Cutting the DirecTV Cord and Why I Ultimately Stayed

A few weeks ago a strong storm blew through my area, toppling a tree onto my roof and knocking my DirecTV dish out of commission.

The dish was badly dented, sitting on its side, held in place by only one screw (the others were scattered on the ground below).

Needless to say, I was receiving no TV reception whatsoever, and wouldn’t be with that significantly damaged dish.

Ordinarily, I would have just called DirecTV the next day, told them what happened, and scheduled a time for a tech to stop by to install a new dish.

There were, however, a few factors that needed considered.

I had just made my final payment on my 24 month service contract, meaning I was no longer under any commitment to stay with DirecTV. In fact, prior to the storm damage, I was considering my options for ongoing entertainment.

Additionally, before I could move forward on the DirecTV front, I needed to have the tree removed from my roof, and the damaged roof repaired.

Which meant I would be TV-less for at the very least a few weeks…and as it’s turning out, longer than that.

So, what did I do?

Well, of course, I reviewed my Savings Beagle colleague’s cord-cutting posts and evaluated my options.

No DirecTV, What To Do?!

I started by pulling out an old, indoor, RCA HD antenna and stringing together a few lengths of coaxial cable I had stored in a drawer.

Unfortunately, I received nothing as a result.

I then tried stretching the cord/antenna to an outside location, and was rewarded with a fairly strong NBC affiliate signal – but nothing more.

That gave me hope, though, and I started brainstorming my next move.

A side note, this indoor HD antenna uses an amplifier to assist with strengthening weak signals.

When I tried the antenna without the amplifier, I received no signal, whether the antenna was positioned inside or out.

So, using the amplifier was a must for pulling in signals.

Now, stringing coaxial cable from the main TV, across a primary living area and through an open window, just to receive the local NBC station, was not a viable, long-term solution.

But, I thought, what if I connected the coax to the DirecTV line? Would the signal from the indoor antenna transmit through the existing cable to my TV?

In short, yes it did. And luckily the DirecTV line was just below a second floor window where placement of the antenna could potentially receive a better signal.

After connecting the cable to the DirecTV line, running it up to/through the second floor window and connecting it to the indoor antenna, I was able to receive approximately 20 channels.

The downside, though, was that most of the 20 – aside from NBC and a number of home shopping channels – were too pixilated to view.

More research was needed.

Location Info and a Stronger Antenna

I turned to the Internet, of course, and specifically, TV Fool and Antennas Direct.

Using TV Fool’s coverage map/signal analysis, I learned I should be able to pull in all of the major networks considering the distance to the broadcast towers wasn’t too far (25 miles) from my house.

I was likely going to need a larger/more powerful antenna, however, and decided to go with the ClearStream 2V Long Range Indoor/Outdoor Antenna that I initially researched on the Antennas Direct website, but purchased at a local Wal-Mart. If I didn’t get significantly better results, I wanted to easily return the antenna and bring my TV-over-the-air experimentation to a close.

Amazingly, the ClearStream antenna pulled in almost twice as many channels, and with more than a little tweaking of its position, ultimately provided decent reception on all the major networks, and a number of other channels, as well.

I was in business with reception of my local channels. But what about the cable channels I was missing?

Cable Channels Without Cable or a Dish

My local channels dilemma now solved, I turned full bore to finding a solution for viewing my favorite cable channels.

Normally, I wouldn’t have bothered researching non-cable/satellite, cable TV options, I would have just waited for a new DirecTV dish to be installed.

However, at this point, I was seriously considering cutting the cord and not going back to DirecTV or any other similar service.

I’ve been using a Roku 2 streaming device for viewing Netflix and Amazon Video, so my research focused on options available on that platform.

After reading through the Savings Beagle cord cutting posts, and doing some additional study, I decided PlayStation Vue was the service to try.

PlayStation Vue offers most, if not all, of the channels I watch for only $29.99 per month. And there’s no contract to boot. The service is month-to-month, cancel any time you want and reconnect whenever you like.

The base plan – Access Slim – was my choice for the free trial (and subsequent month of viewing) and gave me 55+ channels to fill my news/entertainment void.

There is also a Core Slim option with 70+ channels for $34.99 per month.

And an Elite Slim plan which provides 100+ channels for $44.99 per month.

