Octopus Overlords

Posted: **Thu Jan 24, 2019 10:35 am**

Jeff V wrote: ↑Thu Jan 24, 2019 10:29 am
Jaymon wrote: ↑Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:11 pm I've been using youtube.tv as my streaming service, and it seems pretty good.
its got the channels I want, like BBC America, ScyFy Cartoon Network. And it plays the football games.
Does it have all of the broadcast network channels?

Posted: **Thu Jan 24, 2019 12:59 pm**

One digit off on the zip code, impressive!

I'll have to figure out if it's on the whole better than Comcrap streaming + Sling Blue. The combined cost is $40, and it does include HBO. But I can only get CBS by Chromecasting from a Chrome browser on a PC through the Comcrap website. It would be a no-brainer if they made their app compatible with Chromecast.

Posted: **Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:22 pm**

Does anyone here who has cut the cord and gone exclusively streaming ever run into data caps with their ISP?

Posted: **Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:27 pm**

Jeff V wrote: ↑Thu Jan 24, 2019 12:59 pm One digit off on the zip code, impressive!

DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville FTW.

Posted: **Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:29 pm**

pr0ner wrote: ↑Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:22 pm Does anyone here who has cut the cord and gone exclusively streaming ever run into data caps with their ISP?

I can't say we're exclusively streaming, as we do have a TiVo and antenna (no cable), but probably 90% of our viewing is via streaming. Primarily via a Roku on our 'main' TV, but also through two other Rokus and my kids' tablets. I also work from home and have a Nest Cam constantly uploading video to the cloud. I probably do less Steam downloading than most of you, but we do typically get 1-2 games downloaded either via Steam or the Switch monthly.

We typically use around 500 GB/mo of our 1,024 GB ComCap. Looking in the app, we're at 450 this month, and used 481, 564, and 526 in Dec/Nov/Oct. I've had a couple of months where it's been in the 800-900 GB range when seeding large backups, but it's rare that we use over 750 GB.

It should be noted that Comcast does give two 'courtesy months' in any 12-month period. So long as you expect to be under 1 TB for at least 10 of every 12 months, you will not be charged overages.

Posted: **Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:32 pm**

Jeff V wrote: ↑Thu Jan 24, 2019 12:59 pm I'll have to figure out if it's on the whole better than Comcrap streaming + Sling Blue. The combined cost is $40, and it does include HBO. But I can only get CBS by Chromecasting from a Chrome browser on a PC through the Comcrap website. It would be a no-brainer if they made their app compatible with Chromecast.

Posted: **Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:39 pm**

I'm not concerned about YouTube not working via Chromecast, it's the Xfinity app that's a problem since the CBS app can't be used without paying their blood money. Everything else is watched via Amazon Fire, but the only way to get CBS at the moment is to stream from a computer browser. Fox, NBC and ABC either are accessible through Sling, can be Chromecast from their Android app, or can be accessed through their Fire app.

I would miss HBO though. I don't need CBS until August now that football season is over, but I need HBO to watch the rest of GoT.

Posted: **Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:58 pm**

pr0ner wrote: ↑Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:22 pm Does anyone here who has cut the cord and gone exclusively streaming ever run into data caps with their ISP?

We stream almost exclusively (have OTA antenna for live sports). I don't really download many games (probably a few 2x a year during Steam sales), but we do have the HD Netflix plan. We run about 250-300 GBs a month with 2 kids with tablets and all out TVs with Rokus. We have Charter, so don't have a cap (yet).

Posted: **Thu Jan 24, 2019 3:05 pm**

ya know, I am not sure. I just sort of lump those all together in my head, they don't stand out to me the way BBC America or ScyFy , Cartoon Network, and Disney do. The other networks just have a bunch of shows, they don't really have a specific theme to me.

I'll have a look and see whats there.

But I know we watch The Conners, Elementary (before it was cancelled) Speechless, The Cool Kids, Big Bang, The Gifted, Legion, Supergirl, all the Seahawks games. I am not really sure what network those are on.

Posted: **Fri Jan 25, 2019 2:05 am**

pr0ner wrote: ↑Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:22 pm Does anyone here who has cut the cord and gone exclusively streaming ever run into data caps with their ISP?

Yes. Last summer. I was home all summer with 3 kids. I watched a fair amount of netflix on my PC while doing laundry (all of the 13 reasons why). I had quality set to maximum and was watching on my 4k monitor. I watched some other 4k content on netflix as well. After that I cut my quality and we haven't gone over since. We have come close but we get a message when we get to 75% so if necessary, I just cut the kids off (they watch youtube almost exclusively. Like Stessier, we also watch sports on live tv or go to a bar. We have 3 kids and my wife 'watches' netflix several hours per day (by watches I mean has on in the background). With youtube and netflix you can adjust the quality. Since my kids have 720p phones I don't worry too much about youtube (which is where they watch 90% of their stuff).

