Do you still use cable/satellite tv ?

And what's your opinion on its current state.

As its been noted by multiple sources. Subscription cable/dish tv services, have been steadily losing subscribers. In particular, younger millennials that also make up a chunk of this forum. Have been the ones most noted for cord cutting.

I do currently have DirecTV, as our current plan is a better deal than what cable providers are offering in my area. But I do see in the age of YouTube. The cable tv model is becoming dated. Watching 30 commericals between shows I'm interested in, is pretty played out. When alternative content services have less or no ads. Only reason I personally see in having a subscription tv service. Is for professional sports, which can't be watched legally elsewhere. So what about you Gamespotters ?

Just pointing out that this isn't strictly true with Sling's new sports packages. There's also OTA broadcasts, although their sports offerings are more limited.

I don't subscribe to cable. I actually use a mix of OTA broadcasts (streamed through the network using an HD HomeRun tuner) and network services/discs.

I still subscribe to cable myself because I like to watch various sports and other live events plus certain shows and broadcasts that aren't necessarily available on streaming services. For me it's just easier and cheaper for cable then to subscribe to a bunch of different streaming services.

I still have satellite TV, even though I rarely watch it anymore. Mainly sports, Agents of SHIELD and Arrowverse shows. HBO just recently got nuked, but I tend to wait till the DVDs for my Game of Thrones fix anyway.

I am tempted to give Netflix a try. Maybe some day.

Seems like you have some good alternatives to traditional cable/dish services.

I hope someday that services like NBA League pass. Don't black out local games. Although there are ways around those restrictions.

Haven't had Cable since Netflix started streaming. All OTA and Roku now. I use quite a few channels on the Roku, but Netflix is my only sub.

I've also been moving my DVD collection to Vudu (Disc to Digital) and paying the small fee to upgrade to HD. I'm slowly getting rid of those damn discs cluttering everything up.

@br0kenrabbit: Oh wow I never knew Vudu offered that service till now.

I don't have that many DVD's/Blu rays. But keeping clutter down is a plus. And while I was hesitant to get into Ultraviolet streaming. I suppose its not all too bad, considering that I have paid to stream movies on other services.

@jak42:

Nope, just Netflix, Hulu and all that other jazz. **** cable/satellite TV.

Hell yes. It's how I watch the Penguins.

I can't help but ask - what value proposition do you see in hosting your discs on Vudu?

I do. I have a set of channels I would like to keep and until I'm assured that I'll be able to get all of them without having to get various different subscriptions I'll remain tethered to good ol', imperfect, bloated and inneficient cable TV.

At this time last year I was moving into my first house, and I wanted to weigh my options for TV and internet service, as I had TWC the past four years. I never had issues with any of their services (gasp), but the bills were starting to rise and I was paying for the full TV package, which has way more channels than I care to ever watch. The deal-breaker was with the regional sports (I live in upstate NY and am a big Yankees fan, so YES was a must). Ultimately I was swayed into moving my existing service and tacking on a basic security system for a price I was willing to pay. One year later, still no major issues - I've only gotten short outages twice. What I dread in the coming year is when that promotional price runs out - I'm afraid my bill will double in size or more.

The only options in my area are TWC and Verizon FiOS (which isn't available everywhere, but I'm 99% sure I can get it if I want it). The security system ended up being under contract for some time, but once that contract is up (or sooner, since TWC's new owner Charter is thinking of killing it), I may end up re-evaluating my options. I'm considering ditching the TWC service at that time to get FiOS internet with OTA local channels and DirectTV Now for everything else (including YES), but I'll know for sure when the time comes.

What I don't like is the whole fragmentation of the streaming market, but that's another story.

I, for one, thank you for fully supporting the channels which produce a single show I like to watch :-P

My wife and I cut the cable a few years ago and haven't looked back. Netflix has more than satisfied our needs.

All we ever watched when we had cable was Food Network.

@LJS9502_basic: "It's how I watch the Penguins."

