# TiVo OTA question - access to ESPN, CNN, Comedy Central



## MarkSFCA (Oct 18, 2004)

I am considering cutting the cord and purchasing the Tivo OTA and I was wondering if there is a way to get CNN, ESPN and Comedy Central without having a cable subscription. In other words, is it possible to receive these channels on a TiVo OTA without having a cable subscription?


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

No.


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## Captainbob (Sep 1, 2014)

All those channels rely on "the cord"....


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## consumedsoul (Jan 13, 2013)

Captainbob said:


> All those channels rely on "the cord"....


...or a friend/family who has 'the cord'.


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## abovethesink (Aug 26, 2013)

The Watch ESPN app that other platforms have works out of home, meaning you could get someone's cable credentials and still watch everything ESPN. I don't think there is a way for the others though


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

abovethesink said:


> The Watch ESPN app that other platforms have works out of home, meaning you could get someone's cable credentials and still watch everything ESPN. I don't think there is a way for the others though


But there is no WatchESPN app on the Roamio, so you can't watch it on the Roamio OTA, which was OP's question. He'd need a Roku or some other streaming media device to watch ESPN with "borrowed" credentials on his TV.


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## Series3Sub (Mar 14, 2010)

Slingshot at good friend or family's home.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

Upon further reflection, you could get some Comedy Central content on the Roamio OTA if you have a Hulu Plus subscription.

http://www.hulu.com/network/comedy-central


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

Series3Sub said:


> Slingshot at good friend or family's home.


Do you mean Slingbox?


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## ncted (May 13, 2007)

tarheelblue32 said:


> Upon further reflection, you could get some Comedy Central content on the Roamio OTA if you have a Hulu Plus subscription.
> 
> http://www.hulu.com/network/comedy-central


+1

This is what I plan to do should I convince the wife to actually cut the cord (microwave signals in my case).


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## tenthplanet (Mar 5, 2004)

The streaming solutions do require good high speed internet so you still may need your cable provider.


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## Captainbob (Sep 1, 2014)

tenthplanet said:


> The streaming solutions do require good high speed internet so you still may need your cable provider.


I use DSL ( 6mbs) since I cut the cord, and have no problem streaming HD. What I like about DSL, is that you are not sharing bandwidth, like with cable, so you don't get that network congestion slowdown during prime time viewing hours, that happens on cable when everyone starts streaming Netflix.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

Captainbob said:


> I use DSL ( 6mbs) since I cut the cord, and have no problem streaming HD. What I like about DSL, is that you are not sharing bandwidth, like with cable, so you don't get that network congestion slowdown during prime time viewing hours, that happens on cable when everyone starts streaming Netflix.


These days, that "congestion" is more rare especially with increased bandwidth and channel bonding being used by cable companies. If my network got congested, it would mean I would go from 60mbps to about 10-15mbps. That is still much better than dsl. I couldn't live with slow speeds all the time.


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## ncted (May 13, 2007)

Captainbob said:


> I use DSL ( 6mbs) since I cut the cord, and have no problem streaming HD. What I like about DSL, is that you are not sharing bandwidth, like with cable, so you don't get that network congestion slowdown during prime time viewing hours, that happens on cable when everyone starts streaming Netflix.


That depends entirely on who built your DSL infrastructure and how it is managed. If there isn't sufficient backhaul capacity from the DSLAM, DSL can exhibit the same "bandwidth sharing" issues that cable is known for. Frontier, Windstream, and Century Link are all known to have this problem in some areas. Verizon and AT&T not so much since they have not upgraded to the higher bitrate offerings because they really just want DSL to go away (Uverse not included). With the advent of DOCSIS 3.0, most bandwidth sharing issues on major cablecos have moved from the actual cable network over to the peering points with backbone providers, and those are really just about squeezing more money out of Netflix, etc.


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## Captainbob (Sep 1, 2014)

ncted said:


> That depends entirely on who built your DSL infrastructure and how it is managed. If there isn't sufficient backhaul capacity from the DSLAM, DSL can exhibit the same "bandwidth sharing" issues that cable is known for. Frontier, Windstream, and Century Link are all known to have this problem in some areas. Verizon and AT&T not so much since they have not upgraded to the higher bitrate offerings because they really just want DSL to go away (Uverse not included). With the advent of DOCSIS 3.0, most bandwidth sharing issues on major cablecos have moved from the actual cable network over to the peering points with backbone providers, and those are really just about squeezing more money out of Netflix, etc.


All I know is that running a speedtest, in prime and non prime viewing hours shows basically the same download speed of around 6.3 mbs. I have neighbors on cable that have trouble with Netflix buffering in prime time hours.