Posted: **Fri Jan 25, 2019 3:02 am**

Of course, this is all relative to the size of the respondents' caps.

Posted: **Fri Jan 25, 2019 10:21 am**

My ISP has no caps.

Posted: **Fri Jan 25, 2019 10:41 am**

Daehawk wrote: ↑Fri Jan 25, 2019 10:21 am My ISP has no caps.

Yet - they are legally prevented from having caps for 7 years after their merger. I think that is up in 2021.

Posted: **Sat Jan 26, 2019 10:24 am**

I dropped AT&T's gigabit service (which I had no qualms with) for a local company that also provides gigabit speed. I just have more faith that a smaller local company will screw me less than the big dogs. Neither company had me on capped internet. I know many people don't have more than once choice for internet which is despicable. Usually it's your local or state government giving a company a legalized monopoly (or duopoly). It's amazing to me what these telecom/cable companies are allowed to get away with.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:53 am**

If Youtube TV starts providing Asian channels like JadeTV tons of people would get away from Comcast in a heartbeat.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:56 am**

Had multiple people tell me to get one of those little square indoor antennae. I told them we had a tall outdoor one in the 90s and it only got 1 channel yet they seem to think a new one today would pick up a dozen at least. Said they'd get one from Amazon if I picked one. Said I could return it if it didn't. But Im not seeing a use ...even if I knew of one. My friend says Winegard and Mohu Leaf are good..shrug. I think its a waste.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:48 pm**

I picked up one of those square indoor antenna, even splurged the extra bucks for a signal booster. Picked a very highly rated one from amazon, and it only picks up a few channels. It just depends on where you live I think. All those peeps who say it replaces everything, well they probably live within broadcast range. I am about 75 miles away form the big city, and I only get a few channels, and none of the networks. What comes in, is the public broadcast channels from the local college. Unless there is some trick I am missing, this only works on channels being broadcast within about 30 miles.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:42 pm**

Jaymon wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:48 pm I picked up one of those square indoor antenna, even splurged the extra bucks for a signal booster. Picked a very highly rated one from amazon, and it only picks up a few channels. It just depends on where you live I think. All those peeps who say it replaces everything, well they probably live within broadcast range. I am about 75 miles away form the big city, and I only get a few channels, and none of the networks. What comes in, is the public broadcast channels from the local college. Unless there is some trick I am missing, this only works on channels being broadcast within about 30 miles.

Have you tried it without the signal booster, or with the booster turned down to lower settings? Sometimes you can get worse reception with a boosted signal as it can start picking up too many bounced signals.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:47 pm**

I got the Mohu Sky 60. It is an amplified antenna. I put it in my attic. There is a tower 75 miles away that we get some of the time, but they have a really low broadcast strength so it doesn't surprise me too much (although it is annoying as it is ABC).

I found Antenna Web to be pretty good at predicting what I could get.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:42 pm**

stessier wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:47 pm I found Antenna Web to be pretty good at predicting what I could get.

It says i can get 68 channels. It should qualify it by saying "68 channels +/- 67" Because only one station had a usable signal.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:49 pm**

Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:42 pm
stessier wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:47 pm I found Antenna Web to be pretty good at predicting what I could get.
It says i can get 68 channels. It should qualify it by saying "68 channels +/- 67" Because only one station had a usable signal.

Yes, your RF black hole has been well documented.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 3:20 pm**

stessier wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:49 pm
Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:42 pm
stessier wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:47 pm I found Antenna Web to be pretty good at predicting what I could get.
It says i can get 68 channels. It should qualify it by saying "68 channels +/- 67" Because only one station had a usable signal.
Yes, your RF black hole has been well documented.

I was responding to that website's accuracy. I wouldn't have commented otherwise had it accurately said "dude, you fucked." But that obviously wasn't the case, and others might like to know this site isn't a good representation on what you actually can get.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 3:58 pm**

Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 3:20 pm
stessier wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:49 pm
Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 2:42 pm
stessier wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:47 pm I found Antenna Web to be pretty good at predicting what I could get.
It says i can get 68 channels. It should qualify it by saying "68 channels +/- 67" Because only one station had a usable signal.
Yes, your RF black hole has been well documented.
I was responding to that website's accuracy. I wouldn't have commented otherwise had it accurately said "dude, you fucked." But that obviously wasn't the case, and others might like to know this site isn't a good representation on what you actually can get.

