Need advice on cutting cable cost.

[ThatRaceCardGuy]

My last bill from Att was $215...sick of paying that much to watch only a few shows. I dont want to cut the cord from cable entirely. I would like to keep basic cable and internet, but still be able to watch the shows I like on HBO and showtime. I`m already a netflix subscriber, any other suggestions ? Can you buy season passes for most of the shows on HBO and Showtime?



Thanks!

[ragedogg69]

i know you can install firefox on the fire tv but I have not done it. YMMV.

[NewChief]

Another question:

What's the best addon for watching live TV streams? I've played with Phoenix and Navi-X, neither of which seem all that reliable.

Basically, the wife was wanting to watch the stupid SNL 20 thing on Sunday night (since her social media feed was blowing up about it) and bitching that we couldn't get it. I played around for 30 minutes or so trying to find it via Phoenix and Navi-X, but I eventually just gave up.

I'm just surprised, with the ease with which Sportsdevil can aggregate streams for sporting events, that there isn't something equally useful for live TV, at least for the major networks.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by NewChief

Another question:

What's the best addon for watching live TV streams? I've played with Phoenix and Navi-X, neither of which seem all that reliable.

Basically, the wife was wanting to watch the stupid SNL 20 thing on Sunday night (since her social media feed was blowing up about it) and bitching that we couldn't get it. I played around for 30 minutes or so trying to find it via Phoenix and Navi-X, but I eventually just gave up.

I'm just surprised, with the ease with which Sportsdevil can aggregate streams for sporting events, that there isn't something equally useful for live TV, at least for the major networks.

Why don't you have an antenna to pick up the free OTA channels in your area? SNL is on live broadcast TV free to anyone in range with an antenna.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by lawrenceRaider

Why don't you have an antenna to pick up the free OTA channels in your area? SNL is on live broadcast TV free to anyone in range with an antenna.

I have a cheap in House one. It doesn't pick up shit. In checking forums, that's common in our area due to the hilly geography. Most say you have to mount one on roof to pick up anything. I am capable of doing that, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

[ragedogg69]

I will say this, the first month or two of cord cutting is a bit painful if you are used to watching tv shows live and talking on social media. A tv antenna definitely helps. After that first few months, it all starts to become like DVR; Watch when you want to.

Live sports was my biggest pain. Sling TV seems to be the solution for that. If only they could get FS1.

[Scorp]

Genesis is a good source of popular tv shows on Kodi.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by SuperChief

Alright, so I'm deciding between Fire TV (on sale for 84 bucks right now), Nexus Player, and Minix Neo. Along with the traditional app support (Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, YouTube, Songza, etc.), equally important is access to XBMC and the ability to web surf and play videos/streaming links via a web browser, ideally Chrome.

What do you guys think?

Either of those would work for what you're wanting. I'd go with the MiniX Neo, because it's the most capable and least restricted.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by NewChief

Another question:

What's the best addon for watching live TV streams? I've played with Phoenix and Navi-X, neither of which seem all that reliable.

Basically, the wife was wanting to watch the stupid SNL 20 thing on Sunday night (since her social media feed was blowing up about it) and bitching that we couldn't get it. I played around for 30 minutes or so trying to find it via Phoenix and Navi-X, but I eventually just gave up.

I'm just surprised, with the ease with which Sportsdevil can aggregate streams for sporting events, that there isn't something equally useful for live TV, at least for the major networks.

For free solutions, Phoenix and NaviX are about the best you'll find unfortunately.

If you're willing to pay a little, I would recommend the ustvnow plugin. I paid for their service for quite a while, and was always really happy with it. Very reliable, and great quality. They tell you it's only for use outside of the US, but that's not the case and thousands of US XBMC users have subscriptions.

https://www.ustvnow.com/

You can sign up for a free trial and test it out. Even with a free account, you can stream ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS, CW. It's $20/month for 28 channels, mostly normal cable channels. After 3 months it goes up to $30/month. But when I was paying for the service, I would simply cancel after 3 months, use a different email with the exact same credit card, and get another 3 months at $20. I did that for quite a while. I know you can share accounts as well, with no consequences.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by Scorp

Genesis is a good source of popular tv shows on Kodi.

I use Genesis/1Channel/Icefilms already. I was looking for something to stream live TV, not stuff that's already aired.

For about 90% of our viewing and combined with Sportsdevil, that's just fine. We don't really watch much live TV and never have. However, on occasion, we do want the ability. The NYE ball drop was another example where the wife wanted something live and we couldn't find it.

[ragedogg69]

Before you head up to your roof punch your address here: http://www.antennaweb.org/Address.aspx
and here: https://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29
and here if you are more visual: https://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=90

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by ragedogg69

Before you head up to your roof punch your address here: http://www.antennaweb.org/Address.aspx
and here: https://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29
and here if you are more visual: https://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=90

First one says no channels.

Second one shows me the spanish language channels I can pick up with a set top antenna. Says I'll need an attic install for anything else. That would get me 2 of the major networks. Full roof install to pick up all of them.

[SuperChief]

I'd definitely recommend UStvnow. Great service.

[kepp]

Originally Posted by tk13

http://www.sling.com/

Now this is pretty interesting. Dish Network is soon going to offer a service called Sling. You can get it through an app on Roku, Amazon Fire, etc. Right now they're only taking beta testers.

For $20 a month, you'll be able to get 12 channels, including ESPN, ESPN 2, TNT, TBS, CNN, Food Network, Disney, Travel, and more. That's huge. They are going to be the first internet streaming service to include ESPN.

I just got an email from Roku with a 7 day free trial offer. I'll be doing the trial.

[Stewie]

Anyone have thoughts or experience with the Tablo tuner and DVR for OTA channels? I'm thinking of going that route since I have an extra hard drive for recording programs. It only requires one antenna and uses wifi to send signals to a Roku 3. I already have the Roku.

[ragedogg69]

I never used it. Looks like it is a DVR with DLNA that sends it to your Roku. I have a HDHomerun that does the same thing for my local OTA. You just need to install a DVR program on a computer for a back end. Windows 7 comes standard with one.

I find this to be a much cheaper option.