Sanity check from you cord cutters

[drssg]

Hulu looks like it offers a lot more, but costs more too.

How does limited commercials work? What is on when the commercial would be playing? Or are you watching everything in more of an "on demand" way vs live broadcast?

Hulu is an on demand service, so nothing is playing behind the scenes when a commercial is on.

 

[thekkfan]

Doing something similar here in MI due to high price of Comcast/Xfinity internet.

Got a prepaid phone with Verizon. $30/mo with 500k of data (cheapest option)
Added a prepaid wifi spot 4G LTE with unlimited data and streaming. When combined with prepaid phone and autopay it costs $45/mo. Since my wife can take it anywhere with her, she now has unlimited data on her $30 phone. And unlimited streaming on phones tablets and smart TV.

Since verizon has good service all over, we can use the hotspot on vacation or even if we move. Seems like the best deal I can find now given that there are no phone/cable based service providers in my area that can do internet for less than $80/mo.

This only works up to 15GB, after that they throttle your 4g back to 600k. So while its unlimited, the speed is only up to the first 15GB, then way slower.

 

[goeduck]

I have a Roku and it seems to go stupid and needs to be rebooted once a month or so. Mine's the Ultimate (I think)...it's the one that has an ethernet connection, since we don't have wifi here.

My primary ROKU (actually my wife, the TV addicts, ROKU) is the ultra with a hard wired Ethernet connection and I noticed unless I had it on HDMI-1 it went stupid from time to time. I am not sure that was the issue but since switching it to HDMI-1 it has been okay.

 

[goeduck]

I get all of these in map below, and my strongest are NBC on Sauratown Mt and FOX, CBS out of Roanoke. I have my antenna pointed to the SSE towers for WGHP(FOX) and WFMY(CBS) down off 220 (no rotor, its fixed). So I'm getting a stronger signal from Roanoke off the back side of the antenna.

Mine is very similar to this in dimensions. I have it mounted in the attic hanging over my bedroom so prob around 25' off the ground, shingle roof .......... Digital Advantage HDTV Outdoor TV Antenna-Channel Master CM 2018 (CM2018)

Have this exact preamp also..... Outdoor HDTV VHF/UHF Antenna Amplifier/Booster-Channel Master CM 7777HD (CM7777HD)

So you have the antenna feeding into a preamp, then feeding into a Tablo which feeds into your house network? Does the Tablo not have the ability to pull in the stations? Or did you add the preamp first? Or because the antenna is in the attic?

 

[Zerk]

When I have watched the free shows on Roku they have commercials. I don't like commercials, but I can tune them out, go to the bathroom, ect. I am willing to put up with commercials for free. I wish they would have more variety and not the same one. Ha.

 

[goeduck]

I checked with my internet provider and I have a 1 TB cap that I did not know about. I went into Netflix and set its feed to medium rather than auto. I have not found a way to do that to YouTube or Philo. ROKU does not seem to have a method to do this across the board. When I hit the info button on my TV remote it lists 2160 rows but I cannot tell the different between that and 1080p or even much difference than 720p for that matter. I do not know if my feed is actually 2160 or if that is just what the TV says.

Unlimited data takes me from $50/month to $100, so trying to avoid that. I only set up ROKU part way through the month but my data is at around 500GB already. My wife had been turning the living room TV off with a different remote if that makes a difference. I asked her to exit the show to home and then turn the TV off with the ROKU remote. On the TVs that have ROKU sticks I have them plugged into the TVs USB port so when the TV is off they are not streaming. She likes to sleep with the bedroom TV on so I have to enhance that behavior by convincing her she will sleep better with it off.

 

[CMV]

How Easy Is It to Burn Through a 1TB Data Cap? - Consumer Reports

Here's an interesting article on what it takes to break a 1TB data cap.

 

[MAD777]

How Easy Is It to Burn Through a 1TB Data Cap? - Consumer Reports

Here's an interesting article on what it takes to break a 1TB data cap.

Be sure to read the Comme ts after the article. It seams lots of people go over 1tb if they have multiple kids that game.

 

[thekkfan]

So you have the antenna feeding into a preamp, then feeding into a Tablo which feeds into your house network? Does the Tablo not have the ability to pull in the stations? Or did you add the preamp first? Or because the antenna is in the attic?

Sorry, didn't see you question til now.

