New customer looking for recommendations, suggestions, and tips

[Tberry52]

i am looking for the best equipment to get tv service thru my internet and eventually discontinue my satellite tv, but i also want to get some local stations is this possible ?

Tberry52

[GabeU · Accepted solution]

@Tberry52

Like mentioned by Jeff_T, you certainly can use HughesNet to stream TV, but it all depends on how much you watch and when you want to watch it or record it.  

But, overall, HughesNet is not made for cord cutting.  Unfortunately, most of us who watch more than the minimal amount of TV, and/or anything more than the local channels we may be able to get with an antenna, have to suffer the additional cost of satellite TV.  

[MarkJFine]

I recommend you don't do that at all.

Satellite internet is not really built for the kind of demand required for hours and hours of streaming.

[bare65]

I would most certainly agree with @MarkJFine

I'm unable to get any kind of TV out here, including any local channels via an antenna, so I too use satellite TV (Dish Network)

Even on a 50 gig HughesNet plan..if you were to stream any kind of programming on a regular daily basis for several hours at a time, you would run out of data in a matter of days..

that...and if you think about it, by the time you pay extra for your monthly subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu or whatever else they have available to make it possible to watch any kind of programming, you will, more than likely, be paying much more money each month  for these services, than your currently monthly satellite TV bill.

[bare65]

Just wanted to add though...depending on where you live, you can buy an OTA indoor / outdoor antenna for around $40 or so and get some, if not all of the local stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, the CW). You simply buy it...and plug it in. No monthly fees or subcriptions of any kind......kinda like old school an old school antenna, just not near as bulky or ugly, lol...

My son and daughter-in-law live about 30 minutes outside of the Phoenix, AZ area and rather than pay for cable tv he went to the swap meet, picked up one of these OTA antenna's....and Voila! he gets all of the local channels no problem. (I think he said he gets approx. 16+ channels)

I think, to do this, you have to live within 25 miles of a city/town...some of the more expensive ones will give you a range of 50 miles...

Being that I live WAY out in the boonies, 100+ miles from anything in any direction....OTA antennas don't work out here.

[Jeff_T]

@Tberry52

It's possible but just depends on what you consider acceptable and how much time you spend watching television. The key is recording programs and movies during the bonus time, after all the majority of tv we all watch is pre recorded stuff anyway. There are a lot of free channels out there but obviously the free stuff is usually a little dated but thats not to say its not good. When it comes to the latest news I'm like most people and like to watch it broadcast live and with a good anytime data plan thats quite feasable and still have data left for a little browsing over the 30 days.

Yes!!! I can do that.....No!! my wife can't , she is queen of the remote and I don't see that changing anytime soon. What you could do is test it out for yourself, record some stuff off peak, watch a little live stream, see how it works out and if you think its working well maybe you can "cut the cord" ... but don't rush it.

Check this thread
https://community.hughesnet.com/t5/Third-Party-Products/Down-loading-in-bonus-time/td-p/77705

[GabeU · Accepted solution]

@Tberry52

Like mentioned by Jeff_T, you certainly can use HughesNet to stream TV, but it all depends on how much you watch and when you want to watch it or record it.  

But, overall, HughesNet is not made for cord cutting.  Unfortunately, most of us who watch more than the minimal amount of TV, and/or anything more than the local channels we may be able to get with an antenna, have to suffer the additional cost of satellite TV.  

[MarkJFine · Accepted solution]

Just want to add, that whatever "might be possible to do" is also partly responsible for the heavy congestion on the entire network.

So when people complain about slow speeds and heavy buffering, remember that others using the system to watch TV is most likely contributing to it.

[Mb123]

I purchased a smart TV, then signed up for Hughesnet with the intentions of cutting the cord. Soon discovered that streaming TV uses a tremendous amount of data. Along with the cost of Hughesnet, you need to purchase some sort of service (Hulu, Sling, Amazon Prime) to watch tv. Hulu, for example, charges $40/month for their package with the live tv option. I also put up an amplified OTA to get a few local stations. Downloading programming during the bonus time for viewing offline is a smart option, also eliminates buffering. I did end up subscribing to Dish Network in the end, and use my Hughesnet primarily for internet. I’m still learning how to optimize my data use and so far this month I’m pleased with the results. As far as the actual speeds, if you don’t connect anything else to the WiFi while streaming, the buffering is minimal and speed has been ok for regular computer use and I can FaceTime with my grandchildren well. Bottom line, Hughesnet is not a good option for cord cutting, IMHO, but my experience has not been as bad as many I’ve read about in the Community. It is better than the only other options I have, DSL or Verizon Jet Pack.