I'm ticked off. I'm trying to into playstation vue and it gave me a menu to order new services. It won't let me select none and get to the tv. I'm freaking pissed. I just want to watch TV!!!!!

Come on over. I’m watching hour three of Live PD.

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WZ and Noisy like that show. What's the appeal? Is it like an updated cops.

And Cops was great, too.

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I think it thinks I'm not a subscriber. fuck fuck fuck.

Everything happens for a reason

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I just want to watch tv. Life was so simple. in the old days. I'd rather have the tube tv from 1978 with the broken knob and use a pliers to change the channel. It worked. I just turned it on and boom. TV show.

We had vice grips. It was better than a knob.
Ah. 1978. Back when we scoffed at the idea of a remote control.

Just cut DirecTV this week after spending $175/month for 15 years and the old battle axe is already bitching she missed some dumb ass network show. Guess the Amazon Prime and the Netflix aren't enough. Reading through this thread, looks like SlingTV might be good and they have a deal where you get a free HD antenna. I live west (think Galewood, Elmwood Park, Oak Park) and am surprised I get nada OTA. Looks like I'd need an outdoor antenna to get CBS. Any updated thoughts on streaming services and antennas? Thanks in advance.

Sling should have all the local network stations. I know PS Vue does (except for WGN).

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They have 2 packages. Gold and Blue. Just make sure you get the one with NBC sports or no Hawks games.

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

PS Vue is a good service. It's true that it does not have 9, 11, 26 and a few others. If you use a Roku for PS Vue there is a free WGN app that you can use to watch on demand weather and news. There isn't actually that much programming on WGN that I personally would miss other than a few sports games. Comcast actually has a streaming service called XFinity Stream that has all the local channels and is available with some Internet packages. It has limitations but it comes with a limited DVR and all the antenna channels.

To get a consistent signal an attic or rooftop antenna is the way to go. It's basically like wiring up your house for cable or dish, so if you have coax to the rooms then half of the work is already done. Usually besides the antenna you also need an amplifier and then if it's mounted on the roof it's supposed to be properly grounded.

The thing I don't like about over-the-air TV is that you basically have no DVR unless you buy a separate unit or a service like Tivo. It's actually pretty annoying to sit through commercials when you have a DVR.

I like the Rokus because Comcast and Uverse basically nickel and dime people to death with equipment fees. Each basic Roku was $29.00 at Walmart. For as many Rokus as I have I would be paying Comcast a lot for TV boxes.

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God is the uncaused cause of the universe. He had no beginning and has no end. He is not bound by the laws of the universe he created.

Thanks for the input. Looks like I have some stuff to look at before jumping in.

We didn’t completely cut but went down to internet and basic cable for about $90. Fastest internet and unlimited streaming. The wife couldn’t give up all cable. Netflix Hulu for all the kids shows. I got a guy to jailbreak a Firestik for free. I get everything I could want. We saved around $120 a month and have more channels. I have live TV from all around the world. Highly recommend.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

If you need a DVR for antenna TV, just get a digital converter box with a USB port and plug in an external hard drive. My son got the box from Beezos and paired it with an old backup drive he already had, and set my Mom up to replace her VHS recorder so she can watch Jeopardy! every freakin' day..cheaper than a working VCR. I had several of the first gen converter boxes, but none with an output port for the hard drive, or it would have been free!

Jailbreak a fire stick? Is this prison jargon of some kind?

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Jailbreaking is tech slang for modifying/hacking/customizing an operating system.

It voids warranties and can sometimes break laws but it is pretty common with Android devices.

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Interesting.

How do you play the shows back?
How much memory would be advisable for the hard drive?

You need to get out once and while.

the best tv recording value right now is an HD homerun connect and a shield tv box. there are cheaper options out there but nothing beats the video quality. shield tv is $140, and the connect is like another $80. but it does allow you to watch on your phone, laptop or whatever too.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

I think the opposite is true.

I was recently talking about the cord cutting dvr conundrum.

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Elections have consequences.

Pete- I gotta plead ignorance here. My middle kid is a college student in Computer Science, so he's the family IT guru. I pay him handsomely to keep stuff like this taken care of- I'll swap brake rotors, change oil, pay tuition, he keeps the Grandma/Mom/Sister phones/laptops/TV crap working right.

Playing the recorded shows can't be too hard, Mom is 79 and figured it out. I'll ask some questions and get back to you.

I would appreciate that!

Picked up an indoor OTA antenna at Best Buy so the wife can watch the movie award show. It appears to only be working ok. Some fading due, I guess, to the wind. Guessing I might need an outdoor one when the weather breaks.

After a few years of no cable TV, I actually considered going the other way. Moving and will be working out of the new place for the first 8-9 months, so I thought about getting TV in order to also get 400 mbps of Internet instead of 200 mbps. Then I looked at the TV lineup and said fuck no and will keep my Sling Blue subscription instead for $25/month. In addition to a bunch of channels I don't care about, Sling Blue gets me all of the NBC and Fox lineup - local stations, national sports channels (NBCSN, FS1, FS2) and regional sports (NBC Chicago, Fox Sports South). No AFC NFL games on CBS, but I don't care about those teams anyway.

The one thing I wish I could get is MLB Network. It pisses me off that for my $118 for my MLB.TV subscription for live games, I don't also get access to the MLB Network stream.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

So sling is no ABC CBS or ESPN?

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Elections have consequences.

Some sling packages come with an indoor intenna and AirTV which allows you to get the local channels into your Sling set up.

ESPN is a part of every Sling package though, I believe. My sister and her boyfriend have Sling and he gets ESPN on it.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

ESPN is on sling orange not on blue.

i dont have time to read this this whole thing but what are some good options to cut cable? My son pays most of it for me but i don't want him to have this burden any longer.

I think he pays like close to $200 a month (spectrum). It includes a landline phone (useless) , cable (hbo/starz/nfl redzone free), and internet.

The internet is great, it's the fastest you can get. The cable like in the cubs/sinclair thread, has tons of channels which I probably only watch 5 of.

I've heard about you tube tv, sling , and others, so what do you guys/gals recommend service wise and content wise?

The problem is if i get rid of this service, they will f us over by making us pay for internet $75 / mo. The internet is not thru the phone line but the cable itself. which is i guess why it's fast. but maybe i dont need it that fast, i'm not sure how phone line internet works but others who have it say it sucks here.

Here's what I watch :

baseball - i get it thru mlb.tv - a separate sub, so the only time I need to watch it on cable is when the cubs are on ESPN or MLB Network and playoffs/WS on local. MLB Network is awesome and a must for me.

other sports - not interested in anything else really other than nhl / nba finals and nfl playoffs which are thru regular feed.

movies/tv - I like HBO but i don't watch it unless something interests me. I know they have a separate sub and I think I can probably pay for that per month. Like pay a month to catch up on all the shows binge wise then cancel the service and resub when something interests me.

other than that it's a complete waste of channels for me.

I do want local channels so I can catch the national sporting events but where I live is surrounded by hills and I never can get the antenna free channels to come in for nbc/cbs/abc.