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TRFers, I'm researching cutting the cord. What streaming device is recommended?

Google Chrome

 

?

ah....Chromecast
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I got an Apple TV and a Fire Stick. Both work very good but the Apple TV interface and speed are way better. The Fire Stick works very good though and the price can't be beat. I bought my daughter one for Christmas last year and it is all she uses for TV. Well...that, and my Amazon Prime account, my Netflix account, and my HBO and STARZ accounts. The thing I like best about the Apple TV and Fire Stick is the 1080p resolution instead of the 1080i that my Dish receivers use. 1080p is so much better. When my Dish contract expires, I am going to all streaming content using Sling TV or similar offering. I'm also going to buy a DVR to use with the national OTA channels.
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I got an Apple TV and a Fire Stick. Both work very good but the Apple TV interface and speed are way better. The Fire Stick works very good though and the price can't be beat. I bought my daughter one for Christmas last year and it is all she uses for TV. Well...that, and my Amazon Prime account, my Netflix account, and my HBO and STARZ accounts. The thing I like best about the Apple TV and Fire Stick is the 1080p resolution instead of the 1080i that my Dish receivers use. 1080p is so much better. When my Dish contract expires, I am going to all streaming content using Sling TV or similar offering. I'm also going to buy a DVR to use with the national OTA channels.

 

Your daughter and my mom and dad! :LOL: We got my older parents a voice activated Firestick, trying to make things really easy for them. I loaded our Netflix and HBO apps onto it. We created a monster! :) At first they wouldn't use it; then they used it to watch "Temple Grandin" and a Frank Sinatra special all in one day. Now they want every movie to be that good and keep calling me for suggestions! It's very cute. :heart:

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I just signed up for Playstation Vue on my Amazon Fire TV (box) and it's amazing. I've got most cable channels streaming live now, including virtually all of the necessary sports networks. The interface is certainly adequate and having so many services built into one box is great.

 

I did lose a few channels vs DirecTV, but very few that I miss.

 

I also went and bought Amazon Fire Sticks for my other two TVs: I'm a bit disappointed by the slower user interface from the Sticks, but the ultimate viewing experience is still teriffic.

 

I would note though: Amazon Fire TVs and Sticks seem to be in short supply right now. Ordering from Amazon usually places you on a waitlist, and they can be very difficult to track down in local stores. If you want one soon, and you see one locally, buy it when you see it!

Edited by KenJennings
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I just signed up for Playstation Vue on my Amazon Fire TV (box) and it's amazing. I've got most cable channels streaming live now, including virtually all of the necessary sports networks. The interface is certainly adequate and having so many services built into one box is great.

 

I did lose a few channels vs DirecTV, but very few that I miss.

 

I also went and bought Amazon Fire Sticks for my other two TVs: I'm a bit disappointed by the slower user interface from the Sticks, but the ultimate viewing experience is still teriffic.

 

I would note though: Amazon Fire TVs and Sticks seem to be in short supply right now. Ordering from Amazon usually places you on a waitlist, and they can be very difficult to track down in local stores. If you want one soon, and you see one locally, buy it when you see it!

 

Thank you! We have been looking to get rid of cable, but haven't found plans with many sports channels. I'll be checking this out!

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Roku has more channels but I’ll take either one over cable. Screw Comcast, Spectrum and the other greedy corrupt companies. It’s no surprise the big 4 pay channels (HBO/Cinemax,Showtime,Starz,Epix) have their online services now and companies like Hulu and YouTube have joined Sling and Sony Vue with their own tv channel services.

 

I’ve got Apple TV as well.

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Started with a firestick, side loaded Kodi onto it and it worked fine. Moved on from that to get an Android box with Kodi.

 

The website Tony R posted above is where I got all the info I needed for add-ons.

The Fire TV Box is definitley the route to go if you are using Kodi. Kodi will run okay with the stick but things take much longer to load with the stick as opposed to the box.
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Started with a firestick, side loaded Kodi onto it and it worked fine. Moved on from that to get an Android box with Kodi.

 

The website Tony R posted above is where I got all the info I needed for add-ons.

I have Amazon Fire box.

People have unrealistic expectations of Firestick and Roku. They are not going to be able to stream perfectly all the time because the technology inside them is limited by size. Also quite often people's own wifi can be the issue.

I use ADB to side load Kodi etc to the box (but download the repositories directly on to the box/stick.)

It is as simply a case of getting the IP address from the settings.

