Long Time DTV Sub wishing to cut the cord

[glen4cindy]

I've been researching options on and off for a while now and I am still interested in seeing if we can make the break.

I've most recently pulled my Roku stick out of mothballs and have been looking at the different "apps" on it.
My wife likes quite a few of the Alaska nature shows and some of the reality shows. A&E, TruTV, Discovery, Animal Planet, Food Network are some of the main channels we watch.

In looking at the Roku, and I'm pretty sure it would be the same no matter what "device" you decided to use, all of those want you to "Sign In" with your provider. The whole purpose of cord cutting would be to get rid of DTV so we would not have a provider to sign in with.

I've seen services like Sling and YouTube TV but those seem to be just adding $$ to what I am trying to cut which if I add enough would put me near what I'm paying now which is somewhere near $100 per month which is pretty low considering some posts I've read.

How does one watch the networks one wants without a provider to sign in with?

I already have Netflix, Hulu, and Prime.

Thanks in advance.

 

[comfortably_numb]

Most of the networks you mentioned aren't available as stand-alone services. You'd need Youtube TV or one of the other streaming services for those.

 

[osu1991]

The Philo streaming service would be the cheapest way to get the Discovery Scripps channels at $16 a month.

Philo - Your favorite shows have a new home

 

[fayrich]

Have you looked at PS Vue?

 

[harshness]

If you want the name brand channels, you have to subscribe to a service. Ideally that service will cost less than what you're paying AT&T (not at all difficult).

Amazon Prime carries re-runs of some of the content.

There is currently no site that hits all of your channels. If you must have first runs of all those shows, you'll need more than one service.

This site offers a grid of what you can get where:

This online tool will let you find the TV channels you want online and how much they cost

It may be useful to know why you have Hulu and what level.

It may turn out that you want more than one streaming device as some services haven't been particularly Roku friendly (to their detriment).

 

[glen4cindy]

This site offers a grid of what you can get where:

This online tool will let you find the TV channels you want online and how much they cost

It may be useful to know why you have Hulu and what level.

It may turn out that you want more than one streaming device as some services haven't been particularly Roku friendly (to their detriment).

This site was extremely helpful in showing me the available options based on what shows/channels we watch. It was much easier than trying to manually navigate site by site and figure out what channels each one offered.

It looks like Philo TV might fit the bill so a trial will be forthcoming.

I do know that I'll need to upgrade my OTA because the current one isn't working. I have a lifetime TiVo Roamio OTA that we bought on special a couple of years ago when we were going to do this. DTV offered us a great deal so we kept them. Our deal recently expired so we are thinking about this again.

Once we do this, will likely add a TiVo Mini to add the DVR and local channels to our 2nd TV. We would need a Roku or Amazon Fire on that TV as well to bring Philo, Netflix, and Hulu to it.

Why do we have Hulu was asked. Frankly, it started out as a 3 month free trial that never got canceled and we started watching it time to time.

 

[Zookster]

This site was extremely helpful in showing me the available options based on what shows/channels we watch. It was much easier than trying to manually navigate site by site and figure out what channels each one offered.

It looks like Philo TV might fit the bill so a trial will be forthcoming.

I do know that I'll need to upgrade my OTA because the current one isn't working. I have a lifetime TiVo Roamio OTA that we bought on special a couple of years ago when we were going to do this. DTV offered us a great deal so we kept them. Our deal recently expired so we are thinking about this again.

Once we do this, will likely add a TiVo Mini to add the DVR and local channels to our 2nd TV. We would need a Roku or Amazon Fire on that TV as well to bring Philo, Netflix, and Hulu to it.

Why do we have Hulu was asked. Frankly, it started out as a 3 month free trial that never got canceled and we started watching it time to time.

You may want to dig more deeply to see what shows your current subscription services already offer (as long as you don't need to watch new episodes of favorite shows as soon as they air). For example, I've been with YouTube TV for the past year (which doesn't have A&E and History Channel), but I've had Hulu the past two months and have been getting caught up with some series from those two channels.

But, yes, as long as sports and live (nonlocal) news aren't priorities, Philo should have what you need.

 

[Zookster]

It's also worth mentioning, an older Roku, depending on the model, may not play nice with some of the newer live TV streaming services.

