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How do you watch shows? What streaming/cable/antenna do you have?

DawnM

By DawnM,
in The Chat Board

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TV watching  

55 members have voted

  1. 1. What do you use? check all that apply.

    • Hulu/Disney+/Netflix/Amazon Prime/or similar
      44
    • Cable TV through the cable provider or ATT FIOS TV
      1
    • Satellite (DISH/DirecTV/other)
      0
    • streaming "cable" like Youtube/Hulu+/frndly/Philo/Sling/other
      0
    • We only use an antenna or don't have a TV at all
      3
    • Other (please state)
      7

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DawnM

DawnM

Posted
Posted (edited)

This is more out of curiosity.

We had only an antenna and a few streaming services like Disney+, Netflix, and Hulu for most of the last 15 years.   It ran about $20/mo.

Then dad came and he got Dish so we tapped into that.   Then he went to skilled nursing and we got him cable because Dish isn't available there.

So we currently have DISH, cable, and all of the above streaming services.   And we only watch a few channels and rarely watch, although DH often has background TV on while working from home.   I like a few shows.

We are getting rid of DISH and cable TV and will be looking at a cheaper alternative.

THINKING of getting:  https://try.frndlytv.com for $12/mo, and then adding an antenna for local tv.

Also looking at Youtube TV.

What do you like/dislike about your current TV watching/streaming/etc.....service?

 

Edited by DawnM
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TheReader

TheReader

Posted
Posted

It wouldn't let me pick more than one, so I marked other. 

We have:

cable TV (Xfinity)
amazon Prime
Netflix
Disney+ sometimes
HBO Max sometimes
Paramount+ sometimes
Apple TV rarely, but sometimes

DH has a habit of subscribing once a show he wants is fully released, then we watch that every night, then we cancel the subscription after that month. So we don't *keep* all of the things, but at any given time, we may have several all at once (or nothing but cable & Amazon). 

So, when the next season of Ted Lasso drops, we'll renew Apple TV for a month or so.  When Disney releases their next Star Wars or Marvel related show, we'll renew that. We'll watch that show/those shows, and once done, cancel (if we know we'll finish in a month, he'll often subscribe, cancel the next day, it lets you keep the month you've paid for, then you don't forget to go in and cancel....). 

We've yet to find a way to watch live sports w/o cable, so that's why we keep that. And we pay far less for it bundled with our internet than we would otherwise, so it works well. 

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LucyStoner

LucyStoner

Posted
Posted

Netflix is included with our cell phone plan.  Amazon Prime with the Prime subscription we share with my dad and brother.  Then we pay for the Hulu/Disney/Espn combo.  Sometimes I add something for a short time and then cancel it- for instance HBO to watch the new season of Hacks.  I got YouTube TV for 1 month so I could watch the post season baseball games this year but then I cancelled it because I’m not paying $60/month for TV.  

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MEmama

MEmama

Posted
Posted

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Apple, HBO Max. Peacock comes packaged with NBC; we have to have cable or pay *more* for internet. DH might have some sports packages, idk.

I mostly watch Netflix because they have so many international shows that interest me, probably followed by HBO Max. I almost never find anything on Amazon but when I do they are stellar. Apple has quite a number of good shows, always high quality.

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Katy

Katy

Posted
Posted

I can’t check more than one so I put other. We have a TCL tv in the living room.  We use an antenna and those tv’s have a thing where you can use a jump drive to pause or rewind the channel you’re watching for something like 90 minutes. 

We also have Prime, and I usually do that annual billing plan for Disney/Hulu/ESPN, but they switched it to monthly billing which irritated me so I canceled it. Planned to renew but no one has wanted to watch anything there so I haven’t. 

I just started Frndly in October. It’s fine. I’m finding I don’t have time to watch a bunch of new Christmas movies so I tend to watch the favorite ones we’ve purchased on Amazon over & over again. It’s pleasant background noise that doesn’t require my full attention.

DH & I loved Apple TV, I think we got a free year with a phone or laptop or something. But I canceled it because despite loving Ted Lasso & a few other things we didn’t have time to watch it, especially because most wasn’t appropriate for kids. Except Fraggle Rock.

