Cord Cutting in Tulsa

[Red Arrow]

In the 80's I remember Bixby as a bunch of mobile homes and angry opinionated non-voters attempting to hide their weed before going to church.

Not the part of Bixby where I live.  Includes 1971 and on.

[swake]

We dont have any DOCSIS 3.1 networks in the state, do we?   Maybe this was just some forward thinking projection vaporware to let some air out of at&t's drum-banging:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/att-plans-to-launch-blazing-fast-gigabit-internet-speeds-in-oklahoma-city-and-tulsa-areas-300189211.html

Cox is deploying DOCSIS 3.1 with the new speeds.

[carltonplace]

Reading through this thread it's amazing how much has changed since it was first started.

Choices for cord cutters are pretty robust now, with several options that give you pretty much the same functionality as cable/satellite for a fraction of the cost.

I went from a $190 Cox bill to a $50 internet only bill
I have a Channel Master DVR that has tons of internet channels (mostly unwatchable) but gives you the same feel as the COX DVR.
HD antenna running though the existing coax with around 50 channels (mostly unwatchable)

If you need to watch Cable content:
Sling TV is $19.99 per month for around 30 channels (Disney, Cartoon Network, FoodTV, HGTV, ESPN, CNN, FreeForm etc)
Playstation Vue is $29.99 per month for 55 channels (all of the above plus MTV etc) and includes much more ON DEMAND content and the ability to record.
HBO Now $15.99 if like me you cannot live without Game Of Thrones.

Overall I am saving about $120 a month 

[saintnicster]

Reading through this thread it's amazing how much has changed since it was first started.

Choices for cord cutters are pretty robust now, with several options that give you pretty much the same functionality as cable/satellite for a fraction of the cost.

I went from a $190 Cox bill to a $50 internet only bill
I have a Channel Master DVR that has tons of internet channels (mostly unwatchable) but gives you the same feel as the COX DVR.
HD antenna running though the existing coax with around 50 channels (mostly unwatchable)

If you need to watch Cable content:
Sling TV is $19.99 per month for around 30 channels (Disney, Cartoon Network, FoodTV, HGTV, ESPN, CNN, FreeForm etc)
Playstation Vue is $29.99 per month for 55 channels (all of the above plus MTV etc) and includes much more ON DEMAND content and the ability to record.
HBO Now $15.99 if like me you cannot live without Game Of Thrones.

Overall I am saving about $120 a month 

Interesting, I missed that Vue had expanded into Tulsa.

[Ibanez]

Interesting, I missed that Vue had expanded into Tulsa.

We switched to it from SlingTV earlier this month. Not only is the programming more varied, the service is much more stable.

[Conan71]

Ready to start considering our options.  After realizing AT&T had grossly over-stated how much up and down speed we could get, they got fired and we picked up Cox for internet and are getting really good speeds, within 4% of their claimed capability under our plan.  I streamed some content on an iPad last night just to get an idea how possible it is to leave DirecTV behind and I'm impressed.

Question for the others:

As far as a "hub" for television, I've seen Roku thrown out there, Apple TV, Amazon Fire.  Does it boil down to personal preference or are they all about the same?

[davideinstein]

Ready to start considering our options.  After realizing AT&T had grossly over-stated how much up and down speed we could get, they got fired and we picked up Cox for internet and are getting really good speeds, within 4% of their claimed capability under our plan.  I streamed some content on an iPad last night just to get an idea how possible it is to leave DirecTV behind and I'm impressed.

Question for the others:

As far as a "hub" for television, I've seen Roku thrown out there, Apple TV, Amazon Fire.  Does it boil down to personal preference or are they all about the same?

Roku is what we use, it's great. I think it's all pretty much the same.

[Hoss]

Ready to start considering our options.  After realizing AT&T had grossly over-stated how much up and down speed we could get, they got fired and we picked up Cox for internet and are getting really good speeds, within 4% of their claimed capability under our plan.  I streamed some content on an iPad last night just to get an idea how possible it is to leave DirecTV behind and I'm impressed.