Blackhawks>>>>>>Penguins

Kane/Towes>>>>>>Crosby

I always viewed those type of channels (Food network, HGTV, etc) as "filler" channels. I later found out that a lot of people I know have them on their "must have" list.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. Maybe it's just a habit thing? I have no idea, LOL.

I cut the cord, oh, 4 or 5 years ago. I honestly haven't missed it.

Many channels I used to love turned to shit before I cut the cord. History Channel and Discovery turned into crap Reality TV channels...gone were Modern Marvels, The Universe, Storm Chasers, Engineering programs like Build it Bigger, etc. Espn has absolutely been ruined by Disney; I almost never watched before I finally rid myself of cable.

I get by on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and over-the-air digital broadcasts. I'm thinking about building a RetroPie, which I believe comes with Kodi. My understanding is that, with Kodi, you can find just about anything you can imagine available to stream.

I was thinking about this a couple of days ago -- is there an option, better than DirecTV and a DVR? If I want to watch ESPN, HBO, Comedy Central, Discovery, HGTV, ABC, CBS, Fox, NFL Network (mainly college and NFL football for the networks) is DirecTV my best (cheapest and easiest) option?

For sports, there is no better option, that I am aware of, than DirecTV.

I got Netflix and Playstation Vue, and they serve their purpose just fine. Got tired of paying for cable for channels I don't watch. Also have Amazon Prime, but I got it more for shopping purposes than watching their streaming service.

Me and my wife just use streaming services like Netflix. We have no plan on going to cable/satellite.

We both love food. Cooking it, eating it, going to restaurants. Shows like Cutthroat Kitchen are infinitely more entertaining than 99% of the fluff on TV these days.

I don't have to keep up with them. They can't be lost. They can't be stolen/borrowed. I don't have to physically browse through them. I can access them wherever.

Just off the top of my head.

Just curious. I do something similar, but I file them myself rather than with an external service.

This is close from SlingTV. If you're willing to lose ESPN and keep NFL Network you can drop down a tier. If you'd rather have ESPN than the NFL Network you can drop to the cheapest tier.

ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox you can probably get OTA.

I use Vudu because at the time they were the only place that could host UV and Disney movies under one service. Not sure if that's still true, but most movies register under either UV or Disney Anywhere so I could access them from another service if I wanted to.

UV is owned by the studios minus Disney which has DA: I'm not worried about either service disappearing in my lifetime.

Ah, now it makes sense. Thanks for the enlightenment.

But that still doesn't allow me to record, the convenience of a DVR cannot be overstated.

EDIT: Apparently Sling has a cloud DVR in beta...which, apparently, you have to apply for due to capacity issues.

As of now I do not see a better option for sports fans than DirecTV. Granted NFL package is ~$200, but there is no better way to watch the NFL.

Do you dislike Vudu?

I love Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri. Even though it often makes me wish I was eating what they were presenting on tv.

HGTV can get pretty addicting. I'm not a fan of all the shows they have. But professionally done home renovations is like an art. There's so much customization and styles to fit a variety of living situations and personal preferences. And it teaches you how simple things like a choice of paint color. Can make rooms feel bigger than they actually are. Along with other things to increase the charm and comfort of your home. The channel is also helping to lead the way for the growing tiny house/micro living movement in America. Which has become a huge blessing for many Americans looking to increase their household income.

History channel has really gone to shit. I will admit I enjoyed some of their non-history shows for a season, but a name change is long overdue. Fortunately YouTube is filled with tons of documentaries and history related things available for viewing. Even though I'm not always in the mood to sit down for a 30-45 minute show.

I also stopped watching ESPN, outside of sport broadcasts unavailable elsewhere. Sport specific networks like NBA TV, provide me with more professional anchors. And I don't have to wait 15 minutes, and go through 2-3 commercial breaks. Before I get the news I want that ESPN sees as a low priority.

I have nothing against others using it :-P

It's just not for me. At least not their "put my disc onto the cloud in digital form for an additional fee" service. They seem to have some additional services that may be worth checking out since the last time I looked into them.