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TravelingChris

TravelingChris

Posted
Posted (edited)

We have 2 Rokus and have some stuff through those.  Then we also have two leftover google chrome play stuff.  We subscribe to FUBO-which is an internet service sort of like Comcast, but so much better.  We saved money by first going to Google Chrome play and when they got out of that, we switched it to Fubo.  I added Spanish, more sports and more family? or something and I still pay much, much less than Comcast.  And I get lots of news, lots of weather, lots of mystery/real crime/lots of documentary stuff/ and lots of stuff we don't ever watch too.  Then we have Amazon Prime, and Netflix.  I want to get HBOMax for a bit.   

Edited by TravelingChris
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Carrie12345

Carrie12345

Posted
Posted

We have “too many” streaming services, but I love most of them. I don’t like some that Dh keeps, and he wishes I’d give up some that I insist on keeping.

 I’m primarily Hulu (the incorrectly titled no-ad plan, and live TV), Netflix, and no-ad YouTube.

Dh is primarily Apple TV+, no-ad YouTube, and Disney+.

I think he also does Peacock or a similar channel, and Discovery. Plus, temporarily HBO, but only because of a new Christmas movie. (I forget which one was only on HBO.)

While I pay almost all the bills of the house, streaming services go through him, so who knows how many we really have?

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Pawz4me

Pawz4me

Posted
Posted

It will only let me pick one, so I chose Other. We have YouTubeTV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, ESPN+ and I think we get Hulu free through . . . something. Those are the ones I'm aware of (I'm not much of a watcher, I just live with people who are). I like YouTubeTV because I can see the only thing I ever really watch, which is local news/weather. DH and the boys like it because it has good sports coverage.

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TravelingChris

TravelingChris

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, TheReader said:

It wouldn't let me pick more than one, so I marked other. 

We have:

cable TV (Xfinity)
amazon Prime
Netflix
Disney+ sometimes
HBO Max sometimes
Paramount+ sometimes
Apple TV rarely, but sometimes

DH has a habit of subscribing once a show he wants is fully released, then we watch that every night, then we cancel the subscription after that month. So we don't *keep* all of the things, but at any given time, we may have several all at once (or nothing but cable & Amazon). 

So, when the next season of Ted Lasso drops, we'll renew Apple TV for a month or so.  When Disney releases their next Star Wars or Marvel related show, we'll renew that. We'll watch that show/those shows, and once done, cancel (if we know we'll finish in a month, he'll often subscribe, cancel the next day, it lets you keep the month you've paid for, then you don't forget to go in and cancel....). 

We've yet to find a way to watch live sports w/o cable, so that's why we keep that. And we pay far less for it bundled with our internet than we would otherwise, so it works well. 

That is why we have FUBO.  It is great for sports and we have lots of other channels too. much more than w had on Xfinity, and at lower price.

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Loowit

Loowit

Posted
Posted

We have cable, but only because it is cheaper to have a bundle for our internet than to buy it alone.  We never watch cable tv.  We watch streaming services mostly on our computers or other devices.  We have a TV but don't use it very often because we don't watch much together, though we have more so with the kids home for Christmas.  We have Prime, Discovery+, Acorn, BritBox, and HBOMax.  My DD has a Netflix subscription because she needed it for a college class but I think she is going to drop it soon, and we just dropped our Disney+ subscription.

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Wheres Toto

Wheres Toto

Posted
Posted

It wouldn't allow picking multiple options.

We have an antenna that gets us the major networks and a few other channels.

We have Prime, HBOMax, Paramount Plus, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Wondrium, and occasionally Sling (sports).    I believe we are getting rid of Hulu and our Paramount Plus but it turns out dd also has Paramount so we'll start using her account (she uses our Disney+ and Netflix). 

I watch music on youtube.  I haven't watched any shows or movies on there but I understand it's possible. 

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gardenmom5

gardenmom5

Posted
Posted (edited)

It only allows one choice.

we have netflix, amazon, and I use youtube (usually on my computer, rarely the TV).   1ds set up plex as a household server. (all household digital content is on it.)  1ds may have a disney+ (sw stuff)  on my TVs, but I've never used it.   On the primary account, you can stream - though I never have.  - everyone has their own accounts for things that are saved, but you just click on the account you want to access, no password required.

I've been watching a lot of K-dramas, and that's been netflix.

Since we set up a home theater  - kids will come here to watch stuff, and invite their friends.  

eta: dh got cable again so he can watch football.  He tried doing it without, and it's just easier for him this way.  cable is only on one TV.  

