One of the best DVRs I've used is a TiVo (worked there nearly 20 years ago), and I have one again for our two TV antennas that feed into it. With Prime on it, as well as other offerings, for the antenna-inclined, I highly recommend. Picked-up a couple TiVo Mini's and those provide those sources to two other locations in the house. Added a TiVo Stream and I can watch that programming or recorded programs around the house or world. Honestly, we'd be fine alone with that set-up. Throw-in a Roku, AppleTV, PS3/4 and Chromecast that makes for even more options, which we use too...

Speaking of chromecasts, I bought one of these to put it on my wired network, and the quality has improved greatly.

https://store.google.com/us/product/ethernet_adapter_for_chromecast?hl=en-US

Before the chromecast was only like 10 ft from my wifi router, but behind my amplifier and TV, which I'm guessing were disrupting my signal enough to make the pictures tear. Works phenomenally on content like netflix, prime, and HBO now. Not perfect with live sports like MLB.tv, P12Net or WatchESPN, but decent.

#bump

also, anybody here have experience w/ Kodi on an AppleTV 4? Do your installs persist? How do you add video add-ons from .zip files?

rathokan;842837574 said:

---

I dropped Comcast. My bill had skyrocketed up to $258/mo for internet and cable (good package w/ HBO, NBA TV, etc...). It was originally $99/mo on intro deal then gradually went up to about $150/mo the latter half of the 2-year contract. If they had just kept it there, I probably would have stuck with them, but they jacked it up another $100, and I didn't feel like doing the negotiation w/ them.

---

It's really your call if you have promo bills of say $90 that begin to blow up to $120, then $150, then $180, then $195, then decide to get on the phone with some Comcast rep in Ohio and rip her a new asshole. My bill settled at $128 but in SF don't have any other good options to get the PAC-12 Network, at least the internet is plenty fast (about 225 Mbps). Gonna be awhile before gigabit filters through all of SF.

Bundling, smundling...

The first cord we cut was that of the phone company, about 8 years ago. Was in Asia on travel for like 5 weeks and came home to a phone bill with not one call made, yet 22 bucks for various taxes and fees. Bought an Ooma hub and never looked back. Zero dollars spent a month since... While we still have the Ooma, I'm quite impressed with the Obi (Obihai Technology), which I got about 3 years back because of how it works with Google Voice, which I signed-up for upon release, I think in 2009.

We have the Obi202, which permits up to four telephone (Google Voice) numbers, which is perfect for our family of four. Each has a distinctive ring too. Two ports on the back, one to a cordless system that works with multiple handsets throughout the house, and the other port goes to a corded phone. The Obi is 12 volts DC, so when there is no power, I have a 12 volts on tap (back-up) for the internet modem, wifi router and the Obi. The corded phone can make calls as it receives power from the Obi, much like the ma Bell system. My dad finally set-up Google Voice and just ordered an Obi. I hope to help him set it up soon. Here's the 202, for those interested:

https://www.amazon.com/OBi202-2-Port-Adapter-Support-Service/dp/B007D930YO

Eight years of no phone bill, coupled with five years of no cable or satellite TV service is a decent chunk of change.

BeachedBear;842808633 said:

---

As you may have guessed, BeachedBear has a second home (almost primary) at the beach. I use the local cable company (Charter?) and get their cheapest package that has internet (and comes with standard TV, but I can never remember the lineup and rarely find channels). I get about 25 Mbps download and normal channels (local, ESPN, but not P12 network) for under $40/mo. When I need to watch a Cal game, I stream it on my laptop and run it through an HDMI cable. The 25 Mbps is more than sufficient to stream unless I have 3 or 4 kids simultaneously streaming video. In that case, I just yell at them to shut it down - as I'm watching the Cal game.

ps. No land line phone either - just rely on cell coverage. It's been great for the last 5 years or so. My primary cable package includes p12 network, so I can use that log on for streaming.

:gobears:

---

I just got myself set up again for the coming Summer. Got Verizon back for internet and Direct TV. I'm saving a little over having Comcast for everything which is my only option. (and Verizon stand alone internet is a better price over Comcast stand alone internet.) The key for me is how much can I save when I am not there, and this gives me the best options. Your Charter price is great...

YouTube TV looks like a great option but of course doesn't carry Pac 12 Networks.
$35/mo. gives you 6 logins, each with its own cloud "DVR" service with unlimited storage (recordings last 9 months).
Naturally B1G and SEC networks are both carried. I really wish Larry Scott would get his act together. He's terrible and it's painful to watch the conference falling farther behind the competition every day.

Strykur;842839280 said:

---

It's really your call if you have promo bills of say $90 that begin to blow up to $120, then $150, then $180, then $195, then decide to get on the phone with some Comcast rep in Ohio and rip her a new asshole. My bill settled at $128 but in SF don't have any other good options to get the PAC-12 Network, at least the internet is plenty fast (about 225 Mbps). Gonna be awhile before gigabit filters through all of SF.

