Going to drop my satellite TV service

[Melensdad]

And the internet killed DishNetwork.

Living on the far fringe of the Chicagoland area, we can get SOME channels over the air with an antenna, but some of the major channels get seriously crappy signal. So for the past couple of decades I've had DishNetwork. A decade ago we changed internet providers and have struggled with its speed, but it has improved in service and speed.

Most recently DishNetwork dropped WGN9 TV out of Chicago, our favorite news station during a contract dispute so I started using LOCAST for local channels over the internet. Works great! Its also 70% cheaper than the local channel option from DishNetwork. That was the nail in the coffin of DishNetwork.

I can afford it i just don't want to pay for it. $55/month. We simply don't use the DishNetwork service now that we switched over WGN9 to the LOCAST service via the internet.

I have to wonder, as more and more people eliminate satellite TV for services like NETFLIX, AmazonPrime and entertainment options, why did't DISH invest in an EXCLUSIVE service offering that could compete with the on-line streaming products?

 

[NorthernRedneck]

Not an option for us. We live exactly a 12 minute drive from a city of 116000 people but are on internet speeds only a step sideways from dial-up. We canceled our Netflix last year. We have Amazon prime but after 4 failed attempts at watching a single movie, we gave up on it too.

 

[Melensdad]

Not an option for us. We live exactly a 12 minute drive from a city of 116000 people but are on internet speeds only a step sideways from dial-up. We canceled our Netflix last year. We have Amazon prime but after 4 failed attempts at watching a single movie, we gave up on it too.

We are a 15 minute drive from a city of 8,000 people.

Cable TV is not available. ISDN is not available. Fiber Optics not available. For several years I used SKYCASTERS commercial bi-directional satellite system, paid for by my business, it was pretty fast, had some latency issues so there was no ability to do teleconferences, but it did everything else. At a big monthly cost. When I retired I couldn't justify the price for just checking email.

This wide area wifi service we switched to has been good, not great. But works well enough for us. If I had kids it would not be fast enough. Some of the neighbors are switching to Starlink. But my house sits up on a ridge, I have 'line of sight' over the tree tops to the service provider's tower, So I get far better upload/download speeds than my neighbors just by the fact my roof can "see" the tower without having the signal go through the trees.

 

[EastTexFrank]

Yup, I have a smart TV that isn't so smart without a fast internet service. Like Melensdad, we are on wi-fi but it isn't fast enough to stream TV programing or anything else. We are up on a little hill so we just barely have line of sight to the companies tower on a near bye water tower. Every few years, as the pine trees grow, we have to get the antennae raised in order to maintain signal. My problem is that I have just about run out of pole so the antennae can't be raised much more without some major work. If an internet alternative become available, it's goodbye wi-fi and Direct TV.

 

[pirate_girl]

I don't even own a tv now.
I stream apps through the Chromebook.
And don't miss any programming, movies or anything else for that matter.
Today I added discovery+.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

I'll admit to being a total rookie when it comes to livestream and on demand. How does that work for say...live sports and such? Do they still play at the same time? Movies...couldn't care less. Most "regular" programming.....same thing. I don't recall the last time I actually sat down and watched a full movie from start to finish.

I did attempt to stream mr Roger's neighborhood a while back but gave up after a week and 4 attempts using prime as our internet just wouldn't handle it.

 

[300 H and H]

I did not realize how good we have it here.
I live 2 miles outside of a town of about 400. Our local telephone company ran fiber optics to all homes here 10 years ago..
My TV comes through it as well, about 50 channels, including local stations. And at a reasonable price.

Regards, Kirk

 

[Melensdad]

I'll admit to being a total rookie when it comes to livestream and on demand. How does that work for say...live sports and such? Do they still play at the same time? Movies...couldn't care less. Most "regular" programming.....same thing. I don't recall the last time I actually sat down and watched a full movie from start to finish.

I did attempt to stream mr Roger's neighborhood a while back but gave up after a week and 4 attempts using prime as our internet just wouldn't handle it.

