What's your experience with cutting the cord?

Rotate Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime. (I like trashy old movies, of which Prime has many.) Watch one service until you’re caught up on your stories there (Shrill on Hulu, Peaky Blinders on Netflix), then cancel for six months to a year until they have a bunch of new content that actually interests you. Also many full-length artful pieces of cinema may be found on YouTube, DailyMotion, Vudu, Tubi, Internet Archive, Pluto, Xumo, Roku channel, Sling, Stirr, and elsewhere in varying arrangements of free, ad-supported, live, and on-demand.

I cut cable in 2019 after a similar thread I saw on DL. Never looked back.

Netflix, Amazon, YouTube fir news, free to air and supplemented with torrents where absolutely necessary.

Total bliss and wish I had done it sooner. Cable is a dead technology. Paying for it in 2021 is ludicrous.

what do you mean internet and TV ? you mean cable TV? like basic cable?

I still have cable. my partner refuses to cut the cord, he needs the sports and he says streaming isn't reliable.

Unless you want nightly network news - which I do miss - or as a sports watcher, there is no reason for cable. It can all be found via streaming. I had a problem finding internet only deals for wired WiFi. But I moved and now have wired WiFi for $40 - plus Netflix and Prime. Never going back to $120+ bills.

The main difference is needing to be premeditated about what you watch instead of just clicking - a strangely difficult adjustment for me.

r1, if you have a library card (it's just as easy to obtain one), check out Kanopy- great library of films, you get to watch 9 a month for free.

I have Sling, Netflix, Hulu, Disney +, CBS and some other channels. No need to record anything. Sling has 2 local live news channels and CNN, plus international news, so I'm good with live stuff.

I cut the cord a few months ago, and now I have Sling plus Hulu, Disney, Apple TV and HBO Max. I'm generally quite happy (especially since I don't need much DVR) and am saving a ton of money. My only complaint is that Sling has its own commercials that it puts 'on top' of network programming that is addition to the network programming. This seems worse on some channels than on others. But it's not so bad that I care to go back.

Do you mean NBC, PBS or ABC nightly news R4? It's all on YouTube including live steam channels from the same distributors.

Until I know I can easily stream TCM, I’m hooked to Google Fiber.

Forgot to say - whenever you want to watch it R4.

YouTube is quite vast too. You can literally find anything you want to watch. But they track what you watch so be aware of that. I don't have an account and wouldn't get one.

I need access to hockey and NFL games (illegal streams work most of the time, but I prefer to DVR them and have been too lazy to figure out how to record streams) so I keep cable (have a pretty good deal with bundling a landline and Internet through the same provider). Also have Netflix, Disney, Hulu and Amazon Prime, plus HBOMax, Showtime and a bunch of other apps that I have access to through my cable provider. Too many options, but I never lack for something to watch when I want to.

What are people using to DVR things? Is TiVo still a thing?

TiVO died out in the nineties R10.

R8, both YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV carry TCM.

A lot of news shows can be found on YouTube the same night they air. Sports though almost certainly requires cable, I've never had any luck with the barely legal streaming sites.

Sling wasn't great, there are a lot of movies on TCM they don't show because of various rights issues, and that's why I tried it out. Same with sports and other shows on channels like Discovery. Too much was blacked out and it wasn't worth it to me.

I have Prime because it comes with the service I'm already using anyway, and I keep Hulu because I like watching older shows -- I used to stream on Netflix for that, but when they gave up their old shows for new content, I went to where the old shows were. Like others have said, just cancel until you have a lot on Netflix (or any other service you want to watch) and then stream it for a few months until you're caught up.

I would say cutting the cord was mostly good for us. When we originally cut the cord, we were able to get a local wireless internet company that was great for $40 a month. We used over the air for local channels and had Sling, then for a long stretch we had Playstation Vue, which was my favorite (now sadly defunct).

We also had Hulu Plus - liked the selection, hated the formatting of how to find things.

In the end, we had Philo, because honestly, beyond the big three stations and HBO, we watch a fuckton of HGTV, and they had that and DIY on Philo for $20 a month.

We are actually reconnected to the cord now, only because our new home is in an HOA where cable and Internet are provided as part of your assessment payment. But I would do it again, for sure.

They has just about everything you need with a digital antenna. PBS has awesome programming. I just have an antenna and HBO Max. My sister lent me her Netflix codes but there is nothing on that app that is good. I don't get how ppl could binge watch TV! I can't after 3 episodes. I lose track and start feeling dizzy

[quote] if you have a library card (it's just as easy to obtain one), check out Kanopy- great library of films, you get to watch 9 a month for free.

Yes! We've done this a few times and it's great.

