In Part 1, I gave a brief rundown of the core reasons as to why I
finally decided to Cut The Cord. Again, your reasons may be different
or the same, or you may decide that sticking with cable (or
satellite) is actually better for you. In either case, now I would
like to explain some of the costs involved and detail the equipment I
chose. Keep in mind that I'm not trying to say the hardware listed
hereafter is the best or top of the line (in fact, I tried to keep
equipment costs down as much as I could), but I feel it's at least a
good starting point for most. Also, though I will list some pricing
here, the good thing about technology is that it's always moving
forward so the prices of already released equipment continues to drop
as new things come out. Simply put – this is the stuff I bought,
and it works great for me and my family and I think it will for you
as well.
So, let's get started!
- Digital Antenna
As many of you may remember, since June 13, 2009, all full-power
U.S. Television stations have broadcast digital-only signals. Many
mark this date as the dawn of the Cut The Cord revolution. I would
also agree with some who say (I call them Cord Cutting Purists) that
the only true Cord Cutting comes from getting rid of all ties to any
cable or satellite provider. This would include losing internet
access as well which, as you will see later on, will not work for the
Cord Cutting I'm outlining.
If you want to get rid of the television service and still want
to at least be able to view your local stations, you will want to
purchase a digital antenna. I personally like to keep up with local
news, so this was a no-drainer for me. The picture quality is
amazing, as there is no signal compression from a service provider.
And, as you will discover, I found there were channels floating
around out there that I never even heard of that I now pick up!
There are many models out there – some indoor, some outdoor. I
went with the RCA ANT1650R which I picked up 2 for about 25 bucks
each on Amazon. I've seen the same model at Walmart priced at
$30-$40.
- Internet Access
As I've mentioned, the Cord Cutting I'm outlining is going to
require internet access. It should go without saying that you're
going to want broadband. When I first starting experimenting with
this idea, I was paying my ISP for 20Mbps down, 2Mbps up. What I
found over time was that this simply wasn't cutting it – especially
considering we're running 2 Rokus (more on those shortly), a couple
Android tablets, my phone and my wife's phone and 2 PCs. Not that all
of these devices are always connected simultaneously at all times,
but there are periods when that's the case. Also, with this speed, it
seemed we would run into the dreaded Netflix “Loading” screen far
too often while watching something.
So, I knew I had to beef that up a
bit. Unfortunately, the ISP I had at the time could not offer more
than that for my area, so I switched to Time Warner (whom I actually
had before). I moved up to 30Mbps down and 5Mbps up, which has proven
to be the perfect minimum speed. Time Warner offers higher speeds,
but this level of connectivity works smoothly.
That being said, now would be the
perfect time to explain what I mentioned in Part 1 -
“Surprisingly, even to me, cost
actually wasn’t a factor as one might expect and as many people
will blog or post about when they talk about cutting the cord. “
The fact is, the cable and satellite
service providers want you to buy ALL of their services, not just
one. As such, you will have to take into consideration when deciding
whether or not this is right for you the fact that the connection
speeds I've mentioned are going to run you somewhere around $70 - $75
dollars per month, or maybe even more depending on what market you're
in. And, that's the catch.
Consider this -
The speeds I've described are what
Time Warner refers to as Extreme internet. If you were to bundle and
go with their Basic TV and Extreme package, you could get -
Over
20 Channels
Extreme Speed
HBO® with HBO GO®
Cinemax® FREE for 3 Months
Home WiFi, TWC WiFi Hotspots
Switch and get up to $50 Visa® Reward Card
$7999per
Month for 12 Months
But remember, the devil is always in
the details. Note the “Free for 3 months” and “$79.99 per month
for 12 months”. And, not to mention as I explained in Part 1, you
get what channels and content they tell you to get – you don't get
to choose.
High Speed Cable Modem
If you're still reading this, that
means I didn't scare you off with the ISP cost situation. Or, you're
just curious. Either way, if you're still considering Cutting The
Cable, and have decided to go with Time Warner's Extreme Internet or
something equivalent, you're going to need a modem to handle the
extra bandwidth bulk. You have a couple of choices here – buy your
own or pay the ISP at least $4.99 per month to rent one from them.
Well since we're trying to Cut The Cord the only logical decision
would be to buy your own ISP-compatible modem. Be sure to check with
your ISP about compatible models (they should list them somewhere on
their website) and purchase accordingly.