Live streaming sports happens multiple different ways. If it is not broadcast on something like Hulu, then you follow a dedicated "link" to the livestream. Sometimes those are hosted by a known service like YouTube, sometimes a university will use its own servers to stream the video. Either way they work the same. Follow a link and you are watching a LIVE broadcast of an event. When the event is over the screen typically goes black, or the link is removed, etc.

I watch some of my college fencers on various livestream feeds.

This weekend we had Northwestern University in Chicago broadcasting fencing events via a YouTube livestream. They also do other "minor" sports. Last weekend Ohio State did the same, using their own servers.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

I was thinking along the lines of nascar racing. The rest of those stick and ball sports I could care less about. I'm also not one to sit for a half hour searching for programs to watch. If I don't find it in 30 seconds of looking on a guide that shows me exactly what channel it's on, I give up looking.

 

[Melensdad]

I was thinking along the lines of nascar racing. The rest of those stick and ball sports I could care less about. I'm also not one to sit for a half hour searching for programs to watch. If I don't find it in 30 seconds of looking on a guide that shows me exactly what channel it's on, I give up looking.

Srevices like TUBI and PLUTO (free) offer a channel guide. So does LOCAST ($5/month).

Big name sports are live streamed on Hulu and other services.

 

[Ceee]

I've never used satellite tv service, but a lot of my neighbors do. I dropped cable tv about 3 years ago but kept the high speed internet. Doing that cut my cost drastically.

I have smart tv's and went to Roku devices and a 50 Mile Range Amplified HDTV Antenna with Detachable Amplifier Signal Booster. The antenna is just a flat piece of plastic looking stuff that sits in my window, and I get local and a lot of other stations. I only use the antenna on days like yesterday when the internet was down.

You might be surprised what you can watch on Roku streaming for free. I'm pretty sure that I watched the Super Bowl on ABC Live (may not have that name exactly right). That's where I watched all of the impeachment trial stuff too.

I only pay for the high speed internet, Netflix, Hallmark Movies Now (just because I love those cheesy movies), and Amazon Prime. I consider Prime Video a bonus because I buy enough stuff from Amazon and feel like it pays for itself with the free shipping. The free kindle books (limited) and music are just an added bonus.

 

[Melensdad]

You might be surprised what you can watch on Roku streaming for free. I'm pretty sure that I watched the Super Bowl on ABC Live (may not have that name exactly right). That's where I watched all of the impeachment trial stuff too.

I only pay for the high speed internet, Netflix, Hallmark Movies Now (just because I love those cheesy movies), and Amazon Prime. I consider Prime Video a bonus because I buy enough stuff from Amazon and feel like it pays for itself with the free shipping. The free kindle books (limited) and music are just an added bonus.

We also use ROKO on our TV sets.

Cable was never available out here so that was why we used satellite TV.

We have Netflix and Amazon PrimeVideo (only have Prime for the purpose of free shipping via Amazon). My daughter signed up and pays for our HULU and Disney+. So we those 4 available to us, plus all the free stuff on ROKU. I also use LOCAST on the ROKU boxes. It is a local life-streaming service, available in some, but not all areas of North America and that costs $5/month.

TUBI and PLUTO are also ROKU channels (there are a few other similar channels too) that offer a TV like experience with broadcast streaming of various programs.

 

[Ceee]

I also use LOCAST on the ROKU boxes. It is a local life-streaming service, available in some, but not all areas of North America and that costs $5/month.

TUBI and PLUTO are also ROKU channels (there are a few other similar channels too) that offer a TV like experience with broadcast streaming of various programs.

When you told us about Locast, I tried that and found that it's not available for my area. Maybe I should check back and see if they have expanded. I sure wish I could get that.

I first found out about Tubi from PG. I like that too, especially when I figured out how to do the "continue watching" feature. Filmrise has some okay stuff too.

 

[jillcrate]

I havent watched TV in many years.... Nothing but garbage on now.... I dont blame ya for getting rid of it!!