I have been meaning to do it for a while and decided I shouldn't wait any longer.

The problem is I don't have all the alternatives in place yet. My AppleTV isn't hooked up yet nor do I have any streaming service for live TV. The only channels I have live are local channels... plus almost all of the shopping channels which I will never watch. I kept a basic TV package because I have a ton of stuff on my DVR which I will eventually (maybe) watch.

The reason I'm struggling is I didn't realize how much I like to have the TV on even when I'm not actively watching it. Tonight when I got home I was working on photos from a shoot and I had to start streaming some SiriusXM to stem the silence because the only thing I had on TV was Survivor and some other crap that I would never watch (or listen to).

We got a lot of over the air channels. A couple are commercial free and can be left running - NHK is my favorite.

Get the AppleTV hooked up.

Here are two resources I found helpful when I cut the cord:

1. Create your own DVR

This software will run on Apple TV and you can create a server from practically any old computer. There's a monthly fee of around $8.00 (US) but you get a channel guide, DVR and the ability to watch your content on a broad host of devices.

[getchannels.com]

2. Antenna set up
How to best set up an antenna for Over The Air transmissions of broadcast TV.

[www.rabbitears.info]

HTH

Antenna
for local news, weather and Westerns.

Internet connection. with AppleTV for apps

Amazon Prime TV (most folks are on Prime and older folks get a discount)

SiriusXM

Like Star Trek, buy it.
Like Yellowstone, buy it.
I myself loved Tulsa King.

I was on Disney+ but dropped it with the rate increase.

$120.00 a year for one network will BUY a lot of Commercial Free entertainment.

---

Staunton, Virginia

Quote
Joseph C.
Here are two resources I found helpful when I cut the cord:

1. Create your own DVR

This software will run on Apple TV and you can create a server from practically any old computer. There's a monthly fee of around $8.00 (US) but you get a channel guide, DVR and the ability to watch your content on a broad host of devices.

[getchannels.com]

2. Antenna set up
How to best set up an antenna for Over The Air transmissions of broadcast TV.

[www.rabbitears.info]

HTH

You also need a tuner to record over the air TV

All,

You have to decide what level of Live TV you want and, if necessary, how much you're willing to pay for it. One of the reasons people cut the cord is to reduce the expense of a TV programming package from a cable provider. Another is to reduce the number of channels you don't want in the package.

If you want live TV for primarily background noise, you can do it on the cheap with just an antenna. That assumes the antenna and tuner built into the TV can pull in a solid number of them or just enough to give you desirable background noise. An antenna won't necessarily cut it. That's when you need to decide if you want to pay for channels and which serve to spend the bucks on. Dollar for dollar, keeping broadcast basic and the DVR could actually serve this purpose nicely and for a reasonable price.

'course, if the goal is to cut the cord and save bucks, then get rid of both. The vast majority of the content on the DVR is likely readily available via one or more of the streaming services. Choose the appropriate hardware and/or service and you'll also get live TV.

This will help:

[www.digitaltrends.com]

Robert

Paramount+ (with commercials) gets you ALL Star Trek shows/movies as well as CBS shows for $5.99 per month.

I only miss sports, so for games I want to watch I go to a sports bar nearby with a friend or family. I pirate tennis because it's such a mess, and watch YouTube highlights. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and free from Verizon, Disney Channel and Hulu (never watch). I pull out the rabbit ears to watch American Idol for my Mom.

So get a streaming service for live TV to tide you over. YouTube TV or HuluTV. you can always cancel. put them up on your computer. if you have a smart enough TV there's a way to bring up those services on it. don't do it myself so i can't say how it's done.

---

If you want to fix our country, work with us in the states. statesproject.org

"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

Today was the day I cut the cord... kind of.

I was done with DirecTv. Their service went downhill after being bought by ATT, and the only reason I kept them was for the Sunday Ticket.

Well, now the Sunday Ticket is with YouTube TV. So, we changed to YouTube TV. Been using that for the last week, seems fine. We have AppleTV boxes on all of our TVs except one, and I got a Amazon Fire Stick for that one.

I also have some of the streaming services.

---

I cut the cord around 2015 or thereabouts. Don't miss cable TV one bit.

Not a live sports watcher so that wasn't a big deal. On that same note; recording/time-shifting isn't an issue.