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## SrLANGuy (Dec 26, 2001)

Captainbob said:


> All I know is that running a speedtest, in prime and non prime viewing hours shows basically the same download speed of around 6.3 mbs. I have neighbors on cable that have trouble with Netflix buffering in prime time hours.


Charter Communications recently upgraded Internet speeds in St. Louis to 100 Mbps down / 4 Mbps up. When I run speed tests during peak and off peak hours, I consistently get 110 Mbps down / 4.5 Mbps up. I could never get that with DSL, even if I switched to AT&T U-verse (which is VDSL). So in my area, cable Internet is consistently much faster (and cheaper).


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## ncted (May 13, 2007)

Captainbob said:


> All I know is that running a speedtest, in prime and non prime viewing hours shows basically the same download speed of around 6.3 mbs. I have neighbors on cable that have trouble with Netflix buffering in prime time hours.


Yes, you will certainly see this in some places, but the investment by cable in broadband at the same time telcos are abandoning DSL means it will become less and less common. Enjoy it while you can.


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## Captainbob (Sep 1, 2014)

ncted said:


> Yes, you will certainly see this in some places, but the investment by cable in broadband at the same time telcos are abandoning DSL means it will become less and less common. Enjoy it while you can.


And the next thing that will happen, is that rates will go though the roof, especially if TWC and Comcast merges and controls over 70% of the internet in the US,

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/2...make-us-broadband-even-less-competitive.shtml


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## ncted (May 13, 2007)

Captainbob said:


> And the next thing that will happen, is that rates will go though the roof, especially if TWC and Comcast merges and controls over 70% of the internet in the US,
> 
> https://www.techdirt.com/articles/2...make-us-broadband-even-less-competitive.shtml


Indeed. One can only hope that some competition emerges. If rates get high enough, others will want a piece of the pie.


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## moedaman (Aug 21, 2012)

Captainbob said:


> I use DSL ( 6mbs) since I cut the cord, and have no problem streaming HD. What I like about DSL, is that you are not sharing bandwidth, like with cable, so you don't get that network congestion slowdown during prime time viewing hours, that happens on cable when everyone starts streaming Netflix.


DOCSIS 3.0 eliminates a lot of congestion. You probably have an older cable plant in your area that hasn't been fully updated yet or the update was done on the cheap.

I had DSL (6mbs) years ago. It works fine for e-mail and forums or one streaming video. But when you have multiple people streaming movies or a person streaming something while someone else is downloading something (like a game from Steam), then it turned to crap pretty quickly.

I live in a larger metropolitan market and my Comcast 105/20 service works great all of the time. The real test is when three or four family members are online doing something and even during prime time we don't get any hiccups.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

moedaman said:


> DOCSIS 3.0 eliminates a lot of congestion. You probably have an older cable plant in your area that hasn't been fully updated yet or the update was done on the cheap.
> 
> I had DSL (6mbs) years ago. It works fine for e-mail and forums or one streaming video. But when you have multiple people streaming movies or a person streaming something while someone else is downloading something (like a game from Steam), then it turned to crap pretty quickly.
> 
> I live in a larger metropolitan market and my Comcast 105/20 service works great all of the time. The real test is when three or four family members are online doing something and even during prime time we don't get any hiccups.


Yeah, congestion would come up more with DSL for me because the congestion happens inside my own network. If cable internet is congested in my neighborhood, I might drop down 15mbps. That is still almost 3 times average DSL speeds. I think if you are using DSL for cost reasons, that is one thing. But if you are using it because you are worried about network congestion, you probably haven't used cable internet in quite a while.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

rainwater said:


> Yeah, congestion would come up more with DSL for me because the congestion happens inside my own network. If cable internet is congested in my neighborhood, I might drop down 15mbps. That is still almost 3 times average DSL speeds. I think if you are using DSL for cost reasons, that is one thing. But if you are using it because you are worried about network congestion, you probably haven't used cable internet in quite a while.


It depends on how congested the cable company's node in your area is. In some places, too many people are on a single node and the cable company is just too cheap or lazy to upgrade it.


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## Captainbob (Sep 1, 2014)

tarheelblue32 said:


> It depends on how congested the cable company's node in your area is. In some places, too many people are on a single node and the cable company is just too cheap or lazy to upgrade it.


People in my area get bad cable congestion at prime time. Too many people on a narrow pipe.


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## ncted (May 13, 2007)

Captainbob said:


> People in my area get bad cable congestion at prime time. Too many people on a narrow pipe.


Then, I'd definitely stick with what you have. Cable Internet over-subscription is *so* '00s.


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## MarkSFCA (Oct 18, 2004)

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I actually asked this question for my brother. He eventually decided to go with Dish/Hopper. He just couldn't give up those channels and Dish gave him a good deal.


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