It's true, it's not a good representation of what you get. It was a very good representation of what I get. As you are an outlier in nearly all things, I'm sure others need not worry.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:02 pm**

Jaymon wrote: ↑Thu Jan 24, 2019 3:05 pm ya know, I am not sure. I just sort of lump those all together in my head, they don't stand out to me the way BBC America or ScyFy , Cartoon Network, and Disney do. The other networks just have a bunch of shows, they don't really have a specific theme to me.

I'll have a look and see whats there.

But I know we watch The Conners, Elementary (before it was cancelled) Speechless, The Cool Kids, Big Bang, The Gifted, Legion, Supergirl, all the Seahawks games. I am not really sure what network those are on.

Got my indoor, no drilling antenna at the tail end of last week but I didn't test it because too many other things needed my attention.

Really, I think the only thing I'll have to adapt to or end up missing is the Cartoon Network. I've been checking availability sans cable and everybody wants to give me the CN in a package that's large enough to raise my eyebrow at the price.

Hopefully, I test this weekend. I'm so looking forward to telling WOW I'm through with cable and switching to a better ISP.

Also doing research, antennas behave differently with different TVs and sadly for me, horribly with TiVo. The best solution is almost always to buy a better antenna and mount it higher to make up for problems of the receivers ability. It makes no sense to me as I figured digital would be all or nothing but I read it on the Internet so it must be true.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:03 pm**

stessier wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 3:58 pm It's true, it's not a good representation of what you get. It was a very good representation of what I get. As you are an outlier in nearly all things, I'm sure others need not worry.

If you read the thread, others HAVE had similar experiences to me. There is no reason to believe something has gotten better just because this website said they should get X-number of channels.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:09 pm**

LordMortis wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:02 pm
Really, I think the only thing I'll have to adapt to or end up missing is the Cartoon Network. I've been checking availability sans cable and everybody wants to give me the CN in a package that's large enough to raise my eyebrow at the price.

I think it's part of the Sling package I have that's $25 per month.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:29 pm**

Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:09 pm
LordMortis wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:02 pm
Really, I think the only thing I'll have to adapt to or end up missing is the Cartoon Network. I've been checking availability sans cable and everybody wants to give me the CN in a package that's large enough to raise my eyebrow at the price.
I think it's part of the Sling package I have that's $25 per month.

I think $21 a month was the cheapest package I could find

Politics ahead....

Spoiler:

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:52 pm**

If it were just me it would be Netflix and literally nothing else. I mean I would have Amazon Prime, but the only practical use for that has been Mrs. Maisel and Doctor Who. The kids might be thrilled with being chopped down to Netflix and Prime, but they'd deal. So I am paying for cable just for my wife. I've decided whatever I am paying for cable is cheaper than a divorce.

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:58 pm**

coopasonic wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:52 pm So I am paying for cable just for my wife. I've decided whatever I am paying for cable is cheaper than a divorce.

Once upon a time before smart phones and unlimited packages that was me and cell phones. I dreaded that bill every month, no matter how many minutes I expanded our plan to, we'd leave them far behind but dealing with it was just part of life and not worth the fallout. (I remember having negotiate a plan commitment to mitigate an $800 in overage bill once)

Posted: **Mon Jan 28, 2019 5:10 pm**

wonderpug wrote: ↑Mon Jan 28, 2019 1:42 pm
Have you tried it without the signal booster, or with the booster turned down to lower settings? Sometimes you can get worse reception with a boosted signal as it can start picking up too many bounced signals.

I did try that unfortunately, with and without booster, various different walls on both floors. Same constant selection of channels.

Posted: **Tue Jul 09, 2019 11:21 pm**

YellowKing wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2019 9:41 pm A friend of mine and I were talking about streaming services just the other day, and I mentioned that I believed we were about to see services start to consolidate. It just makes sense - unless you have the money to produce amazing original content, you're just not going to be able to sustain the subscriber base necessary to survive against the big boys.

Hijacking it to the general thread.

Let's look at the massive media conglomerates:

Comcast - 2020
Disney - Disney+ coming this year
Viacom - Pluto TV (???)
CBS - CBS All Access
AT&T - HBO Max
Sony - PlayStation Vue
Vivendi - myCanal (France)

At this point, all the major players are headed into the arena to compete with Netflix and Amazon. Which is why they're spreading out vertically with their own production studios and deals.

Hulu is eventually going to be subsumed by the Giant Mouse.

Posted: **Wed Jul 10, 2019 12:45 am**

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Jan 25, 2019 3:02 am Of course, this is all relative to the size of the respondents' caps.

No data caps FTW!

Posted: **Sat Jul 20, 2019 2:58 pm**

Got cable for the first time in my life on Friday. Well, cable internet only. Still feel dirty paying RCN. Not as dirty as I felt paying ATT for DSL though.

Went from 4.4Mbps/0.08Mbps to 768Mbps/24Mbps.

