I got call from my Dad recently. He had been fighting his annual battle with Comcast about rate hikes, and was told that - mainly because of lost revenue due to cord cutting - they weren't willing to extend discounts any further. So he's now looking at options for cutting his cord too, but has a couple of constraints that I didn't have when I cut the cord a couple years ago, and hence this post.

First, there are a finite number of cable channels that he and Mom watch a lot and don't want to lose. They're working on that list now and then we'll look at what streaming services are available to provide them. We're probably looking at Sling TV, Direct TV Now, Hulu Live, or the like. Their TV is an older, non-smart flat screen, if that makes any difference.

Second, they rely fairly heavily on the DVR they have now (from Comcast). I've explained that to cover all the channels they want, he'll be looking at using both streaming and an OTA antenna. All the cloud-based DVR solutions seem to be for streaming content only, not OTA. Tivo has a hardware DVR (Tivo Bolt OTA for Antenna) that will record from an antenna and also includes a handful of streaming apps. But I haven't been able to figure out from Tivo and other web sites whether that box can record streamed content as well as OTA, and if so whether it's restricted to content from the on-board apps. It appears to have a single HDMI port and I assume that's the output to the TV, not an auxiliary streaming input. The apps built into the box do not include any that would provide some of the channels they want to have, so a separate streaming box (Roku or something) would be necessary to pull in those services. But if the Tivo box can't record content from the Roku/whatever, it's kind of a non-starter. So: Is there a hardware DVR that will accept input from both an antenna and an external streaming box?

Third, Mom is pushing back on the idea of dropping the landline. She has a cell phone but prefers to use a "regular" phone. Are there any good VOIP options available that would allow them to plug their existing phones into an internet connection and use them as if nothing had changed? MagicJack? Others?

For OTA DRV'ing there are several solutions. If it's just one TV, I think perhaps Tablo might be the easiest, most cost-effective route.

I rigged-up a whole-house OTA/DVR solution using a Silicon Dust OTA network tuner, Channels DVR and client apps, a Synology NAS, and Android and Amazon streaming devices. But that's a complicated, expensive solution.

Can't help you with streaming services. We have Netflix and Amazon Prime, and that's it.

The "dumb TV" is not a problem. I don't know if the Tablo device streams, but all you'd need if it does not is a streaming device such as a Roku, Amazon FireTV, Android TV, Apple TV, or whatever.

The biggest issue with all the above is them getting used to the idea of navigating the new interfaces, perhaps having to learn to get in the habit of switching TV inputs when going from OTA to streaming devices, etc. Or, as in our case, switching apps when switched from OTA TV, to either NF or AP.

My wife, too, likes to use a traditional land-line. So I acquired an Obihai VoIP ATA, ported our land-line number over to CallCentric, disco'd the telco's wires at the NID, plugged the Obihai device into a nearby phone jack and you'd never know the difference. (Reader's Digest version. The actual process was a bit >< more complicated than that.)

I don’t understand the desire to record programs that are streamed. A few go away, but the vast majority are always available on demand. Recording them would just be a waste of DVR space.
TiVo at present has apps for NetFlux, Amazon Crime, Hulu, and YouTube, maybe a couple of others.
I don’t know how that would work with Sling.
We still have cable only for Fox News. Otherwise would use OTA and streaming only.

Plex will do OTA DVR, but not in the free version. It requires PlexPass and one of a specific number of external tuners.

Hard to beat Ooma for internet phone service.

For the voip options I've had great luck with Ooma. I've had it at least 5 years with no issues...as long as you have an internet connection that stays up.

Most of the current streaming services have some form of cloud DVR that they offer. I'm currently doing Playstation Vue as my streaming service and it has an unlimited space DVR, but only keeps them for 30 days. As noted above, though, most programs are available On Demand.

I also don't need an OTA antenna for local channels - again most of the streaming services offer your local stations or at least allow you to check before signing up. Once your folks get you the list of must-have channels it's just a process of finding out if Hulu, Sling, YouTube, PS Vue, etc. offer them, what the cost is, what's the DVR offered. Also make sure the app is available for whatever streaming hardware you get - Roku, Fire TV, smart Blue Ray player, etc.

There are a lot of reviews out there for the best streaming services based on what's important to you.

Direct TV Now has a DVR service at no additional charge. I have an HD antenna but rarely use it because Direct TV now gets all my local stations.

For Internet phone service I have found that a SIP phone provides far better call quality and many more features at a very small incremental cost than the combo of an ATA+classic phone set. Yes, you can spend a significant amount of money for a SIP phone, but you also have vendors like Grandstream that provide high-quality phones at reasonable price points.

