TV services. Help me.

[jr/shotglass]

We're finally thinking about cutting the cord, but the various options aren't giving me the specifics I want on their websites.

What are your suggestions for services? Hulu? Amazon? What do they offer, what's the best?

 

[The Big Ragu]

Hulu, Amazon, Netflix have libraries of movies, recent and old TV shows, original programming. You just have to compare and decide if they have things you specificially want, because they are a bit different.

If you want to stream live TV, Hulu just entered into that market, too with a live TV service. There is also Sling TV, Direct TV Now, Youtube TV, Fubo TV (which started out just streaming soccer). Their packages start at around $20 for some very basic channel lineups. Typical is about $35/mo. ... they have the networks, ESPN channels, Food channel, CNN, Fox, etc. Then they have add ons for more money. You just have to look at each and compare the price relative to the channels they have, and decide what it is you want most. Some people who want a lot of TV channels, find that it isn't much cheaper than what they can get from their cable provider in an internet / TV package, when all is said and done.

If you are looking to completely cut the cord and knock down things to less than $10 a month, take a good look at Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. They all offer episodes of some recent shows, but their licensing deals differ slightly, so it depends on what you specifically like. Some people do a combination of two of them. Amazon is best on price. Netflix has the biggest library (including movies). Netflix is best on original content. Hulu is best in terms of latest episodes of network shows. They appear a day after they air, but they come with commercials unless you pay a bit more.

 

[Madhavok]

None of that. Just download Kodi and be done.

 

[CD Boogie]

buy an Amazon firestick. Go to YouTube and read how to jailbreak it. Download Kodi.

 

[KeyboardKing]

Why even give readers the option of an X on on an ad? I frankly see no problem with making people sit through an ad before devouring content. Radio has always done it. TV too. Podcasts do it. Howard Stern does it. Good content should not be free.

buy an Amazon firestick. Go to YouTube and read how to jailbreak it. Download Kodi.

 

[CD Boogie]

how cute. you're stalking me. And this is literally your first post. go outside and stare at the sun, ya hump

 

[KeyboardKing]

For the original poster, what streaming device, if any, do you have (Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV)? Roku is the most versatile in what services you can get, but you can't get Apple or YouTube TV content on it. If you like your locals, look up what type of antenna you would need, since most of the services do not carry every local channel.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Firestick or Chromecast? Is one better than the other?

 

[The Big Ragu]

None of that. Just download Kodi and be done.

Kodi is just software. It's not a content provider. It's good home theater software. It acts as a hub, so you can stream things from various devices to a smart TV or to a TV with a streaming device on it. For that purpose, it's great. But you still need actual content in order for Kodi to be any good. That means you are going to have to find free sources of content for which Kodi has an add on, or you are going to need to subscribe to one or more of the services I mentioned. Kodi itself is useless without a library of things you already own and/or other sources of content.

 

[StaggerLee]

I have Kodi and it's good to watch new movies, old TV shows, pretty much everything. But my biggest complaint is finding a livestream that I can watch for current TV shows that I watch. Maybe I'm just too much of an amateur.

I had SlingTV for a month and liked it, but it didn't have a couple of channels that I wanted, so I changed to PS Vue. I love PS Vue, but then I got an email saying they were raising the price next month, so I switched to DirecTV Now (actually I just took over my brother's account because he's got the promotional $39.99 price locked in for two years). I like DirecTV Now for the amount of channels I get, but there's no DVR function yet and that stinks for watching some of my favorite shows (which happen to air the same time as other favorite shows).

 

[The Big Ragu]

I have Kodi and it's good to watch new movies, old TV shows, pretty much everything. But my biggest complaint is finding a livestream that I can watch for current TV shows that I watch. Maybe I'm just too much of an amateur.

