Question about Streaming

[whitehall]

Despite having access to countless cable channels and streaming options, people often experience choice overload and end up watching very little.

I have spend endless hours browsing Netflix and Prime, trying a movie or show and then another and another, only to find nothing satisfying and wasting an entire evening. To avoid this, I subscribe to four streaming services and spend half an hour each week checking reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, creating a shortlist of appealing content. I use this list when ready to watch, skipping most of the browsing, saving time, and reducing frustration.

More is not always better.

"Endless hours browsing Netflix and Prime" trying to find cheap entertainment to pass another series of endless hours. Has anyone ever recommended therapy?

 

[Flopper]

Xfinity - The Good, the Bad, and Ugly
I've been a Comcast/Xfinity cable TV customer for over 25 years. While cable TV tends to get a bad rap these days, there’s another side to the story that often gets overlooked. In recent years, I’ve also tried DirecTV (streaming), Roku, and YouTube TV (currently on a trial). While my experience with streaming services is somewhat limited, I’ll share what I’ve observed—and feel free to chime in if I get anything wrong.

The Good​

1. Stability and Maturity
Comcast’s cable technology is mature and stable, unlike many streaming services still evolving. With streaming, menus and channel offerings can change frequently. In contrast, cable rarely changes, aside from the occasional dropped channel—usually because it's no longer available.
2. A Real Remote
Xfinity provides a full-featured remote. Unlike most streaming services that rely on basic TV remotes (with the exception of Roku and DirecTV), Xfinity remotes offer features like:

• Dedicated buttons for record, 15-second skip/replay, last channel/function, exit, and a full guide button.
• A numeric keypad for direct channel access.
• Power, volume, channel up/down, and navigation controls similar to most TV remotes.

While streaming platforms can replicate many of these functions through menus or apps, it’s often slower and less convenient.

3. Superior Program Guide
Xfinity’s on-screen guide covers two full weeks, compared to about one week with DirecTV and just a few days with YouTube TV. This is a big plus if you like to schedule recordings well in advance. The guide also includes filters to view only movies, sports, etc.

4. Robust DVR Functionality
Xfinity’s DVR options outshine most streaming services. You can:

• Record individual episodes, new episodes only, or all episodes.
• Control when recordings are deleted: keep until space is needed, limit by episode count, or retain indefinitely.
• Avoid auto-deletions common in streaming DVRs after 1–12 months.
• Use multiple DVR boxes, giving each user their own recording library yet with the ability to share libraries.

5. Security and Access Control
Xfinity offers strong parental controls, PIN protection for purchases, and per-box access control.

6. Remote Access
Through the Xfinity app, you can watch live TV or recorded shows, and manage your DVR from your phone, tablet, or laptop. You can also diagnose issues and check for outages directly from the app.

7. Integrated Streaming Apps
Xfinity supports over 100 apps, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, and free services like Tubi. You can control them with the Xfinity remote and include app results in universal searches.

8. Powerful Search
The search function scans the full guide (up to two weeks), your DVR library, Xfinity’s on-demand content, and external apps like Netflix, Prime, Hulu, and YouTube plus rental/ purchase sources such as Warner and Paramount.

9. High-Speed Internet
Xfinity offers internet speeds ranging from 100 Mbps to over 1 Gbps. Their gateway supports supports Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and landline phones.

10. Portability and Nationwide Coverage
Xfinity is the largest cable provider in the U.S. If you move within their coverage area, you can simply take your equipment, notify them, and reconnect. When I temporarily moved to Tampa, I had everything up and running the same evening we arrived—long before our furniture showed up.

11. Support and Installation
Xfinity provides all the equipment you need and will install it if necessary (though self-installation is easy). They also offer 24/7 technical support by phone, chat, or in-store.

The Bad​

1. High Costs
All those vans, technicians, physical stores, and around-the-clock support come at a price. Xfinity is one of the most expensive ways to get TV and internet.

2. Bundled Packages
You can’t pick and choose. Most plans include dozens (or hundreds) of channels you’ll never watch. And TV streaming services are starting to do the same.

3. Inconsistent Pricing
Your neighbor might pay $200 while you’re paying $250 for the same package. Getting a better deal often means calling, negotiating, threatening to cancel, and enduring long conversations. Discounts typically expire after a year, but Xfinity rarely warns you in advance.

4. Taxes and Fees
As a regulated utility in many areas, cable TV comes with added taxes and fees. My bill includes about 13% in taxes and fees alone.

5. Internet Speeds and Transparency
The advertised speeds (e.g., 1 Gbps) are theoretical—achievable only at the gateway under ideal conditions. Real-world speeds are lower due to network traffic and device limitations. Upload speeds are also slow, which matters if you back up data to the cloud. Xfinity doesn’t clearly disclose data caps, throttling, or upload rates.

