Update 09/15/2017: We are saving $100 per month and have updated streaming to: NVIDIA SHIELD TV Streaming Media Player [2017 Version] which will let up play games and video off HD, but the improvement in streaming is well worth the cost of approximately $200.
Original 07/12/2017: It has taken me over a month to get the information I need to finally get rid of cable, though we are still getting internet service from the same company. I had an old emergency HDTV antenna to receive free channels of live TV which did not work well. I purchased Winegard FlatWave Amplified FL5500A Digital HD Indoor TV Antenna from Amazon and after I moved equipment around so I could free up a power plug, I managed to get in NBC, CBS and ABC acceptably, though it does burp occasionally. Other channels, CW for example, is not as clear, but much improved over my old antenna. Also, we are getting GRIT, which has old westerns, Walker Texas Ranger and other old shows, which is ridiculous, I know, but using anything to get off the horrible NEWS during dinner is my idea of stress relief. My next task is to determine which DVR system we need to record when we can’t help missing our favorite shows. Actually, we don’t have many favorite shows, especially during the summer which is why I chose to work on it. I like some of the summer fare, like ZOO, but other(s) in my family cannot stand it, so I made the big SACRIFICE so I can get later this year, hopefully, on Amazon Prime Video or Netflix, which we have had for literally — years. So I am looking forward to watching my shows this fall, like NCIS, which we don’t want to be so addicted to but somehow can’t seem to pull away from, ha! We have HBO NOW so we can watch GOT in mid July, and we are currently using SLING TV (Both Blue and Orange) for everything else, eg. SPORTS and added STARZ, EPIX and SHOWTIME and still managed to save around $100 from what we were paying. This is both encouraging and exasperating. To search for what we want to watch takes much longer and more time and I forget and totally miss shows I used to record on DVR for those JUST IN CASE WE CAN STAND IT moments. I ordered a TV Guide today subscription today to help me/us FIND stuff. Just looking at reviews, like Rotten Tomatoes every night is getting too complicated for late in the day. Also, I have to remember to plug in the Amazon Firestick for SLING, because it only runs for around three hours before if overheats and locks up. I am waiting until fall, to see whether we need to get invest in better equipment, eg. Roku or XBOX One, though I am, so far not really that impressed with either. In fact, I have been looking at Tablo and/or Tivo as alternatives. I have burned out on Microsoft (XBOX) after decades of updates and I would like simplify. Speaking of which, I heard about Simple.TV and that may be a possibility. Frankly, I expect to be in the process of getting all the features I want for some time as no single system, plan or company is really meeting all my requirements and I am thinking that’s a good thing, because if there was, they would probably be charging me/us a fortune. Ha!
About the internet charges: I have already been using my own Modem/Router for years, with good outcomes, but I can only get 30mbps from this company and we are paying around $70 per month. The company “Store” said I could get 100mbps (maximum) for this market for around $100 per month, but with a whopping $200 installation (guarantee fee)!! Really!? Before I found this out, on the phone with the commpany that is supposed to be SO MUCH IMPROVED and customer oriented, they quoted me 100mbps at special rate this month of $49.99 or for $100 per month I could get 300mbps rate and that had me drooling! Unfortunately, they did not directly handle our business. They set me up for a big disappointment. We had to “turn” in our cable equipment and deal with the “local store”. The quoted deals were reserved for the big market area?! So what does it take to be a big enough market? Is it the local equipment that is stopping them? They are going to lose their business because other companies in this area are at a MINIMUM of 60mbps and around $50 per month. So, I did not yet take us on that time consuming task of road of converting all our email over to something else yet. It’s hot, I’m tired, and can I even remember all the places, people that have my email address? Really? Why aren’t they improving our systems? People surely know about the 97% profit margin they are making. The shame is that they have the best email (webmail) I’ve ever had. I am looking into that too. I need an email system that is web based and independent of these providers. Yes, it’s true, I am a demanding customer. Remind self: don’t sweat the small stuff. I have survived the headache of research and experimentation and I am saving $100 per month! Woo hoo!