Cable vs Streaming

Posted by Merry, Alumni Mentor @merpreb, Dec 15, 2019

Will someone explain the difference to me between streaming and cable and how do I go about changing from cable to streaming? Thank you

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@merpreb Merry, it's always good to see someone else who is confused by technology. I'm looking forward to seeing the answer to your question.

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@hopeful33250

@merpreb Merry, it's always good to see someone else who is confused by technology. I'm looking forward to seeing the answer to your question.

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lol. I hope that I get an answer- hopefully John knows. How are you doing?

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@merpreb

lol. I hope that I get an answer- hopefully John knows. How are you doing?

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Merry: I'm tired, but OK. Thanks for asking!

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@hopeful33250

@merpreb Merry, it's always good to see someone else who is confused by technology. I'm looking forward to seeing the answer to your question.

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@mepreb
Hello,
You’ll probably get better answers but the way I understand it is that it is just 2 different ways to watch TV. With cable, you have a provider that provides local channels for you in your area and also many premium channels like HBO that you pay for.
Add a lot of premium channels to your basic tv package and this becomes a pricey monthly bill. Cable has been around forever and uses radio frequency. FIOS tv use fiber optic cables . You do not need an internet connection for Cable TV.

Streaming means you can watch the same local tv channels and other channels but you do so from the web...that is you need an internet connection.
You can add premium channels like Amazon and Netflix for a small subscription. It’s generally a cheaper alternative and has a whole lot of other channels you can watch like YouTube .

The difference between the two is the use of the internet for streaming. There are streaming devices like Roku or Apple TV and there are smart TVs where you do not need to buy a streaming device like Roku or Apple TV. You just hook up your streaming device to your tv and go from there. You still need a TV provider service but you don’t have to purchase a pricey cable tv contract.
We have our internet, phone and tv service with one provider Spectrum. We purchased a Roku device and pay a subscription fee for Amazon and Hulu and Netflix but the Roku also comes with many additional free channels. The overall one time cost of the Roku streaming device even with the Netflix, Amazon and Hulu subscriptions is way cheaper than our TV provider contract for cable was. You don’t have to purchase any of those subscription channels and there is no contract.

Be advised that streaming is subject to all the internet fluctuations in reception that can happen. It depends on where you live.

Did I make sense?

FL Mary

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@imallears

@mepreb
Hello,
You’ll probably get better answers but the way I understand it is that it is just 2 different ways to watch TV. With cable, you have a provider that provides local channels for you in your area and also many premium channels like HBO that you pay for.
Add a lot of premium channels to your basic tv package and this becomes a pricey monthly bill. Cable has been around forever and uses radio frequency. FIOS tv use fiber optic cables . You do not need an internet connection for Cable TV.

Streaming means you can watch the same local tv channels and other channels but you do so from the web...that is you need an internet connection.
You can add premium channels like Amazon and Netflix for a small subscription. It’s generally a cheaper alternative and has a whole lot of other channels you can watch like YouTube .

The difference between the two is the use of the internet for streaming. There are streaming devices like Roku or Apple TV and there are smart TVs where you do not need to buy a streaming device like Roku or Apple TV. You just hook up your streaming device to your tv and go from there. You still need a TV provider service but you don’t have to purchase a pricey cable tv contract.
We have our internet, phone and tv service with one provider Spectrum. We purchased a Roku device and pay a subscription fee for Amazon and Hulu and Netflix but the Roku also comes with many additional free channels. The overall one time cost of the Roku streaming device even with the Netflix, Amazon and Hulu subscriptions is way cheaper than our TV provider contract for cable was. You don’t have to purchase any of those subscription channels and there is no contract.

Be advised that streaming is subject to all the internet fluctuations in reception that can happen. It depends on where you live.

Did I make sense?

FL Mary

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Mary- Thank you Thank you Thank you. This seems like a better idea than Cable- more choices. Thank you for responding so quickly.

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