Steve Mensing, Editor
♦ Over the past several years, legions of TV viewers greatly reduced their monthly television bills and ended their relationships with cable and satellite TV. These “cord cutters” ventured over to receiving their television from IPTV devices such as ROKUs, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, various KODI streaming IPTV boxes, smart TV’s, Blue Ray players, and gaming consoles like X Box and WII. Viewers also purchased ala carte subscriptions like SLING TV where you can choose most of your favorite channels without being saddled with excesses of junk TV. ”Cord cutters” also employ indoor digital antennas, sometimes amplified, to receive dozens of free broadcast channels like ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, and PBS. Here in Rowan County, digital indoor antennas can receive somewhere in the vicinity of 20 plus channels. To get a solid idea of some of the many Free Broadcast channels available in your area check out Digital TV Maps and Titan TV (Put in your zip code):
http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/dtvmaps/
If you want to DVR your free broadcast channels — you can. Use antenna DVR devices:
Digital indoor antennas are cheap and can run anywhere from $10 to $60 and can be acquired at Target, Walmart, Amazon, Walgreens, and Best Buy and are sold under the RCA and GE label. They are common “rabbit ear antennas” or “flat antennas”. All deliver 1080P HD in pristine clarity.
If you want to step up on your TV entertainment, investigate the current kings of the IPTV: ROKU 4, ROKU 3 (2nd generation), Amazon Fire TV box, Apple TV 4th generation, and KODI IPTV boxes These small boxes, running around $99 each, stream an immense amount of TV and movie entertainment, much of it free. Both ROKU and Apple TV offer Netflix, Hulu Plus, Youtube, Amazon Prime, and countless excellent Free TV channels containing more streaming flicks, news, and sports, than you can imagine. These IPTV boxes will save you enormously on your bills.
For an idea of the available ROKU Channels go here: http://www.roku.com/roku-channel-store.
For Apple TV’s fare: http://www.apple.com/appletv/what-is/
For KODI IPTV boxes: http://rowanfreepress.com/2015/11/27/cord-cutters-alert-the-top-5-kodi-iptv-boxes-for-november-2015/
For Amazon Fire TV: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CX5P8FC#whatson
To get an idea about cord cutting in general:
http://www.roku-channels.com/hulu-plus-vs-netflix-infographic
If you want to add in OTT TV the leading star at this time is Sling TV which offers some major TV Channels ala carte at budget prices without being saddled with too much junk TV. Go here to learn about Sling TV: https://www.sling.com/
If you still desire to keep your cable or satellite TV for the array of sports and movies available then learn the art of renegotiating with your TV provider’s retention specialist:
