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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
Cut the cable television cord and cut your monthly bills Are you one of those people who have 500 television channels to choose from and you can never find anything to watch? Maybe it's time to cut the cable cord and take full control of what's on your television. All you need to get started with this popular money saving strategy is an Internet connection, a device to stream to, and the advice in this book. With Cord Cutting For Dummies, you go from evaluating if cord cutting is the right choice for your budget to acquiring the technology to get the programming you actually want. You'll discover the technology you need for streaming, select the service or services that fit your needs, and make the components of your setup work together--all within your budget. Cord Cutting For Dummies offers the steps to going from wired to wireless, including: * Deciding if you need to upgrade your Wi-Fi equipment and service. * Evaluating your current devices. * Adding a smart TV to the mix. * Choosing the best streaming services for you--including some free options When you're ready to untether yourself from the cable or satellite, Cord Cutting For Dummies shows you, step by step, how to break free. Pick up a copy and you'll be watching your favorite movie or TV show in no time!
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Cord Cutting For Dummies®
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Published simultaneously in Canada
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ISBN: 978-1-119-80093-4; ISBN (ePDF): 978-1-119-80097-2; ISBN (ePub): 978-1-119-80098-9
Cord Cutting For Dummies®
To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Cord Cutting For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1: Some Cord-Cutting Basics
Chapter 1: Why Cut the Cord?
What's So Bad about Cable? (Let Me Count the Ways)
Some Reasons Why Cutting the Cord Might Not Be for You
The Benefits of Severing Your Connection to the Cable Company
Surveying the Cord-Free Landscape
Chapter 2: Snip, Snip. Your 7-Step Plan to Going Cord-Free
Step 1: Deciding What You Want to Watch
Step 2: Figuring Out the Equipment You Need
Step 3: Making a Streaming Services Budget
Step 4: Trying Out Lots of Streaming Services — for Free!
Step 5: Subscribing to Streaming Services
Step 6: Doing a Cord-Cutting Test Drive
Step 7: Cutting the Cord —Woo-Hoo!
Part 2: Cord Cutting Made Easy with Over-the-Air TV
Chapter 3: Understanding Over-the-Air TV
OTA? OTT? Live TV? What on Earth Is Everyone Talking About?
How Over-the-Air TV Works
What Channels Can You Access?
Chapter 4: Choosing and Setting Up OTA Hardware
What Equipment Do You Need?
Choosing an OTA Digital Antenna
Installing Your Antenna
Connecting Your Antenna
Scanning for OTA Channels
Chapter 5: Watching Over-the-Air and Live TV
Watching Over-the-Air TV Using a Regular TV
Watching Over-the-Air TV Using a Smart TV
Watching Over-the-Air TV Using a Streaming Device
Look, Ma, No Antenna! Streaming Live TV
Part 3: Cable-Free Viewing with Streaming Services
Chapter 6: The Hardware You Need for Streaming
Let's Talk TVs
Streamers: Set-Top Box or Dongle?
What to Look for in a Streaming Media Player
Smart TVs for Streaming Media
Setting Up Your Hardware
Chapter 7: Getting Your Internet Access Ready for Streaming
Investing in a New Router
Extending Your Wi-Fi Network
How Much Bandwidth Is Enough?
Understanding How Streaming Works
I Feel the Need — the Need for Speed!
Chapter 8: Checking Out Free Streaming Services
Is There Such a Thing as a Free Lunch?
What to Expect from Free Streaming Services
Some Free Streaming Services to Check Out
Chapter 9: Checking Out Paid Streaming Services
What to Expect from Paid Streaming Services
What Types of Paid Streaming Services Are Available?
On-Demand Streaming Services
Cable-Replacement Services
Checking Out Premium Channels
Part 4: The Part of Tens
Chapter 10: Ten Ways to Save Money in a Cord-Free World
Get the Smallest OTA Antenna Possible
Don't Get Too Much Internet
Take Advantage of Skinny Bundles
Don't Commit Until You're Amazed at Your Luck
Watch New Shows on the Cheap
Subscribe Strategically
Keep an Eye on Your Subscriptions
Get a Credit Card Offering Streaming Cash Back
Give Up the Premium Subscription Plan
Save on Sports
Chapter 11: Ten Tips for Troubleshooting Streaming Woes
Check Your Streaming Device's Download Speed
Restart Your Streaming Device
Check Your Streaming Device for Updates
Reset Your Streaming Device
Check Your Wi-Fi Connection Speed
Reset Your Wi-Fi
Make Some Wi-Fi Adjustments
Troubleshoot an Unresponsive Streaming Device
Troubleshoot a Blank TV Screen
Upgrade Your Hardware
Glossary
Index
About the Author
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 9
TABLE 9-1 The Major Premium Streaming Channels
List of Illustrations
Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: Devices such as Amazon Fire TV offer access to content streams via ...
