I would need You Tube TV for the other channels that I get from cable - Animal Planet, Hallmark, FX, AMC, etc.
Fair enough, although I would bet many of the shows from those networks are on some streaming service or another as well. Animal Planet programming was probably formerly on Discovery+, now Max. I’m pretty sure FX programming is all on Hulu. AMC… well, you’ll probably need AMC+ for their programming. Maybe subscribing to all those services would exceed the cost of YouTube TV, but maybe not, depending on which shows you care about.
My biggest motivation for cutting the cord was the realization that I was hardly watching anything on those channels anyway, so I don’t miss them at all. (Although I did purposely wait until Better Call Saul was over before I did it).
I switched from cable to YouTubeTV about three years ago and am totally satisfied with it. I use it with a Firestick and have never had any issues.
I do get all my local channels. What it does lack is local sports coverage, which is not as big a deal to me as it once would have been.
The no-limit DVR capacity is a real game changer.
Try it using their free trial period. I’ve suggested this to 3 or 4 people and I believe every one of them has kept YouTubeTV.
mmm
We use Chrome Cast. A simple device that plugs into your Smart TV. But I think you must have a smart TV.
The Chrome Cast dongle/antenna hooks up to your WiFi, plugs into your TV HDMI port (so Smart TV) I got rid of a bunch of cables that my old DirecTV/Hughes net set up had.
I do have a number of subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu …
I like the remote control that comes with it. We gave about 200 DVDs to a friend, just don’t need them anymore.
Some things you still have to buy over and above your subscription. Like Northern Exposure. But that has to do with music rights or something.
I have a FireTV and several streaming services, in addition to my AT&T Uverse cable service. I’ve occasionally thought of cutting the cord, but my main issue with doing so would be losing the use of the DVR that comes with my cable TV service. I’ve gotten used to being able to automatically record shows and watch them on my schedule (and being able to fast-forward through the ads), and saving things for later re-viewing. I haven’t tried to do the math on what additional streaming services I’d need to add to continue being able to watch stuff on some of my cable channels, or which of those channels/shows might be available on Roku or YouTube TV. Although this discussion has given me some food for thought.
We have one Chromecast dongle that we use on a 10-year-old TV that most definitely is not Smart. You just need the ability to switch the input to the HDMI port where the Chromecast is plugged into.
Regarding switching inputs, not everyone is aware, and not all TV’s support it, but some TV’s support the HDMI-CEC feature which allows an external device to tell the TV to switch the input to that device. If your devices support it, when you press the buttons on your external streaming device’s remote, the TV would switch to the input with that streaming device. It makes it a little bit more convenient than having to switch TV inputs manually to get to the external device. Sometimes you may have to enable this feature in your TV’s settings. It may show up as “Allow control by external devices” or something like that. Pretty much all streaming devices support it. It’s typically just a matter of if your TV has that capability.
Micro rant. I hate the moniker ‘Smart TV’ creeps me way out.
But I think you may be right. You do need the HDMI port though.
We made the change and it’s great.
I posted about this very topic elsewhere on the Dope just yesterday… 
I am on the verge of cutting the cord. I tried it once before, 10 years ago, and it didn’t take: I watch a lot of TV – it’s always been my main form of relaxation – but back then the streaming options were pretty limited and couldn’t make up for the OTA antenna being at the mercy of the weather. I simply couldn’t watch what I wanted to often enough. But streaming services have come a really long way since then, in fact they’re mostly what I watch these days, and I think it would work now.
I currently have a cable/landline/internet bundle with Verizon, a TiVo*, an Apple TV, and subscriptions to 6 streaming services. According to my spreadsheet math, by simply dumping the cable and landline (which I never use) I could save $130/month**. And, I live close enough to a major city’s transmitters to be willing to try a $30 basic indoor HDTV antenna for local stations (these days I’ll care less about weather interference) – in fact, I just ordered one this morning.
*I’m really glad that when I bought my TiVo I got a model that can be used with either a cable card or an OTA antenna. I don’t mind continuing to pay for the TiVo service. With the antenna I’ll only be able to record one show at a time, vs the four I can record simultaneously using the cable card, but luckily time conflicts are rare these days: when I watched more “regular” TV, the concurrent recording capability came in very handy
**This takes into account everything I can think of, from having to start paying for HBO Max separately (but dropping Showtime entirely) to no longer having to pay a cable card rental fee. The internet pricing is the big unknown at the moment: I don’t want to change the service/plan, and I need to find out whether dropping the bundle will affect that cost. I just need to gather the patience to call Verizon…maybe this weekend.
If a “stand alone” cable internet service from Verizon is too pricey, consider checking with your local telephone company about DSL. The speeds are a lot slower than cable, but if they offer 15-20 Mbps or so, that’s plenty fast enough to stream TV to multiple devices.
I appreciate the suggestion, but I’ll pay Verizon’s blood money if it comes to it. 
