I am looking to cut my Directv cable and go with just basic cable along with Apple TV and possibly Sling TV. Just looking for general advice about the options and if any one knows of a good way to DVR the cable without a subscription. There are a few options out there but if any of you have tried it any advice would be great. Thanks.
Cutting the Cord
- Thread starter mac4cy
- Start date
I saw the thread title and saw CG was the last respondent and I honestly thought this was another baby thread.
Really looking at cutting DirecTV right now as well. The drivel they call TV now certainly isn't worth $110 / month. Especially when 1/3 of that is fees to rent their equipment every month. The problem that I have is that we can't get any decent internet where we live. Considered just going to old school Netflix on CD. Also considered switching to Dish but looking at their programming packages and don't like the combinations they put together and would be about the same amount in two years. I'm just tired of paying for ESPN crap and don't need it until fall again. They ****** me off this year with the CFP playoffs and $EC promo all day long.
I would like to cut DirecTV but I'd need a reliable streaming carrier for all the live sports I watch, and so far I haven't seen a service that would be a suitable replacement. Also still need DVR capabilities so I can avoid commercials like I do now.
Cable and dish networks prey upon senior citizens and sports addicts. Use your computer. That's the future. Death to Mediacom. We can't kill big cable fast enough.
I have had a standalone DVR for many years now. I'm currently on this one
http://www.amazon.com/Magnavox-MDR557H-F7-1Terabyte-Recorder/dp/B00JQOQCD0
They are getting less and less available out there. But it works for anything OTA, and any unecrypted cable tv signal. The only saving grace for Mediacom is that they typically don't encrypt their basic cable. This box won't let you record the premium stuff, or anything on demand.
There are ways to do that type of stuff, but you are entering the HTPC realm, which is considerably more expensive and time consuming.
You can also buy a Tivo, and buy the lifetime subscription, which works out okay for people.
The on I linked essentially works like an old school VCR, but with a hard drive to record on. As in, you set it to record every Tuesday at 6:30 pm, and it does. It doesn't know if the episode is new, or if it is delayed by a previous event or political speech.
http://www.amazon.com/Magnavox-MDR557H-F7-1Terabyte-Recorder/dp/B00JQOQCD0
They are getting less and less available out there. But it works for anything OTA, and any unecrypted cable tv signal. The only saving grace for Mediacom is that they typically don't encrypt their basic cable. This box won't let you record the premium stuff, or anything on demand.
There are ways to do that type of stuff, but you are entering the HTPC realm, which is considerably more expensive and time consuming.
You can also buy a Tivo, and buy the lifetime subscription, which works out okay for people.
The on I linked essentially works like an old school VCR, but with a hard drive to record on. As in, you set it to record every Tuesday at 6:30 pm, and it does. It doesn't know if the episode is new, or if it is delayed by a previous event or political speech.
Same here. Did not intially open cause I don't know nothing about birthin' no babies.
The promise of Android TV last year was it could take in channels from multiple sources (OTA from antenna, channels via streaming like sling tv, directv/dish, mediacom, etc) and coalesce them into one package like your standard TV guide.
I don't think it ever really worked like that in practice, but google's conference where they demo the newest versions of everything is taking place in a couple weeks, so maybe things work better now.
Ideally you'd just have something like an android tv box, plug in your antenna and connect it to the internet (with slingtv), and just use those two to get the channels you want along with the local ones. Hopefully you'd also be able to plug in a hard-drive to use it as a DVR as well.
This is where I'm at. We could easily rely on Netflix and Hulu but not when it comes to sports.
Agreed, AndroidTV could be exciting. I've been following the SiliconDust HDHomeRun DVR. I think it has some promise, especially if a lot of the rumors hold true about copy protected content and such. :yes:
We cut the cord a little over 2 years ago and will likely never go back. I have a watch ESPN login from the rental property we own, so that covers most of my sports needs. I have a tough time getting Fox Sports broadcasts in the fall for football but haven't missed much there....
I used a DVDR for a little while. It worked OK, but it was a bit clumsy. We don't use it much at all anymore because most network shows are online a couple days after airing.
We also have Netflix.
I used a DVDR for a little while. It worked OK, but it was a bit clumsy. We don't use it much at all anymore because most network shows are online a couple days after airing.
We also have Netflix.
I have run a HHR Prime 3 in conjunction with mythtv for about 2 years. No complaints other than that my cheap (seagate) hard drive just died after 3 years of use. I pay nothing to comcast for any hardware. I own my own modem, router, and dvr. I can copy whatever I want onto to any device I want. I technically could automate the commercial cutting as well, but it isn't always accurate. I also run Kodi as a front end on everything. Let me know if you have any questions.
Also, what rumors?
Last edited:
I would like to go off the grid, but I cannot get anything but satellite internet where I live, so that sucks.
I'm seriously debating this as well via SlingTV or using WatchESPN/Fox Sports Go/NBC Sports login. You can also re-route MLB.tv to avoid blackouts via a VPN.
My question for those who do this, how much streaming content can you watch until you reach your data cap? I'm moving to an area that only has CenturyLink and their cap is 250GB a month.
My question for those who do this, how much streaming content can you watch until you reach your data cap? I'm moving to an area that only has CenturyLink and their cap is 250GB a month.
I don't have cable TV, so am just curious...has Comcast gone all-digital in your area yet? If they have, does your setup still work?
I have TWC for Internet, and even though I don't have cable TV, I've gotten a couple of letters in the mail from TWC indicating that they are going all-digital for TV, and this switch will require new equipment from TWC in order for TV to continue working after the switch. Comcast is also in the process of going all digital.