FIGURE 2-2: All major streaming services offer a free trial period.
Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: How over-the-air TV works.
FIGURE 3-2: A list of nearby over-the-air TV stations and their relative signal...
FIGURE 3-3: A typical over-the-air channel report from TV Fool.
FIGURE 3-4: Many TV stations use their channel number in their branding.
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: Your HDTV antenna connects to your TV's F connector.
FIGURE 4-2: Get a unidirectional antenna if your incoming signals come more or ...
FIGURE 4-3: Get a multidirectional antenna if your incoming signals come from a...
FIGURE 4-4: Available channels appear in the VHF and UHF bands.
FIGURE 4-5: Connect your antenna’s coaxial cable to your TV’s jack F connector.
FIGURE 4-6: A garden-variety coaxial splitter.
FIGURE 4-7: An HDTV tuner enables you to view over-the-air TV on your PC.
FIGURE 4-8: The screen shows the progress of the channel scan.
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: The back of a typical modern TV is festooned with connectors.
FIGURE 5-2: For most TVs, you use the remote's Input button to change the input...
FIGURE 5-3: With smart TVs, you use the TV interface to select the input source...
FIGURE 5-4: Smart TVs offer a channel guide.
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6-1: Modern TVs have all their HDMI ports together on the back panel.
FIGURE 6-2: Three examples of set-top box streaming players: Roku player (left)...
FIGURE 6-3: Set-top box players have multiple input ports.
FIGURE 6-4: Three examples of dongle streaming players: a Roku (left), a Google...
FIGURE 6-5: The Alexa voice remote includes a voice button for sending voice co...
FIGURE 6-6: Turn on a smart TV and you see your streaming apps and shows right ...
FIGURE 6-7: Use an HDMI cable to connect your streaming player to your TV.
FIGURE 6-8: Older TVs often have their HDMI ports in multiple locations on the ...
FIGURE 6-9: A streaming stick with an HDMI extender cable.
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7-1: QoS features let you to prioritize network applications or devices ...
FIGURE 7-2: Most streaming services let you choose a data usage setting.
FIGURE 7-3: Disable the automatic download of the next episodes of the show you...
FIGURE 7-4: An overview of how streaming works.
FIGURE 7-5: Media streams are buffered for smoother playback.
FIGURE 7-6: Search Google for
speed test
and then click the Run Speed Test butt...
FIGURE 7-7: Preliminary results are displayed while the test is running.
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8-1: Crackle offers free movies, TV shows, and original content.
FIGURE 8-2: Haystack News offers customized local and global news streams.
FIGURE 8-3: Choose your local library system.
FIGURE 8-4: Use the Hoopla app on your streamer to borrow movies, TV shows, and...
FIGURE 8-5: PBS Video gives you free access to all your favorite PBS shows.
FIGURE 8-6: Peacock's free tier gives you lots of content (and lots of ads).
FIGURE 8-7: The Roku Channel Store offers lots of free movies and TV shows.
FIGURE 8-8: The Tubi TV app offers free access to a large number of movies and ...
FIGURE 8-9: YouTube Kids offers a ton of kid-friendly streaming content.
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9-1: Prime Video offers great original content and a large collection of...
FIGURE 9-2: Apple TV+ offers only original content on-demand, but some of that ...
FIGURE 9-3: Hulu offers great access to network and cable shows, as well as lot...
FIGURE 9-4: Netflix isn't cheap, but it offers lots of movies, TV, shows, and o...
FIGURE 9-5: Peacock is NBCUniversal's entry into the online streaming game.
FIGURE 9-6: Sling TV replaces your cable service by offering live and on-demand...
FIGURE 9-7: YouTube TV offers lots of channels and unlimited cloud DVR storage.
Chapter 11
FIGURE 11-1: Most streamers offer apps that can test your device's Internet spe...
FIGURE 11-2: On Fire TV, use the Amazon Silk browser to access Internet speed t...
FIGURE 11-3: The Install Update command appears when Fire TV has downloaded an ...
FIGURE 11-4: Look for the command that resets the device to its original settin...