Overall, I’ve been happy with the PlayStation Vue experience.

Here’s a quick rundown of PlayStation Vue’s Pros and Cons from my perspective.

Pros

• A large selection of channels at very reasonable prices
• The ability to receive (in select locations) some, or all, local channels
• A DVR-like feature so you can watch select shows at a later time
• A better interface than Sling TV – personal preference

Cons

• Certain shows cannot (legally) be streamed – won’t know which until you can’t view them either live or via the DVR/On-demand service.
• DVR feature is not exactly a DVR, more like an on-demand viewing option. Still good for watching shows when you can’t see them live. As long as they’re legally streamable, that is.
• While you can fast forward/reverse/pause live and “DVR’d” shows, the experience isn’t as smooth as you may be used to.
• Channel offerings/show schedules interface is not as “clean” and easy to use as traditional cable/satellite interfaces.
• Occasional hiccups/loss of signal with the streaming experience – I don’t encounter similar problems when streaming Netflix or Amazon Video so it’s not my Internet connection.

Bottom line, PlayStation Vue isn’t perfect, and you will notice a difference if you’re coming from cable or satellite service. But, it doesn’t cost nearly as much as those traditional options, and there’s no commitment.

For me, it was good enough, when coupled with my antenna-received local channels, to get me leaning, even more, toward cutting the DirecTV cord.

My DirecTV Call

Now that I had my local channels, the majority of the cable channels that I watch and a passable “DVR” option, all for $30 per month, I was ready to call DirecTV and say goodbye.

I started the call by saying I wanted to schedule a disconnect date for my service. And, at that point, I meant it. My mindset was not to try and “get a deal,” rather, I was cutting the cord. Period.

Of course, DirecTV had other ideas.

My call was handled by a very nice, personable woman, who asked why I wanted to disconnect and to what service I would be going.

My answers were honest, my DirecTV bill had gotten too pricey and I was going to less expensive alternatives – antenna TV and streaming the cable channels.

I answered her questions, primarily because I knew from previous cable/satellite calls, that’s just how the “dance” goes.

But, I still fully intended to disconnect my service.

Until she offered a $50 per month credit with a one-year commitment.

I pushed for the exact per month billing amount – including all taxes and fees – and was told it would be approximately $45 per month for the next 12 months.

I hadn’t mentioned the storm damage, and the need for a new dish, until this point. My main question was, would the installation of a new dish require a 24 month commitment?

Her answer was no, there would be no commitment associated with a new dish installation.

Interestingly, the introduction of the storm damage to the conversation brought new offers to the table.

She would credit a portion of my last payment for the period I was without service and throw in 4 months of Showtime – starting immediately – to watch via streaming while I waited for the new dish to be installed, and afterward, on the TV, if I decided to stay.

So, my new monthly bill would be $45, I would have a credit on my bill for my time without service, and 4 months of Showtime free of charge.

I took the deal.

Why I Stayed

What swayed me to not cut the cord?

I felt the benefits associated with the extra $15 per month justified the cost.

The $15 extra per month gets me a reliable, easy to use DVR, access to all shows (don’t have to worry if something is “legally” streamable) an easy to use/view interface and the ability to watch all channels and DVR’d programs on a second TV.

For me, that $45 price point is more than worth the associated service.

Now, what exactly will happen in 12 months, remains to be seen.

I truly was ready to cut the cord this time around. With all my research complete, and the necessary equipment already in my possession, without a similar deal at the end of this 12 month period, I won’t hesitate to reach for those cord clippers once again.

And who knows what viewing options will come to the fore in the next year.

DirecTV is slated to come out with its own streaming-only plan(s) toward the end of this year.

Over-the-top (OTT) content viewing, which is what these lower-cost, limited cable channel streaming bundles are being called, only seems to be growing in availability and popularity.

These OTT viewing options may very well be the precursor to how we’ll all view TV content in the future.

DirecTV, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, they all may go the way of the dinosaurs. We’ll just have to see.

But, I digress.

For me, the time to cut just wasn’t right, especially considering the big picture.

How about you? Have you cut the cord? If so, what services have you gone to and how have they worked out?

And if faced with my situation and subsequent deal, would you have stayed with DirecTV?

Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated, and will likely be extremely useful for those considering a cord cut of their own.

 

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