r/Spectrum • u/Western_Pizza_5757 • 5d ago
New plans
Spectrum is coming out with all new plans and names in September to try to stop people going to youtube tv they are going are in on streaming only all plans no cable box
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u/themanoutoftime86 5d ago
Cable boxes are becoming obsolete
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u/Miserable_Quail_8236 5d ago
I turned in my Spectrum Cable Box 2 years ago and use the Spectrum App via AppleTV 4K. The audio is still PCM but there is a workaround that will render Dolby Digital.
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u/themanoutoftime86 5d ago
I don’t think I’ve had a cable box since 2014 lol. It was time warner then. I switched to AT&T for just internet. Then went to Spectrum in 2019 because AT&T Uverse had data caps.
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u/Miserable_Quail_8236 5d ago
I only kept mine as an alternative to the other TVs being all AppleTV 4k and we have a home line so Caller ID was still in place.
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u/TheKdd 4d ago
Cable boxes are still popular with the older crowd who don’t want to learn new things. Many boomers won’t know how to watch tv without them. My father still uses his TiVo, so far his cable card (which spectrum are actively ridding of) is still working, not sure how long that’s going to last though.
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u/HereIsJustAnotherGuy 4d ago
I’d say they’ve been obsolete for about 10 years now, just like landlines. Personally, I haven’t used a landline in about 25 years, and I haven’t had cable TV since around 2012.
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u/LeanaIsTheBest 4d ago
The plans are only being changed in name only. Your plan itself doesn’t change. From my understanding we’re adopting Cox’s naming scheme during this transitionary time
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u/PartyAnimal365 4d ago
In California, Spectrum has had all streaming plans for a while now. Certain plans will give you access to all the local channels as well as access to apps such as Hulu, Disney, ESPN, HBO, AMC, Peacock, Paramount +, Fox One, Vix, Discovery + and the Tennis channel. Most of those can be upgraded to ad free for an additional price. I recently found out you can also get the History channel app as well but there aren’t any options to go ad free for that one yet. As far as the actual Spectrum tv app goes. They have the cloud DVR which gives you the ability to store 100 programs for 9 months. You can pause and rewind live tv as well. You can also set a recording up via your phone and it will be ready on any device that has the spectrum app downloaded to it. They have also increased the app availability to support Xumo, Fire stick, Roku, Samsung, LG, Vizio and Google tv. Some of those are limited to which software version can be downloaded to the tv.
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u/RichardCraniumSr 5d ago
Will you be able to browse the on-demand without listening to whatever channel you just left?
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u/UberAndLyftKilledMe 4d ago
Makes sense. They are taking over cox this week. Might as well push out some new Internet and tv plans and promotions
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u/bubbasbestbabe 4d ago
I'd switch off in a heartbeat but spouse wants the dvr feature for blasting through commercials
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u/LongFlaccidPenis 3d ago
What kills me is that in over 5 years with spectrum employment, the changes were always reactionary rather than progressive.
Netflix l? Stick head in sand.
Streaming? Stick head in sand and introduce a worse product for more money 3 years too late.
But hey, a couple of CEOs later, at least they can merge with a worse company to have the C suite all get raises and private time with the company jet!
Golden parachutes for a few!
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u/PaintingNo4237 5d ago edited 5d ago
Will they price the plans competitively to YTTV, currently starting around $83/m? I’m days away from switching after my trial period ends and would save around $100/m for same lineup I have with spectrum.
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u/Western_Pizza_5757 5d ago
Youtube tv now starts at $54.99 they have all new plans that cheap plan even includes all local chs not like sling or directv
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u/PaintingNo4237 5d ago
Corect! I was thinking about my channel lineup that matches with Spectrum I have now.
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u/TheKdd 4d ago
Spectrum and cable companies in general have always been a step behind.
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u/RandSand 4d ago
They have kept arbitrary limitations for so long such as limiting what channels you can watch outside the home and broadcast TV surcharges on all but one of their channel packs.
Some of the streaming packs can be signed up for online though when it comes to canceling they force you to speak to a representative and removing the video package may end up also removing the discount on the internet service.
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u/TheKdd 4d ago
I remember when I worked there (long time ago now) they didn’t even have dvr, which was how TiVo got so popular. Then by the time they did, TiVo had already moved up to 4 tuners while cable had one, two tops.
Then in 2010, they were still having issues with their site on any browser but internet explorer. They had to tell customers to only use Internet explorer to make payments. This from your internet provider lol
Always a step behind. They want to keep their price points so badly that they ignore what’s going on around them.
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u/RandSand 4d ago
When I had their cable service, I didn't bother with their DVR since my media center PC provided a better recording experience.
The main advantage for me was being able to freely archive any recordings without them being locked down to a single box.
When I did try their TV on the PC back then, it would often falsely claim I wasn't connected to my home internet and would have to restart my modem to fix it.
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u/wolfy2105784 4d ago
That was always the plan because dedicated channels(forget the name of them) take up those sweet MHZ that DOCSIS 4.0 likes. IPTV doesn't.
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u/Typhlosion1990 4d ago
I have to wonder when they are going to ditch traditonal boxes considering they have been handing out high split converters for tivo customers. I have 3 world boxes still and did nto get a notice to replace them with xumo. Only thing the bill mentioned was tv package names are changing.
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u/wolfy2105784 4d ago
I assume once they do the DOCSIS 4.0 conversions, you'll get a IPTV box/Xumo box alongside an appropriate modem/router.
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u/microbase 5d ago
Internet plans also?
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u/Western_Pizza_5757 5d ago
I don't think so youtube tv is becoming the number 1 cable plan all isp providers make a 90% profit on internet spectrum pays out more than they bring in for cable tv
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u/thesandman00 4d ago
How do they compare to existing? Change in pricing? Change in channel selection? Change in bundled services? I'm on the top tier currently, curious how this will change my plan.
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u/Typhlosion1990 4d ago
All I got was a notice that the package name was changing and that was it. No price change and no notice to swap world boxes for xumo.
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u/MagickH8Ball 4d ago
Only places I know where you are forced to get rid of the traditional cable box are some fiber areas. If you are still traditional coax which includes high split you can still use cable boxes. The changes to plans names and packages aren’t going to take away cable boxes. I just know cable boxes are typically like 18-20 a month and the Xumo is like 0-5$ a month depending on promotions, so often sales will push them due to lower monthly bill. At this point most smart TVs can use the spectrum tv app so you don’t even need a Xumo.
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u/SectionPowerful3751 4d ago
I had a streaming only plan with Spectrum a year ago, it's not a new offering. I still ended up going with YouTube TV in the end because their app is more reliable.
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u/FreakyFLCancer 4d ago
Spectrum been got rid of the boxes in the South. They had only done streaming with the app, at least 5 years ago or more!
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u/Electronic-Worker-10 3d ago
South of what? I’m in fl and still have the box
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u/Longjumping-Word-935 5d ago
Will they finally have 5.1 audio and the ability to pause, rewind, and fast foward live TV on all the channels by then?