Edited by gardenmom5
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sweet2ndchance

sweet2ndchance

Posted
Posted

We have Netflix free and a free year of Paramount + also through our cellphone provider. We have a free year of Apple TV from when we bought our iPad earlier this year. We watch a lot of YouTube but no subscription. We pay for Disney+ and Amazon Prime. We technically don’t have a tv though ds’s desktop computer has a smart TV as the monitor. He sometimes watches one of the streaming plans we have on the smart TV since he is restricted to what sites he can access on the computer. We’ve lived happily without cable since 2008.

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gardenmom5

gardenmom5

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Hilltopmom said:

Can you give me an example. I’m off for the next 11 days and can only read so many books before my eyes hurt!

I’ll check one out 🙂

Some well rated ones that I have enjoyed.  I seem to really enjoy the ones set in Joseon - lavish costumes, but not all of them are.  The ones in Josen will often have assassination attempts, or coup de etats.  Production values are very high.  You really see the different values on human life in the Josen period.

The King's Affection (I'm on my second viewing) - the king is played by the same actress as Extraordinary attorney Woo - which I have not seen, but is well rated.)

Live up to your name (sci-fi time travel between Josen and modern Seoul, has some real people in fictional settings) - the very last scene sets up the possibility of a sequel, many are hoping . . .

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung

Cinderella and the four knights (contemporary)

Business Proposal - contemporary rom-com

100 days my prince

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gardenmom5

gardenmom5

Posted
Posted
54 minutes ago, Hilltopmom said:

Can you give me an example. I’m off for the next 11 days and can only read so many books before my eyes hurt!

I’ll check one out 🙂

If you have someone in your house who likes intense action thriller,  I'd recommend K2.

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historically accurate

historically accurate

Posted
Posted

We currently have: 

Peacock (free through our internet provider)

Discovery+ (plan to cancel this one next month)

Paramount + (just added)

We have Hulu because DH gets it with his Spotify subscription - I don't think the Hulu part of that gets used very often.

We also use our library's Hoopla and Kanopy subscriptions.

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DawnM

DawnM

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18 hours ago, Katy said:

I can’t check more than one so I put other. We have a TCL tv in the living room.  We use an antenna and those tv’s have a thing where you can use a jump drive to pause or rewind the channel you’re watching for something like 90 minutes. 

We also have Prime, and I usually do that annual billing plan for Disney/Hulu/ESPN, but they switched it to monthly billing which irritated me so I canceled it. Planned to renew but no one has wanted to watch anything there so I haven’t. 

I just started Frndly in October. It’s fine. I’m finding I don’t have time to watch a bunch of new Christmas movies so I tend to watch the favorite ones we’ve purchased on Amazon over & over again. It’s pleasant background noise that doesn’t require my full attention.

DH & I loved Apple TV, I think we got a free year with a phone or laptop or something. But I canceled it because despite loving Ted Lasso & a few other things we didn’t have time to watch it, especially because most wasn’t appropriate for kids. Except Fraggle Rock.

Oh shoot, I guess I didn't set the poll right.

What is a TCL?

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DawnM

DawnM

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11 hours ago, historically accurate said:

We currently have: 

Peacock (free through our internet provider)

Is Peacock just NBC or something more?

11 hours ago, historically accurate said:

Discovery+ (plan to cancel this one next month)

Paramount + (just added)

We have Hulu because DH gets it with his Spotify subscription - I don't think the Hulu part of that gets used very often.

We also use our library's Hoopla and Kanopy subscriptions.

Oh, dang, what is Hoopla and Konopy?   

I am learning a lot!

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Katy

Katy

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, DawnM said:

Oh shoot, I guess I didn't set the poll right.

What is a TCL?

It’s a brand of cheap TV that’s surprisingly high quality. Instead of opening to a home screen or whatever live tv you last watched, it opens to the Roku system that’s built in. 

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SKL

SKL

Posted
Posted

Not sure what to call it.  I personally don't use any paid stuff other than internet (Youtube).  I don't watch series shows, but I watch one-offs and sometimes old movies on Youtube.  And I don't watch TV, except for the rare special showing.  But my kids use my housemate's subscriptions to Netfilx and Disney.  If it was up to me, we wouldn't have these unless the kids paid out of their own money.  But I can't control other adults.

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historically accurate

historically accurate

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, DawnM said:

Is Peacock just NBC or something more?

Oh, dang, what is Hoopla and Konopy?   

I am learning a lot!

