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There is a free version of Hulu, don't forget to check that out. It doesn't have a lot of shows, but free is free. We have crappy slow internet service, but we can still stream it okay. Here's a link: https://view.yahoo.com/
Our Internet is part of the Spectrum $200 bundle.....that's the best part of their package.
Would CSPAN and the Cable News channels be "over the air" with rabbit ears ??
Is ATT Direct TV via satellite ??
The Spectrum Basic plus 10 fave channels is the best deal but only available to new accounts. Do I have to switch services every 2 years to look like a new customer ??
You can drop Spectrum entirely, then sign up for their "TV Choice" (basic TV plus 10) plan later when you're eligible for it. That'll get you your local and governmental channels, plus the 10 "choice" channels. You'll need to find a new Internet provider in the mean time.
If you're a news junkie, the Roku has its own "News", plus a bunch of free news apps: CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, PBS (News Hour, Frontline, Nova, Nature, Antique Roadshow, etc.), Newsy, NewsMax, Sky News (British), Reuters, DW (Germany), France 24, NHK (Japan), ILTV (Israel), Al Jazeera, plus tons of local news broadcasts. If you can live without CNN, you can skip getting Sling TV or any of the other TV streamers.
I see ads for hulu (and sling and philo, etc) and they seem to offer a way to save money over Spectrum.
The websites for these guys provides scant information on what's required to run 3 TV's (only 1 of which is a Smart TV). What channels do they offer on their 60 channel deals ?? I find myself watching mostly PBS, C-Span, and the Cable News channels, maybe an old movie on TMC.
Spectrum's basic package costs too much.....a change is needed.
Both Sling and Philo clearly show what channels they carry. If you want to network 3 TV's it's on you to figure it out.
I find Hulu not worth it, mainly because the locals aren't live, there are just some popular shows on demand. $30 is way too much for nothing but a few cable channels, their movie selection might as well be nothing. Netflix isn't much better, $15 is just barely worth paying for since their streaming movie selection is so thin. Without Netflix original shows I'd dump it. I use an ota antenna with an hdhomerun receiver and use Windows media center for a 2 tuner dvr. My computer uses a graphics card with 2 hd outputs on 2 tvs. All major locals 2 tuner dvr to 2 tvs $0/mo - now that's what I call a good deal.
If you try to recreate the entire lineup from your cable or satellite company with streaming services, it will cost you more money. People generally save money with streaming services because they get a smaller selection. They pay a higher price per channel, but they get a lot fewer channels.
Unless you watch sports, the cheapest thing to do is to get video library services. You can watch BBC World News for free (or one of several other options) to keep abreast of major news stories, but you pay a lot to get CNN, FOXNEWS, and MSNBC.
If you buy a Roku box, they have a free channel called Roku channel which has ABC News and a selection of movies you can watch with commercials for free. For video libraries some of the most popular are HBO for $15 a month, Netflix for $11, Hulu video library is $8 with commercials and $12 without commercials, Showtime for $11. As there are no contracts some people add or drop different combinations every month.
My parents cable company advertises commercial cable for $40 a month over the internet price and includes a year of free Showtime and The Movie Channel. Of course that is deceptive as mandatory surcharges and fees are another $35. Then lease rates of $22 a month for television equipment ($10 for DVR and two boxes to support secondary televisions for $6 apiece). So that is $97 a month for TV plus $57 a month for 50 Mbps internet and telephone. The trick is the cable company often jumps the internet price by $35 or more if you try and drop television.
Hulu Live TV has all the same sports and news channels as my cable service and includes the library for $40 a month. DirectTVNow starts at $40 (or $35), Play Station Vue is also $40, and YouTube Live TV is also $40 . Sling TV is $40 a month, but they offer two smaller selections for $25.Large households must pay extra to have multiple simultaneous viewers.
I kind of like YouTube Live TV as it includes more movie channels like AMC,FXM,IFC, and Sundance, but frankly I find myself preferring a selection of Video Libraries.
I feel like DirectTV Now and WatchTV don't make a lot of sense, unless you are getting price discounts if you AT&T cell phones. WatchTV with 33 chanels (one viewer) comes for no extra charge if you have the $70 or $80 month unlimited call phone plans. You need a cable to plug into your TV at home assuming you don't buy home wifi. As $70 or $80 is probably lower than what Verizon costs, it is a good deal especially for someone who lives alone.
Philo TV and WatchTV are $16 and $15 a month, but are severely restricted.
$30 is way too much for nothing but a few cable channels, their movie selection might as well be nothing. Netflix isn't much better, $15 is just barely worth paying for since their streaming movie selection is so thin.
You're right, those prices are too high. Fortunately, though, they aren't accurate. Hulu is $11.99 commercial free, less with commercials, and Netflix is like $8.99.
You're right, those prices are too high. Fortunately, though, they aren't accurate. Hulu is $11.99 commercial free, less with commercials, and Netflix is like $8.99.
$8.99 Netflix gets you watching on one device at a time in standard def, I don't feel any plan under the $15 is worth it so I didn't mention it. Netflix USED to give you multiple hd devices for $8, before the big price change it was a great deal.
Hulu $11.99 in my opinion is mainly reduntant to Netflix on-demand streaming of old shows. HULU has nearly a non-existant movie library so why would someone do HULU over Netflix for $15? The $30 plan (looks like it was changed to $39.99) gives you a few live cable channels with dvr. I think this is borderline worth it if you can't get locals ota and live on the east or west coast and can watch them live on HULU. All other markets its just the on demand of pop shows after they've aired.
In my opinion online tv options are very disappointing, I think they have become expensive and very limited in content due to the dinasaurs of pay tv fighting them so hard (Dish, Direct, cable). If enough people dump them due to ridiculous prices they will go out of business then the online options will be vastly improved, can't wait for that to happen.
Hulu would probably be decent if you could adjust both the buffering and resolution.....that way, even with a cheap/bleechy internet-connection, you could probably get decent service.
I would rather reliably watch a video at 144p, as opposed to having it cut-out all the time at 720p.
Hulu would probably be decent if you could adjust both the buffering and resolution.....that way, even a cheap/bleechy internet-connection, you could probably get decent service.
I would rather reliably watch a video at 144p, as opposed to having it cut-out all the time at 720p.
That has been like our issue with 'Sirius XM Satellite Radio'. It cuts out some frequently, we were rarely able to listen to a single song without it dropping signal. To perfect the technology they need to make it drop to a low resolution rather than drop signal completely.
We have had 'free' Sirius XM Satellite Radio in three different vehicles and all of them had the same issues. They try to provide a high quality sound, but when you live in a forest the signal drops out. If I could park somewhere with no trees nearby, I could get great sound. But the minute you start driving again it goes back to being Sirius XM.
That has been like our issue with 'Sirius XM Satellite Radio'. It cuts out some frequently, we were rarely able to listen to a single song without it dropping signal. To perfect the technology they need to make it drop to a low resolution rather than drop signal completely.
We have had 'free' Sirius XM Satellite Radio in three different vehicles and all of them had the same issues. They try to provide a high quality sound, but when you live in a forest the signal drops out. If I could park somewhere with no trees nearby, I could get great sound. But the minute you start driving again it goes back to being Sirius XM.
I think a lot of the better digital-streaming services do have pretty good software, that makes adjustments, as needed, to the content you receive in-order to stop drop-outs. I found Hulu to be just about worthless, watching a movie and it would die in the middle, SMH.
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