Fellow Cord-cutters...What is your setup?

[arrowheadnation]

I said I would never do it. I couldn't cut the cord. Live sports meant too much to me. I did the song and dance with my cable company for almost 3 years. They would raise my rates, I would call in and threaten to disconnect and they would lower them again. Then a few months ago, my bill went up $99 (to $237/mo. incl. internet) and they refused to lower it back to the original rate, so I parted ways with them. Today marked my second full month as a "cord cutter." Here is my current setup:

Playstation Vue Core Slim subscription - It was either this, DirecTV Now, or Sling, and for what I watch, it was a no-brainer. It has basically all of the channels I was watching when I had cable. I had some issues at first with buffering but after making some changes to the DNS addresses, it has worked pretty much flawlessly . It has cloud based DVR which is what set it apart from the competition for me (sling didn't offer dvr at the time but is in beta testing now). The HD pic is also very crisp as well. This is $35 per month for 60+ channels including all espn's and fox sports networks. Combined with my 50mbps internet, I'm paying roughly $115 per month (Was paying $237 with cable).

Android TV Box loaded with Kodi - I paid $125 for this box on eBay. It is an octo-core android box with a proprietary Kodi build on it. (Yes, I know I could have done it myself much cheaper but I always seem to have issues with these kinds of things when I get brave and do them on my own.) I use it for movies, PPV fights, and to watch the TV shows that I used to watch that are not included in the Vue programming (mainly HBO, SHOWTIME, network tv, History channel, and the Viacom networks - nickelodion, Comedy Central, etc.). If you don't already know about Kodi, just try a google search, it was sent from heaven for tight asses like myself.

Mohu Leaf Ultimate Amplified HD antenna - for local channels until ps vue adds them in my area (currently only in major markets like ny, la, Miami, etc.). It actually picks up about 35 channels, most in HD. I live about 30 miles away from the farthest TV tower. I was worried the pic would not be good, but it's just as good or better than the HD I had with cable. It cost me $55 on eBay.

Channel Master Over the Air DVR - this is what I really had taken for granted with cable. The DVR is one of the greatest inventions ever. I never watch my shows live anymore and figured I could go back to doing so, but I started to realize a couple days in that I either wouldnt remember to watch my favorites from network tv, the shows were live or local, or my schedule wouldnt allow for it. After some research, I came across the Channel Master DVR. It's an over the air HD DVR with up to 1TB of hard drive space and NO MONTHLY FEE!!! It's very similar to the one built into your cable box as it comes with an on-screen guide and dual tuner (yes, I. Wish there were more). It is quite pricy at around $200 on eBay but it's a one time charge where Tivo has a monthly fee (do some research on youtube to see if it's for you).

Like I stated earlier, I'm two months in. I'm still watching all of the same programming at $115/mo. that I was watching at $237/mo. so I'd say it's going well. The DVR on the PS Vue is awesome. The channel master DVR is very cool but not 100% necessary as I can still find almost all of the shows I miss on the kodi box. I mainly use the channel master for the pause ffwd and rewind features. The only real negative that I can take away so far is the inconvenience of having to change from one device to another. I didn't realize how much I took for granted being able to take a split second to change the channel rather than having to change the input from the PS4 to the antenna or he kodi box (and then having to find a good stream), but for the money I'm saving, it's worth the few minutes of annoyance. The buffering issue with the Playstation Vue was quite frustrating in the beginning, but a quick google search helped me find a quick solution. I found that you have to make some changes to the DNS servers and boom...problem solved.

If you have questions about my set-up,let me know. I'm curious to see the set-ups of other cord cutters on here mainly to find out if there are better options than what I currently have. Surely I'm not the only one.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by MagicHef

How is your VPN + NFL Gamepass working? I had it for one season but it ended up being a hassle and I dropped it. I'm wondering if my VPN wasn't very good. How much do you spend on the two together?

I run it off of my media center laptop using PIA VPN though Mexico, and it works great. $40/year for PIA I think (I'd probably pay for it anyway) and $130/year for NFL Gamepass (though I think they're bumping it to $200/year next season).

For whatever reason, the Windows NFL app is way better quality than what you can get through the web browser. I get full 1080p 60fps feeds pretty steadily, though it does bump down from that here and there.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by unlurking

The key to VPN and Gamepass is to disconnect from VPN after you get a game started. It only checks location when initiating stream. Basically, VPN performance should be a non-factor.

