July 8, 2019 · 6:47 AM

Your cord-cutting PSA

I still get the occasional email asking me if I remain satisfied with dumping DishTV in favor of YouTube TV.  (I am.)  Here’s a good give-and-take over at MGoBlog about cord-cutting and watching televised live athletics for your reading pleasure.  (SPOILER:  They like YouTube TV, too.)

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25 responses to “Your cord-cutting PSA”

  1. Biggen
    July 8, 2019 at 6:55 AM

    I did Vue for a year and we all hated it. Crappy remotes, slow channel changes, blackouts, relies on internet to work, crappy DVR, etc.. are too big of a hump to deal with.

    My cable bill is $110 a month for three cable boxes AND internet service. I just don’t think that is too expensive for the convenience of everything “just working” when we hit the couch. YMMV

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    • Russ
      July 8, 2019 at 8:54 AM

      Yeah, same here. Gave it a hard look but once I did the math and looked at the combination of services we use, we didn’t save money by cutting the cord. And that was before the recent round of price hikes on the a la carta providers.

      That said, YouTube TV was pretty slick. For the right family/person, you can save a little money this way.

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    • PTC DAWG
      July 8, 2019 at 10:06 AM

      I’m in this boat.

      Like

  2. tampa_dawg
    July 8, 2019 at 7:34 AM

    I moved over to YouTube TV from Sling a year ago. I couldn’t be more happy. I can’t remember not being able to find a sporting event that I wanted to watch. And I really like the local programming. I pay $50 for YTTV and $65 for an upgraded internet package to support all my other devices. I hard lined my internet to the Roku and have never had an issue with buffering. For those really looking to save, you can have up to six devices (I think) logged in simultaneously so you could split the costs with friends/family.

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    • bulldogbry
      July 8, 2019 at 7:41 AM

      With YTTV, you can have six accounts, all based off of one ‘home manager’ account, but you can only stream three accounts at a time. You can, however, watch on as many devices as you have available. Been really satisfied with YTTV. The only issued I’ve ever run into with streaming is the data cap my ISP imposes. Haven’t hit the limit yet, but I’m certainly conscious of it. And I’m still saving TONS of money each year.

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  3. 92 grad
    July 8, 2019 at 7:40 AM

    Thanks for posting this senator. I have been waiting for your endorsement and I will pull the trigger on the youtubetv. I was leaning that way anyway, but i knew you would send out something like this, much appreciated.

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  4. etdf
    July 8, 2019 at 8:00 AM

    I’m very close to getting HULU live, which seems to have comparable sports package as YTTV and I already have a HULU account. Anyone else have experience there?

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  5. JD
    July 8, 2019 at 8:20 AM

    I switched to YTTV in March and love it.
    I ordered the Roku ultra from amazon for $96 and can control everything with 1 remote. A big bonus at my house.
    YTTV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, & I subscribe to MLBtv so, when I vacation, the Roku comes with me. As long as you have sufficient internet, you have access everything you have at home.

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    • JD
      July 8, 2019 at 8:22 AM

      Everything = TV volume and power along with the Roku.

      Like

    • stoopnagle
      July 8, 2019 at 9:06 AM

      So the Roku can handle Netflix and Amazon Prime? I’m using a chromecast and of course Prime doesn’t play with it all.

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      • The Pattersonian
        July 8, 2019 at 9:47 AM

        Yes, Roku doesn’t have any conflict with any main video content provider that I have found. So it uses Prime and Netflix with no issue. The Roku Ultra version with a wired connection has been perfect for us as well. I also have a local Plex server that works with Roku so I run all my TV through this device now. The Roku remote handles volume on the TV but does not have a button for mute, which I have slowly gottten used to. It does have a phone app that can double as the remote as well.

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  6. practicaldawg
    July 8, 2019 at 8:31 AM

    YTTV is great. I also just learned that DirectTV had to drop CBS in my area due to a dispute with Nextstar. So glad I don’t pay for that garbage anymore. Losing CBS unexpectedly in the fall would have been a nightmare.

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  7. Gene Simmons
    July 8, 2019 at 8:33 AM

    Thanks so much for this PSA. I have been looking for an affordable/reliable alternative to DISH. The only thing that has held me back is the lack of local TV. Looks as if Youtube TV has that. Will be signing up soon…

    Like

  8. IndyDawg
    July 8, 2019 at 9:54 AM

    When I relocated back to GA from IN, I decided to cut the cord. Moved to far eastern Gwinnett County, so spent lots of time studying options for the home my wife & I bought. Have 2 smart TVs and a not-smart TV (bought a Roku Streaming Stick+ for it). Final solution: Selected Comcast to run a single dedicated high bandwidth internet line into the house. Bought my own high-end NETGEAR WiFi modem router (no monthly $12 rental fee for their crappy equipment) which the Comcast service guy sync’d as part of the internet install. Streaming apps: Netflix, Prime Video (no-brainer since my wife uses the Amazon Prime account to buy almost everything), PlutoTV, and Sling Orange package (for all the ESPN and SEC Network sports channels; working well–only thing missing is Fox Sports South for Braves games). On top, I bought a 70 mile range HD antenna from Antennas Direct. Added an antenna power booster (less than $50) so I could high-jack the old cable hub in the basement to send clear local channel signals to every room in the house with a cable outlet (83 local channels, including 5 retro TV channels which my wife loves–happy wife, happy life). Based on new, lower costs with this arrangement vs. my previous monthly DirecTV bill, I reached break-even 3 months after set up. Saving > $120/month now. VERY HAPPY!

