# Programming Availibility



## 1953 (Feb 7, 2006)

Just beginning to research cutting the cord in favor of streaming and OTA.

Big question. In addition to OTA several of our daily watched sat specific channels include USA, TNT along with the History and Discovery channels. Are there any streaming services with such programming? Also, what streaming service has the most programming? Obviously our purpose for cutting the cord is to save money but my understanding is that streaming is not free. We do not want to go from $100+ DTV to near the same expense in streaming services.

Opinions, comments and suggestions please. Thank you.


----------



## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

To go full streaming, you have to rethink how you watch TV. It's completely different. You don't really select a network and just watch. You select a program, watch it, then select another and watch it.

In some cases, you can select a series and watch several episodes in a row.

The availability of options is constantly changing. A show available today may not be available tomorrow.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Very few networks stream their live programming so if preparing yourself for the water cooler discussions the following day is important, streaming is typically NOT an option.

If you subscribe to a service that does stream programming live, you're right back where you started.


----------



## 1953 (Feb 7, 2006)

Streaming does not sound like a source for favored scheduled programming. Oh well.


----------



## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

I believe Sling TV streams their channels live.


----------



## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

1953 said:


> Streaming does not sound like a source for favored *scheduled programming*. Oh well.


One of the main advantages of streaming is that you watch available programming on YOUR schedule, not the networks'.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

SayWhat? said:


> One of the main advantages of streaming is that you watch available programming on YOUR schedule, not the networks'.


At the same time, if you can't get what you want as soon as you want it (this is especially true of events), streaming isn't your friend.

Event-based programming such as sports or live "news" may always suffer in the streaming world.


----------



## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

I would recommend you pickup a Fire TV or Roku 3 and see what streaming is really like. With the exception of Hulu Plus I think you'll find that with streaming you will always be behind the current seasons unless you're willing to pay for it through Amazon or Apple.


----------



## Wilf (Oct 15, 2008)

1953 said:


> Streaming does not sound like a source for favored scheduled programming. Oh well.





SayWhat? said:


> One of the main advantages of streaming is that you watch available programming on YOUR schedule, not the networks'.


When you cut the cord, start fresh - don't think about watching the way you did before. It is whole new world. The biggest plus is *NO COMMERCIALS!* There no keeping you finger on the skip button. Start with Netflix - cheap and you get to watch what you want when you want - and you won't run out of stuff to watch. Then there are the niche channels - for my wife that is Acorn TV (British television), again no commercials. If you use a Roku, there are tons of specialty channels to explore. Another very big plus is you can watch on any device you want - iPad, smartphone, laptop, or your TV set. Keep in mind that a 10-inch iPad with retina display 12 inches from you face is equivalent to a big screen TV several feet away.

There is one disadvantage - trying to watch OTA network channels infested with commercials will drive you up the wall after you have been watching commercial free for a while - there is really no turning back.


----------



## lokar (Oct 8, 2006)

So what does Hulu Plus have that regular Hulu doesn't? Their own website does a terrible/nonexistent job of explaining this.


----------



## KyL416 (Nov 11, 2005)

lokar said:


> So what does Hulu Plus have that regular Hulu doesn't? Their own website does a terrible/nonexistent job of explaining this.


Hulu Plus lets you watch the back libraries of many shows and gives you next day airings for some networks like ABC and Fox that would otherwise require provider authentication via Watch ABC and Fox Now.


----------



## 1953 (Feb 7, 2006)

We receive over 40 OTA channel. Not all are beneficial to us.


----------



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

1953 said:


> Just beginning to research cutting the cord in favor of streaming and OTA.
> 
> Big question. In addition to OTA several of our daily watched sat specific channels include USA, TNT along with the History and Discovery channels. Are there any streaming services with such programming? Also, what streaming service has the most programming? Obviously our purpose for cutting the cord is to save money but my understanding is that streaming is not free. We do not want to go from $100+ DTV to near the same expense in streaming services.
> 
> Opinions, comments and suggestions please. Thank you.


My 2015 Summer Season experiment was short and _not_ so sweet.

I began by downgrading our Dish package and subscribing to Sling TV with HBO to give us access to the key cable channels we watched. Added to Netflix, Amazon, Acorn TV, and Feeln, it seemed like there was a lot to watch. Also I was testing CBS All Access while contemplating HULU.

The first thing I learned is we can't stand to watch commercials - you can't skip commercials when streaming most current broadcast/cable TV shows. That was an instant deal killer and limited the experiment to a month. So much for even the downgraded Dish package replaced by Sling TV/CBS All Access/HULU.

The second thing I learned is I'm used to having the networks set a weekly schedule even though we do watch recordings, not live.

Since I don't like binge watching, I had to create a viewing schedule to incorporate the new internet streaming "channel" shows I selected to watch on an episodic basis once a week, interspersed with the recorded shows sitting on my DVR.

The outcome is that we went back to the AT120 Dish plus HBO package but we did keep Netflix, Acorn TV, and Feeln for the shows they offer which means more money, not less (we already have Amazon Prime).

