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  1. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by fidel View Post
    I had same concern. But when I looked at what I thought needed to be recorded, there were online options to watch (ESPN lets you watch games for a few days, for example). BTW, I went with an antenna for over-the-air, so I have DVR options for those channels.

    So the question is...what needs DVR?
    You might (or might not) be horrified to see the number of Duke games we store on our DVR... never know when you're going to have a bad day and need to watch part of the 2011 ACC tourney final again, right?

    Past that, we typically start to watch a game from the beginning while it's already in progress, then fast-forward through everything other than action, with breaks to take care of time-sensitive chores. We're in that life-stage where between full-time jobs, kids with lots of activities, a sweet but needy dog, the blessing of close-by in-laws, etc., we don't have much down-time at all. Right now I place a premium on both being able to watch a game the night it's played and on getting to bed in time to get up again the next day. My understanding is that watchESPN, at least, doesn't allow you to start a game while it's in progress, which means we'd have to watch 9pm games the next day (and I really like watching without knowing the outcome). I also don't think you can pause to help a kid find a thing she lost, or make a lunch, or put the laundry in the dryer... but maybe I'm off-base there?

  2. #42
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC area
    Quote Originally Posted by Lid View Post
    You might (or might not) be horrified to see the number of Duke games we store on our DVR... never know when you're going to have a bad day and need to watch part of the 2011 ACC tourney final again, right?

    Past that, we typically start to watch a game from the beginning while it's already in progress, then fast-forward through everything other than action, with breaks to take care of time-sensitive chores. We're in that life-stage where between full-time jobs, kids with lots of activities, a sweet but needy dog, the blessing of close-by in-laws, etc., we don't have much down-time at all. Right now I place a premium on both being able to watch a game the night it's played and on getting to bed in time to get up again the next day. My understanding is that watchESPN, at least, doesn't allow you to start a game while it's in progress, which means we'd have to watch 9pm games the next day (and I really like watching without knowing the outcome). I also don't think you can pause to help a kid find a thing she lost, or make a lunch, or put the laundry in the dryer... but maybe I'm off-base there?
    Yeah, I still love my Tivo! Late start, no TOs, no halftime drivel. Just have to watch out for early spoilers...

    I have 2010 and 2015's last three games, and several others that were fun (9F!), saved.

    That said, I've thought about cord cutting... Especially since HBO went online (still two more years of GoT!).

    -jk

  3. #43
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    OTA DVRs. There are a number of solutions. To hit the highlights:

    - Sling/WatchESPN: For non-sports, Sling has a number of channels that provide on-demand programming that cover at least the last 3 days of that network's programming. For example, if you want to binge on home improvement shows on HGTV, you'll find lots of episodes...no DVR needed. For most non-sports events, it seems like you can watch whatever you need. YMMV. However, most of us here are wanting sports. WatchESPN and the ACC archives are useful here. Other sports channels: I can get ONE day of Tour de France on NBC Sports (probably because they are selling an app for cycling telecasts that includes TdF). Fox Sports has a dog agility trial, 20 episodes of Monster Jam, some UFC fights and quite a number of others events/episodes available on-demand. ESPN has some available on Sling, too. I tend not to watch delayed, so WatchESPN meets my needs. Network TV: use the network's apps and archives available online.

    - OTR DVR set-top boxes: there are a number of them available. They all seem to require a subscription for the guide; some work without the subscription, as long as you're channeling old school VCRs and can program the box to record channel 5 at 7pm until 9:30pm instead of clicking on a show. Some have a "lifetime" subscription for $150, which isn't bad, but what's the "lifetime" for these devices? I'm guessing things will change dramatically in 2 years. Interesting note: I was searching to verify some facts for this post and found out that as of last January (just after the last time I looked into OTA DVRs), the Channel Master DVR is subscription-free and supports Sling for about $400. Hmm...will be looking into this over the next few days!

    - Roll your own: find yourself an old computer and use free or low-cost (<$15) software, like Windows Media Center (bundled in Windows 7). There are a number of pieces of software that can do this; you need a TV tuner card/dongle (also low cost). I'm looking into making one from a Raspberry Pi (a $35 Linux board that's about the size of a deck of cards), tuner dongle, and a hard drive. Works great for OTA, still don't know if I can cajole Sling into being recorded -- there's got to be some way to do it.

    Hope this helps.

  4. #44
    Now I'm hungry for raspberry pie.

  5. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by devil84 View Post
    OTA DVRs. There are a number of solutions. To hit the highlights:
    Hope this helps.
    Extremely helpful -- I have to spread sporkz around first, but thanks so much. Definitely have some pieces to look into.

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    North Carolina
    Cord cut for two weeks now! Lovin it!!

  7. #47
    Anyone used PlayStation Vue?

  8. #48

    Thanks!