My antenna is in attic. Preamp attached but powered in my laundry room distribution panel. Out of the preamp into a 6 way house amp/splitter (with 0 gain/0 loss per leg- very important to not overdrive or lose.) Similar to this...Advanced residential 8 way cable amplifier SV-A15-8PRS-I zero db loss | eBay

Then I go out to multiple TV tuners AND to the room that my Tablo is located-which I made sure is the shortest run in the house.

So on some TVs I can watch the integrated tuner, or I can hit the Tablo app and watch live or what I've recorded. I have one in my garage with no tuner, so Tablo is my only choice for OTA.

This setup has come from alot of trial and error and signal level comparison with THIS antenna. Everything plays a part in preamp and distro selection. Every drop length, antenna style, distance from towers, objects/mountains between. Alot of testing most people arent willing to endure.

 

[thekkfan]

Be sure to read the Comme ts after the article. It seams lots of people go over 1tb if they have multiple kids that game.

Lol, they should take two months internet bill and buy those lazy kids a push mower. And next they'll wonder why the have no socialization skills, blah, blah, blah.....

Here's an idea, if the kids think they need that much data, let them work it off or pay part of the bill. That's what I did/do with my daughters' cell phones.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I live about 45-50 miles from Austin. I finally broke down and bought this antenna, so I could get the Fox on VHF. I had a cheap antenna that would get the UHF channels but not Fox.

CM-4228HD EXTREMEtenna 80 | Channel Master

I want to say that IIRC, it says strong enough for 2 TVs. It is not as omni directional as I was hoping. I don't get some channels from another direction as I did before.

I'm waiting for 5G, and hoping that there will be competitors offering it. It will be a game changer, but how expensive will be the question.

We get internet through a small parabolic dish that they had to put on a fairly tall pole.

You guys him hawing over 100-300mpps... HA! We get around 6 mbps out here in the sticks, and I'm glad to get that right now. Usually, 2 people can be watching video with it. Unlimited, at $78/month. Ouch!

There are programs I miss from DirecTV. Not going to lie. I miss supercross, and MotoGP. I miss the Houston Astros games....and maybe a few other shows.

 

[goeduck]

Sorry, didn't see you question til now.

My antenna is in attic. Preamp attached but powered in my laundry room distribution panel. Out of the preamp into a 6 way house amp/splitter (with 0 gain/0 loss per leg- very important to not overdrive or lose.) Similar to this...Advanced residential 8 way cable amplifier SV-A15-8PRS-I zero db loss | eBay

Then I go out to multiple TV tuners AND to the room that my Tablo is located-which I made sure is the shortest run in the house.

So on some TVs I can watch the integrated tuner, or I can hit the Tablo app and watch live or what I've recorded. I have one in my garage with no tuner, so Tablo is my only choice for OTA.

This setup has come from alot of trial and error and signal level comparison with THIS antenna. Everything plays a part in preamp and distro selection. Every drop length, antenna style, distance from towers, objects/mountains between. Alot of testing most people arent willing to endure.

Nice, you can watch via ROKU or direct cable connection to the TV. Belt and suspenders. Cool. Due to my layout I will only make a cable connection to 1 TV in case the internet and Tablo go down.

How do you tell what gain the amplifier is putting out (0 gain / 0 loss)?

 

[kcflhrc]

I had a trouble ticket yesterday for one of our customers. She has 10 meg through us on fiber, yes I know, but that's what she bought. It's an apartment complex and she is an elderly person retired. She was complaining about her ROKU device, which obviously I don't care about nor do I troubleshoot those devices. Her internet was running download at 9.9, so she is getting what she is paying for. She told me ROKU tech support told her she needed at least 20 meg for it to work properly. I find that hard to believe but that's what she told me. CAF requirements are 10 meg minimum. So according to ROKU the government mandated minimum for CAF of 10 meg is not acceptable for their device, go figure. We are upgrading her to 40 meg next week.

 

[goeduck]

How Easy Is It to Burn Through a 1TB Data Cap? - Consumer Reports

Here's an interesting article on what it takes to break a 1TB data cap.

All my TVs are 4K and I let ROKU configure them to auto sense and as far as I can tell they were at 2160 (4K?) even if displaying what looked like 1080. Not sure what they were doing. ROKU allows each TV screen to be manually set at whatever resolution so I set them all to 1080 this morning. I hope that helps. Xfinity allows me to track my usage if I sign onto my account.

My TV addicted wife leaves every TV on in the house, and the bedroom 24/7. Forced me into sleeping in a guest room years ago. So at 4K I could see that getting up there on my data cap. She will come around now that it could cost us for more cap, but no sense ROKU pushing out more than need be.