You're not an amateur. You can find almost anything via bittorent, if that is how you want to spend your time, in order to save on a Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, Showtime, etc. subscriptions. Of course, you are violating copyrights if you get your content that way. For live streaming, there are a few networks / channels that stream for free. For example, Bloomberg will stream to your computer of phone or streaming device. But most are going to charge you, and for the streaming services that work out licensing deals and sell packages, such as the ones you have tried, they area all in the price range you mentioned with similar channel lineups.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

I want to get rid of cable. There are plenty of online sites I can watch shows. But I would like to cast them to my TV.

For example, my sister gave me her HBO login so I can watch Game of Thrones along with her and she can have someone to talk about it with. I also have MLB.tv. I would like to cast these to my TV rather than watch on my laptop.

I have Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and other such apps already on my TV.

Is my best option to do what I want Chromecast, Roku, or Firestick? Or none of the above?

 

[HC]

I want to get rid of cable. There are plenty of online sites I can watch shows. But I would like to cast them to my TV.

For example, my sister gave me her HBO login so I can watch Game of Thrones along with her and she can have someone to talk about it with. I also have MLB.tv. I would like to cast these to my TV rather than watch on my laptop.

I have Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and other such apps already on my TV.

Is my best option to do what I want Chromecast, Roku, or Firestick? Or none of the above?

We use Chromecast and really like it.

 

[Madhavok]

Kodi is just software. It's not a content provider. It's good home theater software. It acts as a hub, so you can stream things from various devices to a smart TV or to a TV with a streaming device on it. For that purpose, it's great. But you still need actual content in order for Kodi to be any good. That means you are going to have to find free sources of content for which Kodi has an add on, or you are going to need to subscribe to one or more of the services I mentioned. Kodi itself is useless without a library of things you already own and/or other sources of content.

Not sure if this is directed at me or OP.

Anyway, it's very easy and anyone searching to figure out how to use Kodi will find more than enough information on how to get content. Exodus is the main add-on and is almost always updated automatically.

So for the OP - download Kodi. Through Kodi download the add-on Exodus. I run this on my tablet and then use an mini hdmi adapter to run to my TV. Pretty easy. Wires yes. But, easy.

 

[jr/shotglass]

I've been using Chromecast with my PC for about 18 months now and am pretty happy with it. I don't like some of the maneuvering I've had to do each time to get back to basic TV.

Thanks to everyone who's pitched in. Going to have to make a move soon, because the wife is balking at keeping the tier that has IFC, ESPU and the Fox sports channels.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Not sure if this is directed at me or OP.

Anyway, it's very easy and anyone searching to figure out how to use Kodi will find more than enough information on how to get content. Exodus is the main add-on and is almost always updated automatically.

So for the OP - download Kodi. Through Kodi download the add-on Exodus. I run this on my tablet and then use an mini hdmi adapter to run to my TV. Pretty easy. Wires yes. But, easy.

Anyone doing that should know what it is they are doing, though. ... You are accessing pirated content with Exodus. If you do it without a VPN or some way of masking your IP address, you are leaving a footprint, and if someone gets a bug up their ass at some point and decides to make a few examples of people, you should at least be aware of what you are doing. Also, you are opening yourself up more than most people realize. Earlier his year, the developer of Exodus, who is anonymous, was being threatened with having his identity revealed. So the person (who goes by the name Lambda), put a few lines of code into his plug-in to target the people who were threatening him with denial of service attacks -- using all the exodus users out there as bots and having their computers launch the attack. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that big of a deal, but you are relying on someone who is anonymous with that plug in, and if he decided to do something malicious to create a botnet -- whatever his reasons -- you are going to be vulnerable.

 

[jr/shotglass]

I will say that I got a call from my ISP 3-4 years ago regarding a torrent, kind of scared me off of that.

 

[SpeedTchr]

No one wants to pay for content anymore.

Thieve away! seems to be the motto of the day.

 

[jr/shotglass]

Yup. I can live with that.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

We use Chromecast and really like it.

Setting mine up now!