I Cut the Cord and Couldn’t Be Happier (1 Viewer)

[TonyD]

I live outside of my home city and still love to watch all the sports teams from my home town.
As far as I can figure the only way for me to watch them is to have cable or satellite so I’m staying with it until I don’t care anymore I guess.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

How is the FireTV Recast DVR user experience compared to TiVo?

So far I really like it. Full disclosure I haven’t had TiVo. I also need to double check and see if there are system wide recording defaults (like end at one minute past, etc). You can set them per show being recorded, but I haven’t figured out if I can do it as a system default. While you can record up to 4 shows at once depending on the model, you can only watch/stream 2 at a time. I really like the iOS app- I can see what’s on live now and see what I have recorded. You can also stream live and recorded TV to your phone/tablet. I love no service fees.


If you really like TiVo, the bolt works with an over the air antenna. It only has some streaming services built in, but I can’t remember which ones, and you can’t record off of them to the best of my knowledge.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

We cut cable years ago and I couldn't be happier. Don't have wired phone service either so no cord there and no "bundles" needed. Pay a small amount for internet service, stream Netflix, have an antenna with solid local channels, and tons of free stuff to watch via Hoopla, YouTube, Vudu and more. Also have 4K Blu-rays and Movies Anywhere.

Why would I ever go back to spending $100+ a month for a ton of horrible channels that show commercials? Answer is I won't. The only commercials I see are when local channels are playing through the antenna.

What I love about streaming services like Netflix, Amazon and all the others is the fact they set a price and you know what it is. There is no surprise. The cable company has a package, then adds fees and equipment, "broadcast fees" (for the channels you can watch for free if you don't watch it through them). It's endless. Then on top of that you have to go haggle with them once a year to get back to a reasonable rate. Netflix, Amazon, Disney +, Criterion streaming, Hulu, etc. is the same price for me, you and everyone else.

For anyone "fearing" they can't survive with out this or that channel, then I guess they should keep cable. Frankly though, I have more options than ever and if I miss a channel, so what. I'll never be able to watch all the good, commercial-free stuff available as it is. And if worse comes to worse, just stream / buy / rent that show or movie.

I think there are so many great shows available via Amazon/Netflix/Hulu that you will quickly replace anything you watch now.

You bring up a good point about other fees. Comcast (Xfinity) was advertising what sounded like a pretty decent bundle price for internet and basic cable. When I read the fine print on the back they mentioned that there was a $10 local programming fee, an $8 regional sports fee, plus $10 for DVR service and $10 per TV for equipment. For me that’s an extra $78 above their advertised price (5 TVs). I understand that the DVR and equipment charges will vary on a per customer basis depending on what the customer’s needs are, but since everyone has to pay the local and sports fees ($18) they should be including that in the base price. It’s like seeing a a box of cereal advertised to $2.99 at the store and getting charged for the box it comes in when you are checking out.

 

[David Norman]

We cut cable years ago and I couldn't be happier. Don't have wired phone service either so no cord there and no "bundles" needed. Pay a small amount for internet service, stream Netflix, have an antenna with solid local channels, and tons of free stuff to watch via Hoopla, YouTube, Vudu and more. Also have 4K Blu-rays and Movies Anywhere.
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I guess how small and how fast?

Locally - we have two broadband choice.

Assuming you only get Internet and aren't interested in Service Roulette:
1) Spectrum lower speed/lowest priced for a current customer -- 200mbps $70 per month (45 intro, but since I'm a customer it's not available). Actually I'm on a 60mbps grandfathered Time Warner plan currently, but I still wouldn't qualify as a new customer without leaving spectrum for 30-90days.
2) ATT -- 5 or 25 $40 or $50 per month. If we were on or near a fiber ATT (should be local by 2045) I actually might consider rotating providers.
3) the only other option I have are some form of old dial up I think which is useless and satellite which too slow for anything useful and far more expensive.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

I live outside of my home city and still love to watch all the sports teams from my home town.
As far as I can figure the only way for me to watch them is to have cable or satellite so I’m staying with it until I don’t care anymore I guess.

I get that. For us, we just care about the Seahawks, and every game is broadcast on local channels, so we are covered with the antenna. I bet in the near future there will be more streaming options for sports.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

I guess how small and how fast?

Locally - we have two broadband choice.