No wonder my cable feed into the house was always warm to the touch :laughing: joking.

 

[thekkfan]

the preamps can be anywhere from 15 to 30db. For the house distribution amps, they are usually marked on the output legs. More common are +4 or +8db each.

If you are only going to run to a tablo and one other tv, you can prob get away with a single two way splitter after the preamp if drops are fairly short. You'll only be down -3.5dB per leg. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0113JAN8K/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0113JAN8K&pd_rd_w=KDGVP&pf_rd_p=733540df-430d-45cd-9525-21bc15b0e6cc&pd_rd_wg=CqhZH&pf_rd_r=CEW2P4F9Y9DV79G8C1PF&pd_rd_r=81a1a64e-517c-11e9-acab-6543103b616a

 

[thekkfan]

I live about 45-50 miles from Austin. I finally broke down and bought this antenna, so I could get the Fox on VHF. I had a cheap antenna that would get the UHF channels but not Fox.

CM-4228HD EXTREMEtenna 80 | Channel Master

I want to say that IIRC, it says strong enough for 2 TVs. It is not as omni directional as I was hoping. I don't get some channels from another direction as I did before.

I'm waiting for 5G, and hoping that there will be competitors offering it. It will be a game changer, but how expensive will be the question.

We get internet through a small parabolic dish that they had to put on a fairly tall pole.

You guys him hawing over 100-300mpps... HA! We get around 6 mbps out here in the sticks, and I'm glad to get that right now. Usually, 2 people can be watching video with it. Unlimited, at $78/month. Ouch!

There are programs I miss from DirecTV. Not going to lie. I miss supercross, and MotoGP. I miss the Houston Astros games....and maybe a few other shows.

Your Fox must be on UHF, otherwise THAT antenna wouldnt have helped. Look at the specs only 5db for VHF but 12db for UHF. Do you have a preamp installed? May help with your other stations you lost.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Your Fox must be on UHF, otherwise THAT antenna wouldnt have helped. Look at the specs only 5db for VHF but 12db for UHF. Do you have a preamp installed? May help with your other stations you lost.

No, my first antenna did not handle VHF at all. The 2nd, was a low cost failure. The channel master works now.

7 TIPS TO GETTING THE BEST SIGNAL FROM FOX 7 AUSTIN - Story | KTBC

First, make sure the antenna you are using is both UHF and VHF capable. Most stations now broadcast on UHF. However, FOX 7 is still a VHF station, so you need to make sure your antenna is designed to deliver the VHF signal. This is one of the most common issues.
The FOX 7 transmission tower is located northwest of downtown Austin. If your TV utilizes a “directional antenna,” it should be pointed in this direction for best results.
Try relocating your indoor antenna to different locations around the room where you’re viewing television. Moving the antenna away from large metal objects and/or closer to a window might give you enough signal gain to overcome the “cliff effect” that is common now with digital broadcasts.
Adding a small in-line amplifier can often help with signal problems. These units are inexpensive and easy to install. Click here to see an example. Using this type of amplifier is particularly important if you are feeding multiple television sets from a single antenna. Signal splitters significantly reduce the amount of signal available to each set.
If you continue to experience problems with reliable reception, we suggest moving up to an attic-mounted or outdoor antenna. Here at the station, we have had very good luck with the Winegard GS-2200 antenna. Click here to see an example.
When installing an outdoor antenna, it should be installed away from trees or other dense foliage, and as high as possible for best results. An important note: NEVER install an antenna near an incoming power line, or where it might contact a power cable, should it fall.
Finally, If you need additional assistance with your reception issues, FOX 7 is here to help. Email us at operations@fox7.com, and we’ll do our best to assist you in resolving the problem.

 

[thekkfan]

No, my first antenna did not handle VHF at all. The 2nd, was a low cost failure. The channel master works now.

7 TIPS TO GETTING THE BEST SIGNAL FROM FOX 7 AUSTIN - Story | KTBC

Gotcha. But your are running without an amp though?

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Gotcha. But your are running without an amp though?

No amp yet...but I have it only connected to 1 TV.

 

[thekkfan]

Understood. If you try one, try the preamps from CM, not the crap they mentioned in the article. Those are distribution and wont help your cause.

I have the high/low with LTE filter. Found it on sale for $69... Outdoor HDTV VHF/UHF Antenna Amplifier/Booster-Channel Master CM 7777HD (CM7777HD)