FIGURE 11-5: Many streaming devices enable you to see the Wi-Fi network signal ...
Guide
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Glossary
Index
About the Author
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Introduction
William the Conqueror, it is said, began by eating a mouthful of English sand.
— SALMAN RUSHDIE
As I write this, more than 40 million people in the United States alone have cut the cord and banished the cable company from their lives. What we have here, beyond any doubt, is a genuine phenomenon. We're witnessing a kind of cord-cutting frenzy as people of all ages, all regions, and all walks of life thumb their noses at traditional cable and opt, instead, for the freedom of a cable-less lifestyle.
If you're looking to join this movement, I have some good news right off the bat: Unlike William the Conqueror, you don't need to eat a mouthful of sand to get started. Ah, I hear you ask, but where do I start? If you have even a passing familiarity with watching TV without cable, you know that it's a sprawling, labyrinthine, and constantly changing topic. So many shows! So many channels! So many services! So many devices! Where, indeed, do you start?
I'm glad you asked, because that's exactly where Cord Cutting For Dummies comes in. I've traveled the entire cord-cutting landscape from east to west and from north to south. I've connected the devices, subscribed to the services, and installed the apps. The result is the book you're holding (physically or virtually).
About This Book
Cord Cutting For Dummies shows you not only how to get the cable company out of your life but also what to do after that. This book takes you on a tour of all the main (and a few minor) ways to watch TV without cable.
In Part 1, you learn lots of good reasons why you should cut the cord (plus a few sensible reasons why going cordless might not be a good idea for you) and you get a step-by-step plan for going cord-free.
In Part 2, you get your post-cord life off to a free and easy start by learning all about over-the-air TV, where you get high-quality channels free (yep, that's right: free). You learn how over-the-air TV works, what equipment you need, and how to set everything up.
In Part 3, you dive into streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu. You learn about streaming media players and smart TVs, and how to get your Internet access ready for streaming. You then check out a bunch of free and paid streaming services.
Finally, in Part 4, you learn ten ways to save money after you've cut the cord and ten tips for troubleshooting streaming problems.
The chapters present their info and techniques in readily digestible, bite-size chunks, so you can certainly graze your way through this book.
Foolish Assumptions
Cord Cutting For Dummies is for people who are new (or relatively new) to cord cutting. This doesn’t mean, however, that the book is suitable for everyone. I've made a few assumptions about what is necessary if you want to flourish in a cable-free world. Here they are:
You know how to connect devices to your TV.
You have an Internet connection and a Wi-Fi network.
You can use a web browser to navigate to a particular website given that site's address.
You know the basics of launching and using mobile device apps.
That's about it, really. Cord cutting is a big topic, but it's not one that requires a huge amount of technical literacy. And what literacy you do need I explain as we go along.
Icons Used in This Book
Like other books in the Dummies series, this book uses icons, or little margin pictures, to flag info.
This icon marks text that contains info that’s useful or important enough that you’d do well to store the text somewhere safe in your memory for later recall.
This icon extra information that either is a bit on the advanced side or goes into heroic, often obscure detail about the topic at hand. Do you need to read it? Not at all. Does that make the text a waste of page real estate? I don’t think so, because the information is useful for folks interested in delving into the minutiae of cord cutting. If that’s not you, ignore away.
This icon marks text that contains a shortcut or an easier way to do things, which I hope will make your life — or, at least, the data analysis portion of your life — more efficient.
This icon marks text that contains a friendly but insistent reminder to avoid doing something. You have been warned.
Beyond the Book
To locate this book's cheat sheet, go to www.dummies.com and search for Cord Cutting For Dummies. See the cheat sheet for some recommended streaming media services for kids' programming, sports, and news.
Where to Go from Here
This book consists of a couple of hundred pages. Do I expect you to read every word on every page? Yes, I do. Just kidding! No, of course I don’t. Entire sections — heck, maybe even entire chapters — might contain information that’s not relevant to you.
In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the King of Hearts tells Alice that she should, “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” But you don't have to follow his advice here.
However, if you’re just getting started down the cord-cutting road — particularly if you’re not sure you even want to cut the cord — no problem: I’m here to help. To get your cord-cutting education off to a solid start, I highly recommend that you start with Chapter 1 to find out if you really do want to go cable-free. If you do, continue with Chapter 2 to find out how it's done. From there, you can travel to the post-cable territory of Chapters 3 and beyond.
If you have some experience with cord cutting or you have a special interest or question, see the table of contents or the index to find out where I cover that topic, and then turn to that page.