    Thanks to all of you who took the time to describe how you do it.. After going most of my life without cable, we got it when our kids were teenagers so they were not hopelessly out of the cultural loop.

    Now that we are empty nesters we cut the cord 2 weeks ago. We really only watched politics and sports anyway, and with Twitter most of the cable was stale anyway…. 98% of the time we watched the same 8 channels out of 500...

    I didn't do any pre-preps to hedge viewing as I don't really watch TV during summer anyway, except for Tour de France and certain Ironman races (which are streamed) but I do want to be prepared for college football in Nov when the weather starts getting bad and of course college basketball next winter.

    I have a feeling I am going to be able to watch almost all of the Olympics somehow for free… If not I have hundreds of dollars I can reallocate to go to a bar or buy an app like the TdF subscription.

    Thank you to all of you who described how you do it here. We have amazon fire and Playstation so I will read these more carefully and figure out how to do it. I am especially interested in the ACC Network stuff to come… I will pay it forward if I stumble on any other ideas...

  9. #49
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    North Carolina

    cloud DVR for Sling for 50 hours

    Kyle gets BUCKETS!
    https://youtu.be/NJWPASQZqLc

  10. #50
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    I had thought this was going to be awesome, but in reality, we have yet to use it.* In the article, there's a little caveat: "Unfortunately, it's not available on all channels, due to rights negotiations between Dish and the broadcasters." The ESPN family and ABC (for those in the Triangle and a few other select markets) are some of the channels of interest to DBR readers. Sling does such a good job of making shows available on demand, that the only shows we'd need to record are the ones that don't have the ability to be recorded.

    *We were beta testers on the Roku platform, and get to keep it for free. We're empty-nesters who want college basketball, a few network shows, and are content with the on-demand stuff on Sling.

  11. #51
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Southbury, CT

    Playstation Vue

    Have been using the Playstation Vue service via the Amazon Fire stick for a couple weeks now and I really like it. Saved about $90 per month on my cable bill by cancelling service and turning in 3 cable boxes. (I would have saved more but the cable company jacked up their price on the internet, so I'll be shopping around for that soon.)

    My experience:
    - I don't really watch much live TV except for sports and occasionally the news -- so far Playstation Vue has worked fine for that.
    - The default interface is different than the traditional cable guide, so that took some getting used to. More like Netflix or Hulu, although they do have a "channel guide" view if you need it.
    - The DVR isn't exactly like your typical DVR--you choose your favorite shows that are automatically "recorded" and available to you for 28 days. The first day I setup to "record" premier league and champions league soccer, the NBA and NHL playoffs and now all the games are now available without having to think about it or worry about the amount of disk space I'm taking up. I don't think I'm going to have an issue with missing a particular show because of the 28 day cutoff--I typically watch things within a month of them airing (especially Duke basketball games!)
    - It looks like you aren't able to pause live TV for as long as a typical DVR...maybe only 5-10 minutes. Certainly enough time to hit the head and grab a beer, but will have to watch out for this. Then again, I typically watch games, etc. streaming after the fact anyway so probably won't be a big deal.
    - Vue allows for five simultaneous streams on devices in the home -- enough for our family of 4. Some programming is restricted to being on the home Wi-Fi network (I tried to watch FS1 live on my phone while on the train but couldn't). But you CAN mark shows as favorites so they "record" while you are remote.
    - The Vue interface takes a little while to load via the Fire Stick -- that could just be my internet speed or my TV--not sure.
    - My 12-year old son was frustrated that he couldn't watch The Flash live because we don't get the CW live anymore, but I think he just watched it streaming the next day on the Amazon Fire stick/CW app.

    One other thing that sold me: Charter Cable didn't let me login to WatchESPN or NBCSports' app on my Amazon Fire stick (or Google Chromecast embedded in my TV), but now I can using my Playstation Vue login. That was EXTREMELY frustrating when I bought the Fire Stick and then couldn't use these apps.

    All in all a good experience. You can try the service for 5 days free and see if you can watch any of your channels. Looks like Sling might be a little cheaper and have most of the same features, so I may do a trial of that and compare (although my family is now used to the Playstation Vue service so we'll probably just stick with what we've got).
    Good people drink good beer. -Hunter S. Thompson

  12. #52

    DirectNow

    Has anyone tried DirectNow? It looks like it is almost direct tv without the dish. I think in LA I would also need the cbs app to watch CBS but would get about everything else except for Pac 12 network which is not on Direct TV.


    Might cut my cable bill in half.

    Thanks
    SoCal

  13. #53
    Quote Originally Posted by SoCalDukeFan View Post
    Has anyone tried DirectNow? It looks like it is almost direct tv without the dish. I think in LA I would also need the cbs app to watch CBS but would get about everything else except for Pac 12 network which is not on Direct TV.


    Might cut my cable bill in half.

