No more DirecTV

[AfterBurners]

Some of you may pay more some of May pay less but I pay about $168 a month for DirecTV internet and a landline. $100 of that makes up the DirecTV. I called them Friday and just said I want to cancel. I'll get a better TV and get Netflix whatever but I cannot see spending that kind of money every month and get nothing in return. All the movies they have are 30 years old and most of them have nothing but commercials and a lot of commercials and I'm just sick and tired of paying for DirecTV. So how many of you out there are the same situation or done the same thing? Do you guys have Netflix or Hulu. I just don't know how things got this way with Society paying for TV. I could see if there was some value in it but there's hardly any value. Most of the programs are repeats and a lot of them just ain't worth watching. Anyway just my two cents. Any suggestions on some good TVs to get? I know Costco has some great sales and they have some good TVs I know the TV I have is from 1996 so I know it's old. It's definitely time for an upgrade. Someone suggested getting a fire stick from Amazon. Is that really the way to go? I know in a lot of the new TVs you could stream everything. Anyway any suggestions or feedbacks I greatly appreciate it. Thanks a lot

 

[Cl(VII)]

We got rid of traditional pay tv last year. $70 for a year for Disney plus, and free YouTube videos more than cover our minuscule tv watching. The only shows I watched show up on YouTube the same day or the next day for free.

 

[Speaknoevil]

Dumped DirecTV and Netflix. YoutubeTV and (Amazon) Prime Video for me and on occasion a bit of Filmrise, Crackle, Roku Channel and Popcornflix.

 

[PhlAsh]

One day, after much hounding by DirecTV to upgrade to HD, I turned on a football game from a local channel. DTV had put bars on the sides of the image to take it from 16:9 to 4:3, but I could still see few-pixel-wide images on the outsides of their bars. I swapped mode on the tv and went to local broadcast - the pic was full 16:9, crisper and a second or so closer to 'real time'. DirecTV was gone a few days later.

 

[Nytrunner]

I use the video perk that comes with prime, and Ive got the Disney plus bundle that has hulu and espn+. My fiancee has Netflix.

Between those we can pretty much find what we want to watch, and we're bith patient enough to wait for things to arrive in those places

 

[UhClem]

I have read that AT&T (the current owners of DirectTV) are letting it die as they have no plans to replace their satellites when they fail.

Over The Air has been my choice for years. Supplemented with Netflix until recently. (I started when it was only DVDs. I noticed recently that I was watching almost nothing and then the Goop thing sent me over the edge.) For OTA a good antenna and DVR help a lot. I have a DTVPal DVR but that hasn't been available for a long time now.

Use something like tvfool.com to check your expected reception. This is what I get.

 

[dhbarr]

I have a TCL Roku TV. It's probably not the best, but I probably don't care. I do OTA for weather events, Netflix & Prime for rotting my brains. I can cast from my phone if I want, but I almost never do.

 

[Hardline]

Wayco and I got rid of DirectTV in January. Price had gotten over $200 and I watch TV almost never anyway. We have Amazon Prime so we have watched some shows on it. But we found that we just don't miss it. I'd rather read a book or work on rockets or go outside. Actually going outside is my preference. We live on a golf course and between the golfers and the birds we are quite entertained!

 

[Steve Shannon]

Some of you may pay more some of May pay less but I pay about $168 a month for DirecTV internet and a landline. $100 of that makes up the DirecTV. I called them Friday and just said I want to cancel. I'll get a better TV and get Netflix whatever but I cannot see spending that kind of money every month and get nothing in return. All the movies they have are 30 years old and most of them have nothing but commercials and a lot of commercials and I'm just sick and tired of paying for DirecTV. So how many of you out there are the same situation or done the same thing? Do you guys have Netflix or Hulu. I just don't know how things got this way with Society paying for TV. I could see if there was some value in it but there's hardly any value. Most of the programs are repeats and a lot of them just ain't worth watching. Anyway just my two cents. Any suggestions on some good TVs to get? I know Costco has some great sales and they have some good TVs I know the TV I have is from 1996 so I know it's old. It's definitely time for an upgrade. Someone suggested getting a fire stick from Amazon. Is that really the way to go? I know in a lot of the new TVs you could stream everything. Anyway any suggestions or feedbacks I greatly appreciate it. Thanks a lot

I bought a 4K 48 or 50” ROKU TV (Sharp brand) from Best Buy for $249 in February, right before all this hit. So far it has been great. All I need is internet and over the air programming. I use a wall mount patch antenna that looks like a sheet of paper. I do pay $15/month for TiVo so I can record over the air programs and we subscribe to Disney plus and the Hallmark channel, but we’re still $100 less than what we paid for cable.