6. Cable-Specific Issues

• Voice control: Poor recognition. It often takes multiple attempts, and customer support usually just recommends changing the batteries.
• Video quality: Limited to 1080p. Many modern TVs support 4K, so it’s better to stream 4K content through built-in TV apps.
• Unexplained price hikes: Bills rise without clear explanation. You have to manually compare current and past bills to figure out what changed.
• Aging hardware: Despite being told I have the latest cable box, mine is over 10 years old and has been around a lot longer.

The Ugly​

Xfinity cable TV is a dying product. The majority of its users are over 65, while younger adults rely on streaming and online platforms for news, sports, and entertainment. Xfinity’s future lies in other services: mobile (via Verizon’s network), home and business internet, and home security.

Cable TV is now the company’s cash cow—profitable, but not growing. Innovation has slowed to a crawl. Tech support is increasingly outsourced, and response times for serious issues can stretch from days to weeks. AI handles simple problems, but complex ones often remain unresolved for too long.

 

[Leo123]

Starlink and a cellphone?

 

[Flopper]

"Endless hours browsing Netflix and Prime" trying to find cheap entertainment to pass another series of endless hours. Has anyone ever recommended therapy?

Some of us are simple more discriminating in what we spend hours watching.

 

[Flopper]

My husband is also reluctant to give up familiar cable in favor of streaming services. I probably would have done so years ago. But it is nice having cable, internet, land line and mobile phones all on the same services. We pay a small monthly technical service fee to ensure we can get on site tech assistance when we have to have it without having to pay their $100/hr fee if somebody has to come here. The land line is necessary because we both listen in on conversations with some people and he doesn't hear well on a mobile phone or mobile phone speaker.

I have been thinking about trying a streaming TV service that is similar to cable such as direct tv streaming. It has it's own remote, a guide that covers 2 weeks, and a full featured recording system. With two dvr cable boxes and when i add in internet service it will be within $50 of what I'm paying Xfinity. For me it's no worth the hassle.

 

[Flopper]

Hombre and I are at an age where we can't travel or get out like we used to and television and our computers are our primary window to the world and source of recreation/entertainment. We keep our cable/internet/land line/mobile phone package because we enjoy having cable programs late night when we're in bed and also have cable for overnight house guests which they appreciate a lot.

We afford it by not eating out a lot, not going to movies much, not going to the casino, not going to concerts, not going to sporting events that we used to go to a lot.

But do beware. I had a Xfinity/Comcast tech talk me into ditching cable in favor of Roku but fortunately I demanded a Comcast tech come out to install the device. When he got here he assessed the situation and advised that we would lose our DVR which we enjoy a LOT as well as all television services to the satellite TVs. All that the tech who sold us the Roku deal--it was a pretty good savings--had lied to us about. Well we sent the Roku box home with the tech and kept our modest cable deal.

I haven't fully trusted Xfinity's 'deals' since that experience.

I’ve started to think that implementing a DVR system like Xfinity’s through a TV app is just too complex. While allowing users to click on a program in a guide to record it would be fairly easy to implement, that alone isn’t enough. You really need episode-level controls and a way to manage deletions—otherwise, your recording library quickly becomes overwhelming, making playback a hassle. Without those features, the vendor ends up controlling what gets deleted and when, which isn’t ideal for users.

 

[Foxfyre]

I have been thinking about trying a streaming TV service that is similar to cable such as direct tv streaming. It has it's own remote, a guide that covers 2 weeks, and a full featured recording system. With two dvr cable boxes and when i add in internet service it will be within $50 of what I'm paying Xfinity. For me it's no worth the hassle.

I grew up without computers or even TV until later on. Color TV and a good stereo player was high tech back then, So now I've adapted pretty welll and utilize a lot of common techny stuff but what you're describing is way over my head.

 

[Foxfyre]

I’ve started to think that implementing a DVR system like Xfinity’s through a TV app is just too complex. While allowing users to click on a program in a guide to record it would be fairly easy to implement, that alone isn’t enough. You really need episode-level controls and a way to manage deletions—otherwise, your recording library quickly becomes overwhelming, making playback a hassle. Without those features, the vendor ends up controlling what gets deleted and when, which isn’t ideal for users.

Yup. I'll stick to what i know how to use until it isn't available any more. Windows 11 is way too techy for me actually but I guess i'll have to learn to use it.

 

[Flopper]

We do that also, we will get into a kick of watching all 60s movies, 50s and before etc.

Yup. I'll stick to what i know how to use until it isn't available any more. Windows 11 is way too techy for me actually but I guess i'll have to learn to use it.

I installed windows 11 6 months ago. It doesn't seem to be as techy as windows 10. It is much more secure than windows 10 and there are some really good new features such as automatically backups of your data to the cloud. I have been running it nearly nonstop for 6 months, and I have not had a crashes nor a hang-up

However, you should read about the changes and new features before you start using it. Also, run the hardware check to make sure your computer will run on windows 11 before you download it.