It has been four years since we cancelled Dish Network and decided to take the plunge and pay a la carte with our tv viewing. We were paying $80 or more when we weren’t watching half of the channels.
We looked into Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, etc. After much research, my husband decided Roku 3 would be the best option for us. Yes, we had Apple products but Roku had more apps and the price was better.
To clear up any confusion- AppleTV, Roku, Amazon Fire stick, etc are the devices it receiver (like a cable box or dish). Netflix, SlingTV, etc are the apps that you use to access your channels and programs on the device. It’s basically the a la carte tv viewing that we dreamed up in our heads or wished for in the late 90s.
We knew we wanted to have the option to watch ‘live’ and local tv so we purchased an outdoor digital antenna. We had originally purchased a indoor digital amplifier, but that did not sit right with me, because I am ever so slightly concerned about EMF waves (we already had plenty of that with wifi). Plus the amplifier would have to set right above where, at the time our baby, would lay in his Mamaroo. So, my husband went and bought the outdoor antenna and we have been happy with the reception we have with it.
The Roku is so easy our then 4 year old could learn how to use it and watch Netflix or the Disney Junior app. The only thing he had to get use to was that he couldn’t watch his Nick Jr shows. Roku does have a Nick Jr app, but you have to connect to a cable or satellite account. We do however, connect to ABC, NBC (gotta watch one of my new favorite shows ‘This is Us’), Disney Junior, PBS, etc apps through my parents Verizon account. There are times we aren’t able to get our college football team’s games on a Saturday but those times are few and far between.
SlingTV
SlingTV is like a cable or dish network it of itself but much cheaper and not as many superfluous channels.
We knew we needed to have ESPN and I wanted HGTV. So, we decided to set up a Sling TV account because they were offering a discount with Roku.
We chose SlingOrange because of ESPN. My husband is an avid sports follower. Golf, Basketball, Football, Baseball, you get the idea.
If your kid loves NickJr and you don’t need ESPN you could still get the NFL network with SlingBlue. There are also many add ons for about $5 for more network categories or $9.99 for a la carte.
Sling channels have ‘on demand’ episodes that you can view. So technically, you don’t have to have a DVR unless you want that option for local channels.
You do not have to use Roku to access SlingTv. You can do so with AppleTv, Amazon Fire, Xbox One, Chromecast, among other devices.
You can also watch it through an app on your iPad by logging into your account. When Outlander is in season, I go into our Sling settings and add Starz, a la carte for $9.99/month. Then I cancel it when the season is over.
Sling is offering 40% off their packages for the first month and a free Roku Express when you subscribe and prepay for the first month.
Philo
Another option is Philo. It is $20 and has an array of popular channels like Hallmark, Nick Jr, Discovery (hello, Shark Week), but sadly no ESPN.
So that was a no for our family.
All that said…
Edit: We are a four years out and have not looked back. We save ourselves roughly $50 a month. That is with Sling tv-$21.99 and Netflix now $8.99.
The initial purchases are Roku (depending on what version you want or if you want Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, etc instead) and a digital antenna if you want your local channels and to watch occassional live tv on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and whatever other networks you have locally. You can check out TV Fool to see how many channels you are able to receive at your residence.
The Roku Premiere is what we have. I plan to purchase a Roku stick or the next level up from that for our master bedroom and a newly acquired tv in there. Like cable services you do need to get a secondary device for each tv you own unless you want to be disconnecting and moving the unit to every tv.
For those wondering what internet service we use, we use CenturyLink.
If you do decide to cut the cord, happy watching!
