The Computer Connected Villager Club, Inc. Presents Ted Wright 1 www.connectedvillager.com
The Computer-Connected Villager Club serves to help Villagers understand and manage technology We meet weekly on Mondays at Eisenhower Rec Center at 1 PM Besides Cutting the Cord, we cover any tech affecting villagers Topics include smartphones & tablets, autonomous vehicles, networking, email, air conditioning, water heaters, emerging tech, avoiding scams, transferring pics from phones, cloud computing, disaster preparedness, drones, 3D printing, robotics, and more We hold workshops approximately every 2 months to give one-on-one help on Apple and Android devices, Windows computers, Chromebook, and any other tech topic experts in each field for each group 2
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What cord? The cord that supplies TV service to your house Comcast, CenturyLink, Spectrum Satellite Providers Why? Cost Poor service Together these are grouped as cable providers 4
Current TV Service Service Provider Cable Splitter TVs Coax HDMI Set Top Box TV Wi-Fi Router Ethernet Wired Phones
Current TV Service Service Provider Satellite Fiber DSL Fiber Splitter TVs Coax HDMI Set Top Box TV Wi-Fi Router Ethernet Wired Phones
What cord? In reality you are only cutting the TV part of the cord You still need internet to provide computer access If you want to use an antenna you can get the 4 major networks and not pay a monthly fee for TV Of course you won t get any of the special interest channels HBO, Discovery, MSNBC, etc. You would have to buy a TiVo or similar to record and playback shows 7
Future TV Service Antenna Wi-Fi Splitter Coax TVs Streaming Media Player TV HDMI Service Provider Cable DSL Fiber Wi-Fi Router Ethernet Wired Phones
Most popular Streaming Media Players Roku Ultra Roku Streaming stick+ Amazon Fire Stick or Cube Apple TV 4K Google Chromecast 2 9
Roku Ultra ($99) is top of the line (link) 4K resolution, voice remote, private listening, expandable storage, night listening mode Streaming Stick + ($70) probably best choice (link) Also 4K, voice remote, private listening, powers off usb from TV Not worth saving $20 to get the non + version 10
Apple TV Apple TV 4K ($179) top of the line Probably not worth saving $30 with the standard version Voice remote with Siri Favors itunes in choices No Google app 11
Amazon Fire Cube ($120) 4K, built in Alexa, voice control (with compatible devices) You can have Alexa control TVs without this also Fire Stick ($40) HD compatible, voice control Not compatible with YouTube TV! 12
Google Chromecast ($35) Needs a supporting device (computer, Chromebook, tablet, smartphone) to convert to video and then send the video to the TV Works over wi-fi to your device 13
What is cable worth? Compare to your other expenses Utilities Electric Water Amenities Cell phone Golf You are probably paying more for cable than most (or maybe all) of these! 14
Cable Services TV most expensive Internet you will need it anyway Phone do you really need a home phone when you have a cell phone? Bundle prices are less than ala carte 15
Where s the Beef (Pork)? My Bill as an example Item Sub-Item Price Total Xfinity Package 127.99 X1 Triple Play 124.99 Non-published number 3.00 16
Equipment & Services Item Sub-Item Price Total Equipment & Services 42.93 DVR Service 10.00 Add l TV with box 9.95 Add l TV with adapter (x 2) 11.98 Modem/router rental 11.00 17
Other Charges Item Sub-Item Price Total Other Charges 15.97 Univ connectivity charge 0.92 Regulatory recovery fee 0.30 Broadcast TV fee 8.00 Regional Sports fee 6.75 18
Taxes, etc Item Sub-Item Price Total Taxes & Surcharges 12.74 State & Local taxes 1.18 State Communications tax 8.09 Local Communications tax 2.99 FCC regulatory fee 0.08 911 fees 0.40 19
Total Bill Total 199.63 Xfinity Package 127.99 Equipment & Services 42.93 Other Charges 15.97 Taxes, Surcharges, & Fees 12.74 20
Low Hanging Fruit Phone use cell phone Buy my own modem Minimize add-on devices 21
What I need TVs where I want them Main TV Bedroom TV 2 nd Bedroom TV Office TV Internet at least 60 Mbps 22
TV Options Cheaper TV plan Over-the-air (OTA) use antenna Streaming 23
Determine Your Needs What channels do you watch Regularly Occasionally Do you really need those channels? Make a list Channels you must have Live shows, real-time news Channels you would like to have Channels that may be nice to see This will determine your options and cost 24
My Choices Must have 4 major networks live HGTV, Animal Planet, Discovery, Like to have PBS, CNBC, Fox News, Food Network, Travel, MSNBC, Bloomberg, Nat Geo, Science, DIY, Fox Business Nice to see Weather channel, A&E, History, BBC America, Smithsonian, CMT, E!, Food, TNT, BBC World News, Cooking 25
Major Networks OTA Antenna Can be inside attic May not get NBC For many locations you get the 4 major networks ok If outside Restrictions? Lightning 26
Major Networks Streaming Safer but more costly Takes a little learning YouTube TV, Sony PlayStation TV, DirecTV Now, HULU, Sling TV Using Smart TV, Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, ChromeCast, etc. 27
Main Streaming Sources https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2489103,00.asp 28
Analyze my needs Made a spreadsheet for all the channels in my current Comcast plan Then made columns for each streaming option Then highlighted the rows of my requirements Red must have Pink like to have Orange nice to see Then noted where the needs met the supplier (an X in the box) Those with the most hits win 29