Have digital antenna for news & weather; that's it. A simple one (I think I paid $18 for mine) works quite well.

We have maybe 5 subscriptions (AppleTV+, etc) and always have plenty to watch.

YMMV.

---

Quote
AllGold
The reason I'm struggling is I didn't realize how much I like to have the TV on even when I'm not actively watching it.

I realized a long time ago that I "listen" to TV the way other people listen to music.

You may be surprised by what is available OTA. I moved recently and couldn't take my Spectrum package with me. Had to get a new package, and one of the channels I liked was now an additional purchase.

Then I discovered that channel (Heroes and Icons) is free OTA! (which also really rubs me the wrong way that it's in an additional $12 bundle on Spectrum!).

With live TV streaming costs getting so expensive (YouTube is $73/mo), I start to wonder if it's really worth it to "cut the cord" just to replace it with a live TV streaming service. Doesn't seem like you end up saving that much. But maybe there are features and flexibility that make it worth it. Personally, I would miss some of the "features" of regular cable and TiVo (I'm one of the last hold outs, but OMG, what a pain getting new cablecards out of Spectrum!).

When baseball season is over and our "new" customer discount expires (coincidentally about the same time), I might drop down to a basic package (until the next baseball season) if they won't renew the discount.

Quote
Bernie
Like Star Trek, buy it.
Like Yellowstone, buy it.
I myself loved Tulsa King.

Yup, or see if the series you like are on other streaming services you subscribe to already. Although, when buying, keep in mind where you buy. I don't know if I'm missing something, but the AppleTV app for watching TV series you own is horrible and unintuitive!

…..for some…..so is cutting the umbilical cord……

---

_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

If you need background TV, try Pluto TV. Endless free TV channels over streaming.

You can even try it here: https://pluto.tv/

There's an Apple TV app as well.

Agree with PlutoTV as a streaming "background channels" provider. Or several of the secondary over-the-air channels (Heroes and Icons, FaveTV, ion, etc.) depending on market. Pretty much every "primary" OTA channel in our market (example 5.1) has several secondary channels (5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7).

cut the cord in mid '15 as well. the day we got FiOS.
CableVision had upped our monthly to $185, for basic.
I called to ask them to reconsider that number.
They came back with $215 or so, with HBO "thrown in for free for 6 months."
FiOS the next day for $40/mo.
Don't miss cable at all.
Apple TV, Netflix via T-Mo, Prime, Hulu, which I will soon dump as they've become near useless with the ads.
Free Paramount for a year. Haven't looked.
And the county liberry system for the real oddball stuff.
OTA $40, for late night and news.
8 years x ~$100/mo savings.
almost $10000, a dp for a 246 Dino in blue.

---

!#$@@$#!

proofraed by OwEn the c@t.

I posted while back about how much I am spending on Streaming, still less than half of DirectTV/Cable.

There are many freeTV streaming services now, with commercials.

I do miss Sports, tho.

Last year I added YouTubeTV for the month of NBA Playoffs. This year, I skipped it, since I knew I would not have enough time to enjoy it.

---

San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Eli Weisel

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

"I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it." - Billy Graham 1981

"Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise" - Barry Goldwater

Quote
ADent
Get the AppleTV hooked up.

Agreed. It only takes a few minutes more and then another few minutes more to sign up for a streaming service.

I listen to SiriusXM using my AppleTV almost every day. Helps to justify the cost of the service over just listening in my vehicle (which I also do on a daily basis).

---

It is what it is.

Quote
graylocks
if you have a smart enough TV there's a way to bring up those services on it. don't do it myself so i can't say how it's done.

My TV is smart enough to do this, but I've found I prefer doing everything through my AppleTV device.

---

It is what it is.

Quote
N-OS X-tasy!

Quote
graylocks
if you have a smart enough TV there's a way to bring up those services on it. don't do it myself so i can't say how it's done.

My TV is smart enough to do this, but I've found I prefer doing everything through my AppleTV device.

---

I thought I might run into this and now that I finally pulled the AppleTV out of the box I see it's true: I need to buy an HDMI audio extractor to have sound.

The problem is my "TVs" are not TVs, but monitors with no speakers. Sound--even from my cable receiver/DVR--is through computer speakers.

The AppleTV only has a single HDMI out. If it had an audio out or a 3.5mm headphone jack then I would be set.