I just upgraded my internet speed a couple of years ago, and like I said I don’t want to change the service/plan. I work from home, so it’s not just about being able to stream on my Apple TV: it’s also connectivity for two work computers, a personal computer, two cell phones, and two iPads. It’s also definitely not worth the hassle of changing providers (to me). Plus, I could pay a little more for internet and still save a decent amount of money each month.
The OTA antenna will be delivered sometime between Friday and Monday: once it arrives, I’ll call Verizon and get the cord-cutting ball rolling.
Well, I’m disappointed and I think defeated. The new Vizio smart TV arrived yesterday. I set it up and as another poster advised, I signed up for a 5-day free trial of You Tube TV. I have not cancelled cable yet.
The TV itself has loads of free viewing. I started there. It’s too much. I would spend more time looking for something to watch than actually watching. Once I got YT TV installed it wasn’t any better. I don’t understand the format at all. I think I understand the watching live part, but YT TV is too much also. I just want to turn the TV on and go to a channel and watch a show. If you set the DVR to record a show on YT TV, it records every episode on every channel it shows up on. On my current cable setup, I can set it to record new episodes only. There are loads of channels I would never, ever watch. To make a list of your favorite or watched most often channels you have to do it on your phone or a computer. My husband would never watch TV again! I tried hooking up cable to the new TV and couldn’t get the input working. I worked with it for a few hours last night and felt like crying and came away with a headache. So now I feel like canceling YT TV and returning the new TV even though I hate paying $$$$$ for cable. 
It can be overwhelming, but so can anything else new to you. My absolutely free advice is to (while keeping a careful eye on the return window) give it your honest best effort to try to figure it out and operate during the free trial. A lot of things get easier with the drip-drip-drip of practice and familiarity. Which isn’t to say you are in any obligation to change, which is in fact, one of the things the cable companies are banking on.
Most of the things you mention can be adjusted depending on the service / TV, etc, and you may also want to check if the remote has a voice operated option, as many of the Roku devices do. When you have so many streaming channels, being able to say “Goto channel X” can be easier than clicking through.
But if it doesn’t work for you and the family, and you can afford the cable costs, that is your choice. So I at least will respect your desires for something that leaves you comfortable when all you want to do is veg out to a few favorite shows.
Thanks. I did figure out how to hook up cable to the new TV and fiddled around with its apps. I have a couple more days to try YT TV. I’ll try again. My daughter loves Sling so that’s another option (at least I’d have someone to help me). But then I have to deal with an antenna to get the local stations. I was thinking maybe keeping cable for a few more months, until I at least get the hang of the new TV and then try a streaming service. Maybe I’m too old. This might be where I stop learning new technology!
Streaming services are going to be clunkier to use than cable. I don’t really like how the streaming TV packages always have some weird button combinations to get the guide, move around, pick stuff, etc. The cable interface is typically better and easier. The trade off is that streaming services are often cheaper and you can customize a lot for your own needs. Sticking with cable for the better interface is certainly a valid reason.
I’m reading this thread because I currently pay way too much for the cable triple play with internet, cable and a landline. But now another company is wiring the building for fiber internet and I can get a really fast connection for about fifty bucks a month. So I’d need to get YouTube TV or something else for the traditional broadcast and cable stuff, if I want that. I am used to the Comcast cable box and its interface. I like the fifteen-second rewind button, as that’s useful when I miss a line of dialogue, and another button that jumps ahead thirty seconds.
Some streaming services have this kind of quick skip, but it depends on the service and which streaming device you are using. My Roku has a separate button to skip back, but other devices may do with by pressing the left arrow. Skip forward may be right arrow. But the interface is not consistent at all between devices and services. You may have to experiment to find out what works in each service.
This is one of the things I don’t like about streaming. The way FF/REW/Skip works may be different in every service. You have to remember that it works one way in Hulu, another in Netflix, etc. I’ve heard that the apps on an Apple TV device do FF/REW/Skip consistently because Apple forces the apps to all implement them the same way. Other devices aren’t so consistent. I’ve thought about switching to Apple TV because it would be really nice to have this all be consistent across the apps.
I also have the cable, landline, internet bundle. I also am spoiled by the ease of cable tv. I like just punching in a channel number, I like being able to pause, RW, FF. (I read the YT TV does that but you have to be in dvr mode or something). When I look at the guide I know what I’m looking at. When I turn on YT TV or even just the smart tv it’s like an explosion of stuff! Apps, movies, live, free stuff, stuff you have to pay for. Like I said, it’s just too much. BUT cable is so frickin’ expensive. If we weren’t hooked on so many shows on various networks and cable stations, I’d just have the tv with no streaming.
I hate how the fast-forward/rewind works differently on each streaming service. I’m still trying to figure out how it works on Paramount+. I rewind a couple of minutes, let go of the button and the show starts replaying exactly where it was before.
Same here. The one thing I do like with some of the streaming services is that I have the option to skip recaps, intros, and closing credits. This is particularly nice when I’m binging a series, which I occasionally do.