $hittyLink and then switched back to try their offers. (That and when I bought the house 16 years ago I tore out all of the copper phone lines -I could reinstall them if I wanted but again it's not a lot of savings and the options aren't great.)

So I'm stuck.

Wish I could pay half but it is what it is.

Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime by default cuz we buy stuff online often with three of us using it.

 

[Alexx1401]

If you want to use a laptop they can be great. They have all had HDMI ports for at least a decade now as with the TV's. I lease a program out of china called DVD FAB. It will make a one to one copy of any DVD. So we rent them, I make a copy, take the disc back. Then can watch the movie when we wish. Used NetFlx for years for this. Dropped them when they started claiming the return discs were not getting back to them and would make me wait over a week to send the next. Now just use
RedBox. For series shows I buy them off ebay. Make a copy, re sell the discs and then can watch the shows as I please.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Century link is pretty crappy. But our only other choice is cable one for internet
Not sure how good they are or not

 

[DuneHopper]

I stream, and have many options to rid of cable. However the wife has a show she has watched since the 1970's and watches every day. I get it and all. But without that show we could cut the cord. Local channels do not have the station needed. Could save allot dumping it, oh well. GOT is due back in a few months so there is that

 

[Mikej]

My Internet with Comcast is about $110 after taxes.

Are you saying internet alone cost you over $100.00?
We have comcast, digital preferred W/internet and landline and we currently pay $170.00, + Stars and Stars Encore too. But good ol' comcast has upped the bill about $10.00 since we signed their 2-year deal last August.