It helps to have either Prime or Apple TV, so you can then download things like the Kanopy app and use a little of this here, and a little of that there. A la carte is great though for some the choices may be overwhelming. But I'm glad we have Apple TV, which helps us organize the options. The PBS app on Apple TV often lets me see things on broadcast that same night. The ABC app is an easy way to catch recently missed episodes.

Get high speed internet. Call it quits with everything else. If you want by a digital streamer box or even a GOOD Smart TV. Also being able to hook up a laptop via HDMI is fun as well.

Throw in a cable antenna and you'll have the option to watch movies when you want if you decide to order a service for the month or you can just stick with whatever comes over the air.

Also my siblings and I share codes.

I gave my sister my HBO Max and Netflix logins, she gave me Hulu and her cable company's online service in return.

Because many cable companies give you the ability to watch the same channels you get through your box online or provide a code that you can watch those same channel's streaming equivalents on your tv. And yes, if someone's cable company allows it you can have your own login and watch TV that way if you must have it.

Ive never had cable, just internet. I was paying a promotional rate of $30 a month through Xfinity for years, now they bumped me up to $40.

I have Amazon prime, Hulu, and Netflix. I watch Tubi and Vudu too. The sports part sucks. I stream bootleg feeds to watch my games. You can find these streaming sites on reddit mostly.

I'm trying to help my parents cut the cord, but they need a lot of the features on cable (PBS, Sports?), and I tried exploring YouTube TV, Hulu Live (hated the layout), but it was over their heads. They live in a small town with one provider who takes advantage and jacks up the prices so high, makes me sick.

*Yes I am aware of my spelling errors there. I must take a nap.

Like r10, I have direct tv because I want the NFL package. I would also miss HBO if I dropped it (not sure if any streaming services offer HBO).

At home I have a smartphone with wifi (about $60.00/mo.). No cable. The only thing I watch on cable are the nightly news shows like Cuomo and Maddow, and I watch those streaming free on websites.

My city has a huge library system (30 branches). Whatever cable shows or movies I want to see make it to dvd eventually, so I borrow them free. CDs, too.

^ Yes, R20, you can get HBO/HBO Max through YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Roku, Sling, and Fubo.

I'm addicted to MSNBC (all day, every day); am I stuck with cable?

R23 MSNBC is on a few of the streaming networks, but I think usually with an add on package.

Sling TV has MSNBC in the blue package and YouTube TV has it too.

R23, would you be happy to just listen to MSNBC? It's free on Tunein. So is CNN and other cable news channels.

It sucks in Canada. There’s not the same choice as in the US. Even Canadian Netflix sucks. A lot of US services now block the use of VPN, too. I used to use VPN to get the US Netflix, and it was so much better.

I was shocked at how clear the picture is with my rabbit ears and how many stations there are. The picture is clearer than cable TV. I have a Roku, HBO max, Netflix, and Hulu. Deleted the TV portion of spectrum a year ago and don’t miss it.

All of you sound like fat whores. Turn off the tv and find a hobby or read a book!

R29, aren't you way too late for being 'Bitchy R1'? Get a life and do something nice for someone.

YouTube TV ($65/mo), never looked back. I alternate subscriptions like a lot of people-- I have Prime, I share my YTT to my parents and they share their Netflix ($15), I have a free trial of ad-free Hulu right now (free for a month, or $12), and I subscribe to Criterion Channel ($13?) off and on, depending on how much free time I have.

R5, Canopy is absurdly expensive for libraries and many of those who have it are phasing it out.

Dropped satellite TV last November. We have YouTube TV, BritBox & Amazon Prime. Also have a year free of AppleTV from upgrading my iPhone. I like getting the local news and sports channels from YouTube. I'm also watching a goo dead of BBC News to learn things that are not covered by the American media stations.

We have fiber internet from the electric company (100 Mps for $50/month). YouTube, BritBox and Amazon add an additional $85. We used to pay $300/month for a bundle of landline, internet (20 Mps) and DirecTV.

We did a free month of Hulu to watch all of the seasons of Letterkenny - then cancelled it.

I have an indoor antenna and I get crystal clear over the air HD for all the major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, CW, etc. I paid $30 for it on Amazon and I can use my Tivo with it. I don't watch sports or any weird shows on cable channels so this was the right choice for me. I just signed up for streaming Discovery + because I always enjoyed Discovery shows and for 6.99 a month, it's worth it for me. I just don't watch that much TV and what I do watch is on the majors anyway.

Any opinions on Hulu Live TV versus YouTube TV?

r34 decide what channels are important to you. Hulu does not air live sports Youtube does- I don't give a shit about sports so I get Philo- which has all the channels I watch for 20 a month netfix, hbo max and disney + all on specials or deals.