Have you cut the cord yet? If so what streaming device do you use?

dirtyferret · Feb 13, 2019

So we cut the cord back in 2013. I bought a roku 2 for our family room TV and we used my old Amazon Fire TV tablet for the bedroom TV that I connected via HDMI. The tablet then got replaced by a Amazon Fire TV box. I just recently replaced both devices with Roku Ultras. So I'm curious what devices other people use for their TVs.

sam_86314 · Feb 13, 2019

We have two smart TVs, an old Roku, an HTPC, and several Fire Sticks and game consoles. We use an antenna to get regular TV, so we cut the cord a long time ago.

Maybe antenna should be an option in the poll?

sneekypeet · Feb 13, 2019

PS4 and my smart TVs do a decent job of delivering many options to stream content.

Splinterdog · Feb 13, 2019

We're seriously considering it, mainly due to the cost of cable TV and the fact that we hardly ever use it. And we upgraded to a 4k Smart TV a few months ago.
Bearing in mind that I live in Argentina, where there isn't as much competition as in more developed countries, there are alternatives available.
For a start, the only cable channels we watch are the local news, CNN, BBC and ESPN for the rugby and football World Cup every four years. Frankly, it's hardly worth having in spite of the hundreds of channels available, but with an interface (Flow) that isn't particularly easy to understand, either.
Trouble is, our current provider only allows a contract for everything, ie Internet and cable. not one without the other.
There are other companies offering 100Mb Internet and phone and IPTV over fiber optic for a third of what we're paying now, so we're looking at several options, as long as we can get local news and some sport.
Mind you, many news channels stream on YouTube anyway, so I've got some experimenting to do.

Boatvan · Feb 13, 2019

I went from full Directv, to Spectrum streaming package (10 live channels of my choice), all the way down to Hulu basic only on my Roku Stick. It was a lot easier than I thought and I save a boatload of money every month. I have a Spotify Premium and Hulu basic bundle for $12.99 USD a month. This was going from over $90 for directv (you have to call and argue to get anything under 100 for the package I had). Don't regret a thing.

Deleted member 67555 · Feb 13, 2019

I've used an Xbox, Xbone, PS4, Roku 2,3,4 & 2-roku TV's, Roku premier, Xiaomi Mi box, Fire stick, Fire TV, AirTv box about 12 different generic Kody Android TV boxes and I currently have 2 Android TV's and 1roku premier, 1 Roku TV

For services I have used Philo-6/10, PS Vue-7/10, Sling TV 8/10, YouTube TV 8/10, Spectrum stream only $25 9/10, Hulu 10/10.
Right now nobody comes close to Hulu's quality..
I use Spectrum TV streaming because it's cheap for 2 years and includes all locals and 10 cable channels of your choice for $25 a month and I get HBO from Hulu because they have live HBO and it's actually clearer than cable or satellite.
I also have Stars on Google/YouTube.
I also have amazon Prime..

Note YouTube TV also includes unlimited music.

Kursah · Feb 13, 2019

Yep, been Netflix, Amazon Prime and Plex for streaming services. Been usingj PS3, Roku2, TCL Roku TV, and various apps and access on PC's, laptops, tablets, phones. Sometimes we'll still rent a Redbox DVD movie...but not very often anymore. The PS3 has since been retired, the old Sony BR player is on its way out, I should pick up a PS4 but we don't do much console gaming beyond Wii (almost dead) and a RetroPi build.

Every time I am at a hotel where the Internet is choked down to prevent streaming or a home event where the host has cable TV I'm reminded very quickly of why I am glad to have cut that service outta my life. I can watch what I want when I want on streaming without commercials.

I haven't had cable TV since 2012, been happily streaming ever since.

Splinterdog · Feb 13, 2019

I forgot to mention that there's only so much you can watch in a day anyway. We probably watch TV only about 2 - 3 hours a night and 95% of that is Netflix.
I often think that less is more in this case, or to use Pink Floyd's immortal line "I got thirteen channels of shit on the TV to choose from..."

dirtyferret · Feb 13, 2019

We have amazon prime and PS Vue. Then we rotate through Hulu, HBO, Showtime, netflix on a monthly basis based on what they have to offer. In all honesty I would drop PS Vue since we only watch the local channels (antenna is inconsistent to receive the stations), and an occasional Monday night football game on ESPN. Every now and then my wife will watch chopped on Food Network of TLC. The kids only watch youtube or PBS kids apps.