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    • Nil Butron is a Pud
      July 8, 2019 at 10:32 AM

      You hit on one of the big issues I’ve found: DO NOT USE XFINITY’s EQUIPMENT! Buy your own modem and router. Apart from saving the monthly rental fee (you make up that cost in about a year), Comcast limits the number of devices that can connect to their modem (maybe 10?). So if you have a few laptops, phones, iPads, Roku’s, Nest, etc. you quickly max out the connections and they randomly get dropped. At minimum attach your own router to the modem so Comcast sees it as only 1 device and can’t limit the IP addresses.

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  9. Reverend Whitewall
    July 8, 2019 at 10:52 AM

    I bought my first Roku and cut the cord over 6 years ago, so I’ve been at it a while. I’m currently on YTTV as well, and it’s hands down the best option for me (the unlimited DVR is what tips it in my favor, other than sports I can’t remember the last time I watched something live). However…………..they’ve gone up in price twice since I had it. I started at $35/mo and am now at $50/mo. By the time I add the cost of internet, I’m getting close to the cost of just a lower tier internet/cable bundle. It’s still in my favor at the moment as there’s no boxes to rent and things like that, and there have certainly been channels added as part of that $15 increase. But another $10-$15 a month in increases and I’ll really have to start balancing the value of it. We’ll see how long they hold the current pricing.

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  10. WNCDawg
    July 8, 2019 at 11:01 AM

    Yea Got DirectTV screwed by penny pinching and cut CBS, who owns this fart head company. Not being biased or racially divided but I have yet to talk to someone I can understand….. ATT and DirectTV was a bundle and Perhaps ATT was the smart one who cut away from DirectTV but I still get bills from both companies. Just answered some simple questions people ask and instead of being multi billionaire’s how bout settling for just being a billionaire.
    I try to swat from Fox and CNN and all the hate mongering on the tube and what do I find it’s now infected my last siege of Bastogne and Lille. Wish Patton would had driven all the way to Moscow the way he wanted to. But no Eisenhower and Stalin had divided Europe between the two; Unknowingly so Churchill and Stalin made the same agreement.
    Just think no Russia no Korean War, no Vietnam, no Iraq, No Iran and most of all no North Korea and China.
    A lot of folks got rich off all those wars and we lost a lot of good men. Patton died days after a American half track drove into the side of his staff car by 3 drunken US servicemen which suddenly disappeared.
    Opinion: Which have Americans done progressed through technology or lost our way inherently because of the leadership of this country from NAFTA and before through OPEC if I remember correctly we went over there in showed them the technology and how to operate the wells and then gave it back to them from which monies was raised to support 911 and them joined them. What about the Panama Canal ?
    I am not really sure I reconcile or recognize any of where we are or what’s important except if you don’t see my viewpoints and values the same as I we become hate mongers….. Good Lord Bless Us for we don’t know what we have done.

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  11. BA Baracus
    July 8, 2019 at 12:21 PM

    I’ve had YouTubeTV for over a year now & love it. Been through every sporting season, and haven’t had any issues/regrets whatsoever. It has every sports channel I would ever care about & I also love that I can create 6 different accounts on the same subscription, each with individualized streams & cloud DVRs — so my wife & kids can have their own individualized accounts without cluttering up my library with soaps & Teen Titans. 🙂

    I tried DirecTV’s streaming service briefly before settling on YouTubeTV. No comparison. The interface & performance w/ YTV are light years better. (Or at least they were about a year ago when I tried it).

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  12. ilini84
    July 8, 2019 at 1:50 PM

    I put my Dish on “pause” for three months to see if I could hack YTTV. I have one Roku and two Roku Streaming Stick+ ‘s (they have extended wireless so I thought that would help reach the far corners of my house). The YTTV interface is a bit clunky on IOS devices but pretty good on regular TV’s with the ROKU’s. The DVR is ok, not as versatile as the one on Dish, but it does the trick. I cannily get it to do 15 second FF so it’s a bit hard to skip commercials. While the interface isn’t great on. IOS devices it is still better than Dish Anywhere. I have till kickoff to decide which to to fo with but for $1200 a year less than Dish I’m leaning toward keeping YTTV. Oh yea, no PBS and I signed up for PBS Go and it sucks.

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    • Dawgoholic
      July 8, 2019 at 10:11 PM

      Anyone got advice for a service that works well with 14 TVs at one residence?

      Yeah, I know. Still, need some advice.

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