Question for the others:

As far as a "hub" for television, I've seen Roku thrown out there, Apple TV, Amazon Fire.  Does it boil down to personal preference or are they all about the same?

I have a Roku 3; I like it, but I also have a Samsung Smart TV so it has a lot of stuff the Roku has.  I can watch Netflix and Amazon on it.

[Ibanez]

Ready to start considering our options.  After realizing AT&T had grossly over-stated how much up and down speed we could get, they got fired and we picked up Cox for internet and are getting really good speeds, within 4% of their claimed capability under our plan.  I streamed some content on an iPad last night just to get an idea how possible it is to leave DirecTV behind and I'm impressed.

Question for the others:

As far as a "hub" for television, I've seen Roku thrown out there, Apple TV, Amazon Fire.  Does it boil down to personal preference or are they all about the same?

The primary thing to look for is which devices has all the content you need. For example, the Roku does not have Playstation Vue on it, so if you were to want to use that service you will need an Amazon Fire TV or a PS3 or PS4.

I have used all the streaming boxes and prefer the Amazon Fire TV. The UI is fast, easy to use and I've never had an issue with the box. It is also nice that it has Alexa built in so you can use that functionality to search content or do silly things like ask for the weather forecast just about anywhere, get it to tell you a joke, etc.... Don't get the Fire stick though, it is woefully under-powered and sluggish.

After using the various streaming boxes I rate them the following:

1. Amazon Fire TV (Smooth interface, speedy, has everything I need)
2. Roku (Nice interface, has HDCP handshaking problems on some TV's. Playstation Vue is not available and app interface for Amazon content is clunky and incomplete.)
3. Google Nexus Player or NVidia Shield (Would be #1 if Amazon and Playstation Vue were supported)
4. Apple TV (Typical Apple. It works but isn't anything special. No Amazon content or Playstation Vue)
5. Amazon Fire Stick (Same interface as Amazon Fire TV but is horribly under-powered)
6. Google Chromecast (IMO only good for streaming music)

[Breadburner]

Firebox here with SlingTV here...Suck it Cox....!!!

[Conan71]

Thanks for all the replies!  We are Prime members so Amazon Fire seems to make the most sense as long as we don't get a visit from Gary Bussey. 

[Conan71]

Just checked and Amazon is now offering the Fire with an H-D antenna bundle for $109.95.  Anyone have experience with the indoor HD antenna?  Seems like there would be a lot of signal loss through the walls and roof.

[Ibanez]

Just checked and Amazon is now offering the Fire with an H-D antenna bundle for $109.95.  Anyone have experience with the indoor HD antenna?  Seems like there would be a lot of signal loss through the walls and roof.

I have their non-amplified version, in fact I have two. One is mounted on the East wall of our garage and feeds what was previously the distribution block for our DirecTV system. This setup feeds our Tablo as well as three televisions directly. I get every channel available here, many which I do not want. The only issue I have ever had is that 23 and its subchannels can get a little flakey if there is a strong rainstorm like what happened around midnight last night.

The second antenna feeds a line that runs to our storm shelter. I have a small Sony TV I take down there on days it looks like we might need to go into the shelter. It is mounted next to the antenna feeding the distribution block and has similar performance. I say similar because the run to the shelter is longer so I had to put a distribution amplifier on it. Oddly 23 and its subchannels are rock solid with that setup, but 6 and its subchannels are flakey during storms. Every other channel comes in fine.

If you need more info on the distribution amp just let me know. It probably won't be necessary, but if it turns out you need a little boost just let me know. From my reading that type of setup works better than an amplified antenna if you are close to the transmission towers.

[Conan71]

Next question, since the Fire does not record, why would you want to select a 32gb memory card add on for $11.87?  It says it has 8GB on board storage already.

[Ibanez]

Next question, since the Fire does not record, why would you want to select a 32gb memory card add on for $11.87?  It says it has 8GB on board storage already.

Additional app storage, games, etc... I have never added memory to any of the three Fire TV's we have.