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gleninjersey

Cutting Cable Cord / Slashing Monthly Cable Bill

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I saw Howard made the plunge. I follwed some on his postings on Facebook about how he did it. Followed suit and will be reducing cable bill over $100 a month! We were paying $220 a month for triple play with Cablevision. Included HBO and Showtime.

 

Here's what we did. Purchased 2 Roku streaming devices, Ooma internet phone and a new tv to replace 30+ year old tube tv in bedroom. Wife's requirements were to be able to watch Fox News live and my requirements were to be able to watch The Walking Dead live.

 

To meet those requirements we use the Playstation Vue app. $40 a month.

 

So cable will be $60 month, live tv through PS Vue $40 a month and Ooma phone $5 a month. $105 total. Saving $115 a month. If I want to add HBO and Showtime I believe it is $10 or $20 more a month. May add those when shows I want to watch come back on (Game Of Thrones, Westworld, etc).

 

If you don't watch much TV and have unobstructed line of sight you can get an HD antenna and pull in channels over the air (OTA). Many are surprised at what they can get OTA. You'll save even more each month if you only use OTA for TV consumption.

 

If you are tired of paying high monthy bills to cable I highly suggest you look into it. Join the Facebook group "Cord Cutting Technological Support" to ask questiions from many who have done same.

 

I'll thank Howard here again for showing me the way and answering questions I had. Wondering if any others here have done this or are thinking of doing it. Would love to hear your experiences if made the plunge and questions if thinking about doing it.

 

I only wish I had done sooner.

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I have two tvs. 10 year old Panasonic Plasma in family room and just purchased a new 720p Vizio from Walmart for $150 for bedroom. No other cable provider in area or FIOS (I called them). Could do Satellite tv but don't see difference between that and cable as far as may get low monthly costs as new customer but sure the bill would slowly creep up.

 

I believe streaming is the future. Both my kids already watched more streaming on Netflix or Youtube than traditional cable. I don't watch a lot of tv and not big sports guy. I believe for $10 more per month PS Vue give you ESPN and a slew of other sports channels.

 

Sling TV is another app that allows for live TV for monthly fee. I'm sure other providers will be coming to market as well in near future.

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Way to go Glenn, no sense handing over all that cash to Comcast!

I get Internet from Comcast (only option I have) TV is 100% OTA (I am about 50 miles from the Philadelphia broadcast antennas and I get decent reception).

I use NetTalk for phone ($40 or $50 per year).

 

How has Ooma been for those who are using it?

 

I am thinking of switching because I have occasional issues with NetTalk--people get busy signal, or it goes directly to voicemail, or I have to reset it occasionally.  And their customer service is pretty bad.  It has not been so bad that I have cancelled it yet, but I think about it.

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we pay 170-180 a month for our triple play. Optimum w hbo showtime package with 4 tv's one w dvr, landline w voicemail and some kind of upgraded internet. I like things simple (channel choice overload sometimes hits me lol) and the legos concept of piecing techno isnt for me, not yet anyway but intersting to see all the different apps available to do so.

ETA: I also am fond of all the music channels I can play thru the seperate sound system w pic off.

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I cut cable out about 2 years ago and put an OTA antenna in my attic, and use netflix and amazon prime. I have not missed cable at all. One problem I have is that I can't get rid of the phone because I need it for the alarm and cell signal in my area is spotty, I live in the middle of a golf course and the closest cell tower is about a mile away, so I can't trust cell for alarm. Are there any VOIP companies that will work with the alarm similar to how a landline works?  

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Thanks Glen.  BTW the base PS Vue includes ESPN and ESPN2 along with NBC Sports Network.  For those looking into this Play Station Vue is a terrible name, as many think you need a Playstation to use it which is not true.  Sony should change the name.  The Roku unfortunately is not the best platform as they have not updated it to provide a good Guide like you get on an Amazon FireTV (stick or box) or AppleTV or even web browser.  For those that can get OTA then SlingTV might be a better option as it is cheaper but only has one or two of the networks live.  The other nice thing about PS Vue is it has cloud based DVR built in, so once you tell it you want to watch a show in addition to the video on demand feature it automatically records all your shows and keeps them for 28 days.  With video on demand you can't fastforward but when you DVR you can.  PS Vue will work on five devices at once, but with SlingTV you only get one or two streams depending on the package.  There are other providers such as Direct TV Now and more will be coming.  Hulu is planning to launch a similar service in the fall which could be something to look at too.

 

As for phone, I am very pleased with Oooma.  Call quality is excellent and in NJ the base package is free you just pay $4.08 a month for taxes and 911 service.  If you want all the bells and whistles there is a premium package that is an added $10 a month, or you can buy a year for $99.  If you buy the year it includes free porting of an existing phone number.  I have had Magic Jack also for a number of years and really think it sucks.  Quality is crap.  Many use a free service on an Obi box which costs $50 or $60 bucks and works with a Google voice number.  I did not want to go that route as I wanted real customer support, ever try to talk to someone at Google :)

 

For those that want to wear an eye patch, there is always Kodi which can be sideloaded on a FireTV (stick or box) will give you just about any TV show, Movie, or sporting event at no cost.

