My Comcast/Xfinity bill recent jumped by $35 — all the hike related to cable TV. Needless to say, this didn’t make me happy, so I’m looking into cutting the cord. Cut the Cord, Ditch the Dish and Take Back Control of Your TV is turning out to be a valuable guide in doing this.
Prospective cord-cutters like myself can easily get frustrated with trying to make the move as there are a plethora of options and new technologies out there. There’s lots of info available, but it can take hours to dig through it all. Cut the Cord, Ditch the Dish and Take Back Control of Your TV is the best single source of info info I’ve found on the topic.
The nearly 400-page ebook gives basic information needed to get started. Well organized, Cut the Cord, Ditch the Dish and Take Back Control of Your TV first explains terms and technologies, what you need to get started, and technical skills needed. Building on this knowledge, there’s also a “cookbook” of fun, documented, and tested DIY projects, including:
- Integrating AndroidTV with broadcast-to-air TV, network accessible TV tuners and DVRs;
- Optimizing a home network for streaming media traffic using a laptop;
- Watching broadcast-to-air TV on Android or iOS devices;
- Optimizing a home network for streaming media traffic using a laptop;
- Watching 4K content and trying out hardware accelerated video.
Other topics include:
- How to watch live and recorded over-the-air TV channels in an app — on a tablet, phone, computer, or smart TV – from a single shared TV antenna;
- Exploring ways to use new streaming services like Sling TV, CBS All Access or Direct TV Now to get “must have” cable news, sports and specialty shows;
- Building a complete and affordable solution by combining streaming services (like Netflix, Sling TV, etc.) with over-the-air TV in the same on-screen menu, on equipment you own;
- Maximizing over-the-air TV for your location: finding out what channels you can get, and how to choose, install and optimize a digital TV antenna;
- Understanding and employing current TV and streaming technologies – casting, streaming sticks, AndroidTV, smart TVs, streaming media, wireless/wired network equipment, Roku, 4K TV, DVRs, and Windows, Apple and Linux OS solutions, etc.
The ebook is available for purchase ($20) and download from Leanpub; the table of contents and a sample chapter is available for your perusal. LeanPub allows the ebook to be updated frequently. This means that after purchase you can download the most recent version of the book whenever you need it.
