Almost Ready to Cut the Cord

Post Reply
 
User avatar
Rob R.
Site Moderator
Posts: 17980
Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Sun. Mar. 02, 2014 1:15 pm

Lightning wrote:I'm game to try it again, Rob... We definitely have too much screen time. :lol:
Start putting that $100 per month in a savings account or investment account.

At the very least call Dish and tell them to cancel your service. They will counter with a huge discount for a year.


 
User avatar
Lightning
Site Moderator
Posts: 14659
Joined: Wed. Nov. 16, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Olean, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
Coal Size/Type: Pea Size - Anthracite

Post by Lightning » Sun. Mar. 02, 2014 1:51 pm

I'm interested in trying OTA this year and an internet unit like a Roku (again) or maybe a Tivo.. Maybe I can convince the others that we can enjoy the TV just as much or even better by pre recording programs and watching what we really want instead of what is just "currently" on.. Seems like best use of TV time anyways.. :)

If successful, I'll be cutting the cord also..

 
User avatar
SuperBeetle
Member
Posts: 1346
Joined: Sat. Dec. 15, 2007 1:22 pm
Location: Gettysburg, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman Mark II
Coal Size/Type: Pea, Nut, & Stove Anthracite

Post by SuperBeetle » Sun. Mar. 02, 2014 3:46 pm

The TiVo is a nice thing to have. We use it quite bit to record most of the shows we watch. Has a real nice guide too. :)

 
User avatar
SMITTY
Member
Posts: 12520
Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
Location: West-Central Mass
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler

Post by SMITTY » Sun. Mar. 02, 2014 4:59 pm

Cap wrote:...... Smitty, what happens if you stream TV shows from websites such as ABC or AMC ? Can you internet service carry the load onto your computer?
I've never gone on either site, but Youtube & Hulu works ... SOMETIMES. Both sites will freeze up and jump around every so often - depends on the video on Youtube - Hulu, who knows. I go into a fit of rage! Sooo aggravating ... :mad: Haven't been on Hulu for months.

I tried and tried and tried ... but the computer wouldn't recognize the device - was like nothing was hooked up. Got nothing on the TV, and nothing on the computer! Was so pissed - I just threw the thing in the box and sold it.

Me and electronics/computers DO NOT play well together ... :mad:

Dish was $68 ... now it went up to $72 or 3. I don't waste money on all the movie channels. Might as well just send the money straight to the perpetual 0bama campaign - would be the same thing either way. :roll:

 
User avatar
Cap
Member
Posts: 1603
Joined: Fri. Dec. 02, 2005 10:36 pm
Location: Lehigh Twp, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman SF 250, domestic hot water loop, heat accumulator
Coal Size/Type: Nut and Stove
Other Heating: Heat Pumps

Post by Cap » Sun. Mar. 02, 2014 6:45 pm

Smitty said with dismay....
I tried and tried and tried ... but the computer wouldn't recognize the device - was like nothing was hooked up. Got nothing on the TV, and nothing on the computer! Was so pissed - I just threw the thing in the box and sold it.
Are you saying you couldn't create the account? A Roku doesn't get hooked up to a computer. Unless there is some obscure way of using your computer monitor...

 
CapeCoaler
Member
Posts: 6515
Joined: Sun. Feb. 10, 2008 3:48 pm
Location: Cape Cod, MA
Stoker Coal Boiler: want AA130
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine BS#4, Harman MKII, Hitzer 503,...
Coal Size/Type: Pea/Nut/Stove

Post by CapeCoaler » Sun. Mar. 02, 2014 10:19 pm

ROKU needs good bandwith...
DSL sucks...
Wireless makes it worse...
I always install a wired connection...
customers like the steady connection...
Amazon Prime gets you a streaming account from them with lots of content...
And 5 GB of cloud storage...
BTW copper lines are on the way out...
Make plans for a non-copper internet connection...
DSL from verizon is on the way out...
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Announces- ... als-127972
I have seen firsthand how the service has declined,DSL,and it makes sense that they want out...

 
User avatar
Rob R.
Site Moderator
Posts: 17980
Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Sat. Oct. 25, 2014 6:02 pm

Update - added a second antenna facing north so we can watch hockey. I get CBC from Montreal with excellent signal strength...hockey night in Canada at 7 pm. 8-)


 
User avatar
Cap
Member
Posts: 1603
Joined: Fri. Dec. 02, 2005 10:36 pm
Location: Lehigh Twp, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman SF 250, domestic hot water loop, heat accumulator
Coal Size/Type: Nut and Stove
Other Heating: Heat Pumps

Post by Cap » Sat. Oct. 25, 2014 6:36 pm

Rob R. wrote:Update - added a second antenna facing north so we can watch hockey. I get CBC from Montreal with excellent signal strength...hockey night in Canada at 7 pm. 8-)
How many miles are you from the border and how many from Montreal?

 
User avatar
Lightning
Site Moderator
Posts: 14659
Joined: Wed. Nov. 16, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Olean, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
Coal Size/Type: Pea Size - Anthracite

Post by Lightning » Sat. Oct. 25, 2014 7:35 pm

Do you have to toggle between the two antennas?
Or are they both taking in signal at the same time?

 
User avatar
Rob R.
Site Moderator
Posts: 17980
Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Sat. Oct. 25, 2014 8:37 pm

I have a Tivo unit for the first antenna, and the second is hooked up to the tuner in my TV. Basically I have a tuner for each antenna. I may be able to combine the feeds, but that can cause problems with each antenna picking up the same stations. For now I am leaving them separate.
Cap wrote: How many miles are you from the border and how many from Montreal?
I am about 8 miles from the border, 50 from the transmitter in Montreal.

