I've been thinking about what else I can add to help people who are ready to cut the cord, but might be a little worried or reluctant because of the technical details and setup. I've been toying with the idea of adding videos to show how to set up the various components that make up a streaming "system". I'm actually moving soon, so that presents a perfect opportunity to tear it all down and put it all back while filming. Would this be helpful to you?
What else would you like to see here? I want to be a valuable resources both to prospective cord-cutters and those of you who have already made the leap. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!
A site dedicated to cord cutters, cord cutter equipment, and cord cutting walkthroughs, tips, and tricks. It's time to get rid of that costly cable/satellite subscription and start saving money as a cord-cutter!
I'm in NYC. I'm thinking of cutting the cord from Time Warner Cable from their cable tv, but they have just announced that they are raising the rates for standard (highest level) stand-alone internet service to about $55/ month. They have something called Lite Internet (the cheapest) and Basic Internet which will then be $35 and $45, respectively. Can I stream on my Roku at the cheaper rates without sacrificing much time and speed to use AmazonPrime, Hulu Plus, and NetFlix, etc.? Or should I start looking at competitors like AT&T, Verizon, etc>? In addition, Time Warner, which recently started charging to rent their internet modems has now announced they are practically doubling this price as well. I would appreciate any help or suggestions, as I'm sure others could use this information too.
ReplyDeleteHey Delight - great questions. Do you know the Mb/s for the Lite and Basic? My initial thinking is that these levels would probably be fine for streaming Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon, but not sufficient to run PlayOn at an effective performance level. I'll wait for your feedback on the speed, however. If it's too low you might sub-optimize your performance even on those highly optimized services.
ReplyDeleteAs far as modems go, you can always get out of the renting game there as well, and purchase your own high-speed cable modem. I'll add a few to the cord-cutter store as I've found this to be very effective in my own setup.
Lite is up to 1 Mbps, Basic up to 3 Mbps and Standard up to 15 Mbps according to Time Warner's website. I'm not sure what PlayOn is.
ReplyDeleteI see AT&T offers internet service at 3 Mbps ($41), 6Mpbs ($46), 12Mbps ($51),
and even higher at 18 and 24.
Still looking to see if there are some other competitors I can get my internet service from.
I want to hold off on buying a modem until I'm sure what service I decide to use, since I want to be sure the modem is compatible.
Thanks for your help.
Anytime Delight - honestly I think you'd be fine at 3mbps for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. If you are going to be streaming to multiple TV's, I'd go with the 6mbps or even higher if you want to make sure your streaming is smooth. Bottom line, go with what you can afford, but your experience should be decent even at the lowest level. You may even be able to stream HD at that speed, depending on the latency in your connection.
ReplyDeleteOh - and if you want to find out more about PlayOn, head over to my step-by-step guide. There's a short write-up on it and some links. Pretty cool stuff, if you ask me. :)
ReplyDelete