Cutting the cable, lets talk options and media setups (2 Viewers)

[nolasalt]

Update: On one of my FireStick, I have lost most of the WatchESPN channels. I get ESPN & ESPN2 but not the rest. My other firestick works. After working with Amazon support they are saying that it is magic it works, as you should have to enter credentials of a valid cable provider into the app, which I have never done. Thus I am not sure how much longer this will work. If this was a decision (influenced by me) of yours for this product, be warned. It might work, it might not, it might stop. I have no idea how to fix or correct it.

I just bought a FireStick and most of the channels are wanting log in credentials. The Fox Sports Go channel doesn't even have Charter as provider on the FireStick, so it's useless at this point.

 

[MLU]

My internet log in credentials work just fine. Even without them, you have options like Netflix, Hulu and Kodi. Sling TV is also a good option for $20 and the log in credentials for Sling TV can be used for the ESPN app.

I don't think that NBC Sports requires anything.

 

[Saint Sarah]

Not sure if this should go to the tech forum or not, but I'll start here:

I just picked up the Amazon Basics over the air antenna (25 mile range) and the thing works like a champ with the exception of PBS. I was able to pick up all of the New Olreans channels listed on TVfool plus a bunch more, but I can't get PBS or its sub channels. According to TVfool the PBS antenna is less than 10 mile from my house, so range shouldn't be an issue.

Does anyone have any potential fixes? I have tried relocating the antenna to different locations, but it never did pick it up.

 

[buzd]

Not sure, but I've always had problems getting WYES over the air as well. I suspect it may be because 12.1 is broadcast on RF 11 (see here - warning auto-play video).

That would put it on the old VHF frequencies rather than the UHF spectrum. It could be that the newer antennas don't support that (though again, I'm just guessing).

 

[Brennan77]

Wyes has been very inconsistent lately. Sometimes I can get it well enough, usually on a Saturday. Other times we get nothing.

 

[lucky]

Hello, all. I was hoping perhaps someone in this thread could help. I've recently cancelled my cable and decided to give this a shot. Unfortunately, I'm currently in an apartment complex on the northshore and despite several attempts with an hd indoor antenna, I've had no luck. One customer service representative even called my complex a "gray area" and regardless of the antenna strength I'd be unlikely to ever get a competent signal. As of this moment it's a relative non-issue, but once football season begins, I'd prefer not to have to view games in a bar or at a friends'. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Devildog]

Is it true that in order to see college games or NFL games on ESPN that I already have to have the service on my satellite provider? Or do I pay a monthly fee like with HULU or Netflix?

 

[LAhotsauce]

Is it true that in order to see college games or NFL games on ESPN that I already have to have the service on my satellite provider? Or do I pay a monthly fee like with HULU or Netflix?

Yes, except for anything shown on ESPN3.

 

[MLU]

Is it true that in order to see college games or NFL games on ESPN that I already have to have the service on my satellite provider? Or do I pay a monthly fee like with HULU or Netflix?

I paid $25 for SlingTV + Sports Package and got every ESPN channel, SEC network and access to everything else on ESPN3. Any device, including PCs at the office worked for me. At the end of the season, I cancelled the $5 sports package. I'm thinking about turning off the SlingTV until the fall, too.

 

[MSUSousaphone]

Hello, all. I was hoping perhaps someone in this thread could help. I've recently cancelled my cable and decided to give this a shot. Unfortunately, I'm currently in an apartment complex on the northshore and despite several attempts with an hd indoor antenna, I've had no luck. One customer service representative even called my complex a "gray area" and regardless of the antenna strength I'd be unlikely to ever get a competent signal. As of this moment it's a relative non-issue, but once football season begins, I'd prefer not to have to view games in a bar or at a friends'. Anyone have any suggestions?

Antennas suck for me, too.

Kodi is amazing but it took me a while to wrap my brain around.

Really, the best is going in with several people, one has cable, another Hulu, another Netflix and just share passwords.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Antennas suck for me, too.

Kodi is amazing but it took me a while to wrap my brain around.

Really, the best is going in with several people, one has cable, another Hulu, another Netflix and just share passwords.

This is kind of what I'm doing as well. Where I live, no antenna I've purchased has given me more than 3-4 stations that consistently show. So I have the combo of Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon (with KODI) for my TV viewing.

One thing I WILL NOT do is pay $6 a month for CBS Access. No way will I pay to watch network TV in that format.

 

[Claw]

Ubiquiti FTW.

What exact setup would you recommend. My older Asus is crapping out to the point where I need to reset nightly because everything local stops working with each other.

