Thinking of Cutting the Cord? Avidia’s Guide to Cable & Streaming

SEE ALSO: Hate Dealing with Comcast? Avidia Can Help

Keep Cable, But Cut Back Number of Boxes

If your main goal for cutting cable is to save money, be aware that streaming services are not always less expensive. The cost of a Comcast account with speedy internet and two cable boxes is very close to the cost of leading live TV streaming services. If you want to reduce your monthly bill, you should first consider eliminating add-on services. Premium channels and unnecessary high internet speeds can more than double your bill.

Reducing the number of boxes in your home will also significantly reduce your monthly bill. In rooms without cable, you can keep your displays but use services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Hulu. You won’t be able to enjoy the latest episode of your current shows live, but your family will grow used to the idea that certain rooms are for live TV while others are streaming only. In many cases, you will discover a world of high-quality content that isn’t available on cable channels.

If you plan to move away from cable because you can’t wait to call your cable provider and tell them what you really think of them… well, let us show you how to make your ‘streams’ come true!

Cut the Cord and Enjoy Live TV with Streaming Services

Netflix and Hulu may have wiped out video stores, but the streaming services have never truly been able to replace the offerings of cable—perhaps until now. YouTubeTV and HuluLive offer on-demand content with live channels, too. With HuluLive, you’ll have unlimited access to its streaming library with 58 of the top 100 cable TV channels, including sports and the news. Plus, you can cancel any time and add on premium channels like HBO. YouTubeTV provides even more channels with 64 of the top 100 and allows you to fast-forward through commercials on cloud DVR. Sports fans can access over 100 live sports channels with Fubo TV.

These services will likely end up costing you the same as your current internet and TV bundle. Cutting the cord may not benefit you financially with HuluLive and YouTubeTV, but you’ll have the option to stream live from any device and up to three screens on the go. If you find you stream more often than watch cable anyway, then this is an excellent choice.

3 Things to Consider Before Making the Move

Test Before You Cut the Cord
We always recommend our clients try out a cable-free lifestyle before committing to it. A helpful exercise to test cutting the cord is to sign up for the free trials of streaming services. From there, challenge yourself to not use cable for a month. If you find you can’t resist turning on the TV channels, then you probably should not ditch cable.

Be Mindful of Less Technical Family Members
If you or a family member is not tech-savvy and won’t want to navigate a new smart remote, then cutting the cord may not be the right choice for your household. As TVs and devices become smarter with more functionality, simply turning on morning news can become a multi-app process. This is often a concern with older smart TV users. In these cases, we can advise you on selecting of the most intuitive universal remote that will simplify controls.

Ensure Your Network Is Up to Par
If you are swapping cable boxes for streaming, you’ll need a secure and reliable home network for the change to be worthwhile. To avoid buffering across your home, a professional can help extend your Wi-Fi to hard-to-reach dead zones that currently drop the connection. Before eliminating cable, you’ll want to test out your network’s streaming capabilities so that you aren’t left with no way to watch an awards show or football game. Additionally, beware that if you’re working with Comcast, there is a 1 TB download limit, regardless of the speed of your plan. 1 TB is a substantial amount of content but could be reached if you’re streaming in 4K on multiple TVs and devices.

Could your Illinois home use a network upgrade or assistance with audio visual services? Give us a call at (847) 868-9200 or submit our online form.