 

[prfesser]

We were getting a package--cable TV, internet, and landline--and finally decided that there were only a few shows and movies that we watched. Cancelled the TV. It took the cable company over a year to shut off our TV access. So we watched the British Baking Show for free for that time.

We pay for Hulu, and I bought a Roku on a half-price special; it makes it simpler to access the free channels that are available.

Also: I can't speak for other newer models, but the "Smart TV" that we bought from Samsung less than two years ago is pretty freaking stupid. Even a Chromebook would be faster and smarter. Select 'internet'; wait; click on a selection; wait; wait; wait. Use roller on mouse to scroll down one click; wait; wait; wait; wait; screen scrolls down; click on something; wait...

 

[AfterBurners]

I bought a 4K 48 or 50” ROKU TV (Sharp brand) from Best Buy for $249 in February, right before all this hit. So far it has been great. All I need is internet and over the air programming. I use a wall mount patch antenna that looks like a sheet of paper. I do pay $15/month for TiVo so I can record over the air programs and we subscribe to Disney plus and the Hallmark channel, but we’re still $100 less than what we paid for cable.

Sounds like the route I might take. I'm looking forward to better programs and a nicer TV

 

[Hangfire]

I called DirectTv to cancel, and they made me an offer that cut my bill by 60 %, after about a year, I realized that even with full access, at somewhat reasonable prices, I still hadn't watched TV since I first called to cancel. I called again and after a lot of offering and begging, they let me cancel. Then they called me 3 times a day for the next three weeks to make sure I had made the right decision(I never picked up and after listening to their recorded message, I blocked the number). I have not turned on or felt like turning on my TV since.

I do spend a lot of time on various online forums and watching videos on Youtube though.

 

[PXR5]

We also just dumped DirecTV.
We went with a cable package. The reason behind that is I don't watch much TV and my associate loves it.

She is somewhat computer challenged so streaming stuff would make me feel like an I.T. guy.
Happy wife, happy life

 

[Nytrunner]

I have a TCL Roku TV. It's probably not the best, but I probably don't care. I do OTA for weather events, Netflix & Prime for rotting my brains. I can cast from my phone if I want, but I almost never do.

That reminds me, I also have an antenna for the local weather and random sports.

 

[Steven]

We simply got rid of the boob tube 13 years ago altogether. Out you go and stay out.

 

[BEC]

We dropped DirecTV several years ago as the price kept going up for no increased value to us. We'd been on DirecTV since 1999 - signed up to get access to the channel that carried the final season of Babylon 5. That was back when you went to the shop (Video Only up here) and bought the receiver and antenna and installed it yourself. When they made that perfectly functional Toshiba receiver unusable and made us use one they supplied for a fee instead they started to slide downhill.

Currently we have Netflix, Amazon Prime and we just started a "free trial" of CBS All Access to get Star Trek: Picard and are now using that to see what else they have before we start to actually pay them. We did sign up for the commercial-free tier.

We do occasionally watch over-the-air TV as well though our reception of the channels we'd prefer to watch is a little ragged. A better antenna would probably help.

Our TV consumption has gone up some during this odd time, but it still doesn't dominate our lives by any means.

 

[jderimig]

Dropping cable and going to YouTube TV. The spectrum boxes and DVR's were horrible.

 

[hcmbanjo]

I got rid of cable and went with a flat "square" antenna for local broadcasts.
Do a search and find out where your local station has there broadcast antennas.
It might take a few "directional" adjustments of the antenna to bring in all local stations.

Old smaller TVs got Roku to make them "Smart" and receive YouTube and Netflix (my only paid subscription) WiFi broadcast.
My new larger TV has Smart TV built in. The 40" Samsung was about $300.
I quickly made up all monies the cable company would have got otherwise.

 

[tsmmiller]

We were getting a package--cable TV, internet, and landline--and finally decided that there were only a few shows and movies that we watched. Cancelled the TV. It took the cable company over a year to shut off our TV access. So we watched the British Baking Show for free for that time.

We pay for Hulu, and I bought a Roku on a half-price special; it makes it simpler to access the free channels that are available.

