Streaming Services

Thinking about cutting the cord?

My grandfather had a little Zenith 10-inch television on his back patio where we used to watch Phillies games during the summer. It was my job to adjust the rabbit ear antenna to get the clearest picture possible. Somewhere along the way, we added aluminum foil to the top of the little antenna ears to make it better. Eventually, he got a house antenna mounted on the roof and we ran coax cable down to the back porch. Despite my grandmother constantly tripping over the cord, we thought we were hot stuff.

Then came cable television. Clearer signal - good reception. A little expensive but not outrageous. But then cable started going up in price and the quality and service received wasn't keeping up with demand. Cable companies started playing with bundles - increasing the price for stations or channels you'd never watch and eliminating channels that you wanted.

Two things happened that made us look at alternatives. During COVID, I needed high speed internet service to keep up with the video conferences and demands of my job. I've never been unhappy with my provider's internet speeds or service, but when you combined high speed internet with high priced cable, we were paying over $300 a month for "entertainment".

Then the cable television provider started blacking out our Steelers games after claiming they'd be broadcasted. We'd sit down, ready to watch our team play and NO GAME. Calls to the cable company were pleasant enough...they were sorry, but it was a last-minute decision or a network blackout. We were NOT HAPPY.

Since we had good internet speed, we decided to cut the cord and cancel our cable television service. We bought an Apple box and started loading apps...Hulu, Netflix, Paramount, YouTube TV, Prime, Peacock, HBO Max, Apple TV, as well as others I'm sure I'm forgetting. And these streaming services were awesome! Great content, live shows, channel guides like cable, ability to bypass commercials, a great signal and ability to record shows. Guess what? We were paying $300 a month again!

We experimented - a digital HDMI Antenna that sucked digital content out of the air - peace of junk. A firestick. Confusing...had to remember to turn on the VPN and no channel guides. Websites that promised free content but turned out to be either illegal or dicey in some way. And yes, we know people who find passwords for streaming services on some dark corner of the web and steal services. I don't want to be that guy that's sitting watching a movie and have some government agency knock on my door or haul me off for stealing cable.

Fortunately, there are some legitimate, affordable streaming services available today that are worth exploring. iDropNews recently published an article of some services that are worth your hard-earned pennies to investigate as long as you have good internet connectivity:

YouTube - Yes, this is the same YouTube you use today to look up a video on how to adjust the crankshaft of a 67 Chrysler. Most people would be surprised to learn that YouTube has a surprising number of live news, interviews, documentaries, full length shows and content from many creators. We watched the Artemis II launch from YouTube on Wednesday!

Pluto TV - This one is COMPLETELY FREE. It's the closest you'll get to the look and feel of cable with hundreds of live channels covering news, movies, reality shows and themed content stream. It does have more Ads than normal, but free is free.

Tubi - Love old TV shows and movies? Tubi is for you. It's one of the best free streaming libraries and you don't even need a subscription or account. It's a great option for casual viewers.

PLEX - This one is different from other streaming apps. It combines free TV with a personal media hub. One side offers live channels and streaming content. The other side lets you organize your own library of movies and shows. Check out https://watch.plex.tv for more information.

SLING TV - Affordable way to keep live cable channels without paying full cable prices. It offers smaller channel bundles and is a good option if you still want access to paid live TV, especially for news or certain entertainment channels.

NETFLIX - This one is considered a premium service but is still cheaper than cable and lets you watch pretty much anything you want. This is a good one if you don't need live programming and includes tons of original series, movies and a large on-demand library. Occasionally, you'll get big boxing matches or WWE tournaments. Combine Netflix with a free Pluto TV or Tubi and you've got the best of both worlds.

Amazon Prime Video - This one is pretty flexible and was a no-brainer for us since we already use Amazon Prime. In addition to the regular prime membership, you have the option of renting or buying movies and subscribing to other channels. They recently changed their format to include Ads. The ad-free version is available as Prime Video Ultra, but there's an extra fee.

Peacock - The basic version is free and includes TV shows, movies, live events and sports with ads. There's an option for a premium version that unlocks additional content and other perks.

HBO Max - Another premium service like Netflix - No live TV or live events, but great content on original series, movies and curated content.

Apple TV - Not as robust as some of the other streaming services, but plenty of high-quality series and movies. If you're a fan of Major League Soccer and F1 racing, both are now included at no cost to Apple TV subscribers.

This is just the tip of the iceberg for entertainment streaming systems. I'm currently playing with an app recommended by a friend called Gamma IPTV that you can download for about $100.00 for a YEAR (Not a month) and works similar to a firestick. If I want to watch a football game that's blacked out in my area, I can open a local station in that town and watch it from there. Having this service has opened up our Steelers games by watching them on Pittsburgh's KDKA when it was blocked here. You can also stream international channels for interesting content. The jury is still out on this one. Ours seems to freeze up a little and the fast/forward/rewind function is a little kludgy.

One thing to keep in mind with streaming apps - The rules and the pricing is constantly changing, and you've got to keep that in mind when you subscribe to a service. We love Hulu but watched the price go up and up over the past few years. We switched from a live, no advertising version that was about $49.00 a month but is now over $100.00 a month to a basic $12.99 plan that includes Hulu with Ads and Disney+ but none of the content is live.

If you have a smart TV that will accept apps and don't need external internet appliance, most of the streaming services offer free trials. Give them a try and don't be afraid to ask for custom bundles or customer loyalty discounts to stay with a particular service provider.

Good luck!