As with many of us at DBSTalk, our location does not have access to OTA. While access to live TV isn't important for our household for regular viewing, there are rare times that reliable access to live news is important and randomly streaming from internet sites is still not reliable, though it's almost there. The CBS All Access worked fine for live access to the Bay Area CBS owned and operated station. This is a big issue for sports enthusiasts but Sling TV represents a pretty good access system to live sports on cable channels, particularly good for those who have OTA for broadcast channels.

HULU is now talking about a "no commercials" option. This tells me that things just haven't matured enough for our household to shift to all-streaming mode. If I'm alive, that likely will be possible in 2017-18.


----------



## 1953 (Feb 7, 2006)

Great post!


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Wilf said:


> The biggest plus is *NO COMMERCIALS!*


If you watch the major network's streams, they'll have commercials in them and they often won't be able to be skipped over. If all you want is movies, streaming is fine but once you desire more current content, the garbage quickly creeps in.


----------



## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

I just canceled HBO on FiOS TV. We watch a lot of Netflix programming via AppleTV and Amazon Fire stick, which cost $8.99 per month for service on two devices. We have hardly watched any HBO programming (at $10 per month discounted price) in the last few months.

I haven't cut the cord yet but am considering doing so. I would have to get a TiVO, though, to record OTA programs and be able to fast-forward through the commercials. The DVR comes in handy for pausing when our viewing is interrupted by a phone call or someone ringing our doorbell.


----------



## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

I found that AdBlock would kill the commercials, but leave you with a black screen for the duration of the ad period.


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

SayWhat? said:


> I found that AdBlock would kill the commercials, but leave you with a black screen for the duration of the ad period.


While this works on computers and perhaps some handhelds, it typically doesn't work with media streamers or SMART TVs.


----------



## SeaBeagle (May 7, 2006)

I wish there would be TV stations that would be on the air 24 hours a day and not just show the news.


Sent from my iPad 4 128GB using DBSTalk mobile application.


----------



## 1953 (Feb 7, 2006)

After so much great input we will not be cutting the cord at least for the next four years. Thanks


----------



## DBSSTEPHEN (Oct 13, 2009)

billsharpe said:


> I just canceled HBO on FiOS TV. We watch a lot of Netflix programming via AppleTV and Amazon Fire stick, which cost $8.99 per month for service on two devices. We have hardly watched any HBO programming (at $10 per month discounted price) in the last few months.
> 
> I haven't cut the cord yet but am considering doing so. I would have to get a TiVO, though, to record OTA programs and be able to fast-forward through the commercials. The DVR comes in handy for pausing when our viewing is interrupted by a phone call or someone ringing our doorbell.


 why don't you just purchased the Channel Master DVR because it has apps built into it and the DVR service free


----------



## Wilf (Oct 15, 2008)

This article from the Washington Post may be of interest to Cord Cutters: https://goo.gl/r3zur7


----------



## 1953 (Feb 7, 2006)

Wilf said:


> This article from the Washington Post may be of interest to Cord Cutters: https://goo.gl/r3zur7


What this article confirmed was that "streaming" will become just another pay service. Yes, it may that time to reach same cost as cable or satellite but streaming will not be the answer cord cutters are seeking.


----------



## Wilf (Oct 15, 2008)

Having been a cord cutter for a few years, I would not agree. My "My List" on Netflix is chock full of stuff I want to watch but haven't had a chance to, and I am way behind in watching the Acorn TV offerings I subscribe to. I have no desire to add any other streaming services. My "TV" bill is a small fraction of what my satellite bill use to be. 

But for those that want to watch the latest over hyped network offerings and the sports addicts, you might be right.


----------



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Wilf said:


> Having been a cord cutter for a few years, I would not agree. My "My List" on Netflix is chock full of stuff I want to watch but haven't had a chance to, and I am way behind in watching the Acorn TV offerings I subscribe to. I have no desire to add any other streaming services. My "TV" bill is a small fraction of what my satellite bill use to be.
> 
> But for those that want to watch the latest over hyped network offerings and the sports addicts, you might be right.


This year we're "winding down" our network/cable watching. While I'm still recording stuff we might want to watch, along with some streaming shows via Netflix and Acorn TV we're only watching (1) long-time favorites for instance what I think are the last years of "NCIS" or (2) shows in PBS Masterpiece which are limited in seasons and streamed by PBS or (3) the FX show "Fargo" which is a new show each season. Fortunately there wasn't one broadcast network new show this fall we care if we watch. Now that HULU offers a commercial-free option by the time my commitment is up with Dish we will be able to cancel. If CBS fails to come around to commercial-free offerings, oh well. I'm already irritated with them requiring me to wait 8 days to use the Autohop feature.

I am struggling with when to watch what. I tried scheduling and am not having much luck - we seem to be succumbing to the "squirrel" impulsive-watching system. This really is us:

[youtubehd]SSUXXzN26zg[/youtubehd]

On the other hand, maybe the "squirrel" system is better as I'm old and won't be able to watch everything I think I might want to see in my lifetime.


----------