Splinterdog · Jun 14, 2019

We finally called the cable/ISP the other day to cut the service, thus saving us about 3/4 of what we were paying. We've gone to a 100Mbps fibre optic deal with a telephone line, at a fixed price for 12 months.
Although I have no complaints about the service we've received over the years, we may have stayed if they'd allowed us to have Internet only, without cable TV. Mind you, when I phoned, they offered to halve the payment for six months, but it was too little too late.
We're happy with Netflix and Prime, and possibly another IPTV provider if the deal is right for live TV, particularly with the Rugby World Cup coming up in September.

FordGT90Concept · Jun 14, 2019

3x HDHomeRun EXTEND
1x Hauppauge QuadHD tuner
1x 6 TB HDD
2x NVIDIA SHIELD
1x Xbox One S

Emby Server organizing it all.

10 ATSC tuners available and can stream live or recordings to any device in the house (including phones). There is no monthly charge for any of it but only have access to terrestrial TV stations.

Deleted member 158293 · Jun 14, 2019

Coming up on 10 years since cutting cord

Couldn't imagine going back. Since then upgraded from HTPC to a full home server, chromecast ultra, smart TVs, phones, tablets, laptops...etc... just streaming to everything.

Splinterdog · Jun 14, 2019

I've been investigating IPTV, since our LG smart TV has the Smart IPTV app, but I'm having difficulty ascertaining what's grey hat and what's legit.
I don't want a knock on the door, but I would like to be able to view my favourite UK TV channels. The trouble is many of the big services don't operate in my country and I don't believe you can use VPN n a smart TV.
BBC iPlayer is definitely geoblocked.

Deleted member 67555 · Jun 14, 2019

For $34 a month I have local and basic stream on your own device Spectrum cable $15 a month, Hulu $3.99 with/HBO $15 ($18 total)
Prime is included with my phone plan, Pluto TV is free, Film Rise is free, The CW is free, The Roku channel is free.

But with an $80 internet bill it brings me back up to what I was paying for just cable.
Still cheaper than the $180 I was losing before

v12dock · Jun 14, 2019

I use a Android TV box and a Fire stick. As for live TV I was using PS Vue which I think is the best.

bonehead123 · Jun 14, 2019

Been there, done that, years ago, have not looked back since

Roku's + smart TV's + OTA antenna gives us everything my family needs.

Vayra86 · Jun 14, 2019

Over here cutting the cord is handily prevented due to the fact a triple play subscription is nearly the same price as internet only... and options are very limited. Nonetheless we do get most of our content over internet...

Still waiting for fiber....

Divide Overflow · Jun 14, 2019

Why are the phone/tablet, PC/laptop choices exclusive?
I use my Samsung smart TV, Amazon Fire TV 4k, PC, tablet, and phone for streaming.
Cut the cord two years ago and went with DirectTV Now, but switched to Hulu + live TV a few months ago because of DirectTV's price hikes.

bug · Jun 14, 2019

Vayra86 said:
Over here cutting the cord is handily prevented due to the fact a triple play subscription is nearly the same price as internet only... and options are very limited. Nonetheless we do get most of our content over internet...

Still waiting for fiber....

Same here. I considered cord cutting a while back, but where do you stream sports, documentaries and such?
Eurosport streams, but back when I checked you needed different subscriptions for watching on PC/Mobile/TV (haven't checked since). And afaik there's no streaming Discovery and such. Though this will be solved shortly, looking at how the quality of their shows evolve.

xkm1948 · Jun 14, 2019

Never lived with a "cord" ever since I moved out my parents' house. Don't like watching TV and won't watch any time soon, also not really interested in streaming either.

NoJuan999 · Jun 15, 2019

I have 2 Amazon 4k Fire Sticks on 2 older Samsung Smart TV's with Amazon Prime and Netflix.
They work very well (much better than my older Samsung TV's did without them) and I also use them to stream movies from my PC via PLEX.

lexluthermiester · Jun 15, 2019

I personally only use YouTube Red. Other members of the household watch OTA TV, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. We have never had Cable or Satellite TV.

Vayra86 said:
Still waiting for fiber....

