What's so significant about the term "cord-cutter"? After all, here in the US, we have huge cable monopolies controlling triple-play broadband, phone, and TV, so why would I want to be a cord cutter, you might ask?
Well, there are a lot of options for people who want to get their TV through the Internet, and it's becoming more and more affordable. Here's the Cord Cutters Nation TV guide to some of the ways you can be entertained without Comcast or any of the other big name cable companies.
Amazon Fire TV from $70.39
The Amazon Fire TV platform crosses over from tablets to TV's, which means that many of your favorite tablet games are available on the big screen alongside streaming services from most of the big players. Stream millions of songs and use your voice to request a song, artist, playlist, or control playback through Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, and iHeartRadio. Subscription fees may apply.
Watch over 500,000 movies and TV episodes from Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, HBO, SHOWTIME, NBC, and more. Discover thousands of 4K Ultra HD movies and TV episodes from Netflix, Prime Video, and more.
Find content quickly and easily with Alexa Voice Remote
Use your voice to easily find, launch and control content. Alexa can also answer questions, play music, read the news, check sports scores, search local restaurants and more.
Biggest plus: Delivers super UHD and HDR content and upscales regular content well.
Biggest bust: Poor management of memory space for apps.
Roku Ultra 4K Streaming Media Player with JBL Headphones and Enhanced Voice Remote-from $69.95
The Roku 4 doesn't leave much else to wish for! It has a voice search feature for hands-free operation, with a quad-core processor and dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity facilitating seamless playback of 4K and HDR content from your favorite streaming services. Connect your headphones to the remote of this Roku Ultra streaming box for discreet audio.- there are thousands of weird and wonderful specialist channels that cater to just about every audience out there.
There are live streams of people doing quirky stunts on TV and specially made programming for dogs. You can even watch your Google film library. The remote is great and includes headphones for late night viewing, which is good as you don't have to disturb anyone next to you.
Biggest plus: One of the most complete options available; Very user-friendly!
Biggest bust: Nice product but remote lacks mute button
Apple TV from $169.99
Apple TV 4K lets you watch movies and shows in amazing 4K HDR - and now it completes the picture with immersive sound from Dolby Atmos¹. It streams your favorite sports, news, and TV channels live. Has great content from apps like Netflix, HBO NOW, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN, iTunes, and thousands of more apps in the App Store and thanks to Siri, you can control it all with just your voice.
It is compatible with HD and UHD TVs with HDMI. Compatible with Bluetooth keyboards.
Biggest plus: Great picture quality and very easy to use, very fast
Biggest bust: No HDMI cable included.
Air TV- from $79.99 --Watch free local channels on your TV, smartphone or tablet with this dual-tuner Sling AirTV streaming player. It captures clear broadcast signals via an HD antenna, and it lets you enjoy live programs almost anywhere via the Sling app on your mobile device. This Sling AirTV streaming player doesn't require monthly fees as it simply connects to your Wi-Fi network.
Air TV connects to your TV's Free to air digital terrestrial television into channels that can be watched on any device on the same WiFi network. There are apps for PC, Android, iOS and more.
You can record HD antenna programming with this over-the-air (OTA) DVR by connecting an external hard drive (sold separately). This device lets you watch local news, sports, and entertainment channels, such as ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC.
Biggest plus: Great for local channels (US Only)
Biggest bust: It's a little pricey but works well for the channels you get over the antenna.
NVIDIA SHIELD TV -4K HDR Streaming Media Player with Google Assistant from $178.99
The NVIDIA Shield TV makes a very good case for being the central part of your home entertainment hub.
It has a massive library of games, with a mixture of regular Android titles, augmented Nvidia versions, and a huge subscription library of games from the cloud.
It supports 4K video streaming from popular digital media services, so you can enjoy movies and TV, and its advanced processor ensures fast nonstop performance. This NVIDIA SHIELD media player has 16GB of storage space, and it supports additional USB flash drives for saving favorite movies and shows.
It is smart Home Ready! You can use your voice to dim lights, turn up the temperature, view your Nest cam on the TV, and more. Add SmartThings Link to turn your SHIELD and turn it into a Zigbee and Z-wave smart home hub.
It's a 4K Powerhouse! Watch Netflix and Amazon Video in crisp 4K HDR, in addition, you can watch YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, and VUDU (Walmart's movie service) in 4K. Comes with great apps such as HBO NOW, Spotify, and ESPN to meet all your entertainment needs!
Biggest Plus: There's so much to love about the Shield it could be the perfect solution
Biggest Bust: It does not convert video or audio as the Roku ultra does.
Well, there you have it, folks, these are the main Streaming Media Devices that we feel are great for helping you say "NO" to cable and say "Yes" to cord cutting. There are so many others that I would have liked to include in this post, but for time's sake, these are the ones that got included! If you are looking for a simple Android TV Box but not really a well-known name but, it comes with a ton of options and a great price point, I suggest that you check out CES Deals & Dailysteals as they provide so many TV boxes that I can't even name them all; it's well worth a look!
To go along with your great device take a look at the movies.10 service and watch several HD movies for $9.99 a month, currently! No contract, No obligation. In conjunction with the movies.10 service why not throw in a Premium subscription to the Streamlive.to online service and watch several Live HD Broadcast channels online for little to nothing, in turn, saving you hundreds a month on TV & Movies!
If you like this post, please share the love! For good measure, we threw in one of our awesome affiliate partners below to help you broaden your entertainment horizon! Let us introduce you to IPTV Sensation!
IPTVSensation is a premium IPTV service provider with flexible full HD channel plans. With worldwide coverage, highest-quality channels and universal compatibility, we have more than 500,000 people in our community who vouch for our service. You can choose among 2000+ international channels and 5000+ multi-language channels with this service! Let it be Android, iOS, XBMC, PlayStation, Amazon, Fire TV, Roku TV, Windows, VLC or XBOX one, IPTV Sensation offers full setup of IPTV on any device.
IPTVSensation is highly recommended! Happy Streaming!
* Links in this post contain affiliate links, which means at no additional cost to you, we will earn a small commission if you click through the link and make a purchase. Thank you for your support. For more details, please visit our Affiliate Disclosure page here.
