Can any one explain streaming devices like amazon Fire or roku

[Surveyor1653]

Let me ask it this way, then:

If you watch primetime shows most evenings, you have kids who watch cartoons, you watch movies on the movie channels, you watch sports, etc., etc., what is an approximate range on data usage?

 

[SoonerP226]

Call them, tell them you are going to drop the TV service and start streaming.

I wouldn't even tell them about the streaming, just call up to cancel the service and see what kind of deal that gets you. Back when Tom Merritt and Brian Brushwood did the Frame Rate podcast (they do another now called Cord Killers), they had what they called the Frame Rate Chicken Challenge where you called in to cancel your cable/satellite service and see what kind of deal they'd cut you. (They called it the "chicken challenge" because the listeners would occasionally get a good customer service agent who'd go ahead and cancel the service for them.) They had several reports of listeners being offered rates for cable and internet that were lower than the internet-only rates.

I had my DirecTV subscription (which I'd had since the '90s) put on suspension back in May, and I really haven't missed it. I may have to try SlingTV if the Cowboys end up on Monday Night Football, but I don't see that happening the way things have been going this season...

 

[FamousAJ]

So I looked at my cable bill and it jumped $80 out of the blue on me this month so I am looking at possibly dropping and just keeping Internet. My question is on theses devices can I just sit and watch tv (discovery, history, ect..) or do I search like I do on Netflix?

For Sling TV...you just sit and watch just like normal. no searching. Sling TV is the best option for us as it has the channels we like and watch most often. We also have Netflix. there are just so many option out there (Hulu, Crackle, Popcorn, Amazonn Prime) that you just don't need cable. Cable is for folks that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars on programs that they will never watch. i would rather pay $50 for shows I do and WILL watch.

You can buy a DVR and record, but honestly, we like not having the DVR and having to "catch up" on our shows on the weekends...made us feel like we were tied down to watching them. It leaves us more free time to do whatever.

 

[Perplexed]

Off the air TV ain't too bad, all the local channels plus a couple movie channels and PBS. 11 years ago we bought this property and moved. (snip) We satisfy our movie desires with Red Box rentals and get along just fine.

Same here. I haven't missed subscription TV at all.

 

[CHenry]

I use a Roku and watch mostly Sling channels. I will watch a movie now and then on Netflix of Amazon prime. I enjoy older series like Hell on Wheels and similar shows on Netflix too.

 

[coolhandluke]

If you get a Fire TV Stick, side load Kodi, and then load Genesis, you can watch anything. And I mean ANYTHING! Spectre is already on there. Sports, anything you want to watch. All NFL games. Every movie ever made. Adult movies, all you want. It's amazing. It does take a little technical ability or you can buy them already hacked (it's not really hacked, but that's another story). Took me about an hour.

I purchased a jailbroken Fire Stick off of eBay earlier today. Can anyone clarify if there are any potential legality issues that might arise from streaming media through Kodi or Genesis?

 

[gregb21]

Same here. I haven't missed subscription TV at all.

We cut cable last Feb. Have saved 200 a month since. We have a amazon fire box with kodi installed on it. You can search YouTube and it tells you how to install it. The difference between the firestick and firebox, the firebox you can hookup with an ether net cord and it doesn't buffer as much. Get the fastest Internet speed in your area. With kodi installed you can watch any movie to TV show that you want too. It is just a different way to watch him tv, just takes a bit to get used to.

 

[NightShade]

Cut the cord over a year ago. We use an antenna for the "background noise" which is generally Ion TV.

Streaming is netflix to our smart tv or just use my desktop which I use the tv as a monitor for.

Also use Plex for playing a lot of other stuff. Working on finishing up a FreeNAS where I can store all the movies and tv shows. The added value for me with this is that I can stream to anywhere as well as "share" with family members. My father will soon have a FreeNAS of his own and I will be able to borrow movies from him and vice versa. And trust me when I say that is only touching the surface of what it can do.

We don't do a lot of sports so that hasn't been a big loss at all.

 

[gregb21]

Cut the cord over a year ago. We use an antenna for the "background noise" which is generally Ion TV.

Streaming is netflix to our smart tv or just use my desktop which I use the tv as a monitor for.

Also use Plex for playing a lot of other stuff. Working on finishing up a FreeNAS where I can store all the movies and tv shows. The added value for me with this is that I can stream to anywhere as well as "share" with family members. My father will soon have a FreeNAS of his own and I will be able to borrow movies from him and vice versa. And trust me when I say that is only touching the surface of what it can do.

We don't do a lot of sports so that hasn't been a big loss at all.

Get yourself a hd antenna for local channels. There is a lady in town that sells the firesticks and fire boxes. As for legality, a lot of the streams that I have noticed come from other countries, plus I am not that concerned with it.

 

[Ace_on_the_Turn]

Ace can you explain how to do this fire stick thing or a link so a computer illiterate can try to load those programs

On YouTube search for loading Kodi on fire stick. As I said, it can be done, but it's a bit of a PIA. If you really are not good with computers I would highly suggest you buy one already loaded.

AMAZON FIRE STICK JAILBROKEN, LOADED WITH XBMC KODI 15.2