Verizon cable card support discontinued

[joefr]

I noticed a few weeks ago that my HD Homerun was tuning in ~84 channels, which is significantly less than the 300+ I have been getting. Just got off a chat session with Verizon support and they informed me that support for premium channels has been deprecated and that pretty soon all cable card support would be removed. The only option I was offered was to get a new set top box with DVR capabilities that would increase my bill. So pretty soon my HD HomeRun device that has been working for over 15 years will become a beautiful black coaster.

Wondering if others are running into this and what options I should be considering?

[greynolds]

We received notice about a month ago with a firm end date of CableCard support for early November.

I took a look at the available options and Verizon’s DVR seems behind the curve, storing recordings on a fixed size (not user upgradable) hard drive, rather than using the cloud like pretty much every other option.

We “need” an option that includes NESN (for Boston hockey), so that limits us to Verizon’s DVR, DirecTV Streaming, or Fubo. Fubo seems to be having contract disputes with one of the major networks, so we’ve decided to give DirecTV Streaming a try, planning to start a subscription this weekend and then call Verizon to remove TV service.

We’ll continue to use our HDHomerun OTA tuners with JRiver for local channels, either as a backup to DirecTV or as the primary way to watch content on those channels, depending on how much we like the DirecTV service.

[PL1]

We “need” an option that includes NESN (for Boston hockey), so that limits us to Verizon’s DVR, DirecTV Streaming, or Fubo.

There is another option. DTC. Direct from NESN for $240/yr. https://watch.nesn.com/?internal_ref=header on sale for $180 for the first year. It is not great, but it is usable. For those 13 games that are on ESPN/TBS, I plan on getting a day pass with Sling Orange for $5. https://www.sling.com/service/sling-orange

[greynolds]

We “need” an option that includes NESN (for Boston hockey), so that limits us to Verizon’s DVR, DirecTV Streaming, or Fubo.

There is another option. DTC. Direct from NESN for $240/yr. https://watch.nesn.com/?internal_ref=header on sale for $180 for the first year. It is not great, but it is usable. For those 13 games that are on ESPN/TBS, I plan on getting a day pass with Sling Orange for $5. https://www.sling.com/service/sling-orange

Given that we're going to be paying a monthly fee for some sort of TV service, whether it be DirecTV Streaming, Fubo, YouTube TV, etc., we're not interested in paying a non-trivial amount separately to get NESN. We also always start watching the games in progress so we can skip over commercials and intermissions and I'm not sure if that's possible when streaming the current game direct from NESN. DirecTV Streaming will end up costing us a bit less than we've been paying Verizon for our current TV service with 3 CableCards AND give us NESN in the package. I just hope we end up being happy (enough) with it - one thing I'm a bit concerned about is that there's no ability to add padding at the start or end of recordings, so there will be a risk of missing a bit at times.

Sadly, none of the available options are as good as being able to use JRiver, Windows Media Center, NextPVR, etc. as the TV recording engine with a mix of OTA and CableCard tuners.

[PL1]

Given that we're going to be paying a monthly fee for some sort of TV service, whether it be DirecTV Streaming, Fubo, YouTube TV, etc., we're not interested in paying a non-trivial amount separately to get NESN.

Both Fubo & DTV charge extra for NESN.
DTV (Regional Sports Fee estimate​ $15.99/mo.)
Fubo (The Regional Sports Fee is based on your area, and will be up to $16.99/month.)

We also always start watching the games in progress so we can skip over commercials and intermissions and I'm not sure if that's possible when streaming the current game direct from NESN.

Yes, it is possible to chase live with NESN streaming, but, I have not found an option to start from the beginning, so I start an hour into a game and hide the score while I rewind to the start of a game. It is definitely not a good DVR, but it saves a bundle compared to the 100+ channels you never watch, but pay for.

DirecTV Streaming will end up costing us a bit less than we've been paying Verizon for our current TV service with 3 CableCards AND give us NESN in the package.

Watch out for the pricing. It is very confusing. The price that is stricken out is good for two years and does not include the RSN (NESN). There is a current discussion regarding DTV where the person called in and was told the price would increase $64 after two years. https://www.tivocommunity.com/threads/e ... t-13146822