Trust me, it rocks! Be a very noisy, squeaky wheel with your local government.

newtekie1 · Jun 15, 2019

HTPC on every TV in the house

GreiverBlade · Jun 15, 2019

for series movies, other: a KodiBox made with a Odroid C2 in a Schroff Interscale M case (wired: still better than Wifi using my phone in USB Tethering, although i could use Wifi Hotspot with a N dongle) ... but i rarely watch streams although i could use a very specific addon for Kodi to watch some series i fancy in correct order instead of watching, say, EP7-8 and then EP1 because the TV channel decided so , since in Switzerland as long as you don't re-share streaming and torrent aren't technically illegal, well torrent, used correctly, aren't illegal anyway.
Phone: well my phone plan include free UPC TV ... but it's not on demand so highly boring and useless except in some rare cases

for Music: Spotify with Premium (trial at 0.99cts for 3 month and then ~13chf a month ) on a Fiio X5 III which also host all my offline library and i mostly use Spotify in offline mode ... which explain why i would need Premium, ofc i could use it with my phone since i have unlimited data ... but nope ... not the same quality of sound, at home, Spotify is used in conjunction with a Google Home Mini (when my main rig is off ).

other than that ... i don't stream games (pointless for me ... and uninteresting)

but cutting what cord ... you are all wired usign Wifi or not

(aside phone and tablet user ... ) "Dematerialisation of your media yet, so what streaming device are you using" would be a tad more accurate, isn't it?

INSTG8R · Jun 15, 2019

PS4, Chromecast, Smart TV

Processor	faster at instructions than yours
Motherboard	more nurturing than yours
Cooling	frostier than yours
Memory	superior scheduling & haphazardly entry than yours
Video Card(s)	better rasterization than yours
Storage	more ample than yours
Display(s)	increased pixels than yours
Case	fancier than yours
Audio Device(s)	further audible than yours
Power Supply	additional amps x volts than yours
Mouse	without as much gnawing as yours
Keyboard	less clicky than yours
VR HMD	not as odd looking as yours
Software	extra mushier than yours
Benchmark Scores	up yours

System Name	Space Heater MKIV
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard	ASRock B550 Taichi
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S, 3x Noctua NF-A14s
Memory	2x32GB Teamgroup T-Force Vulcan Z DDR4-3600 C18 1.35V
Video Card(s)	PowerColor RX 6800 XT Red Devil (2150MHz, 240W PL)
Storage	2TB WD SN850X, 4x1TB Crucial MX500 (striped array), LG WH16NS40 BD-RE
Display(s)	Dell S3422DWG (34" 3440x1440 144Hz)
Case	Phanteks Enthoo Pro M
Audio Device(s)	Edifier R1700BT, Samson SR850
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x, CyberPower CST135XLU
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 3
Keyboard	Glorious GMMK 2 96%
Software	Windows 10 LTSC 2021, Linux Mint

System Name	EVA-01
Processor	Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard	Asus ROG Maximus Z690 HERO EVA Edition
Cooling	ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 with Noctua Industrial Fans
Memory	PAtriot Viper Elite RGB 96GB @ 6000MHz.
Video Card(s)	Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 24GB OC EVA Edition
Storage	Addlink S95 M.2 PCIe GEN 4x4 2TB
Display(s)	Asus ROG SWIFT OLED PG42UQ
Case	Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s)	Realtek on board > Sony Receiver > Cerwin Vegas
Power Supply	be quiet DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W
Mouse	ROG STRIX Impact Electro Punk
Keyboard	ROG STRIX Scope TKL Electro Punk
Software	Windows 11

System Name	Ryzen Monster
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard	Asus ROG Crosshair Hero VII WiFi
Cooling	Corsair H100i RGB Platinum
Memory	Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB (4x8GB) 3200Mhz CMW16GX4M2C3200C16
Video Card(s)	Asus ROG Strix RX5700XT OC 8Gb
Storage	WD Black 500GB NVMe 250Gb Samsung SSD, OCZ 500Gb SSD WD M.2 500Gb, plus three spinners up to 1.5Tb
Display(s)	LG 32GK650F-B 32" UltraGear™ QHD
Case	Cooler Master Storm Trooper
Audio Device(s)	Supreme FX on board
Power Supply	Corsair RM850X full modular
Mouse	Corsair M65 Pro
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe RGB Silent
VR HMD	Headphones Logitech G533 wireless
Software	Windows 11 Start 11
Benchmark Scores	3DMark Time Spy 4532 (9258 March 2021, 9399 July 2021)