    Thanks
    SoCal
    Went with it when it was announced. Really don't use the DirecTV part, HBO comes free with it ($15 otherwise).

    The user interface unfortunately mimics regular cable (big long list), but you can search, select favorites, just added abc local.

  14. #54
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Wilmington, NC

    Anything New on the Cord Cutting Front?

    I've just gotten off the phone trying to negotiate with Dish(again). While I have been able to get the cost down, I still feel like I'm paying to much for what I actually use. Really considering SlingTV but still have the same worries as others in the past.

    A.) DVR?
    B.) Can I see all ACC games?
    C.) How's the feed?
    D.) Can you watch on multiple TV's/devices?

    So for all you cord cutters, what's new on the cord cutting front? Did ya'll stick with it? Add a complementary service?

  15. #55
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Seattle
    My internet was just raised $20 a month. Taking it to $70/month just for internet. Called to try and get the price down and they wouldn't budge. I can bundle TV/Internet for $10 more a month. I looked at the channel list and it has pretty much everything I need, minus a channel or two. I'll probably go that route.

    I cancelled my PSVue service today. I've been streaming it through a Roku. It was a good service. $45/month currently. Believe it jumps to $50 next month.

    It has a DVR-lite. Keeps shows for one month. No limit on how much you record. If you wan't to record a Duke game, it will record every single college basketball game. Took a little while to get used to. The feed itself was fine. Had issues maybe one time over the last year.

    I was debating switching to YoutubeTV ($40/month), but price wise it makes the most sense to switch to the TV/Internet bundle. I'd rather pay $80/month for TV and Internet and miss a few channels than $110/month.

  16. #56
    Quote Originally Posted by left_hook_lacey View Post
    I've just gotten off the phone trying to negotiate with Dish(again). While I have been able to get the cost down, I still feel like I'm paying to much for what I actually use. Really considering SlingTV but still have the same worries as others in the past.

    A.) DVR?
    B.) Can I see all ACC games?
    C.) How's the feed?
    D.) Can you watch on multiple TV's/devices?

    So for all you cord cutters, what's new on the cord cutting front? Did ya'll stick with it? Add a complementary service?
    I added Hulu Live TV a few months ago and have been happy with it. $40 per month, includes local channels, has DVR and On Demand, streaming quality mostly good (occasional hiccups), easy to navigate and includes sports. I haven't had it during basketball season yet but I think based on the channels I have that I will get all televised Duke games.

  17. #57
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    I've got DirecTV Now. I was pretty happy with it as it gets local channels (except CBS in the Triangle, but an antenna gets it) plus all channels needed for Duke Basketball, the NCAA Tourney, and the Tour de France. However, the latest upgrade as of last week seems to have killed any restart-from-beginning or rewind on the channels we want and there used to be on demand replays for NBC Sports -- now there's none (though that competes with their NBC Gold subscription, so maybe that's how it's supposed to work). Things had been working fine, but it's now very slow to load the Roku channel (15-20 seconds) and sometimes there's a random error where you have to restart the channel. It seems to happen ONLY when there's something really good about to happen (2K from the finish line in the Tour de France, for example).

    My TWC/Spectrum rates are up to $65/mo, bundling TV with it bumps it to $90, which is about the same (after taxes, etc) as what I'm paying now. Not sure what I'll do. I'd love to find a 3 screen package (Sling is 1 for ESPN, DirecTV is 2). Seems like it's best to take advantage of the free period to test out things. Trying to figure out if Spectrum cable gets me any benefits that streaming services don't have, or if streaming services have features that make up for cable deficiencies.

  18. #58
    We're about to be wired up with fiber optic internet service and my wife and I are exploring our options for streaming services. We live in the hicks (with neither cable TV nor DSL, up until now) and having been using DISH for our satellite cable TV and a wireless WiMax system for out internet. I know that there are many different streaming services now available but I've heard from some friends that YouTube TV is a very good streaming service with a wide range of channel options and a reasonable monthly fee ($40 - much less than what I am now paying DISH). I think you can get the local network channels and they have a DVR-like option to record and re-watch shows. I watch mostly the sports channels (ESPN and its affiliated channels, the Golf Channel, Tennis Channel, etc) and the news channels (MSNBC, Fox, CNN, etc). They all look to be included in the package.

    Has anyone on here used YouTube TV?

  19. #59
    I tried YouTube TV for the trial period as it got me FS1 for free during a part of the basketball season where I needed it. I liked it and would have kept it I stuck to Sling long term because it is $15 a month cheaper for me.

  20. #60
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Wilmington, NC
    The cord has officially been cut. Sort of. I've paused my dish Network for three months. I have paid for 2 months of sling in advance to get a free roku. I thought my Samsung smart TV had the sling app available, but apparently, it's one year too old as it's only available on 2016 newer.

    So, I'll do this, see how it goes.

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