Yes! You can watch the all shows and sports you want using high-speed internet without a satellite dish, and you may save money over what you are paying now. See some examples at the bottom of this page.
We make amazing TV possible, but we don’t sell subscriptions to it. You will be subscribing directly with TV providers.
We do NOT require “bundles” where you pay for things you don’t want just to get a discount, or offer “introductory pricing” that will suddenly double after 12 months. Our $85/month gigabit broadband Internet connection gives you the flexibility to do things the way you want to do them, with no hassle and no surprises.
Most people in Plainfield today use one of two methods to watch television:
Free over-the-air digital television remains a great deal and a good way to get local television programming. Many folks in the higher elevations in town have good reception of stations from Springfield, Hartford, and Albany; locations in the river valleys in town may have poor reception. If you haven't tried over-the-air television, you can find out what you might be able to receive and which direction to point your antenna from your exact location with the mapping tools at https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps or https://antennaweb.org/Address. We can also help you choose an inexpensive antenna if you want to try this out.
Although you can keep your satellite subscription if you wish, with our high-speed Internet connection, you can Ditch the Dish and still get access to all of the shows, sports, and movies that you want, often at significant cost savings. To do this, you need two things: a streaming device to replace your satellite box, and a streaming service to replace your satellite subscription.
Step 1. Streaming Devices
If you already have a “Smart TV” (many newer TVs that include things like Roku TV or Fire TV in their name) or a game console that supports streaming TV ((PS3/4, Xbox), you may be all set. If you have an older TV, you will need to purchase an inexpensive streaming TV device such as a Roku, Apple TV, or Amazon Fire. These range in price from about $25 for a Roku Express to $40 for an Amazon Fire TV Stick to $100 for a Roku Ultra to $250 for an Amazon Fire that includes a DVR to record shows. Your smart TV or streaming device connects via WiFi to your new broadband Internet connection, replacing your satellite box and satellite dish. Streaming devices give you access to dozens of streaming services or channels; some are free and some require monthly subscriptions. These devices also support pay-per-view services on many of these channels for watching the latest movies or shows.
Step 2. Streaming Services
Just as you may now subscribe to a satellite TV service, you will need to choose one or more streaming services to get access to the channels and shows and sports you want to watch. There are many many options, with more coming every day, but there are a few basic types of streaming services. You can subscribe to all of them, none of them, or any combination:
Live TV streaming services. Shows are streaming all the time, and you can check the schedule to see what is on when. These are the most similar to satellite TV subscriptions. In fact, you can even purchase one of several streaming packages from DirectTV that are very similar to what they offer over their satellites. But, you can also get packages from SlingTV, Playstation VUE, Hulu LiveTV or YouTube TV that may save you even more money. The key is deciding what you want to watch and choosing the package that works best for you.
On Demand streaming services. You decide what to watch and when. These services usually offer a combination of original content and a catalog of movies and shows from other networks. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video are the big three right now, but there are dozens of others, many of them free.
Premium channels. Services like HBO and Showtime are available as well. You can either subscribe directly to these, or you can add them to many of the Live TV or On Demand streaming services.
Wow, that’s confusing!
It sure is. We will be having workshops to help demystify it, but in the meantime, here are a few examples of what you might want. These are all just examples, and for any of them there are different devices you can choose and many other TV services you can add.
“I don’t watch much TV, I just want to get the local news.”
A $25 DTV antenna may be all you need, assuming you live in a place with good reception. You may already have this, in which case you don’t need to change a thing. If you want to be able to record shows for later, or have a single antenna send signals to multiple devices over WiFi, you could add a $100 Tablo Dual LITE OTA DVR that plugs into your antenna, and then lets you watch your shows over WiFi on any of your TVs.
Monthly TV cost = $0
“All I care about is Game of Thrones and True Detective, and I have an ancient TV with no HDMI.”
$35 Roku Express+ streaming device
$14.99/month HBO NOW subscription
Monthly TV cost = $14.99
“I want to watch some of those new on-demand shows and a few movies. My TV is pretty new, but not a Smart TV”
$40 Amazon Fire TV Stick streaming device
$8.99/month Netflix (ad-free original content and other TV shows and movie)
$5.99/month Hulu (original content and other TV shows and movie)
$12.99/month Amazon Prime Video (ad-free original content and other TV shows and movie, plus free Prime shipping on orders from Amazon)
Monthly TV cost = $27.97
“I hate advertisements and don't care about live TV. I want 4K Ultra HD for my new 55-inch Smart TV. What can I get that has no ads?”
$8.99/month Netflix (ad-free original content and other TV shows and movie)
$11.99/month Hulu Ad Free (ad-free original content and other TV shows and movie)
$12.99/month Amazon Prime Video (ad-free original content and other TV shows and movie, plus free Prime shipping on orders from Amazon)
$11.99/month YouTube Premium (ad-free movies and music)
Monthly TV cost = $45.96
“I am all about the Sports. I want them all. Also, I love live TV. And I like to record stuff to watch it later.”
$120 Amazon Fire TV Cube DVR streaming device
$49.99/month Playstation Vue Core gives you ESPN, NFL Network, NBA TV, MLB Network, and 90+ other channels from BBC America to Food Network to USA
$10/month Playstation Vue Sports Pack adds NFL Red Zone and 11 more sports channels
Monthly TV cost = $59.99
"Oh, did I forget to mention I really want to watch basketball and European football (soccer) live?"
$45.99/month FuboTV provides 85+ channels
$8.99/month FuboTV International Sports Plus adds 23 more sports channels
$28.99/month FuboTV NBA League Pass adds 30 channels of just basketball!
Monthly TV cost = $83.97
These are just a few of the many possible options. With a fast Internet connection, you aren't tied to subscribing to just one satellite television provider; you can pick and choose and create the television experience that you want at a price you can afford.