 

[glen4cindy]

You may want to dig more deeply to see what shows your current subscription services already offer (as long as you don't need to watch new episodes of favorite shows as soon as they air). For example, I've been with YouTube TV for the past year (which doesn't have A&E and History Channel), but I've had Hulu the past two months and have been getting caught up with some series from those two channels.

But, yes, as long as sports and live (nonlocal) news aren't priorities, Philo should have what you need.

It's also worth mentioning, an older Roku, depending on the model, may not play nice with some of the newer live TV streaming services.

I'm actually finding I will need to dig deeper.

My wife is certainly interested in the newest shows available for what she watches, The Last Alaskan's, Forged in Fire, Guy's Grocery Games, etc. She doesn't so much mind if she sees it the day it comes out or a bit later but she is certainly not interested in repeating anything. I, on the other hand, can watch repeats of certain shows and it doesn't bother me.

I've got mostly newer equipment for streaming. The old Roku that I pulled out of mothballs didn't play well with some things. Some things were fine but others not so much.

I'm in a bit of a bind as PS Vue doesn't offer A&E and Philo doesn't offer Disney. If we put DTV in the grave I still would like to keep everyone as happy as possible.

 

[Sparkman]

I'm actually finding I will need to dig deeper.

My wife is certainly interested in the newest shows available for what she watches, The Last Alaskan's, Forged in Fire, Guy's Grocery Games, etc. She doesn't so much mind if she sees it the day it comes out or a bit later but she is certainly not interested in repeating anything. I, on the other hand, can watch repeats of certain shows and it doesn't bother me.

I've got mostly newer equipment for streaming. The old Roku that I pulled out of mothballs didn't play well with some things. Some things were fine but others not so much.

I'm in a bit of a bind as PS Vue doesn't offer A&E and Philo doesn't offer Disney. If we put DTV in the grave I still would like to keep everyone as happy as possible.

Who is your local cable company? Ithink Spectrum is there in St Louis. THey offer Spectrum Stream, your local channels & your choice of 10 cable nets. Iam going to do that with Playstation Vue and pick some that they don't carry in the 10. $22/mo.

 

[glen4cindy]

Who is your local cable company? I think Spectrum is there in St Louis. THey offer Spectrum Stream, your local channels & your choice of 10 cable nets. I am going to do that with PlayStation Vue and pick some that they don't carry in the 10. $22/mo.

I just found out about this.

I think I had finally settled on Sling Orange & Cloud DVR + Philo TV. Even with Sling's 1 stream, it would only be my wife and I and my daughter so there would be enough duplication with Philo's 3 streams we would be ok. The Philo would only actually be for 3 or 4 channels that the Sling Orange doesn't have.

I'm now going to have to really investigate Charter's new streaming service. With 63 channels it might be close, although I'm back to no Disney.

 

[Sparkman]

I just found out about this.

I think I had finally settled on Sling Orange & Cloud DVR + Philo TV. Even with Sling's 1 stream, it would only be my wife and I and my daughter so there would be enough duplication with Philo's 3 streams we would be ok. The Philo would only actually be for 3 or 4 channels that the Sling Orange doesn't have.

I'm now going to have to really investigate Charter's new streaming service. With 63 channels it might be close, although I'm back to no Disney.

PS Vue for Disney and get A&E from Spectrum?

 

[harshness]

Disney is supposed to announce their Disney+ service in April. It seems likely that it will be a lot like Hulu as Hulu is coming under control of Disney. Some are speculating that you'll need Hulu for any of the Disney content aimed at adults.

 

[harshness]

PS Vue for Disney and get A&E from Spectrum?

Sling offers both at some level.

 

[glen4cindy]

PS Vue for Disney and get A&E from Spectrum?

Disney is supposed to announce their Disney+ service in April. It seems likely that it will be a lot like Hulu as Hulu is coming under control of Disney. Some are speculating that you'll need Hulu for any of the Disney content aimed at adults.

PS Vue is a bit more than I am wanting to pay if I am going to be adding something to it.

With Spectrum and Disney both starting soon I might have to delay this a little. I've been trying Sling but I'm still within my free trial. I'm sure I can turn it back on and if I have to pay that's fine.

Of course my daughter might be able to give up her desire for Disney too. We'll see.