Tech question. Help me cut the cord!

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by crandc, Mar 9, 2021.

  1. crandc

    crandc Well-Known Member

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    OK, friend & neighbors & enemies. Can someone help with this?

    I have Comcast. I can say one good think about Comcast: it works. But it cost more and more. I reduced to lower tier, lost NBA TV and some stations I barely watch, and it saved me about $10.

    I have Roku so can get all but one channel I watch on streaming service for less (for some reason Ion TV isn't on any streaming service but can be accessed with antenna. Will jump off that bridge when I get to it.) But the problem is, I have a dinosaur in my living room. To wit, a VCR/DVD player/recorder. It's no longer necessary to record programs that air at inconvenient times as they can be later streamed, but I have a pretty extensive collection of videos/DVDs of sports stuff, movies, concerts, ballets, etc. that I want to access. My player is so old it doesn't have HDM ports. It's analog.

    So, is there an adapter or cable or something I can use to run the player through TV, which is digital? Or do I need to get a new player? They are pretty pricey these days since the only people who want them really want them, any suggestions on what/where to purchase? Stores closing makes that harder since I can't go into Fry's and ask.

    Even if I cut Comcast to lowest tier and then streamed everything else I'd just about break even. Ideas?

    Merci.
     
  2. Sedatedfork

    Sedatedfork Rip City Rhapsody

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    I cut the cord recently. YouTubeTV is great. I highly recommend it. We also use a few other streaming platforms. Then, we cut cable and just have the router and the phone only because it is $10 more for the phone but with the package we get a better internet connection and they lock in the price for us so we decided to go that route. Not sure if that's the right call, but whatevs. We saved about $100 a month this way by the way.
     
  3. calvin natt

    calvin natt Confeve

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    I spend more on Cell phones and Comcast combined each month than I did in rent during my 20's and early 30's. Its atrocious.
     
  4. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    Yup. I got Youtube TV and I really like it.
     
  5. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    *Unlimited
     
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  6. crandc

    crandc Well-Known Member

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    So, @Tyrant of Ants if I need someone to walk me through setup would you be available for a phone call? It would be rewarded.
     
  7. illmatic99

    illmatic99 formerly yuyuza1

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    Last edited: Mar 9, 2021
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  8. BoBoBREWSKI

    BoBoBREWSKI BURP!

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    There is no Blazer game tonight.
     
  9. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    You can purchase a modern small mixing board...podcast style board...run analog cords you have into it and use the HDMI or digital port out from their outputs...sort of acts like a patch bay...I'm not tech savvy but I've used patch bays to connect things like that. They don't need to be expensive or large...in my guest house I have lots of old gear connected through a mixing board that goes to an amp and speakers or recording device. google analog to digital conversion and you'll see lots of stuff.
     
  10. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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  11. AldoTrapani

    AldoTrapani Well-Known Member

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    I cut the cord recently and got YouTubeTv

    Best decision I’ve ever made. Wish I did it sooner. Comcast is the worst company ever. Expensive for no reason
     
  12. crandc

    crandc Well-Known Member

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    Will do it in stages. First go to lowest Comcast tier and try different streaming services, most have free trial period. See what works best and try DVD player setup. Still have to use Comcast for internet. Only other providers where I live is Sprint, which never works.
     
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  13. bigbailes

    bigbailes Well-Known Member

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    What's funny is living somewhere that has Spectrum and not Comcast and hearing people bitch about Comcast. Spectrum is the same price but get a sliver of the benefits Comcast has. When I go back home to my parents I'm blown away by how bad Spectrum is when it comes to the streaming services. To be able to access them from the cable box like you can with Xfinity is so much better than just the single Netflix that I get with Spectrum. Yes I have a PS4 and a firestick to get to the streamers but it's so much more convenient to just switch to one of those from the box and not have to go to a different input. First world problems I know. Not trying to defend Comcast, just pointing out that Spectrum is even worse.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2021
  14. SharpesTriumph

    SharpesTriumph Well-Known Member

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    I'm also in TX, I got both spectrum and google fiber for internet (need a backup for home office), they are both really good. Spectrum is $30/mo but google is $70... similar speed google is a tad faster. I hate cable tv box service; we stream, I have sling TV plus league pass. Funny that you like the box, I don't want them. I have an antenna for local. Spectrum actually provides the fiber backbone for most of google fiber here although you don't really notice as a consumer.

    Comcast cable internet is good too, I had it when I lived in Oregon. When you are in an area without any of cable internet/fiber/etc you realize how vastly superior any of those three companies are compared to phone DSL/satellite/cell/etc.
     
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  15. bigbailes

    bigbailes Well-Known Member

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    We actually just got their new modem/router and it works much better than the old version. I don't LOVE the box by any means but the wife is old school and doesn't want to cut the cord, even though I think between the two of us and my family we have basically all the major streamers (HBO, Disney, Netflix, Amazon)
     
  16. Hoopguru

    Hoopguru Well-Known Member

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    I got the Comcast phone service a year ago and it $12.00 a mth for 1 gig and never go over if I do its another 12. or you can change anytime to 3 gig for 30.
    I had AT&T for years and they just got to pricy.
     
  17. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    I just finished installing my new monitor/screen/TV/whatever the hell it's called. Here's what's new since my last time 6 years ago: 99% of them are 4K, corner legs replaced the central pedestal so a small table can't support the TV anymore, and a free streaming service is standard (e.g. Roku, Web-O.S., Smart-Hub, Android TV, Chrome-Cast, Smart-Cast).

    I cut the cable from cable TV about 10 years ago, and beginning tonight, I have Roku. I don't waste time on movies, so we shall see how much I use it. If it's just 15 second samples of stuff they're plugging, forget it.

    Fucking Roku wanted my name, e-mail address, date of birth, and gender. So I typed my son's. Let the CIA kill HIM for my opinions; I gotta outlive this new monitor.
     
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  18. Lanny

    Lanny Original Season Ticket Holder "Mr. Big Shot"

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    One time, maybe ten or fifteen years ago, I was watching some sort of arts channel when this show came on called "Flash Mob - The Opera. Wow, it really renewed my love of Opera. It was some sort of London symphony along with an London opera company that just shows up at a London transportation hub and puts on a collection of different operas all telling a story of a married couple having marriage troubles. The husband reforms and the marriage is saved. I saved that on DVD which I've got somewhere. I also copied a documentary of life for one of the many throw away children in North Korea. The child maybe was four years old. Broke my heart and made me cry. I've also got that saved on DVD somewhere. These are both so tremendous that I wish I could share them in here but don't know how. Of course, that would mean finding them which are God knows where after moving into our new home nearly six years ago.
     
  19. Tince

    Tince Well-Known Member

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  20. Tince

    Tince Well-Known Member

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