I want something fairly robust for now, but also looking into my near future needs. Building a house, and dropping Cat6 everywhere, including most light locations, wall switches, camera locations, 2 behind each tv, etc, and I plan to get either a managed 24 or 48 port switch with POE. I have no need to drop the money on the switch now as I won't need it for another 10 to 12 months, but need to address my router situation yesterday. Need something with great AC coverage, needs to be able to forward 20+ ports without a hitch (or handle a reverse proxy gettup if I get off my butt and do it), and just need a couple 1gb ports as my 2 servers are the only items hardwired for now. I'm leaning towards an ubiquiti AP and just getting a 4 or 8 port switch, that way I can use when AP when when I move. I'll more than likely need a POE switch though, for the AP. I'm also farting around with the idea of spinning up a pfsense VM (have dual NICs on a Proxmox host) and letting that run my router duties, amoung other things.

So what are your thoughts if you don't mind? You know a crap load more about this stuff then me

 

[buzd]

I did the same thing when I built my house. Ran cat6 everywhere. Ran RG6 also from the media closet to TVs (for HDMI over coax) and coax also for the exterior cameras, and speaker wire to the ceiling locations.

The Ubiquitis are really nice, but you definitely want to get the Pro version if you're interested in ac - the long range (and cheaper) versions are missing some of the high end radios and you don't get near the throughput you want (though the range really is amazing). I ended up putting 2 APs into the house, which may have been overkill, but I wanted good coverage everywhere (especially after my last house, which had plaster walls, and you couldn't get coverage in the next room. The nice thing about these is they work in tandem (no matter how many you have) so you only see one network and they pass off devices between each other. It's all controlled by software on a PC (or Mac, I suppose) which also keeps stats on what devices are connected, usage, etc. It has all kinds of other features that I don't use, like setting up guest networks, blocking devices, etc.

Remember, though, that the Ubiquiti devices are just access points - you will still needs a separate router. The good thing is you don't have to worry about the wireless capabilites of you router, or even have them. I just used my old router and turned the wireless off. So WRT port forwarding and all that, you can just use whatever you're comfortable with. I've been really pleased with the Ubiquitis - I use them at work, and I've installed them at several other places. They are pretty much rock solid, and their coverage area is really nice.

Oh yeah, also, you don't need a POE switch for the Ubiquitis. They come with power injectors that insert between the switch and device (you can put them in the closet with the switch) that perform that function.

 

[Claw]

I did the same thing when I built my house. Ran cat6 everywhere. Ran RG6 also from the media closet to TVs (for HDMI over coax) and coax also for the exterior cameras, and speaker wire to the ceiling locations.

The Ubiquitis are really nice, but you definitely want to get the Pro version if you're interested in ac - the long range (and cheaper) versions are missing some of the high end radios and you don't get near the throughput you want (though the range really is amazing). I ended up putting 2 APs into the house, which may have been overkill, but I wanted good coverage everywhere (especially after my last house, which had plaster walls, and you couldn't get coverage in the next room. <b>The nice thing about these is they work in tandem (no matter how many you have) so you only see one network and they pass off devices between each other. </b>It's all controlled by software on a PC (or Mac, I suppose) which also keeps stats on what devices are connected, usage, etc. It has all kinds of other features that I don't use, like setting up guest networks, blocking devices, etc.

Remember, though, that the Ubiquiti devices are just access points - you will still needs a separate router. The good thing is you don't have to worry about the wireless capabilites of you router, or even have them. I just used my old router and turned the wireless off. So WRT port forwarding and all that, you can just use whatever you're comfortable with. I've been really pleased with the Ubiquitis - I use them at work, and I've installed them at several other places. They are pretty much rock solid, and their coverage area is really nice.

Oh yeah, also, you don't need a POE switch for the Ubiquitis. They come with power injectors that insert between the switch and device (you can put them in the closet with the switch) that perform that function.

Awesome, I'm sold. Thanks a lot. I definitely wouldn't mind picking your brain for ideas once my house is closer to being finished, regarding must-have drops, which items, software, etc. Everything is dropping to the server/media room/closet, including direct tv boxes, receivers, etc, and the goal is to just have the TV's hanging on the walls. I'm just researching the best software setups I'd like to use now, and what I will need in the form of lights, switches, cameras, etc to get it working. I have 2 fairly beefy servers that I already use, so horsepower and storage space is covered. I would just rather stay open source, and Linux where ever possible.

 

[buzd]

Awesome, I'm sold. Thanks a lot. I definitely wouldn't mind picking your brain for ideas once my house is closer to being finished, regarding must-have drops, which items, software, etc. Everything is dropping to the server/media room/closet, including direct tv boxes, receivers, etc, and the goal is to just have the TV's hanging on the walls. I'm just researching the best software setups I'd like to use now, and what I will need in the form of lights, switches, cameras, etc to get it working. I have 2 fairly beefy servers that I already use, so horsepower and storage space is covered. I would just rather stay open source, and Linux where ever possible.

Sure, feel free. I definitely learned a lot and there are a few things I would do differently. I will say that the DTV genie system is really nice (although this probably isn't the thread to discuss that ), although you are limited as to how many boxes you can have (4 total). You will want to run homerun RG6 for both the DTV and cable internet installers. It made both installations super easy that they didn't have to wire into the house.