Eh, while true, PIA at least regularly gets me a 15Mbps connection, so that's not necessary these days. Plus, it's a pain in the ass to get it all reconnected again if it drops.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by eDave

http://www.wiz1.net/schedule

This chord cutting looks like it's a pain in the ass for the savings. Economies of scale I guess.

Once you get the kinks in your setup ironed out, it's great. I'm on vacation right now and have been in hotel rooms for the past week and probably haven't had the actual TV on for more than an hour or two. I can't stand live TV anymore now that I'm used to having whatever I want any time I want it.

Also, the savings doesn't sound like much until you work it out as a per year thing. I figure I'm saving around $80/month these days. That's not a ton, but I'll gladly take that ~$1k per year.

[bigjosh]

I put an antenna up where the Directv dish used to be on the roof. Fire Tv in 2 rooms got Netflix, Hulu, and Prime. And I stream anything I want to watch live on various websites on a TV that is hooked up to my laptop. Internet+Netflix+Hulu+Amazon=70 bucks a month. My cable bill with internet was previously over 200 bucks.

[Shaid]

I can get basic channels which is all the local ones for $19 a month and since I have cable internet I get a $12 reduction for multiple services, drops me to $7 a month for local channels so I don't need to deal with Antennas, etc. Then I have Netflix and decided to do DirectTV now for the 100 live channels at $35 a month. Have Kodi for anything else I want.

DirectTVNow - $35
Local Channels - $7
Netflix - $12
Kodi - Free

Puts me at $54 a month for a pretty good selection with lots of live channels and all my local channels. Also if you do a one month pre-pay of DirectTVNow you get a free Firestick, 3 months you get a free AppleTV. Did the 3 months since I already have 2 firesticks and wanted to try the AppleTV anyways. Think that offer is only good for a couple more days.

[unlurking]

Originally Posted by Shaid

I can get basic channels which is all the local ones for $19 a month and since I have cable internet I get a $12 reduction for multiple services, drops me to $7 a month for local channels so I don't need to deal with Antennas, etc. Then I have Netflix and decided to do DirectTV now for the 100 live channels at $35 a month. Have Kodi for anything else I want.

DirectTVNow - $35
Local Channels - $7
Netflix - $12
Kodi - Free

Puts me at $54 a month for a pretty good selection with lots of live channels and all my local channels. Also if you do a one month pre-pay of DirectTVNow you get a free Firestick, 3 months you get a free AppleTV. Did the 3 months since I already have 2 firesticks and wanted to try the AppleTV anyways. Think that offer is only good for a couple more days.

Been curious about the DirecTV Now offering. How are the on demand offerings? Good enough to drop Hulu?

[Squalor2]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I run it off of my media center laptop using PIA VPN though Mexico, and it works great. $40/year for PIA I think (I'd probably pay for it anyway) and $130/year for NFL Gamepass (though I think they're bumping it to $200/year next season).

For whatever reason, the Windows NFL app is way better quality than what you can get through the web browser. I get full 1080p 60fps feeds pretty steadily, though it does bump down from that here and there.

nothing personal, Oprah wants what you do.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Four sticks and one Fire TV Box. All side loaded with KODI. 54$ per month for internet service. 4 HD antennnea that get 34 local channels. If I want to watch sports I have multiple log ins for apps like ESPN/FOX/NBC Sports Channel that I traded to people for setting up their firestick.

I've been free for 15 months and I will never go back to cable.

Also, thanks to Fish for getting me started. I was nervous at first trying to do it on my own, but after the first set up each one after that got easier.

Thanks Fish!

[Baby Lee]

I have an HDTV Wonder for OTA and satellite feed [I'm still on a bundle for TV/Internet/Satellite so the price isn't an impediment at present], Kodi for streams, and JRiver for playback/organization.

:Edit: and the whole thing is routed to my HT through DLNA to my BluRay player, if I want to sit down for something. Otherwise I watch/listen through my PC.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Squalor2

nothing personal, Oprah wants what you do.

I have no idea what this means.

[dmahurin]

Fire tv and fire stick with kodi and netflix. Can watch everything I want. Nothing else needed. Been cable free for over a year and will never go back.

[Fat Elvis]

Mohu Leaf antenea, Fire Stick, Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now and Amazon Prime... 1/3 the cost of cable once you factor in the internet access and everything we want to watch (except the wife misses MSNBC). Oh, and the kid has an XBox One on her Roku TV... we used to use it in the living room, but use the Fire Stick now.

Thinking about dropping Netflix too, but wife wants to keep it. Kid loves Hulu and I like HBO Now..... No one watches Amazon Prime. Still more stuff than we can ever watch (or would want to watch).

