Internet TV options... anyone have opinions?

[Dadnatron]

I am NOT looking for options in the country. I have decent internet and Satellite tv.

But, I do have a house in town which I stay in occasionally, but not enough to continue paying the huge costs for TV.

I will definitely maintain internet connectivity though.

Speed is 300mbs download, so pretty quick.

I don't watch much TV at all, but my wife and inlaws do and I want to have options available.

I currently have Netflix and Amazon. Neither of which I use very much, but mostly fill all of my personal needs. My wife likes to watch the news, which will likely be the biggest 'loss' with Cable TV cancellation.

I'd like to hear opinions and options that you might have.

I'm thinking along the lines of 'Apple TV, YouTube TV, Roku, etc'.

I'm not opposed to paying for a service... just not the cost of cable for the use we have. I spent about $100/hr last month, given my payment vs how much I used it. It is just ridiculous to keep it.

 

[RNeumann]

I have Roku and Chromecast (YouTube). Your service will dictate what device is best. Directv Now won’t play well on Chromecast but it’s easier to use Chromecast for YT. HBO is better on Roku.

The other thing is the “remote”. Chromecast uses the phone or tablet as the remote while Roku uses a regular remote and kinda uses the phone or tablet if you want it to.

If I only had one, I’d get a Roku.

Remember that moving any of these devices is easy. They are about 6x6x1” or smaller and only need power and the HDMI cable.

As an off topic we don’t have a TV in our second place. We missed it and thought we’d need it for about the first year. Now I’m confident we won’t be getting one. It’s been nice.

I have Directv Now but don’t like it. I’m going to try YT TV next.

 

[Aquamoose]

If local news, get an OTA antenna.

 

[jfh28]

we have roku with sling added........cut our tv bill by 75% and have been very happy.......just remember you need reliable wifi.....if the signal cuts in and out so will your tv.....also make sure your internet provider does not cap your monthly mb usage.....Jack

 

[MossRoad]

We ditched satellite about 3 years ago and went with just a Roku box for our Netflix subscription over our internet connection, and an over-the-air antenna for local TV. We get 20 stations over-the-air.
NBC
CBS
ABC
PBS
FOX
Some religious station
MeTV - a blast from the past! Shows
AntennaTV - more blasts from the past! Shows | Antenna TV
DecadesTV - kinda neat with some historic stuff Schedule
One Spanish speaking station.
GRIT TV - all westerns all the time!
ION TV - almost all cop shows all the time! Shows | ION Television
LAFF TV - all comedies all the time! Schedule - Laff

And a couple more.

That's enough that there's always something on for someone sometime, and it's FREE!! :thumbsup:

 

[mark02tj]

Does your satellite service have any sort of "app" that you can watch their programming on? I know it sounds like a dumb question, but.... I have Time Warner / Spectrum for my cable service. They have an app for the Roku, Android, iPhone/iPad, etc. that you can sign into and watch whatever channels you have in your package. So if I'm on the road and want to watch my "home channels" I can do that with a good internet connection.

I don't know if the satellite providers have anything similar that you could use and have it already included in your subscription price.

 

[hawkeye08]

If you want television in town, why wouldn't you just use an antennae connected to the tv? there are websites you can enter the zip code (and even street address on some) that will you the stations available and what direction they are. We are rural and get over 20 stations OTA (over the air), digital broadcast HD.

I run a Channel Master OTA DVR so I can record shows and watch them on my schedule (and fast forward through the commercials). I hooked up a splitter so DVR and TV both get antennae connections, I can record two shows at once and watch a 3rd on the TV. The DVR even has a channel guide..

I use Amazon prime video, my daughter has Netflix and I also have free Vudu.

 

[TheMan419]

Sling is pretty cheap if you need more than over the air stuff.

 

[Spindifferent]

AppleTV works great for us. Very easy to use, lots of options. Just install the app for the entertainment, news, information source you want, subscribe only to those services that you want, and enjoy! Many services are on a monthly subscription basis, so you can pay for a month, check it out, and then decide if you want to continue or not.

As an example, we subscribed to HBO for several months to watch Game of Thrones. When the GOT season was over, we stopped the subscription. Easy to start and cancel.