I have cable because my apartment complex requires it, and with Plex, Netflix, and dvds I basically get no use out of it. Every once in a while my girlfriend will turn it on for comedy central, but that's about it.

SatelliteTV here ( SKY )

Nah. Netflix, Hulu, and others cover all my needs. We also have an HD Antenna for local broadcasts but we never use it. I dropped cable almost 8 years ago.

-Byshop

DirecTV with the Watch Anywhere feature. I love it whether it's Live TV (sports, news) or browse On Demand stuff such as Pawn Stars and The Universe. I normally have it fullscreen. But, I windowed the show to expose the channels listing.

There's also the choice of watching on TV, mobile, or PC....Oh. we also have Netflix. I don't watch it too often except to get my Star Trek fix.

When I was living at my parent's house which was for the past few years I was splurging on their satellite. Now that I moved out, I just have a roku tv with the apps and such. Stream mostly from my amazon video library and the youtube app.

@jun_aka_pekto: The DirecTV UI does seem far better than what we were getting from Cablevision. Which after having FiOS for a few years, I saw how outdated and slow Cablevision service was.

Haven't really put time aside to really learn the DirecTV UI and channels though. The main ones who watch tv in our house is my parents. And they are very happy to have some spanish channels we used to have on FiOS included in our package.

Get everything via fiber.

You are welcome, sir!

I have Dish Network. I have considered moving off of satellite to something like playstation vue but it's my understanding they don't get all of the sports that dish gets and there isn't a perfected DVR system setup?

I haven't had cable/sat in almost 6 years. I have an HD antenna I use to watch locals, sports mostly. I subscribe to Hulu Plus and MLB.TV. I share a Netflix account with my parents/sister. I also use a family log in to use apps like ESPN, etc. I don't ever miss anything. The best way to go I think if you have to have something is to get the absolute cheapest cable or sat package you can and just use the login for apps. With the apps available on XBONE/PS4/Fire/etc. there's no reason to have a giant cable bill.

Yes. Spectrum. My wife's job requires a landline.

The way these nefarious cable companies structure it, it's unnecessarily expensive to have internet and a landline w/o cable. The package is more sensible. If that situation changes anytime soon, then yeah we're cutting the cord.

I still have cable tv, but I'm slowly looking voor alternatives. I find myself more and more in the position that i have like 70 or so channels and nothing good to watch.. plus the enldless commercials are a pain in the ass.

I'm sharing a netflix account with my sister because its so limited here in the netherlands to pay full price for it.

Its only because of that, that I'm still holding on to my cable service.

I have the basic basic cable TV. The first 20 channels or so. I used to think it was good for public broadcasts, but most of that is available online these days.

The Verdict: It's useless.

@itstotallymike: "I also use a family log in to use apps like ESPN, etc. "

Isn't that illegal?

similar situation here. though we do have a bunch of streaming services as well for content that is not on cable. mostly accounts shared between family members so we're not actually paying for all of them ourselves :)

also have a dvr which handles commercials nicely. tivo came out w/ a full 1 button commercial break skip feature last year which is fantastic.

same here. my wife works from home and is constantly on the phone. actually cheaper to get all 3 services bundled than to pay for just phone/internet.. would have to do some research to see if just internet would be cheaper though and try some kind of voip thing.

@jak42:

Yeah ESPN fell off. The only main thing(outside of sports events) I like is Around The Horn.

I have that with Xfinity (Comcast). When at home, I can watch any channel(that I'm subscribed to) on my smartphone.

But it's limited outside your home to a few channels. Is Direct TV the same?

The free On Demand is really convenient. It's almost like Netflix. The Live TV is just that. You view whatever is live on DirecTV at that moment, including all the commercials. Excellent for sports or breaking news.

Yep, same for us as well. We go by Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu Plus. on the low low. Even our daughter doesn't watch TV at all and just plays her Wii U.

Pretty much this.