---

Just an FYI, but Dish has Pac-12 Network. I am in SF and used to have Dish. I now have Comcast, and I like Dish better. I am not sure what you particular circumstances are, though.

So.... I called Comcast last week to disconnect TV and set up ISP only at my new digs. After hearing all the horror stories about Comcast 'customer service', I did some digging and was prepared. I guess the common theme is that they don't take no for an answer and will do anything under the sun to upsell you on everything else. They have a list of reasons and counters at their ready -so you should be prepared as well... The key points of discussion are as follows and the entire call took under 5 minutes:

BB: "Hi, I'd like to discontinue my TV service"

Xfinity: "Sure, I can help with you that. Why do you want to ?"

BB: "I hate advertising and I can't FF through commercials with Ondemand, anymore. Do you have a an option without advertising?"

X: "Sure, I can help with you that. No, we don't have an advert free option - the networks require us to disable FF with Ondemand. But you can with a DVR."

BB: (white lie) "I have Tivo, so don't need a DVR."

X: "Sure, I can help with that. Ummmm OK. Would you be interested in upgrading youor ISP to 250 MPS or more?"

BB: "No thanks, my existing 100 MPS is working great! More than I need"

That pretty much ended it. I'm getting 100 MPS for $39/mo with Xfinity - but I'm sure it will go up to $59 in 12 months.

So, after some time spent w/ DirecTV NOW service, I can do a mini review.

I am using this primarily through an AppleTV 4 hard wired to fast internet service (Sonic Fiber), but it works on my laptop and iPhone as well.

Picture quality: it's very good. there is also very low lag between what i'm seeing on the screen and what's happening in real time. I can be watching baseball and things happen on the screen before pitches register on a page like Yahoo Sports. I was watching hockey last night and there's no stuttering or ghosting of the puck. Haven't really looked closely to examine dynamic range or anything but I don't notice high contrast, pixelation, or blocking. In short, the picture is pretty darn good. Also, switching channels is pretty quick w/ little lag or buffering. You get maybe one second of lower quality video initially and then it bumps to full q. I think it took longer to switch channels on my comcast box.

as viewed on Apple TV 4: neat box. interesting remote. voice command functions don't seem to be integrated fully. there's no DVR capability (hopefully they add that feature soon). I mostly want that just for pause and replay... not actually for archiving and watching later, but that would be nice too. The Apple TV 4 remote seems pretty limited. The app could be written better to have a consistent way to access the guide and easily navigate channels. As it is now, it's kind of awkward.

as viewed on iPhone: seems fine when stationary and airplays well to older apple tvs. not as great moving, like in the car. frames drop and picture freezes (but audio keeps going). Not a big deal b/c if I'm driving I'm only listening to the audio anyway, but if I'm a passenger, the video delivery is not as good as other streaming video services like YouTube, ESPN, etc...

other things: for $35/mo you get a decent number of channels and can have two concurrent streams. SlingTV is less expensive, but I don't like they way the segregate their channel lineup. YouTube TV seems like a better alternative once they build in support for more devices. The $35 price gets me more of what I want to watch plus DVR capabilities.

I'll try these things out for awhile and if not satisfied will go back to subscribing to Dish or Cable... but for now, it seems OK. I need to watch less TV anyway.

Last week I became extremely irate at Comcast for raising the Performance Plus internet to $74.50/month because they're losing TV customers and as a result are jacking up internet prices to make up lost revenue. I called to cancel and request the $40/month for 1 year special and they said no. I said cancel my service right now. I then went online and signed up for the $40 special under my name instead of my wife's name.

The next day I called to confirm as they requested and they looked up my address. The rep could see that the old account was under the same last name. She asked if it was my wife's account and I said yes. I expected her to say no can do, but she went ahead and activated. I was without home internet for less than 24 hours and got some nice savings for a year. It's clear Comcast knows what's going on but would rather keep you as a customer on the promo rate than let you walk to a competitor.

Cut the cord two months ago. Dropping DirecTv. Tired of paying all that money to watch the Chicago Bears. For ~100/year I can watch their games on delay -- would imagine there's only 2-3 a year worth paying attention to (sounds like Cal, huh?). Now I'm on Comcast internet with ethernet to all TVs.

Moved to Playstation Vue for 45/month.

Picture is excellent. I get all live TV -- ~50 stations. I can "DVR" -- essentially have 4-5 episodes of shows I choose available at all times. Literally no degradation in shows. Side benefit is that Netflix, You-tube, MLB subscriptions all show up on all TVs, not just on my mobile devices.

Downsides -- Occasionally streaming gets whacky, and starts pausing. I've figured out a workaround. Jumping from show to show is clunky vs. satellite. Remote is very limited, but I don't care enough to buy a universal remote.