I think Peacock is NBC. It has some extras like movies, etc. 

Hoopla is an audiobook/ebook/TV/movie streaming service available through libraries - our library gives us 7 plays per month using our library card as a login including a "Bingepass" (unlimited 7 day plays) on Great Courses, KidsVids, ReadAlong books, Highlights magazine, and CuriosityStream. I've been watching BBC's Murder in Paradise and My Life is Murder as well as a MesoAmerica great course.  hoopladigital.com

Kanopy is a movie-only streaming service available through a different library - I work for 2 libraries so I have cards at 2 libraries. I get 5 "play credits" per month. I don't watch a lot of movies, so I don't use this one to its fullest. My film-loving teen usually uses this one the most. Kanopy.com

Definitely check out your local library websites to see if they provide these options. 

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Lady Florida.

Lady Florida.

Posted
Posted

We haven't had cable or satellite in around 10 years when we went to streaming only. We currently have an Android TV and a Hisense with a Roku box. It sometimes seems to be a badge of honor to say one doesn't watch tv but I'm not at all ashamed or embarrassed to say we're tv watchers.

We always have:

-Amazon Prime
-Netflix
-Disney+/Hulu bundle with ads - Disney is mostly for the grandkids but we sometimes find Marvel or Star Wars shows to watch. We have the bundle that doesn't include ESPN because none of us are interested in sports.
-HBO MAX through our cell phone provider - We do watch shows here but if they ever stop providing it for free we'll cancel
-Acorn TV
-Britbox
-PBS Passport - We don't watch a lot here but I do it to support our local PBS station

We periodically subscribe to these to watch a particular show or do a free trial period:

Paramount+ - currently have
Peacock - not currently but we'll re-subscribe when the newest season of Yellowstone drops
Apple TV - not currently but we'll re-subscribe when the next season of Ted Lasso drops

We watch videos on YouTube but not tv shows or movies so we just use the free version. Dh found some free channels (apps) that he occasionally watches - Pluto, tubi, and another one I can't think of offhand. The run a lot of old shows and movies he likes to watch. We have a small antenna in the attic but rarely watch local tv. The only time we watch it is for hurricane coverage and we did need it twice this year for Ian and Nicole. 

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kirstenhill

kirstenhill

Posted
Posted

I couldn't quite match my situation to the poll.  We always have Netflix, prime, and Disney+.  We've done short stints with other services like Paramount when there was a show we wanted. 

In the recent past we had cable because it was bundled with the internet, and we did YouTubeTV for about a year after we switched internet peoviders. But we realized that we only used Cable/YouTube TV for a couple of sports.  We then re-hooked-up an over the air antenna for certain local market sports and subscribed to F1 TV to get our race car fix. 😁 

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Spy Car

Spy Car

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, historically accurate said:

 

Kanopy is a movie-only streaming service available through a different library - I work for 2 libraries so I have cards at 2 libraries. I get 5 "play credits" per month. I don't watch a lot of movies, so I don't use this one to its fullest. My film-loving teen usually uses this one the most. Kanopy.com

Definitely check out your local library websites to see if they provide these options. 

Kanopy is really great for older and classic movies that other services often don't have. We also get it free though our library.

Bill

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Spy Car

Spy Car

Posted
Posted

For those considering an outdoor antenna (sometime after the storm of the century is over) the thing to do is hit the website TV Fool and enter a near address and it will show where the TV signals in your area come from (which direction and distance).

It is always best to have an antenna that matches one's needs. A smaller antenna is actually better than a larger one if transmitters are close, for example, as they make less interference. And some people are between two different markets and can use bi-directional antennas.

I'm no expert, but I used this site when I decided to put up an antenna to get local broadcast station. Worked perfectly.

https://www.tvfool.com/

 

Bill

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Grace Hopper

Grace Hopper

Posted
Posted

We don’t watch a lot of tv, don’t have cable but do have an antenna. 
 

We have a Netflix subscription through our phone plan (some promotional deal I think) and sometimes have Amazon prime when one of us has prime activated. 
 

We mostly just watch evening news, football once a week, and library DVDs. 

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Mom_to3

Mom_to3

Posted
Posted

Only watch via our computers. We do have Amazon Prime but they rarely have what we want to watch for free - we will occasionally buy a movie there, or temporarily subscribe to other channels when they have a movie or show we want to watch. I watch international TV channels (free) a lot when insomnia hits.

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