System Name	Kursah's Gaming Rig 2018 (2022 Upgrade) - Ryzen+ Edition \| Gaming Laptop (Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 2022)
Processor	R7 5800X @ Stock \| i7 12700H @ Stock
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X370-F Gaming BIOS 6203\| Legion 5i Pro NM-E231
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S Push-Pull + NT-H1 \| Stock Cooling
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32GB (2x16) DDR4 4000 @ 3600 18-20-20-42 1.35v \| 32GB DDR5 4800 (2x16)
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 4070 JetStream 12GB \| CPU-based Intel Iris XE + RTX 3070 8GB 150W
Storage	4TB SP UD90 NVME, 960GB SATA SSD, 2TB HDD \| 1TB Samsung OEM NVME SSD + 4TB Crucial P3 Plus NVME SSD
Display(s)	Acer 28" 4K VG280K x2 \| 16" 2560x1600 built-in
Case	Corsair 600C - Stock Fans on Low \| Stock Metal/Plastic
Audio Device(s)	Aune T1 mk1 > AKG K553 Pro + JVC HA-RX 700 (Equalizer APO + PeaceUI) \| Bluetooth Earbuds (BX29)
Power Supply	EVGA 750G2 Modular + APC Back-UPS Pro 1500 \| 300W OEM (heavy use) or Lenovo Legion C135W GAN (light)
Mouse	Logitech G502 \| Logitech M330
Keyboard	HyperX Alloy Core RGB \| Built in Keyboard (Lenovo laptop KB FTW)
Software	Windows 11 Pro x64 \| Windows 11 Home x64

System Name	BY-2021
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard	MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling	Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory	2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X20 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s)	Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case	Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay + USB 3.2 (A+C) 3.5" bay
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply	Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse	Nixeus REVEL-X
Keyboard	Tesoro Excalibur
Software	Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores	Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.

System Name	The Little One
Processor	i5-11320H @4.4GHZ
Motherboard	AZW SEI
Cooling	Fan w/heat pipes + side & rear vents
Memory	64GB Crucial DDR4-3200 (2x 32GB)
Video Card(s)	Iris XE
Storage	WD Black SN850X 4TB m.2, Seagate 2TB SSD + SN850 4TB x2 in an external enclosure
Display(s)	2x Samsung 43" & 2x 32"
Case	Practically identical to a mac mini, just purrtier in slate blue, & with 3x usb ports on the front !
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha ATS-1060 Bluetooth Soundbar & Subwoofer
Power Supply	65w brick
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 2
Keyboard	Logitech G613 mechanical wireless
Software	Windows 10 pro 64 bit, with all the unnecessary background shitzu turned OFF !
Benchmark Scores	PDQ

Processor	i7 8700k 4.6Ghz @ 1.24V
Motherboard	AsRock Fatal1ty K6 Z370
Cooling	beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory	16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200/C16
Video Card(s)	ASRock RX7900XT Phantom Gaming
Storage	Samsung 850 EVO 1TB + Samsung 830 256GB + Crucial BX100 250GB + Toshiba 1TB HDD
Display(s)	Gigabyte G34QWC (3440x1440)
Case	Fractal Design Define R5
Audio Device(s)	Harman Kardon AVR137 + 2.1
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse	XTRFY M42
Keyboard	Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint II
Software	W10 x64

Processor	Ryzen 9 5900X
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master
Cooling	ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 A-RGB
Memory	32 GB Ballistix Elite DDR4-3600 CL16
Video Card(s)	XFX 6800 XT Speedster Merc 319 Black
Storage	Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1TB
Display(s)	LG 27GL850B x 2 / ASUS MG278Q
Case	be quiet! Silent Base 802
Audio Device(s)	Sound Blaster AE-7 / Sennheiser HD 660S
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime 750W Titanium
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64

Processor	Intel i5-12600k
Motherboard	Asus H670 TUF
Cooling	Arctic Freezer 34
Memory	2x16GB DDR4 3600 G.Skill Ripjaws V
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 1060 SC
Storage	500GB Samsung 970 EVO, 500GB Samsung 850 EVO, 1TB Crucial MX300 and 2TB Crucial MX500
Display(s)	Dell U3219Q + HP ZR24w
Case	Raijintek Thetis
Audio Device(s)	Audioquest Dragonfly Red :D
Power Supply	Seasonic 620W M12
Mouse	Logitech G502 Proteus Core
Keyboard	G.Skill KM780R
Software	Arch Linux + Win10

System Name	Virtual Reality / Bioinformatics
Processor	Undead CPU
Motherboard	Undead TUF X99
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15
Memory	GSkill 128GB DDR4-3000
Video Card(s)	EVGA RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra
Storage	Samsung 960 Pro 1TB + 860 EVO 2TB + WD Black 5TB
Display(s)	32'' 4K Dell
Case	Fractal Design R5
Audio Device(s)	BOSE 2.0
Power Supply	Seasonic 850watt
Mouse	Logitech Master MX
Keyboard	Corsair K70 Cherry MX Blue
VR HMD	HTC Vive + Oculus Quest 2
Software	Windows 10 P

