In the prior post, I discussed how I became fed up with my TV bill of $200 per month, and how I took advantage of the free HD wireless signals already hitting my place in Texas.
Well the next step was aimed at online content consumption which focused on two categories at the time:
Movies and Older Sitcoms –
- Netflix – For this category of media I went with the one that we already had – Netflix. Netflix was a no brainer as we already had a subscription in addition to the existing satellite provider, and it was integrated into all of my Apple TV’s and Smart TV sets. As an added bonus, the mobile device support was really compelling on the iPad on extended road trips or even while splitting the kids within the home across age groups or play dates.
- Amazon Prime – I already had Amazon Prime, but didn’t take advantage of the video library until i uncovered one Smart TV in the home that didn’t have the Apple TV hooked up to it or a Roku. I stumbled into an Amazon app siting in the TV, and I figured – ‘why not?’ I was pleasantly surprised to find that it worked flawlessly, and that became the primary TV for Amazon video. Turns out this service has a bunch of older movies that Netflix just doesn’t carry anymore.
- Apple Movies – I reluctantly began consuming from Apple recently and their service is compelling. Super easy to purchase and many times with kids’ movies – they have all sorts of extras that you cannot get on the other services. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 and a few live concerts you cannot get anywhere else are the highlights of this service in my opinion.
Live TV
- Slack – This is a no brainer. They have ESPN and a few other news channels that I can tolerate such as CNN. There are a kids’ channels such as Disney, a few lifestyle channels on here, and many movies tied to a given channel that you can save for later in their cloud based DVR. For $20 a month, it is a fantastic value, and they also have an app to take the TV with you on the go. When I first signed up, I was enamored with the mobile app. Now that I’ve been using it a few months – I never use it. However, on the bigger TV screens – the quality is as good as a cable service.
Speaking of DVR’s I’ll cover the hardware that I’ve thrown down to help me manage all of this content flying over the internet and over the air – in my next post.
- Total Cash Spent – $38.25 per month
- $10 per month for Netflix
- $20 per month for Sling
- $8.25 per month for Amazon Prime Video
