Streaming TV questions.

[Kyle1886]

Streaming TV questions.

I know nothing about streaming and have an older TV, maybe 12 years old.

My Internet speed is at a max 6.0 Mps. There is no Internet in any room with a TV. Speed varies from 5.7 to 6.1; normally 6Mbs

The questions:

1. Is 6.0 Mbs fast enough for streaming?

2. Will and older flat screen TV handle streaming? It does have at least one USB port.

3. Can you stream live TV, like news? (This could be deal breaker if not).

4. Is the savings in streaming and whatever hardware and or subscription services significant to switch?

I really don't know enough to ask intelligent questions, sorry. Dish has priced us out and we don't have any of the premium stuff.

As is, the setup: Dish > Bose Sound console that everything goes through. etc. > JVC TV.

Internet is ATT Uverse @ 60.59 per month.
Dish is 133.94

Wife is the TV watcher, so...

Thanks,

Respectfully
Kyle

[ar15robert]

Not sure about speed but i have a roku on an older tv at home box plugs into an open hdmi port.

As for local news depends on where at im in phx but pluto carries los angeles cbs 2/9 news can also get ktla on app.I get local az news on app if im away from home too.

I dont do any paid suscriptions but im sure that will open up alot more options

[MrFancyPants]

If you're streaming 1080p content then 6 Mbps should be enough. If you care about live news, I'd recommend an OTA antenna. We have one and it picks up all the local channels no problem, in HD quality. But you can probably find an app which streams local news channels. You can start here to find out more:

https://www.androidcentral.com/how-watch-local-news-your-amazon-fire-tv

Your cheapest option would be to pick up an Amazon fire stick/cube or Roku and connect it to an HDMI port on the TV, simple plug and play and it just works. As long as your TV has HDMI then it will work.

As far as cost to stream, we have Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ and we pay a total of maybe $30 per month for all 3. Those services combined with the free apps available on those devices (IMDB TV, Tubi, Sparkle, Pluto TV, Roku channel, and there are many more), we have way more than enough options for things to watch than we'll ever need. For us the cost savings is a no brainer. Your wife should have absolutely no problem finding things to watch with those options, likely including many of the shows she watches now.

[bohoki]

streaming is not the same as the "idiot box" it takes a bit more work its very difficult to change from the ease up just pressing up and down on the "dial" remembering channel numbers and such it will be an adjustment period

[Misterclick]

[Kyle1886]

Thanks all, will look into it deeper.

Respectfully
Kyle

[67Cuda]

If your download speed is 6mb at the modem, it will less using wifi.

[Kyle1886]

If your download speed is 6mb at the modem, it will less using wifi.

Thanks, will take that into the consideration.

Respectfully
Kyle

[Marauder2003]

Check if your internet provider has a data cap. My Cox account has a 1.2 GB limit before extra charges kick in.

My current billing period is Jan. 6 through Feb. 5. To date I have used 20% of my data. I have watched 4 Mission Impossible movies, a couple of other movies and about 5 hours a day on YT.

Your data usage may vary.

[Kyle1886]

Check if your internet provider has a data cap. My Cox account has a 1.2 GB limit before extra charges kick in.

My current billing period is Jan. 6 through Feb. 5. To date I have used 20% of my data. I have watched 4 Mission Impossible movies, a couple of other movies and about 5 hours a day on YT.

Your data usage may vary.

AT&T is about the same if I recall 1,024.

Thank you,

Respectfully
Kyle

[racinjason233]

We use our phones hotspot to stream. We use fire stick and wife gets her crazy ladies from OC and other must haves. I’m not going through F1 withdrawals after all the woke bs. We have no internet bill and no tv bill. We do buy things like Yellowstone and her chick flicks. Priced less then 2 cases of beer a year.

[SilveradoColt21]

That's super smart, right now I am paying 220 bucks for cable, internet, and home phone, it's ridiculous to be honest . Might have to start doing what you do to save money.

[Excitable Boy]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned getting a Google Chromecast. They are cheap as hell and offer a ton of functionality. Pretty much all Sony TVs these days and the upper end Samsung TVs run on the Google TV platform, so adding a Chromecast to your old TV would allow your app platform to be very similar to what's on current expensive TVs. It would also allow easy casting of content from your mobile devices.

Having said that, out of the three major options, Amazon Firestick, Roku or Chromecast, I'd go with Roku. I think it has ne best interface and the remote is well laid out. You could also get an Apple TV, but it would be a lot more money. Another option would be a Tivo. They offer a model that would give you all the streaming apps, but also has a built in OTA (off the air) antenna. That would be your most expensive option, but would give you an HD OTA tuner and DVR capabilities.

As far as getting local content, as the poster above notes, an OTA antenna is going to give you your best option in most places. HD local programming from an OTA antenna usually looks a lot better than satellite or cable feeds as they all use compression. Many local TV stations have live streaming for some content, but other content is delayed. You can also look at HULU Plus which gets you a bunch of stuff and a lot of live TV feeds, but is an extra $50.00 a month.

Good luck!

[MrFancyPants]

Check if your internet provider has a data cap. My Cox account has a 1.2 GB limit before extra charges kick in.



My current billing period is Jan. 6 through Feb. 5. To date I have used 20% of my data. I have watched 4 Mission Impossible movies, a couple of other movies and about 5 hours a day on YT.



Your data usage may vary.

You must mean 1.2 TERAbytes?? There's no way you're capped at just 1.2 GB, unless ISPs have REALLY restricted their data caps.

When I was with Comcast I had a 1 TB monthly data cap.

[Marauder2003]

Right. 1280 GB. And I used another 2% since my post.

You must mean 1.2 TERAbytes?? There's no way you're capped at just 1.2 GB, unless ISPs have REALLY restricted their data caps.

When I was with Comcast I had a 1 TB monthly data cap.