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The only reason I've kept cable this long is my wife watches a show on SyFy. It's available on Hulu, so I'm switching to the cheaper Fios package. It comes in just over $100 a month after taxes. $50 a month cheaper; I'll take it.

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The only reason I've kept cable this long is my wife watches a show on SyFy. It's available on Hulu, so I'm switching to the cheaper Fios package. It comes in just over $100 a month after taxes. $50 a month cheaper; I'll take it.

SyFy is included in the base PS Vue package.

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SyFy is included in the base PS Vue package.

Good to know. I'd still need internet and phone, so for now Fios will work. Competition is great. Triple Play is $79 a month, and I get a $10 discount through work. I only have 1 tv hooked up right now, therefore I'm not getting violated on the equipment charges.

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I have a sideloaded FireStick in my bedroom and a Android TV Box in my living room.  The box is cool because I can just download stuff from Google Play.  It was more a PIA for the stick since Amazon started blocking KODI.  I run a KODI build from TVAddons.com that is simple and streamlined.  Unlike the version of the The Beast that I used to run.  Way too busy.  I still have Comcast Xfinity though, The gadgets are cool, but clunky.  And to be honest, and I know its gonna sound weird, but I miss commercials when I watch a show without them.  Not all of them obviously, but sometimes I like them.  I watched the Yankees all last year and in between innings they put up a blank screen and I'd sit in silence for 6 minutes until the game came back on.  Drove me nuts!!!

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i run the box and sticks with a bunch of apps and have not to this day had a problem. I do pay for IP vanish. i have local tv and sports apps. If you want to play nice get the sling box and have a stick for movie apps and sports. 

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i run the box and sticks with a bunch of apps and have not to this day had a problem. I do pay for IP vanish. i have local tv and sports apps. If you want to play nice get the sling box and have a stick for movie apps and sports. 

What is IP Vanish (I have a guess).  What does it cost, how does it impact speeds and are their limits on bandwidth and a data cap with it?

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I've had a bunch of the streaming devices, most lately a top Roku model. Here's my take.

 

The exclusive Roku content is laughable. Junk. Worth less than nothing.

 

That's why my next device will be a microPC: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M24W77N/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=23Z9QDAH2995A&coliid=I13A0IYUK4N2AO

 

This will allow you to subscribe or not to anything you like through the device's web browser. You can also use your screen as a monitor if you like. Just add a wireless bluetooth keyboard and you have everything the web has to offer, not just the silly nonsense on Roku.

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What is IP Vanish (I have a guess).  What does it cost, how does it impact speeds and are their limits on bandwidth and a data cap with it?

Almost everything you wanted to know about VPN’s here.

 

I cut cable out about 2 years ago and put an OTA antenna in my attic, and use netflix and amazon prime. I have not missed cable at all. One problem I have is that I can't get rid of the phone because I need it for the alarm and cell signal in my area is spotty, I live in the middle of a golf course and the closest cell tower is about a mile away, so I can't trust cell for alarm. Are there any VOIP companies that will work with the alarm similar to how a landline works?  

If you are in Verizon Fios land their Digital Voice service is Verizon’s version of a VoIP service that works perfectly with Central Station Monitoring, I had it for several years before I replaced & upgraded my system and moved to cellular monitoring. Technically you could argue Verizon’s Digital Voice is not really VoIP because their service goes over the VZ Intranet opposed to a service like Vonage (or other VoIP) that goes over the Internet.

 

Basically with Vonage or similar service provider the VoIP adapter either gets plugged into your router’s LAN port or ahead of the router and connected directly to your Wan port. Fios Digital Voice on the other hand has the voice connection handoff integrated on the Verizon Optical Network Terminal (or ONT for short) which is attached on or in the home. IMHO VoIP is not ready for mission critical duty like security system monitoring and should be avoided.

 

As far as cellular if you’re on the fringe sometimes you could take the cellular communicator and move it to somewhere in the home like a high wall inside the garage to just improve the signal strength. Another option you have is Internet Protocol (IP) monitoring.  The upside with IP monitoring is it’s faster than dial-up but the downside is it is dependent of your internet service so if your ISP is prone to outages that’s not good if your system goes into alarm mode while there’s a hiccup with your ISP. The other obvious issue with dial-up or IP monitoring is the line could be snipped if the cabling is exposed as with most aerial installs.  

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Almost everything you wanted to know about VPN’s here.

 

If you are in Verizon Fios land their Digital Voice service is Verizon’s version of a VoIP service that works perfectly with Central Station Monitoring, I had it for several years before I replaced & upgraded my system and moved to cellular monitoring. Technically you could argue Verizon’s Digital Voice is not really VoIP because their service goes over the VZ Intranet opposed to a service like Vonage (or other VoIP) that goes over the Internet.