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by arrowheadnation

I said I would never do it. I couldn't cut the cord. Live sports meant too much to me. I did the song and dance with my cable company for almost 3 years. They would raise my rates, I would call in and threaten to disconnect and they would lower them again. Then a few months ago, my bill went up $99 (to $237/mo. incl. internet) and they refused to lower it back to the original rate, so I parted ways with them. Today marked my second full month as a "cord cutter." Here is my current setup:

Playstation Vue Core Slim subscription - It was either this, DirecTV Now, or Sling, and for what I watch, it was a no-brainer. It has basically all of the channels I was watching when I had cable. I had some issues at first with buffering but after making some changes to the DNS addresses, it has worked pretty much flawlessly . It has cloud based DVR which is what set it apart from the competition for me (sling didn't offer dvr at the time but is in beta testing now). The HD pic is also very crisp as well. This is $35 per month for 60+ channels including all espn's and fox sports networks. Combined with my 50mbps internet, I'm paying roughly $115 per month (Was paying $237 with cable).

Android TV Box loaded with Kodi - I paid $125 for this box on eBay. It is an octo-core android box with a proprietary Kodi build on it. (Yes, I know I could have done it myself much cheaper but I always seem to have issues with these kinds of things when I get brave and do them on my own.) I use it for movies, PPV fights, and to watch the TV shows that I used to watch that are not included in the Vue programming (mainly HBO, SHOWTIME, network tv, History channel, and the Viacom networks - nickelodion, Comedy Central, etc.). If you don't already know about Kodi, just try a google search, it was sent from heaven for tight asses like myself.

Mohu Leaf Ultimate Amplified HD antenna - for local channels until ps vue adds them in my area (currently only in major markets like ny, la, Miami, etc.). It actually picks up about 35 channels, most in HD. I live about 30 miles away from the farthest TV tower. I was worried the pic would not be good, but it's just as good or better than the HD I had with cable. It cost me $55 on eBay.

Channel Master Over the Air DVR - this is what I really had taken for granted with cable. The DVR is one of the greatest inventions ever. I never watch my shows live anymore and figured I could go back to doing so, but I started to realize a couple days in that I either wouldnt remember to watch my favorites from network tv, the shows were live or local, or my schedule wouldnt allow for it. After some research, I came across the Channel Master DVR. It's an over the air HD DVR with up to 1TB of hard drive space and NO MONTHLY FEE!!! It's very similar to the one built into your cable box as it comes with an on-screen guide and dual tuner (yes, I. Wish there were more). It is quite pricy at around $200 on eBay but it's a one time charge where Tivo has a monthly fee (do some research on youtube to see if it's for you).

Like I stated earlier, I'm two months in. I'm still watching all of the same programming at $115/mo. that I was watching at $237/mo. so I'd say it's going well. The DVR on the PS Vue is awesome. The channel master DVR is very cool but not 100% necessary as I can still find almost all of the shows I miss on the kodi box. I mainly use the channel master for the pause ffwd and rewind features. The only real negative that I can take away so far is the inconvenience of having to change from one device to another. I didn't realize how much I took for granted being able to take a split second to change the channel rather than having to change the input from the PS4 to the antenna or he kodi box (and then having to find a good stream), but for the money I'm saving, it's worth the few minutes of annoyance. The buffering issue with the Playstation Vue was quite frustrating in the beginning, but a quick google search helped me find a quick solution. I found that you have to make some changes to the DNS servers and boom...problem solved.

If you have questions about my set-up,let me know. I'm curious to see the set-ups of other cord cutters on here mainly to find out if there are better options than what I currently have. Surely I'm not the only one.

I am incredibly too lazy to mess with all of this shit just to save $100 a month.

[unlurking]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Eh, while true, PIA at least regularly gets me a 15Mbps connection, so that's not necessary these days. Plus, it's a pain in the ass to get it all reconnected again if it drops.

Depends on your setup. Reconnecting to VPN is an absolute breeze for me, and dropping the latency of sending my data through other countries made mine so stable that the only time I ever needed to reconnect was after when switching games, which I don't do regularly. But, I use a PC and browser.

Either way, any VPN + Game Pass should be a pretty solid experience.

[Shaid]

Originally Posted by unlurking

Been curious about the DirecTV Now offering. How are the on demand offerings? Good enough to drop Hulu?

No, the On Demand is pretty underwhelming. Looks basically like what you can get from their individual sites, just packaged nicely for you.