September 12, 20232 yr Spectrum shitting the bed and not carrying ESPN during the biggest week of CFB season has finally gotten us off our asses and ready to dump the shitshow that is Spectrum. If we do so, we need to replace two things: 1) our internet service. Obviously want something fast and reliable. Google fiber isn't to our area yet (if it ever will be -- said it would be years ago, then fucking nada) 2) our cable. I channel surf some, so I'll end up on history channel or some shit, but our big watches are a) sports (so, ESPN and FS1 etc.) and b) local network TV (we still watch the local news) We have several streaming plans (Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and AppleTV+), but have had several friends in the past week (fed up with Spectrum) praising YoutubeTV and Sling. So, striking a reasonable balance on price and what they offer, what are the recommendations for an ISP and a cable alternative? We haven't shopped for this shit in....a LONG fucking time.
September 12, 20232 yr https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/11/disney-charter-near-carriage-deal-that-would-end-cable-blackout-sources-say.html
September 12, 20232 yr Can't help you with Internet but depending on what they're offering for TV I'd look into YouTube TV. I've been happy with it. UI is janky imo but whatever. Got nearly all of the sports channels I need for CFB plus local stations.
September 12, 20232 yr Author 9 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/11/disney-charter-near-carriage-deal-that-would-end-cable-blackout-sources-say.html Yeah, that actually prompted my post. Cool -- too fucking late, you fucking suck, you vampiric pieces of shit.
September 12, 20232 yr @Brisketexan ive been a directtv stream user for all of its name iterations because it has LHN. When that goes away I’ll likely move to YouTube tv because it’s basically the same but a little cheaper. (Directtvstream is currently in a contract dispute with the Austin nbc station so that still happens occasionally) I recently switched to home internet from my cellular provider (tmobile) and it’s been performing well, and with autopay and the mobile plan I have it’s $30 a month. we rarely have more than two video streams going though and the max speed is notably less than a cable internet service so it may not be right for you. But maybe look into it with your mobile company, assuming you have one, and see if it could work for you. Strong 5g signal is also a requirement in case you are tucked into some pocket with weaker or blocked signal.
September 12, 20232 yr We upgraded to AT&T fiber a couple years ago from AT&T UVerse. AT&T fiber has had very few issues. You might check to see if it is available where you are. Now we stream everything with YTTV as the main platform. Plus Hulu, Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney, Max . . .
September 12, 20232 yr YoutubeTV is fantastic, except for one major flaw. They don't have the local Fox Sports channels (or Balleys, or whatever the hell they're called now) so that means no Astros, Rangers, Spurs, etc. If that's a big deal to you, stay away.
September 12, 20232 yr T-Mobile internetYouTube tvWorks great. 150-550 down depending on the time of day. Never a problem streaming. T-Mobile internetYouTube tvWorks great. 150-550 down depending on the time of day. Never a problem streaming.
September 15, 20232 yr My AT&T Gigabit fiber internet is the tits. Now if I could do something about the dozen streaming services I have on top of YTTV.
September 15, 20232 yr If you can get grande, get grande. They actually answer their support line and treat you well unlike att and spectrum.
September 15, 20232 yr I went from cable internet (Cox) to T-Mobile, and i didn't miss a beat. It streams great, it's always working, and it's cheap.
September 15, 20232 yr We are out in the sticks. We suffered through HughesNet satellite and their horribad data limits, throttling, and Hindu-ish (No CR!) customer service for a number of years. 5-7 years ago or so we switched over to a Wireless Digital Subscriber Link ISP (Western Broadband) and could not be happier. We have a bunch of big trees, so we had to build a 60 ft. tower (less than $1k) so that our radio transmitter can do a line of sight off of their equipment located on a water tower about two miles away. We get great data speeds (20 up, 10 down), have never encountered any data limits, and it is very reliable unless there is a torrential rain that interferes with the signal -- very rare (especially this year!). Their customer support (rarely used) is local smart people. Highly recommend.
September 15, 20232 yr On 9/12/2023 at 6:18 AM, HornOnTheBayou said: YoutubeTV is fantastic, except for one major flaw. They don't have the local Fox Sports channels (or Balleys, or whatever the hell they're called now) so that means no Astros, Rangers, Spurs, etc. If that's a big deal to you, stay away. Directv stream has the regional sports channels. And lhn on its grim march to the grave, for like $15 more? Dvr function sucks though. Edited September 15, 20232 yr by Pato del Muerto
September 18, 20232 yr Author Man....I wish HEB offered cable and internet service. It remains the way that it was last time I looked at this -- choose from the best of mediocre options (as all of them have a major shortcoming or two, it seems). HEB wouldn't let me down....I mean, presuming they were open.
September 18, 20232 yr I have not has one single second of any down time since I got Google Fiber. Spectrum was the only high speed option before, and I swear the service at times was like getting a TV signal over rabbit ears during a thunderstorm.
September 19, 20232 yr Dropped those cocksuckers (Spectrum) two years ago and went Google Fiber with YoutubeTV. No problems. At the same time I dropped our 30 year old AT&T home phone account and ported to a $10 box Google offered. No problems and sound quality is equal to the old land line. Honestly for what I do, I don't see a big difference in 200mb down to 1,000mb down. Still wondering who sucked more, Spectrum or AT&T? I hope to never deal with either again!
September 20, 20232 yr Spectrum is our only data option if we don’t use a 5G service. So we spectrum. We do sling for TV. All the usuals and tennis channel and longhorn network. YouTubeTV was a close second, but no tennis channel. No complaints… with sling.
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