My Choices Choice 1 Must have YouTube TV & Philo 4 major networks live $40+$16=$56 HGTV, Animal Planet, Discovery, Like to have PBS, CNBC, Fox News, Food Network, Travel, MSNBC, Bloomberg, Nat Geo, Science, DIY, Fox Business Nice to see Weather channel, A&E, History, BBC America, Smithsonian, CMT, E!, Food, TNT, BBC World News, Cooking 30
My Choices Choice 2 DirecTV Now $35 ($50+) ($60++) Must have 4 major networks live HGTV, Animal Planet, Discovery, Like to have PBS, CNBC, Fox News, Food Network, Travel(+), MSNBC, Bloomberg, Nat Geo, Science (+), DIY (++), Fox Business Nice to see Weather channel (+), A&E, History, BBC America, Smithsonian, CMT, E!, Food, TNT, BBC World News (++), Cooking (+) 31
My Choices Choice 3 Comcast + Philo $65 + $16 = $81* includes internet Must have 4 major networks live HGTV, Animal Planet, Discovery, Like to have PBS, CNBC, Fox News, Food Network, Travel, MSNBC, Bloomberg, Nat Geo, Science, DIY, Fox Business Nice to see Weather channel, A&E, History, BBC America, Smithsonian, CMT, E!, Food, TNT, BBC World News, Cooking 32
My Choices Choice 4 Must have Comcast 10 + Philo 4 major networks live $55 + $16 HGTV, Animal Planet, Discovery, Like to have PBS, CNBC, Fox News, Food Network, Travel, MSNBC, Bloomberg, Nat Geo, Science, DIY, Fox Business Nice to see Weather channel, A&E, History, BBC America, Smithsonian, CMT, E!, Food, TNT, BBC World News, Cooking 33
Must have My Choices Choice 5 Comcast 10+ DirecTV $55 + $60 = $115 4 major networks live HGTV, Animal Planet, Discovery, Like to have PBS, CNBC, Fox News, Food Network, Travel, MSNBC, Bloomberg, Nat Geo, Science, DIY, Fox Business Nice to see Weather channel, A&E, History, BBC America, Smithsonian, CMT, E!, Food, TNT, BBC World News, Cooking 34
Internet Costs Comcast CenturyLink Speed No term One year Blast 150 $ 44.99 Performance 60 $ 69.95 Extreme 250 $ 59.99 Speed No term 25 45 80 45 Spectrum 60 Mbps $44.99 35
Internet Costs Comcast with basic TV Speed No term One year TV channels Basic 25 29.99 10+ Blast 150 59.99 10+ Plus 60 39.99 10+ * Plus & Blast 150 54.99 10+ * Blast Plus 150 64.99 100+ * These two include HD, No box needed, Cloud DVR, STARZ 0r Cinemax For the others you need extras! 36
Roll up costs Choice Quality Base Pkg Add-on Internet Total 1 75 YouTube TV $40 Philo $16 $45 $101 2 95 DirecTV Now $60 $45 $105 3 85 Comcast 100+ $65 Philo $16 Incl, need box $81 4 50 Comcast 10+ $55 Philo $16 Incl & no box $71 5 98 Comcast 10+ $55 DirecTV Now $60 Incl & no box $115 37
Other Features Feature Comcast 10+ Comcast 100+ YouTube TV DirecTV Now Philo Simultaneo us Use Multiple??? No box reqd 1 TV/Box 3 2 3 DVR No Extra 9 mo, inf ch 20h free 30 d $10/ mo 100h 90d 30d inf ch 38
Where am I going? Comcast 10+ and DirecTV Now - $115 No additional equipment & services Buying my own modem No phone No boxes Yes, one time purchase of Roku Streaming Stick+ (4 units) Just add taxes & fees - $29 Total = $144, a savings of $55 39
Could I do better? I could save $10 by not getting the TV with internet not really worth it to do I could save $25 by dropping some likes and nice to have by choosing the $40 DirecTV plan I just decided I want what I want What is really nice is that I can take a Roku stick anywhere there is wifi and get my services Even nicer is getting all of it on my phone or tablet 40
THERE S MORE THAN TV 41
You stream to add content Sports Movies TV Series News Ethnic Channels Specialty Channels Over 10,000 channels to watch! 42
Sports Major teams football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer Most leagues have their own channels for a price College & specialty sports Many also have their own channels International sports 43
Movies Source of recently released (6 months old) features and older Several services Netflix, Amazon (included in Amazon Prime), Sony More as old material is purchased Cost around $10 to $15 / month Free B, C, D, and other titles 44
TV Series Many of the old shows Recent popular series Network shows from last few seasons Popular oldies Old western from the 50s & 60s Variety shows 45
News Check news from your hometown Around the world In native languages Different viewpoints 46
Ethnic channels Shows relevant to your ancestry around the world Local customs 47
Specialty channels Music for any genre Relaxation videos Adult comedy 48
SOUNDS INTERESTING HOW DO I DO IT? 49
Forget the Antenna May not get all the channels (we are in the deep fringe) Adds another complication to switching channels Don t have to run wires Avoid the lightning problem The main streaming channels give you almost all that the antenna does 50
WHAT S NOT TO LIKE? 51
It is more than calling the cable guy You have to invest some of your time to make it work You need to learn how to connect these devices, register them with your wi-fi and create accounts with content providers The interface for selecting shows is different (but similar) You have more control 52
Do It Yourself Many videos on YouTube on how to each step You need to know your passwords for each of the accounts (keep them different!) Write them down someplace secure Read the instruction manuals (ugh) Talk to people who have already done it Get a buddy and do it together (usually 2 heads are better than one) 53
Links Comcast CenturyLink Spectrum YouTube TV Sling DirecTV Now Sony Playstation Vue Hulu Philo Roku Amazon Stick, Pure Apple TV Chromecast Spreadsheet of options 54
Enjoy your freedom And the thousands of channels you didn t know you had time to watch! 55
THANK YOU! 56