Cutting the Cable

Mike Cork · July 30, 2021, 01:16:25 PM

I'm done, finished, they can kiss it... Cable went up again, go figure, Corona is on the rise and scaring folks to stay home so the cable company yanks on the wallet chain... Okay enough with the soap box...

So I only have one option for high speed internet, well several satellite options but they suck, I've tried them. I can purchase internet service at what I'd call a fair price. I've done some note taking and since Mother Nature took my news privileges away, no one in my family has watched a cable channel in almost 90 days, and with the price increase I'm done.

So my question is, what router do you all like, have been using, would or wouldn't buy again?

The way I understand this, I still have to have my ISP box that I connect to a router, or are there routers that I can just plug my cable from the wall into and it do it all?

All input is greatly appreciated

Capt. BassinLou · July 30, 2021, 01:52:23 PM

We cut ties with cable and sattelite services for a while now. We just use streaming services like Hulu, Amazon Prime TV etc. cutting our TV expenditures by half. But you do need a good internet service to handle the streaming volume.

Mike Cork · July 30, 2021, 02:28:29 PM

Our cable company has great internet service.

What are you using to connect to your streaming services?

What router are you using to provide wifi in the house.

Capt. BassinLou · July 30, 2021, 02:38:41 PM

Quote from: Mike Cork on July 30, 2021, 02:28:29 PM
Our cable company has great internet service.

What are you using to connect to your streaming services?

What router are you using to provide wifi in the house.

I will look into it Mike. I'll consult with my IT dept (my wife)

WTodd · July 30, 2021, 03:47:21 PM

We cut ours too and did like Lou; saving pretty good money

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Pipepro · July 30, 2021, 09:50:42 PM

I have always had good luck with Netgear Nighthawk routers. Most cable companies can provide you with the cable modem, and then you setup router(s) for your wi-fi.

I like doing it with 2 separate units, a modem and a router. That way if one craps out you don't have to replace both.

I use a CAT 6 cable to connect between them and if I have a second router upstairs or out in the garage.

We are saving about half from when we had cable tv. Now we have Disney plus, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount plus, and Amazon Prime. It covers most everything we want to watch.

Edit:

We use a Chromecast device to stream from our phones to the tv. I was going to buy a new "smart" tv that will stream from wifi directly. I spent the TV money on a trip to Lake Norris in TN this fall. I'll deal with the Chromecast dongle and the occasional reset for now.

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Deadeye · July 31, 2021, 05:57:03 AM

Our Cable Company provides us with High Speed Internet, I also get their WiFI Router Box.

In the past I have bought my own and have used several brands and most work good. But the one that Spectrum Provides us at around $5 a month delivers smooth fast streaming and if anything goes wrong with it they exchange it for another no questions asked.

We cut the Cable TV over 2 years ago and won't go back. We use Prime TV (had Prime already and the TV is included) Share a Netflicks and Disney+ Accounts with Family (up to 5 can sign in) and Share the MOTV as well.

OTA For regular Local TV and News and there is a service that is Free called Net LIVE TV that has an Amazon App you can download through the Firestick and watch quite a few Cable Channels on it for free.

Princeton_Man · July 31, 2021, 07:25:41 AM

What/who are you using for internet service now, the cable company or the phone company? As more and more folks drop cable (TV), ISPs will continue to ratchet up prices, both due to loss of revenue from advertisers and increased bandwidth use resulting from entertainment streaming.

I've been mulling it over for a year. Unfortunately the cable company out here is the only decent ISP. Frontier Communications is the only telephone company in these parts and in most parts of the country, they couldn't survive with the service they provide. All calls, both service and billing related, must go through India, and once you can finally reach someone you can halfway understand, it takes weeks for them to patch up whatever is broken.

I've given some thought to Nomad Internet, it would cost about $40 less per month than I'm paying now for Suddenlink internet with cable television. The biggest benefit would be being able to tell Suddenlink Communications to disappear. Internet with cable 11 years ago cost us $58, today it's $160. About two years ago, I dropped to a lower tier of service and turned in the DVR that we rarely ever used, which brought down my bill by about $30. Within two years, they raised the cost back to the same level as it was before.

A plus for Nomad is that service would remain up during power failures. Even though we have a UPS and a backup generator, the cable in the area dies after about 20 minutes of a power failure.

BHenke · July 31, 2021, 07:55:29 AM

I was a cable tech with Suddenlink for over four years. When I worked there the only people that were required to use the company modems were people who had the 1 gig internet. This was because it was so new that there were not any modems available to purchase that could handle this speed. I don't think this is still the case but not sure. A dirty secret is the cable companies try to make you use their modems/WIFI routers because it is a steady income for them. Imagine someone paying $10 a month for a modem for five years. How many new ones could you have bought with that money? Quality modems and routers rarely go bad and need to be replaced. I have had the same modem for over 7 years and the same router for about four years. My modem could use an upgrade to truly get the internet speed I pay for but I don't have any streaming issues so it stays until it becomes totally outdated. I have a mid tier Netgear router that I have been very happy with and they make some very good high end ones as well.