You no longer need to sideload Kodi. There is an app named "Downloader" that is on Amazon market that you can use to download and install Kodi.
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TRFers, I'm researching cutting the cord. What streaming device is recommended?

Google Chrome

 

?

ah....Chromecast

I am now using Roku. I like it.

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TRFers, I'm researching cutting the cord. What streaming device is recommended?

Google Chrome

 

?

ah....Chromecast

I am now using Roku. I like it.

 

We ended up getting a Roku as well because we dropped cable and signed up with YouTube TV. ( It doesn't run on Amazon devices.) We could not be happier! Quality is as good as cable, it has all our local channels and many sports channels. Love this streaming service !

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TRFers, I'm researching cutting the cord. What streaming device is recommended?

Google Chrome

 

?

ah....Chromecast

I am now using Roku. I like it.

 

We ended up getting a Roku as well because we dropped cable and signed up with YouTube TV. ( It doesn't run on Amazon devices.) We could not be happier! Quality is as good as cable, it has all our local channels and many sports channels. Love this streaming service !

 

I’m surprised YTTV doesn’t run on Amazon. I’ve been looking at PlayStation Vue. It looks really good too. Really good DVR service. My only problem with moving from Directv Now is the price I’m paying. $28.00 a month including HBO and Showtime. If I drop Showtime it would only be $20.00 I’m glad they are implementing a DVR service soon. I’m going to use the Tablo DVR device for my OTA locals. It works on all the TVs’ in the house over my network.

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TRFers, I'm researching cutting the cord. What streaming device is recommended?

Google Chrome

 

?

ah....Chromecast

I am now using Roku. I like it.

 

We ended up getting a Roku as well because we dropped cable and signed up with YouTube TV. ( It doesn't run on Amazon devices.) We could not be happier! Quality is as good as cable, it has all our local channels and many sports channels. Love this streaming service !

 

I’m surprised YTTV doesn’t run on Amazon. I’ve been looking at PlayStation Vue. It looks really good too. Really good DVR service. My only problem with moving from Directv Now is the price I’m paying. $28.00 a month including HBO and Showtime. If I drop Showtime it would only be $20.00 I’m glad they are implementing a DVR service soon. I’m going to use the Tablo DVR device for my OTA locals. It works on all the TVs’ in the house over my network.

 

That is a great price! My soon to be son in law has Play Station Vue and loves it. We pay $35.00 a month (I think they recently raised to 39.99) but no HBO or Showtime. It has just about everything we watch, though. And we're still saving so much over Comcast! I think we'll get the HBO streaming app when Game of Thrones comes back.

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I have an Amazon Fire TV Box and a Fire Stick.

You can side load Kodi and others on them and some people use Kodi to access streams of Live Sport, movies and TV shows. Me? Would I do that, with my reputation?

The problem with using Kodi on the firestick these days is that the last couple of Android versions of Kodi are very unstable and Kodi crashes quite often.
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We've just dropped DirecTV and went with 2 firesticks and hulu. I so wish I had done it sooner. We also added philo so my wife can watch the Hallmark Barf-a-thon. Saving about 80 bucks a month.

 

Do you mean those heartwarming Christmas movies where the stars are all recycled 90's actresses? :LOL: I have to admit I'm partial to them myself! :heart: :heart:

 

Congrats on cutting the cable/dumping the Dish! We did it 8 months ago and couldn't be happier. We went with YouTube TV because they had all of our local channels and a lot of sports, but yes, I too made my husband add Philo also so I could have HGTV and Hallmark. :LOL: The Philo interface is a little clunky but I think it's the unsung wonder of the streaming world; it has so many channels and is pretty cheap. I love it!

Edited by blueschica
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I have a Roku Streaming Stick plugged into my TV in my bedroom, I chose Roku mostly because it is currently the only streaming device that is directly compatible with Peacock. I do not know why Peacock is not compatible with Amazon FireStick, but I hope they make it compatible before the 2021 Tokyo olympics.
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I just got a Firestick this week for the downstairs TV, and 2 Chromecasts for the ones upstairs.

 

My cable boxes are on the way back to Spectrum as I write this. Cord cut.

 

The Firestick is awesome. Wish I'd done it sooner. Even though the Chromecast works a little differently, I expect that all will be fine. Will try it out this weekend.

 

Pre-existing subscriptions (While I had cable):

Amazon Prime Video

Disney

HULU

ESPN+

Paramount+

 

Just got:

HBO MAX

FuboTV.

 

I think I'm covered. Content-wise.

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