Civic EG

We have Direct TV and the price keeps creeping up... It's like $104/mo with 3 boxes (one is a dvr) and none of that is even HD. Not worth it anymore IMO. Local cable isn't much cheaper. (I live out in the country, so there aren't many options)

This http://www.sling.com/ has me intrigued...
Here's more about Sling:
http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/26/79048 ... -tv-review

If I do Sling for $20/mo I'm thinking about geting an HD antenna for local channels, combined with netflix or hulu. I also have an apple tv so I could purchase individual programs if there's something we really want to watch.


What services do you use?

We (my family) switched from DirecTV to Charter cable and have never looked back. We had DTV for years, and switched almost 2 years ago. It's a huge improvement, since they upgraded they have all HD channels for no extra charge, and a 60 Mbps internet speed bundle. Plus I can watch TV in any weather and the full movie package was cheaper than the basic package from DTV.

I also have Netflix, and Amazon Prime streaming. If I can't find it on Netflix, I can find it on Amazon, and if it's not prime, I can usually rent it to stream for cheap.

Also, Charter has built in On-Demand movies and shows for no extra charge, plus cheap movie rentals.

Also of note, I live out in the middle of nowhere, nearly an hour from major cities, and the quality and speed is more than enough.

teal_dx wrote:We have Direct TV and the price keeps creeping up... It's like $104/mo with 3 boxes (one is a dvr) and none of that is even HD. Not worth it anymore IMO. Local cable isn't much cheaper. (I live out in the country, so there aren't many options)

This http://www.sling.com/ has me intrigued...
Here's more about Sling:
http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/26/79048 ... -tv-review

If I do Sling for $20/mo I'm thinking about geting an HD antenna for local channels, combined with netflix or hulu. I also have an apple tv so I could purchase individual programs if there's something we really want to watch.


What services do you use?

Teal, You being so good with PC's. Why havent you used XBMC Hub Fusion and used all the cable networks and movie listing on there. It is a free Add on for the XBMC program and the XBMC is a free software from XBMC. The program is great and straight forward. The add on is easy to install and quick to use. I have cable at home and I have the basic DirecTV and I just pay for the fastest internet speed from a different service provider. Directv doesnt offer a fast service. I wastch all the new movies ,sports and Live TV. Check it out. Let me know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodi_%28software%29

It sounds like it would take me the rest of my life to learn that and get it set up.

Explain it to me like I'm 5... This is all foreign to me- first time I heard of it. So I would need to get a dedicated computer to run that?

I already have apple TV, which lets me stream anything from my phone/ipad to TV. It also connects to netflix/hulu. Pretty sure it can also connect to my mac and play stuff from there, although I haven't messed with that yet.

Sounds like all I would gain from XBMC would be my own DVR, and a cool interface? If there is no box anymore, just a PC, how do you use a remote?
Does the interface have a built-in channel guide that you can surf thru and set things to record on the DVR running on the PC?
(I'm saying PC, but in reality I'd have to use a Mac)

One thing I didn't mention is that right now we pay for 3 boxes because we have a TV in the family room (this is the one we watch most, has the dvr box, apple tv, surround, bluray) , one in the bedroom, and one in a room in the basement. I'm too cheap to pay for a 4th box, so sometimes I borrow the basement one for the garage to watch games in the man cave.

How would a XMBC setup work in a house with multiple TV's?

So what's your bill after paying Direct TV, Cable, plus your internet?

We already have high speed internet through local cable provider (Armstrong - the only one avail in our area), and then direct tv. I'm happy with the Internet service, it's something like $44/mo, which is worth every penny. It's the $105/mo for DirectTV that I think is overpriced... I'd like to find a way to pay closer to $50/mo.

I have none. might be able to pick up 3-5 local stations with an antenna.. but havent tried.


everyonce in a while i'll use my sisters netflix but thats maybe once a month.

My wife, son and myself use Netflix mainly. But, we have Hulu and TWC cable. Literally the only thing we watch on cable is the news at 5&6&10 then the fireplace channel on Christmas.

I guess it depends on you need to watch issue.

we had comcast for 3 years and each year it goes up $20. Got sick of them charging me so we cut the cord last year Dec.

we kept the internet and got Hulu to stream shows.

so whatever we need to watch new = free as long you have an antenna

why pay what you don't watch and free the pocket of the executives.

I watch YouTube, TV and watch movies from the PlayStation store

cable: WOW! Cable
internet: WOW! Internet
streaming: Popcorn Time

i pay ~$110/month for signature package and 15mbp internet. popcorn time is Netflix but free *muahahaha*