All in all, extremely happy to have shifted, and save ~$120/mo.

Gunga la Gunga;842840839 said:

---

Cut the cord two months ago. Dropping DirecTv. Tired of paying all that money to watch the Chicago Bears. For ~100/year I can watch their games on delay -- would imagine there's only 2-3 a year worth paying attention to (sounds like Cal, huh?). Now I'm on Comcast internet with ethernet to all TVs.

Moved to Playstation Vue for 45/month.

Picture is excellent. I get all live TV -- ~50 stations. I can "DVR" -- essentially have 4-5 episodes of shows I choose available at all times. Literally no degradation in shows. Side benefit is that Netflix, You-tube, MLB subscriptions all show up on all TVs, not just on my mobile devices.

Downsides -- Occasionally streaming gets whacky, and starts pausing. I've figured out a workaround. Jumping from show to show is clunky vs. satellite. Remote is very limited, but I don't care enough to buy a universal remote.

All in all, extremely happy to have shifted, and save ~$120/mo.

---

Thanks for the update - exactly what I am planning to do here any day now.

Are there any a la carte streaming options for Pac-12?

Hulu Live and Youtube TV looks like really interesting options at $35-40 a month, but I haven't pulled a trigger since Cal would make up a good chunk of my "live" TV watching.

for anybody shopping for a largish TV for cheap, Costco just put the TCL 55" 4K Roku TV on sale for $369.99 (I thought it was a steal at $419.99)

still living on the cord cutting plan paying $35/mo for DirecTV NOW. Have a trial on YouTube TV which is nice, but does not have app support for AppleTV or Roku. Likley will go w/ Dish service soon.

also using sportspass.... it's pretty great if i'm at home on my computer

also would like to add that DirecTV NOW and YouTube TV having been giving me blackouts for some sports events when viewed on my phone. total BS and a deal breaker

For those who are still doing xfinity triple play, they now have xfinity mobile plan (I believe using Verizon network) which is the best bargain I've seen for mobile phone plans, probably $50 cheaper than AT&T based on my family's usage. Unlimited free minutes and text, only charge pay per GB or unlimited data plan. Only reason I'm not switching is that it will make my work expense reimbursement really difficult.

rathokan;842863457 said:

---

also would like to add that DirecTV NOW and YouTube TV having been giving me blackouts for some sports events when viewed on my phone. total BS and a deal breaker

---

So basically Dish or Comcast. I took a look at Sling but apparently the app is a "mountain of ****" per reddit users.

dchu101;842841683 said:

---

Are there any a la carte streaming options for Pac-12?

Hulu Live and Youtube TV looks like really interesting options at $35-40 a month, but I haven't pulled a trigger since Cal would make up a good chunk of my "live" TV watching.

---

The absolute cheapest way to get the Pac-12 network that I've found is a Sling Orange ($20) + Sports Package ($5). It's not a terrible deal, you also get ESPN and the SEC channel. I personally also care about NFL RedZone (it's the only way I can watch the NFL). You don't get NFL RedZone with Orange+Sports; that will require either the Sling Blue alone ($25) + Sports (now $10) or Sling Orange & Blue ($40) + Sports ($10). It's actually a bit of a pickle, because if I want ESPN, Pac-12, and RedZone I'd have to fork over $50. Basically, I would be paying $15/month for ESPN. At the moment I think I'm going to pass on that; maybe if (when?) we're ever good it would make more sense. As it is, though, Blue+Sports, for $35, gets you Pac-12, RedZone, FS1&2, regional NBC & Fox sports networks, and a bunch of other sports. All in all a pretty good deal (plus I don't have to financially support ESPN).

Strykur;842863469 said:

---

So basically Dish or Comcast. I took a look at Sling but apparently the app is a "mountain of ****" per reddit users.

---

I haven't had too many problems with the app-- they have a 7 day free trial. Might be worth it to check it out.

I've told you guys once and I'll tell you guys again...the best way to go is to buy a streamsmart. You get every sports channel you guys want without any monthly fees. All in HD.

rathokan;842863457 said:

---

also would like to add that DirecTV NOW and YouTube TV having been giving me blackouts for some sports events when viewed on my phone. total BS and a deal breaker

---

For some (maybe all?) NFL games on YouTube TV, you're not allowed to watch on a mobile device. But you can watch on the computer...that's how I watched the Rams game a few nights ago, on my iMac (the game was blacked out on mobile devices).

I'll also be watching on my big screen via Chromecast.



I got YouTube TV last month. It's pretty nice, but you really don't get many interesting channels. Basically, you get what you pay for.

I left DirecTV when I moved in July 2016, and went cable-free for a year.

YouTube TV lets me watch all the college football I need. It has all the relevant sports channels (I don't get any irrelevant sports channels, like Pac-12 Network).