Either way, happy cord cutting!
Part 1
Some Cord-Cutting Basics
IN THIS PART …
Discover some excellent reasons why you should — or maybe shouldn't — cut the cable TV cord.
Follow a step-by-step guide to cutting the cord.
Chapter 1
Why Cut the Cord?
IN THIS CHAPTER
Having fun dissing the cable company
Seeing if cutting the cord is right for you
Understanding the benefits of cutting the cord
Touring a world without cable
You can get a TV signal into your home these days in many ways, but most methods involve running some kind of cord into your home and then into a device. That device might be a TV, a set-top box, or even a cable modem.
So far, so obvious. My point here is to bring your attention to the cord itself, which carries this book's symbolic load. Why? Because a new and growing legion of people are using their cable TV cord as a symbol for protest.
Who are these people? The cord shavers (also called cord trimmers) take steps to reduce their cable TV bill. The cord avoiders look for online alternatives to paying for cable TV offerings. Next are the cord haters, who really dislike paying for cable TV. All these people look on in envy at the cord nevers, people who have never had a cable TV account.
The cord shavers, cord avoiders, and cord haters can't be cord nevers, but they can certainly become cord cutters. Those are people who metaphorically snip their cable TV cord by non-metaphorically canceling their cable TV subscription and looking for televised entertainment elsewhere.
If you find your blood pressure getting dangerously high each time you pay your cable TV bill, you might be ready to become a cord cutter. To make sure, this chapter talks about why you might want to go the cord-cutting route (and a little bit about why you might not).
What's So Bad about Cable? (Let Me Count the Ways)
Every year, various media organizations publish articles with titles along the lines of “The Ten Most Hated Companies” or “The Twenty Worst Companies.” A wide variety of industries is represented, from airlines to social media companies to banking institutions. The lists change year to year, but you can always count on at least one or more cable companies making the list.
Let's face it: Many of us really dislike our cable provider. What about you? How do you feel about the company that brings cable TV into your home?
Okay, you're reading a book about cord cutting, so I have to assume that you're at least peeved at your cable company. Or maybe a bit miffed. But however you feel, you might need coaxing before you go any further. Sure, I understand: Cutting the cord is a big step. To help you make your decision, this section details ten solid reasons why you might want to cancel your cable subscription and join the ranks of cord cutters.
Cable TV is expensive
Aside from essential utilities (heat, electricity, water, phone) and expenses such as groceries and a car payment, most of your regular monthly payments probably don't amount to that much money. Five dollars here, ten dollars there, twenty dollars somewhere else. Then your monthly cable bill comes due and, by contrast, it's probably a whopper: Depending on your channels, packages, equipment, and bundles, you can easily be paying a hundred, two hundred, even three hundred dollars or more — a month!
As much as you might enjoy the cable company's offerings, that cable bill qualifies as an extravagance. Now, as you soon see, money isn't the only reason to cut yourself free from cable, but for most would-be cord cutters, it's the reason that gets people thinking there has to be a better (and cheaper) way.
You still get bombarded by commercials
You pay your budget-busting cable bill and now you're stressed and angry. What's the antidote? You know: Watch a little TV. But when you turn on the set, chances are the first thing you see is a commercial. Then another one. And another. Sure, you're a savvy TV pro, so you know where to find the mute button on your remote.
But still: Doesn't it rankle? You pay a queen's ransom for (apparently) the privilege of watching TV, only to be subjected to endless come-ons for hemorrhoid remedies and car insurance. That's just wrong.
You probably watch only a teensy fraction of what you pay for
The Bruce Springsteen song “57 Channels (and Nothin' On)” was released way back in 1992, but it's still relevant today. Except now it's closer to 557 channels. However many channels come with your cable package, it's a safe bet that you find a depressingly vast majority of them unwatchable so they are therefore unwatched.
Sure, you have your favorite stations, but how many do you watch regularly? A dozen? Maybe a couple dozen? That still leaves hundreds of channels gathering dust. Even worse: You're paying for those dust-covered channels. Why would anyone do that?
Bundles are (usually) bad
The standard way to save money when it comes to the cable company is to invest in a bundle: a collection of cable company services that includes not only cable TV but also Internet access, a home phone, a cellular plan, or some combination of these and other offerings. Instead of paying for each service by itself, you bundle them for a substantial discount.
