4 Things To Think About Before Switching To Streaming TV From Cable

4 Things To Think About Before Switching To Streaming TV From Cable (2)

So you’re considering getting rid of cable? Don’t let me persuade you otherwise.

Definitely go ahead and do it. Five years ago, I did it, and I haven’t turned back since. It’s an improvement over working from home.

However, if you don’t make even the slightest amount of preparation, there will probably be some hiccups along the way. Here are some lessons I’ve picked up.

THE TWO BEST ASPECTS OF CORD CUTTING

You could perhaps make financial savings. There might be less commercials. It’s conceivable that you’ll fall in love with a show that you would not have discovered on television.

All of these advantages of streaming are excellent, but in my opinion, two in particular stand head and shoulders above the rest.

4 Things To Think About Before Switching To Streaming TV From Cable

First and foremost, I love the fact that you’re not dependent on the nearby cable outlet. The world is wireless.

Since there is no cable box, you can place a TV wherever there is an electrical outlet. The bathroom now has a lovely little 24-inch TV to make your bubble baths even more soothing. Install that outdated 42-inch television on the patio, cover it when it rains, and bring it inside for the winter.

The lack of long-term agreements or equipment rentals is my second favourite aspect about streaming.

See Also: 13 Roleplay Ideas You Haven’t Considered

Tired of YouTube TV? Discard it and use Sling instead. One more Netflix pricing increase? Get rid of it right away. You’ll never, ever have to dispute on the phone with a customer care representative like you do with cable. It’s never been simpler to change services or stop receiving them completely.

There are a few good reasons to switch, then. Here are some things to think about before you act.

ARE YOU TRYING TO SAVE MONEY?

Uncomfortable truth: do the math first because you might not actually save that much money.

We had reached the $200 threshold for our TV and Internet bill, so I recall leaving Comcast in a fury. I now have a $80 internet bill in addition to the following services after five years.

  • YouTube TV: $65/month
  • Netflix: $20/month
  • Hulu: $13/month
  • Peacock: $10/month
  • Disney+: $7/month
  • Prime Video: $12/month
  • Apple TV+: $5/month
  • MLB.TV: $9/month

Thus, the monthly total comes to $221, of which $141 is spent on streaming.

Now, you could counter that if I had continued to use cable TV, I would likely continue to pay an additional $67 per year for streaming services on top of my internet and cable subscriptions. (However, I’d get rid of MLB.tv and YouTube TV; more on that in a moment.)

And there is no doubt that I don’t require all of those streaming services. But, believe it or not, my wife and I utilise everything because we have three children.

Which brings up my next query…

WILL SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE CHANNELS BE LOST?

Check the channel lineup of the streaming TV provider you’re considering to see if you’re losing any significant channels. For many of you, this may be an outlier.

Although I adore YouTube TV, it doesn’t offer the channel that airs the majority of Red Sox games. I enjoy baseball in general, so for a cool $119 a year, I subscribed to MLB.TV to watch my Minnesota Twins.

The Weather Channel wasn’t available on YouTube until recently, so we paid an extra $9 per month for Frndly, which is wonderful if you’re looking for a cable package that’s been condensed.

4 Things To Think About Before Switching To Streaming TV From Cable

As a result, while Netflix provided a solid complement to live TV a few years ago, you’ll probably discover that you need to use multiple services to access all the series and movies you want to watch.

CAN YOU STREAM ON YOUR TVS CURRENTLY?

It’s nice that cable boxes are free to use. You need, however, either need streaming boxes or sticks for each TV, which start at approximately $30 and go from there, or smart TVs that already support your preferred streaming providers.

See which works best for you among Roku devices, Amazon Fire TV sticks, Google TV, and Apple TV. Roku and Fire TV models, which start at lower price points, are among the new TVs that also include built-in smart TV features.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll simply keep upgrading them until you have a collection of unused streaming sticks similar to the one in this image.

HOW IS YOUR INTERNET ACCESS?

Try as you might, trying to wirelessly distribute high-fidelity video across the house will be the thing that puts the biggest strain on your internet connection.

You’ll need a reliable internet connection and, maybe more crucially, a reliable Wi-Fi network.

You might need to consider upgrading to a mesh network that better covers the remote areas of your home because it’s difficult (but not impossible) to install a cheap wireless router down in the basement and stream TV reliably up in the bedrooms.

You can buy or rent them from your internet provider, or you can check out options from companies like Eero, Orbi, Google Nest, and others. Although, budget between $200 and $300.

Put off doing this right now. Set up your streaming system, and if it’s not performing properly, it’s time to think about upgrading.

And you should aim for a download speed of at least 100 Mbps from your internet service provider at the very least; however, if the entire family will be streaming to multiple devices at once, you’ll need a lot faster connection.

Recommended For You

Evelyn

About the Author: Evelyn

Evelyn is a content writer who has written hundreds of articles about business strategy and operations, with a focus on finance. She also published articles on payroll, small business funding, and content marketing. Evelyn also writes about improving company culture, optimizing business social media pages, and choosing appropriate organizational structures for small businesses.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *