Just cut the DirecTV cord.

[crwilli]

Originally Posted by audioguy3107

I think you're right, I think the major savings will be here in the short term. One thing I'm worried about is the possible fragmentation of content so in order to get the programming you want, you'll have to have 5 dang accounts with different apps etc. Disney is already doing this with their Disney + service......I don't know when but they're going to yank all their content from all other platforms so if you want it, you'll have to subscribe to their service. Like I said in my post above, aside from the Weather Channel, I could live happily ever after with YouTube TV's channel lineup for $49.99 and be done with it, but there seemed to be a noticeable drop in picture quality from my DirecTV, at least on Fox SportsSouth during the Braves game which is what I watched the most of.....of course I still think Fox broadcasts in 720p, so there's that. I'm planning on hooking up an Apple TV 4K tonight in the theater to see what it looks like on the projector so I can compare it to DirecTV down there. I'll report back later on.



- Buck

Exactly, I think we are headed for a confusing world as the companies which have aggregated content - Cable, Direct TV, YouTube, etc lose access to premium content and those that own the content - Disney etc, flex their muscles and start their own streaming services. The near term result will be the need to subscribe to multiple services to get what you want.

The upside COULD be that you pay only for what you want. The downside COULD be much higher costs and complexity.

I could be happy with the YES Network, HBO, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. But my wife would like Food Network, HGTV & ABC, CBS, NBC. So as of today, that equates to Direct TV plus the MLB package.

That puts me in wait and see mode.

[W9TR]

We have been subject to the ATT-Dish feud and so have to stream HBO instead of getting it via satellite.


I see this trend continuing as content is king and the content providers are owning their distribution networks.

The result is we have dropped HBO now that we are at our summer place with no internet apart from our phones. If it were on Dish we would keep it.

As long as we can turn on and off our subscriptions (via the Apple Store) we will do so and subscribe to binge watch in the winter months.

[audioguy3107]

So here's what happened last night during my streaming "test". I tuned the 65" Sony XBR panel to the same channel as my JVC projector, both using DirecTV as the primary source. I then hooked up an Apple 4K TV to the theater to switch between satellite and YouTube TV while also being able to run upstairs and see the same programming on the Sony. Well, the Apple 4K TV streaming YouTube was actually quite a bit better than the same stream with the built in Android app on the Sony XBR. I was pretty surprised by this simply due to size and viewing distance but it was unmistakable. I was able to try a National Geographic program, the Braves vs. Pirates baseball and luckily (for me anyhow ) the SEC network was replaying last years Georgia/Auburn game. DirecTV was the overall winner as I think it should be, but the Apple 4K stream was very very close. The loser was the YouTube TV stream on the Android app on the Sony XBR. I assume it's most likely due to the better hardware with the Apple 4KTV than what's used on the Sony TV. I really don't do any critical watching on the TVs upstairs so I wanted to make sure that the quality was good enough to use in the theater for sports, movies, shows etc. and I think it is, especially for a savings of roughly $125 per month. I've read on AVS Forum and elsewhere that better results are obtained from the likes of an Apple TV/Roku than built in TV apps. So right now I pay 79.99 for high speed internet though Comcast and $165 for DirecTV. I stopped by the local Comcast Xfiinity store and they had a promo they gave me for the same internet service for $60.00 a month lowering my bill by $20.00. If I do this, YouTube TV will be $49.99/month plus $60.00/month for internet for a total savings of $135.00/month. I think this is worth it......now I just have to figure out when the Weather Channel will offer some type of streaming service and I'll be all set (they do but only through Fubu at the moment).

- Buck

[1KW]

I just subscribed to YoutubeTV , 70 channels including all the news stations and the picture quality is excellent, I can have 6 users on at once and it has cloud based DVR, good bye Comcast tv. I cancelled Netflix today after 10 years, the movies have been terrible and the series they are coming out with have been going down hill. Most of the time I can’t find anything on Netflix I want to watch. I still have amazon prime with showtime (I like billions).

[audioguy3107]

Originally Posted by 1KW

I just subscribed to YoutubeTV , 70 channels including all the news stations and the picture quality is excellent, I can have 6 users on at once and it has cloud based DVR, good bye Comcast tv. I cancelled Netflix today after 10 years, the movies have been terrible and the series they are coming out with have been going down hill. Most of the time I can’t find anything on Netflix I want to watch. I still have amazon prime with showtime (I like billions).

I think I'm gonna go with it as well, saving that much per year is too good to pass up. YouTube TV has pretty much anything I want and I suppose if something didn't work out you could always go back to DirecTV or Comcast or your standard provider. Between that, Netfiix and Amazon Prime, that's all the TV I need.

- Buck

[Yamaki]

I just cut the cord a few weeks ago. I did keep an data package in place for streaming.

It's been a bit of an adjustment, and I am still finding content I had or didn't know was available, but all in all it's been a good experience.

I hope your cord cutting experiment is still working for you, Dan.

[jdandy]

Michael.......Indeed, between Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Tubi I have all the streaming video entertainment I need. I still buy 4K UHD Blu-ray movies for my library, as well as some straight Blu-ray movies. My Sony 4K TV's all upconvert to near 4K any content that isn't true 4K, so I am getting very enjoyable picture quality from streaming and discs. Best of all my monthly bill went from $161 with DirecTV to a total of $43.00 for Netflix, Hulu, and Prime combined. Color me happy.

[audioguy3107]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Michael.......Indeed, between Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Tubi I have all the streaming video entertainment I need. I still buy 4K UHD Blu-ray movies for my library, as well as some straight Blu-ray movies. My Sony TV's all upconvert to near 4K any content that isn't true 4K, so I am getting very enjoyable picture quality fro streaming and discs. Best of all my monthly bill went from $161 with DirecTV to a total of $43.00 for Netflix, Hulu, and Prime combined. Color me happy.

Dan - following in your footsteps over here, now the difficult part is calling Directv and dealing with the "retention" department. Not looking forward to that, probably be on hold indefinitely.

- Buck

[crwilli]

Originally Posted by audioguy3107

Dan - following in your footsteps over here, now the difficult part is calling Directv and dealing with the "retention" department. Not looking forward to that, probably be on hold indefinitely.



- Buck

Good luck. Patience and a Bourbon should help.

Reminds me of the time I cancelled my AOL account. 5 phone calls, well over 2 hours on hold in total and ended with me threatening to write letters to anyone I could think complaining of their business practice - including the Indian government...

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Michael.......Indeed, between Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Tubi I have all the streaming video entertainment I need. I still buy 4K UHD Blu-ray movies for my library, as well as some straight Blu-ray movies. My Sony 4K TV's all upconvert to near 4K any content that isn't true 4K, so I am getting very enjoyable picture quality from streaming and discs. Best of all my monthly bill went from $161 with DirecTV to a total of $43.00 for Netflix, Hulu, and Prime combined. Color me happy.

Dan - don't you need to add in the cost of your high-speed internet service? You have to have some way to stream Neflix, etc. No free lunch.