The great thing is you can DVR as much as you want on YouTube TV...On DirecTV, I had like a 200-hour limit. But YouTube TV uses the cloud. (Some of you may have experienced cloud-based DVR, but I haven't.)

Also, there's no repairman drilling holes in your walls and taking all day to install stuff.

dchu101;842841683 said:

---

Are there any a la carte streaming options for Pac-12?

---

Having never had the Pac-12 Network, it just seems like too much trouble to go find a network that you only use 12-20 hours a year (unless your a college hoops person). I've gotten along fine without it, so I just don't care anymore.

DesertB3ar;842863475 said:

---

I've told you guys once and I'll tell you guys again...the best way to go is to buy a streamsmart. You get every sports channel you guys want without any monthly fees. All in HD.

---

Streamsmart?

Sling TV app is a pile of crap on XBOX, apparently it is decent on Roku but don't want to cough up $50 on a stick just to try it out.

going4roses;842863514 said:

---

Streamsmart?

---

http://androidpcreview.com/dont-buy-this-box-streamsmart-box/6829/

Go!Bears;842863593 said:

---

http://androidpcreview.com/dont-buy-this-box-streamsmart-box/6829/

---

If you read the comments to that article it basically tears apart everything the said. I have a couple at my house and I love them. I get to watch everything without any monthly fees. I'm just suggesting for anybody looking to cut the cord because it's definitely a better option than what some are doing to get rid of cable.

DesertB3ar;842863692 said:

---

If you read the comments to that article it basically tears apart everything the said. I have a couple at my house and I love them. I get to watch everything without any monthly fees. I'm just suggesting for anybody looking to cut the cord because it's definitely a better option than what some are doing to get rid of cable.

---

I believe most of us are figuring out a way to LEGALLY cut the cord.

tommie317;842863707 said:

---

I believe most of us are figuring out a way to LEGALLY cut the cord.

---

Probably but when I see fellow bears griping over using services that only carry certain channels and there's a device that would allow them to get every college football game, every NFL game, every NBA game, every MLB game, all Espn channels, all PAC-12 network channels, longhorn network, SEC network, all BTN channels, and every other misc sporting event all in HD have to at least recommend it.

It's a streaming device where nothing is downloaded so I'm not sure on the legal aspect since I'm not a lawyer. It's not different than a jail broken firestick, just much better.

So, its basically so some sort of device produced by criminals by definition, since they are stealing from the networks that you are giving access to your home network and they want nothing in return, other than the cost of the box? Seems likely.

Strykur;842863574 said:

---

Sling TV app is a pile of crap on XBOX, apparently it is decent on Roku but don't want to cough up $50 on a stick just to try it out.

---

Best Buy and Costco have pretty good return policy. Buy the roku and try it out.

yes streamsmart is pirated content. the dumb thing is that a lot of people are willing to pay for this content, but we can't get it. even when i had a cable subscription and access to the P12 channel and apps, sometimes it was just easier to use the pirated solution if i wanted to watch something away from home. lower latency and better picture. when these clueless companies give us a worse paid-for product than the free solution, the sh!t hits the fan.

i learned the hard way that buying NBA League pass to watch the Lakers is pretty much useless half the time... even when I don't live in the home market. this year the Lakers have some 35 nationally televised games... most of which won't be included in NBA League Pass

Costco I believe only caries the more expensive Roku Premiere (I believe...have one, it works well). Just bought a stick at Best Buy for $43 and it works quite well.

Anybody know what taxes and fees for Dish service run in SF? Right now I'm paying $35/mo for DirecTV NOW, but the service sometimes goes out (like right now) and there is no P12 Network and no DVR functionality. It was a good experiment to try during the offseason, but now that the important time of year is coming up it's time to stop f'ing around. I can go Dish for about $55/mo that includes HBO for a year (for which I'm paying $15/mo).

That's if I choose the Dish package that includes RSNs for $60/mo, then delete local channels to save $10/mo, bundle w/ my Sonic Fiber service to save $10/mo, then add in $15/mo for DVR fees for two TVs. Also includes NFL RedZone for the year. I have TiVos and good OTA reception for my local channels although for $10/mo it might just be worth it to have everything come through one box.

There are programs (i.e. Cal basketball vs UCLA or Game of Thrones), there are Channels/Networks (ESPN, P12N, ABC, PBS, FXX), there are Providers (Xfinifity, Dish, Directv, Spectrum) there are hybrids (Netflix, Amazon)....

However as a consumer, it seems we are forced to buy a whole heck of a lot more than we want. It's sort of like going to a restaurant because you want Potstickers and Chow Fun, but having to buy the whole strip mall!

I spend about $100/mo to watch about 100 hours of content each month. I guess $1 per hour for entertainment is still a great deal, but it seems like I'm getting ripped off.