Also: I can't speak for other newer models, but the "Smart TV" that we bought from Samsung less than two years ago is pretty freaking stupid. Even a Chromebook would be faster and smarter. Select 'internet'; wait; click on a selection; wait; wait; wait. Use roller on mouse to scroll down one click; wait; wait; wait; wait; screen scrolls down; click on something; wait...

I found the same with my Samsung. I now mirror off my laptop. Works much better.

 

[blackwing94]

We got rid of our TV about 9 months ago. I can't tell you how happy I am now. I use my laptop if I want to watch a youtube video or read news (news! Not talking heads). I'm retired, have all day to do what I want, and I'm busier now than I've ever been. I wasted allot of my life watching TV and have nothing to show for it. Never again.

 

[PXR5]

I'm in my rocket room hiding while my associate is watching Hallmark or Lifetime.

Yucky!!!

 

[Joekeyo]

No cable TV. Mostly YouTube and PBS over-the-air. Nearly $100 for internet and cable.

 

[Mustang67]

I recommend a Samsung Smart TV (Then no RoKu needed). Get an amplified antenna, something like this one https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-Ultra-Edge-Pro-Indoor-Amplified-Flat-Antenna/1000309161.

We then signed up for CBS all access, like 10 bucks a month and we also have Amazon prime.

The Samsung smart TV's are pretty nice and not that expensive. You can download app's such as YouTube, CBS, Disney, ESPN... etc.

 

[vcp]

My story of getting rid of DirecTV started about two years ago and is detailed in this thread. In short, it's Roku and streaming services, plus OtA with a Tablo DVR, and way over 2000 movies and hundreds of TV series on my local PLEX server.

 

[afadeev]

Dumped DirecTV and Netflix. YoutubeTV and (Amazon) Prime Video for me and on occasion a bit of Filmrise, Crackle, Roku Channel and Popcornflix.

I've gone through the similar evolution (had DirectTV and Netflix, dumped both). Now paying for Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ (I have youngish kids).

The only delta for me is that I still have my cable (aka FiOS) service for data, TV, and landline.
Somehow I got grandfathered into a $109/month plan for everything, including HBO and all the premium channels. I mean ALL of them. And I haven't found a way to cobble together a new fast data pipe + HBO for less than $100/month. As soon as I figure out a cheaper path forward, I will cancel the "triple-play" package.

With the current stay-at-home arrangement, we've discovered an awful lot of cooking and other fluff shows that I did not existed.
Helps the family to pass time.

a

P.S.: At my location (a big hill between me and most broadcast towers), OTA programming availability and quality are very limited.

 

[AfterBurners]

I recommend a Samsung Smart TV (Then no RoKu needed). Get an amplified antenna, something like this one https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-Ultra-Edge-Pro-Indoor-Amplified-Flat-Antenna/1000309161.

We then signed up for CBS all access, like 10 bucks a month and we also have Amazon prime.

The Samsung smart TV's are pretty nice and not that expensive. You can download app's such as YouTube, CBS, Disney, ESPN... etc.

Thank you for the TV suggestion. What exactly is RoKu? Is it a device that allows you access to certain channels and/or programs? I wonder if Costco sells SAMSUNG? I know they are big on VIZIO.

 

[Mustang67]

Roku is a external device with software on it that allows you access the streaming apps such as Disney and ESPN. You connect the Roku device to your TV. Looks like a small DVD player. The Samsung "Smart TV's" have service built into them. So no external box to hook up and its easy to use. I do not have a Costco near me but here is one from Target. A 50 inch 4k Smart TV for $329 is a great price. https://www.target.com/p/samsung-50-34-smart-4k-hdr-uhd-tv-glossy-black-un50nu6900/-/A-53832607

Then you can move up from there in resolution, options and cost.

 

[Marc_G]

Roku is a hardware device that has apps for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and just about every other streaming service known to man. Some TVs have built in Roku.

 

[tsmmiller]

Thank you for the TV suggestion. What exactly is RoKu? Is it a device that allows you access to certain channels and/or programs? I wonder if Costco sells SAMSUNG? I know they are big on VIZIO.

Costco is where I picked up my Samsung, ( both of them )

 

[OverTheTop]

We picked up a 55" TV in Aldi about five years back. Been great value for money. Just had the odd hiccup lately (fixed with a reboot), and since they had 65" ones on special, even cheaper (around $320USD) than our original purchase, we upgraded to the 65" 4K the other day. Looks great. Even comes with two remotes, one complex and one simple.