I'm not going to go too deep into tech
mumbo-jumbo here, but simply state that I decided on the Motorola
SUFboard eXtreme SB6141 (DOCSIS 3.0). I had originally purchased a
Netgear equivalent to this model, the CMD31T, but it kept
periodically dropping the connection. Upon exchange, it was only
logical to me to go with a Motorola model – all of the years I've
been paying for internet and renting modems from the service
providers, I would always have a Motorola modem and had almost no
issues.
The SB6141 will run you about $100 at
Best Buy.
Dual Band Gigabit Router
Just as you'll need a modem to handle
the connection speeds coming in from your ISP of choice, you're going
to need a router that can handle providing all the devices attached
to your home network said speed. And frankly, that Wireless N router
the kid next door told you to buy simply won't do. Even if you're not
in the market to Cut The Cord, a Dual Band Gigabit Router should
still be on your radar for a multitude of reasons, including:
stability, network scalability, and speed.
Once again, I'm not going to go into
too many technical details here (my fellow Cisco Academy friends can
appreciate how lengthy detailing routers can be), but only mention
that I personally chose the Netgear R6200 WiFi Router (802.11ac Dual
Band Gigabit). True – it's not Netgear's ultimate offering, but it
certainly gets the job done efficiently and smoothly at about $150
from the likes of Amazon or Best Buy.
Video Streaming Device (or, “How
in the heck do I watch TV?”)
Finally, we come to the device that
brings it all together. There are of course many devices out there.
If you are an IOS faithful then you may already be familiar with the
likes of Apple TV. As for me, I went with and recommend Roku.
Roku is that hockey puck sized
powerhouse that can be found literally at any major retail chain
worldwide, and works with pretty much every TV. When I first started
looking into Cord Cutting, I began with a first generation Roku. Once
I grasped the potential and learned some of the tricks of online
content streaming (yes – this is my clever segway into Part 3:
Suggested Software), I quickly moved up to the Roku 2 XS and Roku 3.
The Roku 2 XS resides in our bedroom
because we still have an “ancient” TV there – no HDMI ports.
The Roku 2 XS offers the option of both HDMI and A/V output, with
included cable for A/V, so it works perfectly.
The Roku 3 comes with HDMI only, so
it lives in the family room of our home. Each comes with the option
to connect to the internet either via wireless or ethernet
connection. I suggest, if at all possible, that you connect via
ethernet. Although it rarely presents a problem, even with beefed-up
speeds from your ISP, and a top of the line gigabit router, a direct
connection will tend to be more reliable than a wireless one.
I could go on and on singing my
praises of Roku. Personally I believe streaming content is the future
television entertainment, and I have for some time. But instead I
will just encourage you to check out Roku's website for yourself -
The Roku 3 currently retails for
$99.99, while the 2 XS will run you about $74.99 - $79.99
Miscellaneous Hardware
Lastly, there were a few other things
I had to pick up to bring this all together. You may need to do so as
well so I think they are worth mentioning.
First off – remember the TV in our
bedroom I mentioned that had no HDMI port? Well, that also means it's
not an HD TV. So, in order to use the digital antenna for local
channels, I had to also purchase a Digital TV Converter box.
Retailing for about $40, I went with the RCA DTA 800BT. It has a
pretty cool UI – looks much like a DVR box display, and comes with
a fully programmable remote.
Secondly – as I also mentioned, I
feel direct ethernet connections work better than wifi connections
for your streaming device (Roku in my case). As such, I wanted to
also connect the bedroom Roku directly via ethernet. Unfortunately,
it's on the second floor of our house, facing the outside wall. I
considered climbing in the attic and fighting with dropping a CAT5
cable, but decided instead to go with Powerline Adapters. These
little gems allow you to plug them into your power outlets and use
your home's electrical wiring as network lines from one point to
another. Please keep in mind however that these work best in newer
homes, as wiring standards have changed throughout the years, so they
don't tend to work so well in homes built in the early '80s and
older. I have run speed tests on the one connected in our bedroom and
average speeds of about 19.5Mbps down, 3.5Mbps up through it.
Lastly – a PC to run dedicated
servers. Specifically, Plex and PlayOn servers, and a bit torrent
client. But, more on those in Part 3: Suggested Software.
Whew!! Trust me – all of that was the
hard part! Once you get it all together (as overwhelming as it may
sound), it will all be worth it and you'll never want to go
back to cable again!
Up next - Part 3: Suggested Software
