Fire Stick

[Michigan TJ]

We cut cable cord about six weeks ago after the monthly bill increased $23 to $246/month. We kept the internet since we have two smart tvs. Internet is $80/ month. There’s a bunch of free apps that have tons of things to watch. We also pay $5 month for Discovery+ and $5 month for Peacock+. We want to watch sports and get our local channels, so we got a package from Spectrum that has our local channels plus you can pick 15 other apps from a choice of 60 for $30/ month. So for $120 we get everything we want and save $126/ month. Works for me.

 

[Zorba]

Wife splurged on Discovery+, paying an extra buck or two so there are no commercials. So I think she's paying about $7 or $8 for that, plus whatever Netflix is now ($12? $15?). The rest of it is free. She's the one who watches it, not me.

 

[Plumber1]

All you need is internet if you have a smart tv. If you don’t have a smart tv, then use a fire stick.

Please explain I would like to watch several channels along with local news. I have Amazon Prime and Netflix

 

[Plumber1]

We have a smart TV, Firestick, Playstation 4. Yet I still subscribe to Directv/AT&T because I watch sports.

We subscribe to Netflix, Amazon prime, Disney, HBO (included with Directv). Since my TV is an LG, apparently they can't figure out a deal with HBO. So I watch HBO Max on the PS4.

So we're paying a bunch and have reached our limit on paid streaming services. Wife handles the money for the most part. She was thinking of switching to a Spectrum plan that essentially uses an Apple TV (probably could just use the PS4). By the time we added the sports channels I would want, it ended up being about the same. So we're still on Directv.

We mostly watch Netflix. Though have Disney for the kids for the Star Wars shows and a few others. Amazon is included in our prime membership. Sometimes some good shows on there.

I get this when searching for Spectrum

This address is not part of the Spectrum Services area​

 

[Plumber1]

Now the killer for me is this bill is for our cabin, I have the same bill for my home. So I am paying over $550/ month. Now I am thinking that I can watch TV on my iPad so can I somehow Bluetooth or some other way to watch tv on the iPad and get the image to show up on a smart TV

 

[Zorba]

I get this when searching for Spectrum

This address is not part of the Spectrum Services area​

I wouldn't do business with Spectrum if they were the last Telco/Cableco on the planet. They swooped in here, bought out Bright house who had reasonable internet and cable rates (we had their internet), and jacked the prices through the roof. Now I get snail mails, phone calls, and even door to door salesdroids because everyone dumped them for AT&T (who isn't that great either).

 

[Daryl]

Please explain I would like to watch several channels along with local news. I have Amazon Prime and Netflix

Smart tv’s come loaded with hundreds of apps, including Netflix and Amazon prime. If all you have is a dumb tv, you’ll need a fire stick to have access to any apps.

 

[rubicube]

Smart tv’s come loaded with hundreds of apps, including Netflix and Amazon prime. If all you have is a dumb tv, you’ll need a fire stick to have access to any apps.

tru dat I have a LG from costco and prime so there's always something on an ESPN plus is cheap....an tons of free rerun crap on all the time.

 

[Plumber1]

Smart tv’s come loaded with hundreds of apps, including Netflix and Amazon prime. If all you have is a dumb tv, you’ll need a fire stick to have access to any apps.

tru dat I have a LG from costco and prime so there's always something on an ESPN plus is cheap....an tons of free rerun crap on all the time.

Yea I get that but how do you watch current channels, News, and local News ?

 

[Dr. Internet]

Yea I get that but how do you watch current channels, News, and local News ?

You need to purchase and install a device that reaps the electromagnetic energy from the airwaves, called an antenna. There are many sites on the internet that explain how large an antenna you need, depending upon your location, geography, et cetera. There are two general areas of the frequency spectrum used for TV: UHF and VHF. In olden times all TV was VHF; then, in the 1960's the gummint gave some spectrum to PBS, and it used UHF frequencies. Today, a lot of HD is broadcast on UHF. You can buy a UHF, VHF, or combination antenna. I live in a large urban area and get over 50 free channels, over the air, most in HD, using a 30 year old combination UHF/VHF antenna mounted on my roof. If you live between two urban areas, you might also need a rotor, which is used to turn the antenna and aim it at the strongest electromagnetic signal. https://homechit.com/best-outside-antenna/
Buy some RG-6 coaxial cable to connect your antenna to the TV. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GDE1BWW/?tag=wranglerorg-20
There will be a socket on the back of your TV with a "F" connector that you use to attach the antenna.
Once installed, you will go to your TV settings and look for channel search, or some such. The TV will automatically search the rf spectrum and find all of the available channels.
Now, in setup, look for something like channel manager. Use it to find all of the useless channels and delete them, so you don't have to scroll through them every time you change channels.
Good luck!

 

[DWR]

Just buy a Samsung tv and use the Samsung tv app.. free cable. Or ustvgo.tv

 

[Plumber1]

Just buy a Samsung tv and use the Samsung tv app.. free cable. Or ustvgo.tv

It looks like ustvgo.tv is set up to watch on a computer have you used it on a smart TV ?

 

[DWR]

It looks like ustvgo.tv is set up to watch on a computer have you used it on a smart TV ?

Yep… just cast it to a tv using a chromecast, using the chromecast app on iPhone. Or cast it from your computer using the chrome web browser

 

[Plumber1]

Yep… just cast it to a tv using a chromecast, using the chromecast app on iPhone. Or cast it from your computer using the chrome web browser

Do you then switch channels from your iPhone or from the TV

 

[DWR]

Do you then switch channels from your iPhone or from the TV

iPhone or computer

 

[pagrey]

Can you get a DTV signal from where you are? If you can put up a small directional antenna that might solve your local programming issue.

 

[Plumber1]

Can you get a DTV signal from where you are? If you can put up a small directional antenna that might solve your local programming issue.

What is DTV

 

[freedom_in_4low]

What is DTV

Digital. It still comes through an antenna but modern tvs have built in digital tuners. It's actually pretty nice because it's in HD, and it's either there or it's not. No static or snow.

 

[pagrey]

Like @freedom_in_4low says, just regular rabbit ears TV but newer. It all depends on your local terrain and where the transmitters are, just something to research that could save you some money.