{"id":665,"date":"2019-10-13T14:05:44","date_gmt":"2019-10-13T18:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paulbegley.com\/?p=665"},"modified":"2020-02-08T20:31:16","modified_gmt":"2020-02-09T00:31:16","slug":"cord-cutting-or-att-ruined-directv-and-how-we-fixed-the-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.paulbegley.com\/?p=665","title":{"rendered":"Cord Cutting or AT&T ruined DirecTV and how we fixed the problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary
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We have been testing streaming services off and on for the past several years. We were early adopters for various streaming devices (Roku, Chromecast) and many streaming services, including Netflix (DVD, now streaming), Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Britbox, DirecTV Now, and YouTube TV.<\/p>\n

Recently we had our roof replaced. In doing so, our DirecTV dish was removed, and after review, we decided to cancel our DirecTV subscription.<\/p>\n

Details
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Prior to YouTube TV, other ‘cable replacement’ options that provided local TV as well as the non-network content we wanted were almost unusable from an interface standpoint.<\/p>\n

Cable replacement requirements<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Roku device support<\/li>\n
  2. Local channels, BBC America, and short list of cable stations we like<\/li>\n
  3. Usable User Interface \u2013 high priority<\/li>\n
  4. Cloud DVR capability \u2013 minimum of 200 \u2013 300 hours (record Olympics)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Throughout these experiments, DirecTV has been our cable provider of choice. DirecTV offered the content we wanted as well as innovative technology, such as the DirecTiVo. I was able to pick up used DirecTiVo’s for <$50 and upgrade them with large hard drives to get ~300 hours of recording time. This was great because we had three school age daughters and I dedicated one unit to record just about the entire Olympics coverage circa 2004.<\/p>\n

    5 Very Common Cord Cutting Mistakes & How You Can Avoid Them<\/strong><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.cordcuttersnews.com\/5-very-common-cord-cutting-mistakes-how-you-can-avoid-them\/<\/a><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Rushing into cord cutting \u2013 before we cut the cord, we used the Roku and at least a dozen streaming services for several years. This was not something new for us, so when the time came, it was easy for us to make a joint decision.<\/li>\n
    2. Cord cutting does NOT work like cable \u2013 we determined we required a streaming service that provided local channels, some cable channels, and had at least a 200-hour DVR capability, ideally cloud based. YouTube TV has an unlimited DVR capability.<\/li>\n
    3. Cost \u2013 we tracked costs of cable and streaming services<\/li>\n
    4. Content \u2013 you can’t have everything. For example, we do NOT care about sports, but we DO care about Olympic coverage, BBC America, and some channels like Hallmark that our family likes to binge during winter holidays.<\/li>\n
    5. Robust Internet provider \u2013 we aren’t huge fans of Comcast\/Xfinity cable, but they have provided a robust, broadband Internet service. They are also the ONLY broadband option in our area. DSL is available, but not broadband. We are half way between two CO’s, and FIOS doesn’t have a contract with our township<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Cons<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 we live in an imperfect world\u2026<\/p>\n