Discussion I need a better solution to get away from these blackout disputes!

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emitfudd

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Apr 9, 2017
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Amidst a guild writers strike when there is nothing on tv, Dish just blacked out CW and NBC just before the Voice is about to come on in the end of September. I could write a book about my feelings about these blackouts! They should be illegal.

I pay over $100/mo for Dish just to watch the local stations. I watch ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and CW. The ONLY reason I do this is because Dish is the only one which allows you to record all the local stations at once since it has 16 tuners in the Hopper.

I have had it with the blackouts and disputes. I am not watching my regular shows on an OTA antennae. If there are 2 or 3 or 4 shows on at the same time that I want to watch, I have no way to record them. There is also no way to bypass the commercials and that is just painful.

I noticed Peacock claims that you can watch your local NBC live with the premium plan. Is this true? Could I stream my local NBC on Peacock and watch shows like the Voice live or even the next day without recording them? If ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and CW all have this option I will kick Dish to the curb in a heartbeat. I am so tired of this.

Can anyone confirm this is a viable option. If it helps, I currently have a Firestick, Max and Paramount Plus.
 
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COLGeek said:
Who is your ISP? Do you have an unlimited (in terms of download) service plan?
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I have Spectrum 500Mb unlimited. I added some of the local station apps to my firestick and most of them don't play in Dolby Digital so that is a dealbreaker. For now I have subscribed to Peacock until this stupid blackout is resolved. I also looked at Directv Stream which is quite a bit cheaper but still subject to blackouts.
 
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emitfudd said:
Amidst a guild writers strike when there is nothing on tv, Dish just blacked out CW and NBC just before the Voice is about to come on in the end of September. I could write a book about my feelings about these blackouts! They should be illegal.

I pay over $100/mo for Dish just to watch the local stations. I watch ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and CW. The ONLY reason I do this is because Dish is the only one which allows you to record all the local stations at once since it has 16 tuners in the Hopper.

I have had it with the blackouts and disputes. I am not watching my regular shows on an OTA antennae. If there are 2 or 3 or 4 shows on at the same time that I want to watch, I have no way to record them. There is also no way to bypass the commercials and that is just painful.

I noticed Peacock claims that you can watch your local NBC live with the premium plan. Is this true? Could I stream my local NBC on Peacock and watch shows like the Voice live or even the next day without recording them? If ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and CW all have this option I will kick Dish to the curb in a heartbeat. I am so tired of this.

Can anyone confirm this is a viable option. If it helps, I currently have a Firestick, Max and Paramount Plus.
Click to expand...
Youtube premium or HULU. I prefer Youtube because is has more content that I am interested in.
 
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Hulu has a live stream option that lets you record but I don't know how many.

If you can use OTA I would look at TIVO. For some reason tivo stopped making the units that can record 6 shows at once the newer units can only do 2. If you are at all interested I would look at a company called weakness. They are a authorized tivo reseller and have older products as well as stuff like disk upgrades. They are also cheaper for the units that have the lifetime tivo subscription. They key feature in the subscription is that the DVR auto skips the commercial without you even having to push a button.
 
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bill001g said:
Hulu has a live stream option that lets you record but I don't know how many.

If you can use OTA I would look at TIVO. For some reason tivo stopped making the units that can record 6 shows at once the newer units can only do 2. If you are at all interested I would look at a company called weakness. They are a authorized tivo reseller and have older products as well as stuff like disk upgrades. They are also cheaper for the units that have the lifetime tivo subscription. They key feature in the subscription is that the DVR auto skips the commercial without you even having to push a button.
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It says the Roamio is the only one you can use with antenna and it is no longer available.
 
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roamio I think is very old. I don't think it recorded HD over the air.

So after reading the fine print you can get a 4 channel tivo bolt from weakness for $549 that includes the lifetime tivo package.
It is a refurbished device.

TiVo Bolt DVRs

TiVo DVRs, remotes, upgrades, parts, and repairs for all TiVo, DIRECTV, Bolt, Roamio, Premiere and other DVR models.
www.weaknees.com www.weaknees.com


You can get the new edge device directly from tivo I think. For the unit plus the lifetime subscription it costs $399.
www.channelmaster.com

TiVo Edge Antenna DVR - 500GB (with All-In Service)

TiVo Edge for Antenna With All-In Service is a Subscription Free DVR for your TV Antenna which will allow you to record all of your favorite TV shows and also gives you an on-screen TV guide.
www.channelmaster.com www.channelmaster.com
Not sure why it links from tivo to channelmaster site but it has free shipping.

This unit will only record 2 channels.
 
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Look into Hulu Live. I get Disney +, Hulu, and Hulu live channels for about 70 bucks a month. I think it's going to go to 76.99. But it's not bad at all. You just get a roku or amazon fire stick etc and it's just an app you sign into. I get my locals and sports channels etc this way. You don't need a really fast connection. We've got 100mbps fiber and it handles it fine.

In fact it looks like they are doing a promo 49.99 a month for 3 months.

www.hulu.com

Hulu + Live TV: Stream TV Channels, Shows, News & Sports

Switch from cable. Get Hulu (With Ads) + Live TV, now with Disney+ (With Ads) and ESPN+ (With Ads). Stream Live TV channels, shows, news & sports online.
www.hulu.com www.hulu.com

We have a roku stick similar to this one. You can likely find it on amazon cheaper.

www.roku.com

Roku

Roku provides the simplest way to stream entertainment to your TV. On your terms. With thousands of available channels to choose from.
www.roku.com

If you need line of sight, I use this on my basement tv


Personally I have one of these for my basement. It allows me to control my tv, roku, and sound bar connected via an optical cable. But this allows me to turn on the tv, change inputs, and to turn on the sound bar and to control the volume. So handy if you have one that does not support hdmi ARC.

 
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I tried Hulu a while back and promptly cancelled it. It doesn't play most shows in Dolby Digital. I have been watching shows in DD for over 10 years. I have a full surround system and will not pay for a streaming service that can't be bothered to play shows in DD. Right now I am watching Yellowstone on Peacock and the first 2 episodes were DD and the 3rd one was not. Really irritates me to death.
 
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