By Steve Stone- Senior Sales Engineer at The Little Guys
CUTTING THE CORD…
How many of you picked up the phone to call your TV provider and basically have had to threaten to cancel your service in order to negotiate a better rate? The answer is all of us!
We all can agree that we don’t like our TV service providers and how much we pay to watch TV per month. However, the days of paying hundreds of dollars just to watch TV might be coming to an end for a lot of us.
The hot topic over the past couple of years has been “How do I cut the Cord?” Well, before you just cancel your current TV service provider and “Cut the Cord” there are a few important details you need to know and understand.
One of the most important parts of cutting the cord is to make sure you have good, reliable internet service with a good network in your home. Next, and this is the most important part, do your research on which streaming service offers what programming. There are many ways to watch live TV or stream movies, but depending on the platform, not everything may be available on the device you own or want to purchase.
Wait, WHAAAT? You can’t just click on a link and start watching local live TV programming?? Not every channel you currently watch via your Cable or Satellite packages are available via streaming service. Although the programming selection is still growing, you need to check and double-check that you’ll have access to what you want to watch.
Can I still watch my local channels live? The answer is YES! However, depending on where you live there can be some restrictions that apply. You may not be able to watch your favorite show live. Most local sporting events are available live in real-time.
Do I need a streaming source at every tv location? The answer is YES! You do need some way to access your service. A streaming source is a device that you would use to access the video content you’re trying to watch. Here is a list of the most common ways to access streaming video content to your TV:
- AppleTV
- Tivo
- Blu Ray player
- Roku
- Chromecast
- Amazon Firestick
- Playstation 4
- Xbox One
- Smart TV’s
Is streaming free? The answer is generally no. You still have to pay a monthly subscription. Almost all these services offer a free trial to check it out before you commit. There are some free services, but they usually have limited content, are not in HD, or they have commercials.
The good news is the cost for streaming services is likely a lot less than what you’re paying for cable or satellite service now. There is no equipment rental fee either because you own the device your streaming content from.
How do you know what’s the best service to go with? The best answer is whatever service offers the best channel selection for you! In general, as long as you have a reliable internet connection and network in your home most of the services work very well.
Here’s a little insight on some streaming service providers to help get your research started:
- Sling TV
- Hulu
- HBO Now
- Amazon Prime Video
- YouTube TV
- Philo TV
- PlayStation Vue
- Pluto TV
- FuboTV
- Tubi
- Netflix
- AT&T TV NOW
For more info and installation inquiries, feel free to contact us at info@nullbp5.8ea.myftpupload.com or call the store at 708.754.8844