For VoIP providers, I like voip.ms, mostly for their low price. I have a client with approximately 25 SIP desksets that averages about $25/mo. total for their phone service, and this includes a fair amount of International calling (South America, Asia, and Europe) as well as the usual 50 State domestic load.

Of course, if you are going to rely on VoIP for your phone service, you need a reliable, decent-quality Internet connection (data rate is not critical, but latency is) and it does not hurt to acquire some expertise.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
I don’t understand the desire to record programs that are streamed. A few go away, but the vast majority are always available on demand. Recording them would just be a waste of DVR space.

Yeah, I'm still working on helping him wrap his head around the idea of on-demand. If it was just the local channels then I'd just go with a Tivo or something, but some of their go-to channels aren't available OTA so something like Sling or DTV Now comes into play. I use sling but only for EPSN during football season and then cancel it, I don't use any of the TNT/AMC/TCM/etc. channels on it.

You just need a roku or similar device, it doesn't matter if the tv is smart or not, BUT one thing you want to confirm is if the tv has a HDMI as most of the new streaming devices only have an HDMI cable.


Both PSVUE (Sony) and direct tv now have free dvr service. Check out the channel line ups on PSVUE as they're the same as comcasts and then some channels......I've had PSVUE for almost 2 years now and am very happy with it.


You're still going to need internet from someone and can get voice packaged with it....I believe aT+T has a special that includes internet, voice and direct tv now (the streaming part of direct tv). Could also use something like magic jack.

cnet.com recently posted an article on this topic:
https://www.cnet.com/news/best...ablo-fire-tv-recast/

Unfortunately you just missed a sale on the author's "top pick," the Fire Recast. Last week they were selling for $190. This week it's back up to $230.

Some streaming apps, like PlayStation Vue, can also eliminate the need for an HDTV OTA antenna, because they have your local channels. That's what I'm using, now so no external DVR is needed, since it uses a "cloud DVR" service.

For a land line we use magic jack. Cheap and works real well.

Our cheap Panasonic three station cordless phone system has an answerer machine on the base station and the handsets have a screen for caller ID.

We cut the cord a while back, and I love our TV options now. I did the "one-week free preview" from a bunch of the streaming services, and found YouTube TV to be the best option (by far). It has all the channels we want, plus virtually unlimited DVR options. I also installed an OTA antenna to capture local stations, but that was a waste of time/money because YouTube TV offers all of the local stations now. I am SOOOOOOO much happier with my current setup than I was with Direct TV and/or cable.

quote:

Originally posted by mrw:
Direct TV Now has a DVR service at no additional charge. I have an HD antenna but rarely use it because Direct TV now gets all my local stations.

2nd. We have has direct tv now for a number of months. It checks the boxes of their needs.

Years ago I cut the cord and bought a Channel Master DVR+, which allows recording of OTA programming, downloads a guide based on the channels you receive. It can stream some things as well, but Roku is a much better device for streaming.

MajicJack works great for VOIP / to keep a 'landline'. Costs $40 / year here with 911 service.

It connects to the back of your internet router then to your phone.

Easy peasy.

I have hulu live with an amazon fire. The hulu works almost all the time but about every two weeks it has a minor problem. Have to clear the cache and reboot the cube.


I have several magicjacks, they work well, but I have stopped using them since Verizon went unlimited. I just use my cell phone now.

You can use magicjack connected to either your computer or router.

I usually have them connected to my computer.

they also have an app on your cell phone but it was a battery hog last time I used it.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
MajicJack works great for VOIP / to keep a 'landline'. Costs $40 / year here with 911 service.

It connects to the back of your internet router then to your phone.

Easy peasy.

So what if you have say 3 different phones situated in different places in the house? Connect the MagicJack to the router and then to a phone jack, and all the phones operate through the one device with one subscription?

I have a Channel Master DVR made for OTA service and it works great! I refuse to pay for Sling, YouTube Live, etc. Based on the rates they charge I might as well have kept cable.

As for the land line, good luck with the rates.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
You just need a roku or similar device, it doesn't matter if the tv is smart or not, BUT one thing you want to confirm is if the tv has a HDMI as most of the new streaming devices only have an HDMI cable.

Their TV has one open HDMI port in addition to the one that's current connected to their cable box / DVR, one set of composite inputs currently used for the DVD player, and an antenna coax connector not currently being used.

Each magicjack is one number/dial tone.

However you are distributing the dial tone now, would work the same way with a magicjack.

I would first plug it into a computer USB and register it first. Then set it up for a router and phone. It is faster and a couple of less steps.

You still need a computer for the initial setup.

It has one female jack for the router (RJ45) and one female jack for the phone (RJ11) as well as a usb male plug. Plug a network cable from your router into the RJ45 and a phone cord into the RJ11.

After the initial set up it works like a regular dial tone.