Cut the Cord

We’re surviving cord cutting!

After getting back from my Michigan golf trip, it was time to pull the trigger on cutting the cord, after doing quite a bit of research (and polling on Facebook).

I looked at ATT and Spectrum for Internet. ATT would install fiber cable (whatever that is) for faster internet and we’d keep our unlimited data. Spectrum, would install, but I just wasn’t feeling the love on chat or on the phone with them – if they weren’t super helpful to make the sale, then what would it be like as a customer? Ended up staying with ATT on Internet.

For live TV, I looked at:

Sling TV: they had a confusing a la carte menu – Orange and Blue, Orange and Blue Sports. And it looked like it would just keep adding up. They also only allowed three devices to stream at the same time.

Hulu Live: pretty straightforward and for an extra $10/month, you could add unlimited devices.

Playstation Vue: seemed OK and you don’t need to have a Playstation to use. But, again, only three devices

YouTube TV: this was recommended on FB, but when I looked in July, they had a “feud” with Amazon, so it wouldn’t work on Amazon fire sticks (we have three). This has supposedly ended, but decided it was too soon.

I also looked at a couple of others, but can’t remember them anymore.

The ATT guy came to install fiber cable. It took him over three hours. Granted, it was 100+ degrees and he kept going back to his truck to cool down. And when he left, no more cable. We started the setup and sign on for Hulu, but never tested.

The next day, when I got home and we activated six devices on Hulu. Time to try. It was easiest wandering around the house from TV to TV with my laptop so I could type in the activation code.

Not sure if it was user error or getting used to it, but Hulu Live is only “kinda live” – we had NBC News on in the kitchen through the antenna – and it was at least 30 seconds ahead of Hulu Live streaming the program in the bedroom. We watched a little and then went back to streaming Amazon Prime Video – rewatching Downton Abbey.

Then we had a Firestick remote fizzle out and bought a new one (4K) and plan to switch them out so that the big TV in the man cave gets the 4K. But, after spending some time online, the fizzled out remote battery corrosion was fixed with a bit of white vinegar and baking soda (used a QTip to dab it on and waited a couple of days). Thank you, google! (since then, it's fizzled again -- think it may be a goner).

Football season has started and we don’t seem to be missing any games.

Sometimes it seems slow. Sometimes it seems to lock up. For the most part. We’re saving about $90 a month from reviewing our last Hulu and ATT bills. I’ll keep a monitor on it.