I really believe it makes sense for most to get an antenna to take advantage of free over-the-air broadcasts. Netflix is another common cord cutting resource (at least get a free trial). After that though, what’s next? It really depends on your preferences. If you choose a streaming device, then there will be plenty of apps (including games) that you can explore. But watch out, some of these additional apps/services cost money, so be careful!
My cord cutting journey
1) I chose Apple TV – mostly because I am already in the Apple ecosystem and consequently there are many advantages for me. I already own some movies and TV shows in iTunes (no other streaming device can access iTunes). I really like the Apple TV app store. Additionally, all my photos from all our devices (iphones, ipad, etc.) automatically show up in the photos app (on Apple TV) and I really enjoy the memories feature that makes small video clips (with music) of family photos – this is all automatic – I don’t manually sync or setup the memories, it all happens in the background/cloud – woo hoo! Our son also really enjoys a lot of the interactive games on Apple TV too.
2) I am currently using an over-the-top package from DirectTV now. I have their mid-level package for $50 per month. I mostly chose that package for their regional sports, in order to watch the Atlanta Braves. One of the reasons I chose DirectTV now was because it included a free Apple TV. I enjoy this cable-like package of live TV (vs. Netflix which is on-demand) – partly due to its regional sports and partly because I grew up with appointment TV and on-demand TV takes a little getting used to. One disadvantage (at least for now) is that DirectTV now doesn’t include a cloud based DVR – most other over-the-top services include a cloud based DVR service and if this is really important to you then I recommend you check out Playstation Vue – it gets really good reviews (see link below). DirectTV now is supposed to begin offering a free cloud based DVR service later in 2017 – hurry up and wait. . .
We went a couple years with only an antenna and Netflix – it was sufficient (and fit nicely into the budget) – especially for my wife and son – but I confess I missed quite a bit of my favorite sporting events – especially baseball (Go Braves!) and basketball (Go Heels!).
I’m sure that many will conclude that the whole cord cutting process is too cumbersome and time consuming: I will be the first to admit the setup process is more challenging than traditional cable/TV, but for many, the cost savings more than outweigh some temporary inconvenience from the setup process.
Drop me a comment below and let me know if you are a cord cutter or not and why?
Thanks for tuning in!
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