 

Basically with Vonage or similar service provider the VoIP adapter either gets plugged into your router’s LAN port or ahead of the router and connected directly to your Wan port. Fios Digital Voice on the other hand has the voice connection handoff integrated on the Verizon Optical Network Terminal (or ONT for short) which is attached on or in the home. IMHO VoIP is not ready for mission critical duty like security system monitoring and should be avoided.

 

As far as cellular if you’re on the fringe sometimes you could take the cellular communicator and move it to somewhere in the home like a high wall inside the garage to just improve the signal strength. Another option you have is Internet Protocol (IP) monitoring.  The upside with IP monitoring is it’s faster than dial-up but the downside is it is dependent of your internet service so if your ISP is prone to outages that’s not good if your system goes into alarm mode while there’s a hiccup with your ISP. The other obvious issue with dial-up or IP monitoring is the line could be snipped if the cabling is exposed as with most aerial installs.  

I'm not in verizon FIOS territory, even though my neighbor a block down is, go figure. VOIP is basically what I have now with Optimum, goes thru their modem, which acts as the main and connects to the house phone lines. I want something that works as a true VOIP so that I can kill the Optimum service, but it has to work with my central monitoring. 

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I'm not in verizon FIOS territory, even though my neighbor a block down is, go figure. VOIP is basically what I have now with Optimum, goes thru their modem, which acts as the main and connects to the house phone lines. I want something that works as a true VOIP so that I can kill the Optimum service, but it has to work with my central monitoring. 

If you already have a monitoring service I would suggest you ask them which VoIP services are compatible with their service.  Unless things have changed in the last couple of years I doubt any UL listed monitoring station will recommend a VoIP service for monitoring.   I *think*  you’re OK with your Optimum Voice but a VoIP service for monitoring is a risk  in my view. Here's an interesting read here and not a big endorsement for VoIP as a means to communicate with your monitoring company. Good luck!

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I'm not in verizon FIOS territory, even though my neighbor a block down is, go figure. VOIP is basically what I have now with Optimum, goes thru their modem, which acts as the main and connects to the house phone lines. I want something that works as a true VOIP so that I can kill the Optimum service, but it has to work with my central monitoring.

 

Tell them to upgrade your panel. Most work on radio and cell now.

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Ok so I ordered a fire stick and started playing around with it and plan on getting PS vue. The wife and I really want to cut the cord but I think we might be screwed. Only 2 Internet providers, xfinity wants $145 a month for phone and their "blast" Internet 200mbps. This is who we have now as our phone, cable and Internet now. The only other option that I can find is century link for $60 a month for phone and Internet but only 10mbps service is available in our area. I looked and that's the minimum requirement for PS vue. I'm guessing that just the minimum isent really good enough. Anyone elce have any other ideas I can look into? I'm in Flemington anyone elce in flemington drop cable??

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Do you really need the 200mps pipe? I am on their lower tier, I think it's 50, and at the same time run multiple pc and iPhones, 2 tv's running Hulu, plus Ooma and have no issues simultaneously. A steam download takes extra time, but that is not often. Also, there is no tax on just internet, but the packages are taxed. You don't need the Comcast box. I am at $50 per month for internet, Ooma, and Hulu. (There is competition in my area, makes a huge difference so you can keep renewing special pricing)

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No we don't need it but the basic package is only 10 bucks cheaper. Can't do Internet phone because we live with the wife's 98 year old grandma and it anything is strange or different with the phone for any reason it's ww3. Dementia is a bitch.

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No we don't need it but the basic package is only 10 bucks cheaper. Can't do Internet phone because we live with the wife's 98 year old grandma and it anything is strange or different with the phone for any reason it's ww3. Dementia is a bitch.

You definitely don't NEED 200mbps.  The only reason I got that was that my only option for Internet is Optimum (Cablevision) I bitched to them that they were offering new customers 50mbps for $45 while they were charging me $64.  They at first refused to do anything but ultimately came back that they would drop it to $59 AND up the speed to 200.  I had been streaming two TVs a few computers and portable devices on 50 mbps with no issues.

 

As for phone, you really don't need POTS for Grandma, get Ooma (or something similar) - it works just like a plain old phone - you pick up the phone and dial.  The only difference with Ooma is the dialtone sound slightly different.

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Do you really need the 200mps pipe? I am on their lower tier, I think it's 50, and at the same time run multiple pc and iPhones, 2 tv's running Hulu, plus Ooma and have no issues simultaneously. A steam download takes extra time, but that is not often. Also, there is no tax on just internet, but the packages are taxed. You don't need the Comcast box. I am at $50 per month for internet, Ooma, and Hulu. (There is competition in my area, makes a huge difference so you can keep renewing special pricing)

Who are you using? I have 30 Mbps here but can now get att uverse. I use psvue.

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