 
User avatar
Rob R.
Site Moderator
Posts: 17980
Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Wed. Oct. 29, 2014 6:14 am

I purchased an "antenna combiner" made by Winegard and combined the feeds of my two antennas. There must be a certain amount of signal loss through the device, because I lost one channel that was already border signal strength (no big deal b/c we didn't watch that one anyway). The good news is that I get all the channels I want with no interference problems. 19 channels in total, including CBC from Montreal. I hooked the combined feed up to my Tivo so we can pause/record whatever we want.

Next step...upgraded Tivo unit. :) Anyone interested in a used one? I will be selling my Series 3 HD XL unit.

 
User avatar
Rob R.
Site Moderator
Posts: 17980
Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Sat. Apr. 15, 2017 6:59 pm

Another update. I did end up selling my first TIvo unit and getting a used "Premier" model. I bought one of their base models (small hard drive, no wifi) for a great price and upgraded the hard drive. It works excellent.

I also found another benefit for my TV antenna - it doubles as a FM antenna for my receiver. I have always been frustrated with the lack of over the air radio stations that I can get on our living room receiver, so today I ran the cable into a splitter and hooked one side to the Tivo, and the other to the receiver. The Tivo doesn't seem to care, but the receiver is picking up a lot of new radio stations. I was a little concerned that the extra splitter would cause too much signal drop, but that does not seem to be the case.

Lastly, I am up to 18 channels now. Some of our local stations have added additional channels.

 
User avatar
CoalJockey
Verified Business Rep.
Posts: 1324
Joined: Sun. Mar. 09, 2008 11:18 am
Location: Loysburg, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: Several EFM 520 refurbs...one 900, one 1300 mega-stoker
Hand Fed Coal Stove: (2) Warm Morning Stoves

Post by CoalJockey » Sat. Jun. 02, 2018 8:38 pm

Revival of an old thread!

I remembered reading through this discussion long ago and now I have some contributions to make. We have been aggravated with our cable service for several years now, the monthly rate seems to grow legs and walk on its own. Last year at this time we called and complained and they did drop the rate back to where it was reasonable and gave us several more channels to add to the list that we did not watch. About 7 or 8 months went by and soon the price was on the move again. I was already provoked and then when my wife called to tell them that they must “either set the rate back or we are out”, the lady on the customer service line acted rather ignorant and short with her.

The time had arrived to part company, yes. :out:

I used an aerial antenna at the previous house for a few years when it was still analog signal, but reception was sort of poor if I recall, and the only channels available were 6 and 10. Channel 6 was NBC out of Johnstown and 10 was CBS in Altoona. For whatever reason we went to cable before the arrival of the DTV signal.

My cousin runs the local barbershop and has an aerial installed and while getting my haircut I was very impressed with the picture quality and he could get quite a handful of channels too. When Brittany and I cut the cord, she ordered an Amazon Firestick to get some free programs for the boys but I still wanted my local news so I began to look at antennas online. We are on track to save over $1,500 a year with this little maneuver and basically any antenna I would need could pay for itself in a month or two.

After some texting back and forth one evening with Rob R. , he recommended an antenna that should not only perform well, but one that was not real big and gaudy looking too. I figured if I could pickup Altoona and Johnstown again I would be well satisfied. I ordered the said antenna from Amazon and when it arrived I ran the coax out the front door and set the antenna upright in the shrubs just to see what may happen. Right away there were 3 channels from Altoona so I couldn’t wait to get it out on the roof. In the morning on Memorial Day, Scott brought the ladder truck over and we did the install... my roof is VERY high and I did not wish to gamble my life with an extension ladder.

The results are nothing short of amazing — 13 channels total!! For free!! I get 4 channels out of Johnstown, 4 from Altoona, ABC and Fox, and a couple other generic channels. One channel is called Grit, and it is all classic Western movies... I greatly enjoy it. This is all very remarkable to me as we literally live in a hole at the bottom of the Alleghenies.

Lastly, it was a priceless moment when we dropped our cable box off at the broadband company. The lady behind the counter asked “Oh, are you guys going to Dish?” My wife replied “No we are not”. The lady says “Ok, if you were we could give you a better price and some more channels”.

Brittany rolled her eyes and replied “You people are ridiculous!” :lol:

Attachments

A924345C-3692-44F3-AE6D-182AEDFE0E9E.jpeg
.JPEG | 1.1MB | A924345C-3692-44F3-AE6D-182AEDFE0E9E.jpeg

 
grumpy
Member
Posts: 12276
Joined: Sat. Jan. 02, 2010 12:28 am

Post by grumpy » Sat. Jun. 02, 2018 8:52 pm

I cut the cord last year, should have done it many years ago. I get internet from my phone, next year it will drop to $50 a month for unlimited everything.

We pay about twice for internet and cable TV compared to the rest of the world..

If only we all did it the cost would come down..

 
User avatar
warminmn
Member
Posts: 8108
Joined: Tue. Feb. 08, 2011 5:59 pm
Location: Land of 11,842 lakes
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Junior, Efel Nestor Martin, Riteway 37
Coal Size/Type: nut and stove anthracite, lignite
Other Heating: Wood and wear a wool shirt

Post by warminmn » Sat. Jun. 02, 2018 11:37 pm

GRIT TV is great! And if you miss the beginning or end of a movie they replay them a LOT!


Post Reply

Return to “Technology”