Mike Cork · July 31, 2021, 02:11:45 PM

Our only quality internet is through Suddenlink. After a 30 bitch session and threatening to go to Dish, I was transferred to retention and they worked with me to get the price to something I can live with for now. But in the mean time I'm going to purchase a router and modem and then kill cable.

We simply don't watch cable at all, between all the streaming apps (all 3 of our TV's are Roku TV's) we don't watch regular cable. We do watch some network stuff but only through the apps.

Thanks for all the info thus far. Looking on line, Netgear gets a lot of good reviews.

Capt. BassinLou · July 31, 2021, 02:13:33 PM

Quote from: Mike Cork on July 30, 2021, 02:28:29 PM
Our cable company has great internet service.

What are you using to connect to your streaming services?

What router are you using to provide wifi in the house.

Got your answers Mike.

We use a Google Chromecast, and we lease our modem and router from Xfinity.

FD · July 31, 2021, 03:21:30 PM

I've got an Orbi with 3 satellites for my whole house wifi. It has no problem handling phones, tvs and computers at the same time.

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caddyjoe77 · July 31, 2021, 05:44:14 PM

alright -- been working/travelling so much i missed this

Mike, correct. you get your internet connection and they give you a modem/router combo (usually) -- youll know if it has more than one port on it its likely some kind of router built in.

Still though, I would buy a decent wireless router. Sky is the limit here. But as has been suggested -- Nighthawk is pretty good if you want a simple setup. I personally went with Ubiquiti stuff, which allows me to have some extra options to a 24 port switch because the house was wired, plus the cameras etc. However, i do still have a nighthawk in the garage attic that gets internet out to the mancave.

basically, your IP comes from your ISP. Then the router does what is called NAT. Usually that will be an IP range in the 192.168.x.x. Some default to 192.168.1.1 some default to 192.168.0.1. The important thing to remember is is can be any number in the 3rd octet from 0 - 254 (technically 255 but thats a broadcast). The nighthawk will also provide dhcp once you hook it up so all your devices will join.

There will be a DNS server option -- personally I dont use my ISP nor do i use google. I use quad9dns (9.9.9.9) as they claim they dont sell your DNS lookups.....like google or your ISP probably does.

Use WPA2 at least for your wifi.

one thing to consider later is a pihole to block ads should you want to do that. Also, you can run your own DNS too on the pihole but save that for after your get comfortable with your network and get it solid.

as for cutting the cord -- do it. Currently i am on hulu TV -- its good i guess. also had youtube tv. they were good too but they started acting like the cable company by "adding" new channels "for your convenience"

I am about to tell hulu to go piss off too. I dont know if there is a good option but i am thinking about going back to sling (I had them a few years ago). Its all a sham really, eventually streaming tv will be just like cable IMO. Keep in mind though, your watch history and such gets right to the analytics folks at these companies.

one thing that really pisses me off is the commercials. again, eventually this will be just like cable. Positive that commercials come from your browsing history just like everyone else (under the guise of "personalizing your experience"

). except they know way more about you than they should but thats a whole other topic

Mike Cork · August 01, 2021, 01:47:03 PM

Thanks Joe, lost of great info. Pretty much what I was thinking. I'm going to see if I can get sudden link to let me use my own modem and router. But I'll bet I have to rent at least the modem.

BHenke · August 01, 2021, 04:10:55 PM

Quote from: Mike Cork on August 01, 2021, 01:47:03 PM
Thanks Joe, lost of great info. Pretty much what I was thinking. I'm going to see if I can get sudden link to let me use my own modem and router. But I'll bet I have to rent at least the modem.

Do you have the 1 gig download speed? If not I am almost positive you will be able to use your own modem. Since I no longer work for them I find it much easier to go talk to the reps at the office on Benton Road rather than try to accomplish anything over the phone. Particularly since they were bought out by Altice and their customer service took a nose dive. Although you may still need to call tech support to get your new modem provisioned if you go that route.

apenland01 · August 02, 2021, 09:37:32 AM

The Netgear Nighthawk modems SUCK (CM600 and CM1000). The Netgear Nighthawk ROUTERS are AMAZING! I don't know how their quality is so radically different between their cable modems and routers, but I went through 3 modems and finally went with a Arris Surfboard SB8200, which is a DOCSIS 3.1 and handles the gig service. The Arris modem and Nighthawk router is a great combo for my house. Does everything I ask of it...

You really need to check with Suddenlink and look at their list of supported modems and buy one from that list. If you buy a new model modem and router, you'll save money over the years instead of paying the cable company to rent it. Basically, after the first year, it's free gear....

Princeton_Man · August 02, 2021, 12:36:15 PM

I picked up a brand new Arris SBG6580 SURF a short while back for $50 on FB's marketplace. You'll find just about any brand/model on there, used $15-20 and new for $50-100. Amazon has a lot of used ones as well for cheap. I imagine most of them are from folks who either cut the cable or upgraded.