Snooze2978

This year back in May I finally cut the cable and went with streaming thru my Roku. Then my TV went south on me so finally picked up a smart TV and now I don't really have to plug in my Roku but I do tend to like its remote better than the one for the TV plus I couldn't find all my apps unless going thru the Roku. Plus, if I still can't find something to watch, I have a DVD collection of over 2,000 movies I can go back to. Some I haven't watched in years so could watch them. I finally got them all in alphabetical order so it's easier to find what I'm looking for.

Right now I'm watching a pile of new DVD movies that have been sitting along side the BluRay player for over a month. Love this streaming stuff now that I have a clue what I'm doing. Plus spending so much less money too.

Iceblossom

Well last night was watching the Irrational show over live local free broadcast and all was going well for the first half, and then the feed scrambled and dropped. Oh well, we can stream the rest of the episode today.

Dunster, "best" options depend heavily on what you want to watch and your budget. I know you said you aren't too interested in live TV, but I do want some access to the major networks and local news sorts of things. An over the air antenna is probably around $50 or less for a one time charge, depending on how far you are from local transmitters you might need to go up in price.. What I have is all on the inside, looks like a piece of paper/plastic. There are many ways to find what local channels you have, I like Rabbit Ears. We get about 20-30 channels here, including the old school major networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and PBS (and PBS Creates), but you have to watch Live, no streaming. In the old house I had the antenna in the sewing room.
https://www.rabbitears.info/searchmap.php

For commercial free (or at least less commercials) most services have a premium level membership. Some more worth it than others.

If I have all the names and such correct, we use a (Amazon) Fire Stick to get to our options. We have internet cable through Comcast and get Peacock (NBC and others) included with that but it depends on your level of services. We don't currently have a computer connected to our tv, but I believe ABC has a free app to watch that way. Eventually we will get the computer connected because it will allow me to watch some Canadian shows that I am otherwise finding hard to find. (Short form:use a VPN for a Canadian address and stream GEM) I watch a lot of shows on the Discovery network, and so wanted Paramount+ which also gives access to CBS shows. We already had Amazon Prime and Netflix, so those aren't included in our "cutting down cable costs" initiative.

We are finding a lack in FS2 (Fox Sports 2) which has some things the hubby wants, like PBA Bowling. That is generally carried in more expensive packages equal to cable charges. The Disney+ package (which we don't have) is one of the lower cost ways to get ESPN and includes Nat Geo channels as well.

For more British TV, I would probably go with Acorn over BritBox because Acorn has Vera -- again, it depends on what you want. We get British Baking Show with Netflix.

Quiltwoman44

I did watch most of the first one but knew I wouldn't last. Psychological things aren't for me. Can't hold my interest very long. This was the a very strong premise of that show. Good actors though, just not for me.

dunster

Iceblossom, what I meant by not needing live TV is that I prefer watching TV shows the next day, when they can be streamed, hopefully without commercials. I can watch live news on my computer, and I don't follow any sports. I don't have a smart TV, waiting for the TV's I have to die first. (They're pretty old in electronics years, so it shouldn't be much longer now.) I have an Amazon Fire Stick for streaming and have excellent reliable internet through Frontier. Thank you for the link to the rabbit ears site. It shows that rabbit ears won't work for me at all; the only station with good reception is in Twentynine Palms, offering very limited programming in Mandarin and Vietnamese. (No, I don't speak either one.) I'm close to Los Angeles, but there are mountains between us. So it's the streaming services that I have to choose from, and they all seem to have different options. Luckily it's easy to sign up with them for a short time and drop them if you find a better option. I probably watch too much TV anyway.

Quiltwoman44

I might add I got back into Unforgotten show. I loved it when Nicola Walker was in it. She went onto doing Annika. think that is the name. i can't view that one now. great show. The unforgotten people still have her name on everything. she is not there!
Oh well, it's a good show so i am back watching it, missing her.

rjwilder

We have direct TV, hubby loves watching sports, every sport imaginable. I don't watch TV, the news sometimes. I generally read or sew, plus a few other hobbies I have.

Quiltwoman44

OK, Annika show question. in episode 6, the last one for this season, Annika's daughter was to start driving lessons. She was picked up by the instructor for her lesson. Turned out he wasn't the official instructor and was a threat to her. Who was he and why did he "kidnap" her? I never got that out of that scene. She got away but why did he do that? just a weirdo wanting to bother Annika?? anybody know?
and her Dad... wow! won't say here.
someone can PM me the answer if you wish.

aashley333

We have direct tv and Hughs Net satellite for internet. Blah. No live streaming. Some shows stream 5 seconds at a time. Those are terminated out of frustration. Loving Hulu and their reruns that I missed while working years ago. I quit Netflix, but they want me back "at $6.99/mo."