Should you cut the cord from cable? Maybe not!
Everyone - "How to cut the cord from cable?"
This is one of the most popular questions we've gotten over the last few years. In some of our past articles, we've gone over the pros-and-cons of getting rid of cable and satellite TV and using streaming services for your TV viewing. See below:
How to cut the cord from cable - Part 1
How to cut the cord from cable - Part 2
Why you don't want to cut the cord from cable
In this quick blurb, we are going to focus on why you DON'T want to cut the cord from cable.
Example: Like football? You didn't if you had DirecTV's Sunday Ticket last week. No football for you! They had a glitch with their streaming service so you weren't able to watch most of the first series of games. You know what did give you football? Non-streaming cable boxes and satellite boxes.
Example: Amazon just brought on Thursday night NFL streaming games. YAY! I and many other thousands of people sure didn't like the continual audio drop-outs and audio delays trying the watch the Chargers vs. the Chiefs. You know what had FAR fewer drop-outs? Non-streaming cable boxes and satellite boxes.
Some past examples we list in the links above are:
Example: Want to watch channel 108 and you are on channel 9? You can't just punch in 1-0-8 with streaming TV. You need to go to the guide (which most of the time isn't a guide button so it can be confusing) and then navigate up/down/left/right/select to get to the desired channel.
Example: Want something that is reliable? Streaming devices such as Rokus, AppleTVs, Fire devices, etc. are much less reliable than cable boxes or satellite boxes. You will have more issues with audio drop-outs, menus not working, devices locking up due to heat, etc. with streaming devices vs. cable boxes or satellite boxes. NOTE: STICK-STYLE STREAMING DEVICES ARE THE WORST FOR RELIABILITY AS THEY CAN'T DISSIPATE HEAT AS WELL AS FULL-SIZE UNITS.
NOTE 2: We understand that there will be the guy that says "You are wrong Aire Theater Designs. I cut the cord three months ago and it works perfectly." To that guy, we say "We are glad it has worked for you in your one instance. In our experience with hundreds of set-ups (and maybe more), in GENERAL you will have less reliability using streaming TV instead of cable or satellite boxes."
Ex: Do you look like this? 
If so, you may understand what to do if you have picture and no sound, spinning menus with no video, no center channel volume, pixelized images, etc. However, for most of our clients, the confusion that cord cutting can cause may not be worth the money you save every month. Let's talk about money.
$$$: When you opt to use Youtube TV, Fubo TV, Sling, etc. to get TV programming, you are paying $49-$89/month for the privilege. You have dropped the cable TV portion of your bill but you have now assumed this new expense. In many cases, the dollar savings aren't all they are cracked up to be.
Summary: We don't want to be Mr. Complain so in conclusion, we think streaming can be right for certain people as long as you are technical, know how to reset your devices when needed and understand that on average, you will have more issues streaming TV than using a cable box or satellite box.
Got questions about streaming TV or how to cut the cord and are in the San Diego or Southern California area? Give us a call and let us know how we can help!