Assuming you only get Internet and aren't interested in Service Roulette:
1) Spectrum lower speed/lowest priced for a current customer -- 200mbps $70 per month (45 intro, but since I'm a customer it's not available). Actually I'm on a 60mbps grandfathered Time Warner plan currently, but I still wouldn't qualify as a new customer without leaving spectrum for 30-90days.
2) ATT -- 5 or 25 $40 or $50 per month. If we were on or near a fiber ATT (should be local by 2045) I actually might consider rotating providers.
3) the only other option I have are some form of old dial up I think which is useless and satellite which too slow for anything useful and far more expensive.

We have the choice of 10-12Mb DSL for $30 or up to 1GB cable. We pay $59 all in for either 100 or 150Mb (can’t remember which). Not having reliable high speed internet does make it harder to say goodbye to cable.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Thanks for starting this thread @Adam Gregorich I’m thinking I might be a year or two away from doing some cord cutting here and these insights are invaluable.

 

[David Norman]

Scenario and how this would work with Streaming

College Football or MLB games or NFL Sunday. With my 6 tuner TIVO I can tune to 6 different games and flip between them with a 0.5 second switch time and 30 minute buffers on each game -- or fully record all 6 at once, Essentially I can mostly watch multiple games simultaneously -- no it;s not exactly possibly, but most sports fans know what I'm talking about

When watch 2 or 3 games via streaming how does this work?

I tried MLB network on my ROKU last year and had the choice of watching most every game every day, but watching more than one was a major pain, switching between games took 15-30 seconds at least, backing up/replays/slow motion was even more difficult -- trying to watch a bang- bang play with a framebyframe slow motion I don;t think was even possible. Now the MLB/ROKU was far cheaper esp since I only subscribed with the Fathers Day special -- rest of the season for $50 or something similar. I'll probably do the same thing this year, but it's far less useful than my old DirecTV Extra Innings package.

 

[Cranston37+]

As far as I can figure the only way for me to watch them is to have cable or satellite so I’m staying with it until I don’t care anymore I guess.

I bet in the near future there will be more streaming options for sports.

I could be misreading what you guys are saying but just to be sure - all the streaming services have your local sports just like cable would for half the cost...

 

[Cranston37+]

When watch 2 or 3 games via streaming how does this work?

I can only speak for YouTube TV as that's what I use. When you are watching something you hit "menu" and, while what you are watching continues playing in the background, it brings up other programs it has learned you are interested in that you can switch to. You can switch to another game in seconds.



Another option would be that it allows you to customize the order your channels are in, so you can group all the sports channels together, hit back, and go easily to something else, all the while the current game plays in the background.

I tried MLB network on my ROKU last year and had the choice of watching most every game every day, but watching more than one was a major pain, switching between games took 15-30 seconds at least, backing up/replays/slow motion was even more difficult -- trying to watch a bang- bang play with a framebyframe slow motion I don;t think was even possible.

If what you are talking about is MLB TV (MLB Network is a channel) - on Apple TV you can watch any 2 games side by side, live. You can back up at any time just by moving your thumb across the track pad, but slow motion is not possible. The other games are always accessible at the bottom of the page, so you can switch either of the 2 games without leaving that screen.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I could be misreading what you guys are saying but just to be sure - all the streaming services have your local sports just like cable would for half the cost...

I think you misread Tony as he's from Philly that is retired in Florida so he's watching his Philly teams in the Sunshine state.

 

[Matt Hough]

I have the Recast as well, and I do like it, but it has a few small deficiencies that I wish Amazon would address in future models (if there are any). It only records up to 720p. That works fine if I'm recording something in SD from one of the sub channels or shows that are broadcast on ABC or Fox in 720p anyway. But CBS and NBC 1080i shows don't look great in 720p when shown on a 4K TV. The image is tolerable, but that's about it.

I also don't like that when you schedule a series recording, it records the show whether it's new or a rerun. My cable company DVR allows me to program whether I want all showings or just new ones, and the Recast doesn't have that feature.

Otherwise, I'm very happy and could possibly see a time when I might cut the cable company cord and just use over-the-air broadcasts plus the streaming services I subscribe to.

 

[Cranston37+]

I think you misread Tony as he's from Philly that is retired in Florida so he's watching his Philly teams in the Sunshine state.