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 3700x
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X470-F Gaming
Cooling	Scythe Ninja 5
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB (2 x 8GB) (F4-3600C16D-16GVKC) @ 3733 MHz 16-19-19-19-36-56
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2060 Super Armor OC 8GB
Storage	1x Samsung 970 EVO 500GB / 3x Crucial MX500 / 4 HDDs
Display(s)	Dell 23" LCD S2316M
Case	Rosewill Rise Glow
Power Supply	CORSAIR RM650
Mouse	Cooler Master MS120
Keyboard	Cooler Master MS120
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

Processor	Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard	AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling	Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory	32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s)	RTX 2070 Super
Storage	500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s)	Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case	Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s)	Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply	eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

System Name	main/SFFHTPCARGH!(tm)/Xiaomi Mi TV Stick/Samsung Galaxy S23/Ally
Processor	Ryzen 7 5800X3D/i7-3770/S905X/Snapdragon 8 Gen 2/Ryzen Z1 Extreme
Motherboard	MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk/HP SFF Q77 Express/uh?/uh?/Asus
Cooling	Enermax ETS-T50 Axe aRGB /basic HP HSF /errr.../oh! liqui..wait, no:sizable vapor chamber/a nice one
Memory	64gb Corsair Vengeance Pro 3600mhz DDR4/8gb DDR3 1600/2gb LPDDR3/8gb LPDDR5x 4200/16gb LPDDR5
Video Card(s)	Hellhound Spectral White RX 7900 XTX 24gb/GT 730/Mali 450MP5/Adreno 740/RDNA3 768 core
Storage	250gb870EVO/500gb860EVO/2tbSandisk/NVMe2tb+1tb/4tbextreme V2/1TB Arion/500gb/8gb/256gb/2tb SN770M
Display(s)	X58222 32" 2880x1620/32"FHDTV/273E3LHSB 27" 1920x1080/6.67"/AMOLED 2X panel FHD+120hz/FHD 120hz
Case	Cougar Panzer Max/Elite 8300 SFF/None/back/back-front Gorilla Glass Victus 2+ UAG Monarch Carbon
Audio Device(s)	Logi Z333/SB Audigy RX/HDMI/HDMI/Dolby Atmos/KZ x HBB PR2/Edifier STAX Spirit S3 & SamsungxAKG beans
Power Supply	Chieftec Proton BDF-1000C /HP 240w/12v 1.5A/4Smart Voltplug PD 30W/Asus USB-C 65W
Mouse	Speedlink Sovos Vertical-Asus ROG Spatha-Logi Ergo M575/Xiaomi XMRM-006/touch/touch
Keyboard	Endorfy Thock 75% <3/none/touch/virtual
VR HMD	Medion Erazer
Software	Win10 64/Win8.1 64/Android TV 8.1/Android 13/Win11 64
Benchmark Scores	bench...mark? i do leave mark on bench sometime, to remember which one is the most comfortable. :o

System Name	Hellbox 5.1(same case new guts)
Processor	Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Motherboard	MSI X570S MAG Torpedo Max
Cooling	TT Kandalf L.C.S.(Water/Air)EK Velocity CPU Block/Noctua EK Quantum DDC Pump/Res
Memory	2x16GB Gskill Trident Neo Z 3600 CL16
Video Card(s)	Powercolor Hellhound 7900XTX
Storage	970 Evo Plus 500GB 2xSamsung 850 Evo 500GB RAID 0 1TB WD Blue Corsair MP600 Core 2TB
Display(s)	Alienware QD-OLED 34” 3440x1440 144hz 10Bit VESA HDR 400
Case	TT Kandalf L.C.S.
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster ZX/Logitech Z906 5.1
Power Supply	Seasonic TX~’850 Platinum
Mouse	G502 Hero
Keyboard	G19s
VR HMD	Oculus Quest 2
Software	Win 10 Pro x64

Have you cut the cord yet? If so what streaming device do you use?

What streaming device do you use at home?

built in streaming with smart TV

Roku box or stick

Amazon box or stick

Apple TV

Chromecast

Nvidia Shield

HTPC

I only stream on my phone/tablet

I only stream on my PC/laptop

other

Retired Super Moderator

Deleted member 67555

Guest

Super Moderator

"I go fast!1!11!1!"

Deleted member 158293

Guest

Deleted member 67555

Guest

Block Caption of Rainey Street

Semi-Retired Folder

Vanguard Beta Tester