Posted: **Wed Oct 30, 2019 10:18 am**

Sony is shutting down the Live TV option on Vue on 01/30/2020.

Posted: **Fri Nov 01, 2019 3:58 pm**

stessier wrote: ↑Wed Oct 30, 2019 10:18 am Sony is shutting down the Live TV option on Vue on 01/30/2020.

So with this wonderful news what should I move to? Hulu, Sling, Youtube? Back to cable? What say you OO?

Posted: **Fri Nov 01, 2019 5:42 pm**

WYBaugh wrote: ↑Fri Nov 01, 2019 3:58 pm
stessier wrote: ↑Wed Oct 30, 2019 10:18 am Sony is shutting down the Live TV option on Vue on 01/30/2020.
So with this wonderful news what should I move to? Hulu, Sling, Youtube? Back to cable? What say you OO?

Sling dropped Fox and Fox Sports, so if that's important to you, then not Sling.

Posted: **Fri Nov 01, 2019 6:38 pm**

YouTube seems to be the choice right now, from what I’m reading.

Posted: **Fri Nov 01, 2019 6:56 pm**

They certainly paid enough to sponsor the World Series.

Posted: **Tue Nov 26, 2019 2:14 pm**

I want to pick my cable-replacement service before my new TV gets here on Friday.

Networks and features I want:

A&E
AMC
BBC America
Cartoon Network/Adult Swim
Comedy Central
Syfy
TCM
DVR capability
Local network channels a plus

I looked at Hulu Live, Youtube, and Sling. Are there other services I should shop?

Hulu checks all those boxes for $55/mo ($45 rate expires next month). DVR is 50 hours (probably plenty), upgradable to 200 hr AND the ability to skip ads. Price for that upgrade is unlisted...probably wouldn't buy it initially.

YouTube lacks A&E and Comedy Central (I could live without those, but why should I?). 20 sports channels is excessive, considering that I want 0. No limit on DVR. $50.

Sling is the hardest to compare with their Orange/Blue/combined pricing. I think Blue is better than Orange (less sports) and there is a lot of duplication between them -- they make it difficult to compare, but I don't see any advantage in buying the combo pack. Blue would be $25/mo. TCM is in the "Hollywood" add-on for $5. DVR is $5 for 50 hours...so I think I'd be looking at $35. Local channels are not available, but they have a "free" antenna offer -- no free trial, pay in advance for 2 months, get a free antenna. (Or I could just buy an antenna.) IDK if their DVR would work with over-the-air channels or not.

I think I'm going with Hulu. I realize this isn't a hugely momentous decision, as I can switch at any time, but I'd rather not waste time learning their interface and setting up recordings if I'm not going to keep it.

Thoughts? Experiences?

Posted: **Tue Nov 26, 2019 2:27 pm**

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Nov 26, 2019 2:14 pm I want to pick my cable-replacement service before my new TV gets here on Friday.

Networks and features I want:

A&E
AMC
BBC America
Cartoon Network/Adult Swim
Comedy Central
Syfy
TCM
DVR capability
Local network channels a plus

I looked at Hulu Live, Youtube, and Sling. Are there other services I should shop?

Hulu checks all those boxes for $55/mo ($45 rate expires next month). DVR is 50 hours (probably plenty), upgradable to 200 hr AND the ability to skip ads. Price for that upgrade is unlisted...probably wouldn't buy it initially.

YouTube lacks A&E and Comedy Central (I could live without those, but why should I?). 20 sports channels is excessive, considering that I want 0. No limit on DVR. $50.

Sling is the hardest to compare with their Orange/Blue/combined pricing. I think Blue is better than Orange (less sports) and there is a lot of duplication between them -- they make it difficult to compare, but I don't see any advantage in buying the combo pack. Blue would be $25/mo. TCM is in the "Hollywood" add-on for $5. DVR is $5 for 50 hours...so I think I'd be looking at $35. Local channels are not available, but they have a "free" antenna offer -- no free trial, pay in advance for 2 months, get a free antenna. (Or I could just buy an antenna.) IDK if their DVR would work with over-the-air channels or not.

I think I'm going with Hulu. I realize this isn't a hugely momentous decision, as I can switch at any time, but I'd rather not waste time learning their interface and setting up recordings if I'm not going to keep it.

Thoughts? Experiences?

I remember VUE being one of the most viable choices but I also remember recently that they may no longer be. I don't remember why.

I found the Sling, Hulu LIve, and VUE were the best ways to maintain what you are used to with cable but that was months ago. Youtube wasn't on the radar as having a full service of what I'm looking for.

Also DVR capability is specific to service. Meaning my TiVo will stream such services but it won't record Hulu Live like it would cable.

Octopus Overlords

Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts

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