In that case you could subscribe to one of the sport services like MLB TV, etc, and that would certainly allow you to dump cable/satellite...*

*this does not count as me helping a Philly sports fan, which goes against every fiber of my being

 

[Robert Crawford]

In that case you could subscribe to one of the sport services like MLB TV, etc, and that would certainly allow you to dump cable/satellite...*

*this does not count as me helping a Philly sports fan, which goes against every fiber of my being

I think Tony already knows that and probably has MLB TV, but it's still not as good as DirecTV's Extra Innings quality-wise. Anyhow, if the NFL changes the Sunday Ticket then I might have to make some changes too.

 

[Cranston37+]

I think Tony already knows that and probably has MLB TV, but it's still not as good as DirecTV's Extra Innings quality-wise.

I feel like I'm having an entire conversation with Tony without actually talking to Tony.

Maybe you can let him answer for himself since he's the one I'm trying to talk to?

 

[Robert Crawford]

I feel like I'm having an entire conversation with Tony without actually talking to Tony.

Don't worry, Tony will speak for himself soon enough.

 

[DaveF]

So far I really like it. Full disclosure I haven’t had TiVo. I also need to double check and see if there are system wide recording defaults (like end at one minute past, etc). You can set them per show being recorded, but I haven’t figured out if I can do it as a system default. While you can record up to 4 shows at once depending on the model, you can only watch/stream 2 at a time. I really like the iOS app- I can see what’s on live now and see what I have recorded. You can also stream live and recorded TV to your phone/tablet. I love no service fees.

TiVo has lifetime subscription options (no monthly recurring fee). So it’s a question of price vs quality. I didn’t know if you compared the experience and features of the two relative to their cost.

Previously, just a couple years ago, TiVo was a premium price, but was indisputably the best DVR. It’s still a premium price, but I have no idea how it compares to amazon’s or other new products.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

So far I really like it. Full disclosure I haven’t had TiVo. I also need to double check and see if there are system wide recording defaults (like end at one minute past, etc). You can set them per show being recorded, but I haven’t figured out if I can do it as a system default.

Update: I found it in the menu, there are system wide recording defaults.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

I have the Recast as well, and I do like it, but it has a few small deficiencies that I wish Amazon would address in future models (if there are any). It only records up to 720p. That works fine if I'm recording something in SD from one of the sub channels or shows that are broadcast on ABC or Fox in 720p anyway. But CBS and NBC 1080i shows don't look great in 720p when shown on a 4K TV. The image is tolerable, but that's about it.

I also don't like that when you schedule a series recording, it records the show whether it's new or a rerun. My cable company DVR allows me to program whether I want all showings or just new ones, and the Recast doesn't have that feature.

Otherwise, I'm very happy and could possibly see a time when I might cut the cable company cord and just use over-the-air broadcasts plus the streaming services I subscribe to.

I do see where the recast streams to the fire devices in 720. It would be nice if there was an update that let you choose if you wanted to do this based on your network and equipment: Fire TV Recast transcodes 1080i streams to a resolution up to 1440 x 720p using H.264. This is to ensure that all Fire TV streaming media players work with Fire TV Recast, and to deliver more reliable video streams over Wi-Fi.

Regarding recording new vs reruns there is an option where you can set it system wide, but as soon as you schedule a series to record, you can go into its recording options and under recording preference select new or all episodes. I agree it would be nice if they prompted you for which option you wanted when you are first scheduling it, like they prompt you for which channels you want to record it on. It’s doable, it just requires you to do an added step.

 

[David Norman]

If what you are talking about is MLB TV (MLB Network is a channel) - on Apple TV you can watch any 2 games side by side, live. You can back up at any time just by moving your thumb across the track pad, but slow motion is not possible. The other games are always accessible at the bottom of the page, so you can switch either of the 2 games without leaving that screen.

Yes sorry -- MLBTV streaming service not MLB Network the station.

Currently with 4 Lifetime TIVO (Serie 3 HD, Roamio, and 2 Bolts plus a MINI which I guess technically is Lifetime) in the house - all added with $99 Lifetime deals due to upgrade offers, etc. 3 have Antenna TV capability (2 are currently being used for that), 1 Bolt does not. Going rates for Lifetime TIVO's on Ebay is still pretty good so at least if I dumped Cable someday, that cost is covered maybe with even some profit in the end. After having used DirecTV DVR for years, failed at using a couple cable DVR, and playing with some of the Lower Cost alternatives I still find the TIVO style is by far the most effective and user friendly