That makes sense, but there's a fly in the bundle ointment: Almost always, at least one of the bundled services will be terrible. It might have cheap — or even used! — equipment, spotty service, minimal features, or (all too often) all of the above. Even though you save money with a second-rate service, you shouldn't have to live like that.
Long-term (read: loyal) customers pay more, not less
If you're a regular customer at your local coffee shop, every now and then the manager might slip you a free coffee or muffin. If you buy lots of clothes at a local independent retailer, the owner might give you a discount on a larger purchase. What these small businesses understand is the value of customer loyalty: It pays in the long term to keep regular customers happy.
Your cable company understands this, too, right? Hah, don't make me laugh! In fact, your cable provider probably does the opposite. That is, they probably offer discounted subscriptions to new customers, while charging substantially higher prices to long-term subscribers. It's madness, but welcome to the wacky world of the cable company!
If you plan on sticking with your cable subscription, at least for a while, you can almost certainly negotiate a lower price. Call the cable company, complain about how high your monthly bill has become, and then threaten to either switch to another provider (assuming there is one where you live) or cancel your subscription. It might take some perseverance on your part and a session with someone in the Customer Retention department, but you'll get there.
You're getting nickeled-and-dimed
If you've ever been brave (or foolhardy) enough to examine the details of your cable bill, chances are you came away even angrier than you were going in. It's not just the sheer size of the final total that stresses everyone out, but the long list of incidental and hidden fees and surcharges that are standard-issue line items in every cable bill. These fees go by various names:
Network access fee
Broadcast TV fee
HD technology fee
Regional sports surcharge
Terminal fee
Franchise fee
The list goes on and on and includes lots of regulatory fees mandated by the government, which the cable company is happy to pass on to you as so-called pass-through fees. These fees and surcharges easily cost you hundreds of dollars a year. Boo!
You're dealing with a near-monopoly
Mom-and-pop shops in the cable business don't exist because cable requires huge infrastructure investments. That's fine, but with recent consolidations in the industry, the gargantuan just keep getting gargantuan-er. The result is that even large markets have few options for cable TV providers, and small markets might have just a single company “vying” for their business.
This lack of competition is bad news for you. It keeps cable prices high, encourages cable companies to charge — and increase — hidden fees (as I describe in the preceding section), and gives cable behemoths zero incentive to provide decent customer service and technical support (travesties that I talk about in the next two sections).
Customer service is pretty much non-existent
Earlier I mention that cable companies always show up in lists of the worst or most hated companies. As this section shows, there are lots of reason why that's so. However, one of main complaints you see in surveys of customer (dis)satisfaction is terrible customer service.
You know what I'm talking about, right? Does anyone ever look forward to calling the cable company? Having such a call on your to-do list is likely to elicit feelings of dread and anxiety because the poor souls who work in a cable company's customer service department aren't allowed to be human beings. Instead, they're browbeaten into giving rote answers that never deviate from a management-approved script.
And if you get even a little frustrated or upset at the runaround you're getting, there's an excellent chance the rep will put you on hold forever and then simply disconnect the call!
You can see for yourself how bad cable company customer service is by taking a look at the American Customer Satisfaction Index for Subscription Television Services at www.theacsi.org/index.php?option=com:content&view=article&id=147&catid=&Itemid=212&i=Subscription+Television+Service.
Technical support is a pain in the you-know-what
Calling the cable company's technical support department is no better an experience than the customer service nightmare I moaned about in the preceding section. First, you have to wait on hold for a very long time. Second, the “technician” (note the sarcastic quotes there) will ask about your problem, and then spend a very long time going through an infuriatingly banal and wrong-headed flowchart-slash-script in an attempt to find a “solution” (more sarcastic quotes).
That approach never works, so now the rep will book you an appointment with an actual technician. Alas, the next available appointment is in two weeks (if you're lucky) and, yes, you'll have to take half a day off work. Oh, and it will set you back $50, $75, or even $100 just for the technician to show up.
Those darned contracts!
As I mention, you can often negotiate a lower cable bill by putting together a bundle of services, packages of content, or both. But there's usually a catch, actually two catches: You have to sign a contract (usually for two years) and the discount applies only for the first year! So you're stuck paying a higher price for the rest of the contract, unless you agree to pay an exorbitant termination fee to opt out. Grrr.
After signing the contract, you'll receive a confirmation, usually by email. Double-check — no triple-check — the order to make sure you're getting what you asked for and what was promised to you. Cable company sales reps work on commission and will often simply modify orders — while betting that you won't notice — if doing so benefits them.
