So I'm finally dropping the giant gorilla called cable. Done with paying for crap I don't watch. I'm looking into getting Netflix and Sling. I'm keeping my internet for obvious reasons. I have four TV's hooked up to my AT&T gateway. What is the best thing to do so I can minimize hardware? I have 2 TV's hooked up to DVD's that can handle Nextflix. Should use Roku for Sling? Is there a way I can create a network for all four TV's? Kind of green doing these things and would appreciate advice.

TIA

Doing something similar. Already have Amazon Prime and Netflix. Not sure what is the best compliment to these, e.g. Roku, Amazon Stick, Chromecast, etc.

Also still looking for a local TV solution.

I used Roku 3 units for my cord-cutting experience, with Netflix, Hulu and Sling. Have a decent WiFi access point since I don't have Ethernet run yet to two locations, but do to my main screen. A good connection is important, and if you go with Suddenlink in B/CS on a residential connection, watch out for your download caps. I'd look into an uncapped commercial cable modem connection if possible, if it becomes a problem after a month or two.

Roku 3 can handle all of these and more, As far as local TV channels go; Roku does have a Tablo channel available (https://www.tablotv.com/blog/now-available-updated-roku-channel-and-apps-firetv/) and there are workarounds to let HDHomeRun devices work (http://mkvxstream.blogspot.com/2013/10/stream-live-tv-to-roku-from-hdhomerun.html , I have a HDHR Prime and an HDHR Connect; The Prime works well if your cable company can get their crap together and Suddenlink did NOT, and the Connect works incredibly well)

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So I'm finally dropping the giant gorilla called cable. Done with paying for crap I don't watch. I'm looking into getting Netflix and Sling. I'm keeping my internet for obvious reasons. I have four TV's hooked up to my AT&T gateway. What is the best thing to do so I can minimize hardware? I have 2 TV's hooked up to DVD's that can handle Nextflix. Should use Roku for Sling? Is there a way I can create a network for all four TV's? Kind of green doing these things and would appreciate advice.

TIA

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How many people in the house? How many will be using streaming services simultaneously? I am looking to having my streaming devices in a centralized location and using an HDMI switch to send the same signal to multiple TVs. This way I don't have to pay for the Netflix description for 4+ devices, but I can still use it across different outputs (just can't watch different things at the same time). It works well for my case as I will have a TV in the office and in the garage, and right now they won't ever be used at the same time. My wife mainly uses the living room or the bedroom.

I run Sling and Netflix on a Fire Sick with no issues. Just get a good internet connection and you're all set.

I just called att to cancel my tv / internet because it just got too high after being with them for so long. The girl didn't even try to retain my business. I guess now that Direct TV is a part of the family they are too big to care. I am now looking in the same direction as you. I have 2 weeks to get something done.

Roku is by far the best device to choose for the end points atm... seems everybody releases apps there first and usually update them more often there than the other devices.

I terms of network I have one of those dual 2.4/5ghz wireless routers. I turned the 5ghz one into my media network and hid it and then have my computers/devices get on the 2.4 one.

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I run Sling and Netflix on a Fire Sick with no issues. Just get a good internet connection and you're all set.

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Same set up.

-Best hardware today is the Roku 3.
-Minimum to get it done is the Roku Stick/Fire Stick.
-Best hardware in a month will be the Apple TV, the processing power will blow the Roku out of the water if the rumors are true.

Roku 3 has the best app support by far. My fire sticks have bad internet connectivity and some apps are not available or with limitations. For example I pay for the SHO extreme app without TV service. It works on Roku, but you have to have a cable subscription to use it on Firestick. I don't believe there is an official spotify app for fire tv either.

Cut the cord before the 2012 football season.
I use 4 Roku3's in the house. (Den, Workout, Bedroom, Sunroom)
Get an OTA Antenna or build one and figure out which direction to point to for HD Broadcast channels.
Make sure you have a 15+ Mbit internet connection. Probably less could work.
I run all of my Roku3's at 720p to minimize buffering.
When I order Amazon series I do not buy HD, SD is just fine. (My Preference, HD buffers too much in my house ... sometimes)
We use Netflix, Hulu, Amazon prime and will be getting Sling before the weekend.
We use HBONow on an iPad with HDMI for a few months to watch Game of Thrones.
If you can't catch a game at home go to a restaurant or sports bar.

Ags should never be on a channel you can't get as long as you live in Texas.

Antenna for OTA channels - I built this one: http://www.diytvantennas.com/bowtie.php
HD Homerun connected to Windows Media Center on win7. I can watch through xbox360. This is only needed for DVR capabilities, it will work just fine if you connect your antenna directly to a TV
Roku3 for netflix, amazon prime, there are other services as well, such as Sling

I got Sling when they had their special, $50 off a Roku3 with 3 month commitment. It was a decent service, the picture quality was good, but it failed to deliver for live sports. The only chances I had to test it were the NBA playoffs, and in every game the feed was sporadic at times. It was not good enough yet to depend on it for college football

This fall, I signed up for cable again for college football. Sling was not good enough yet, nor are other avenues for streaming games online. I could also just go to a bar or restaurant to watch, but I would end up getting something to eat, and the cost would have been the same or more as just getting cable again for football season. I also like having NFL network for the fall. I'll cut if off again after bowl games, just like the last 2 years. All in all, $200 additional over 4-5 months for college football is worth it to me. NFL is OTA, so that isn't an issue. I still use the antenna for NFL because the picture quality through the antenna is better than through cable or satellite anyways.

Sadly there is no SlingTV app for Apple TV. We'll see if the new Apple TV has an option.

Roku3 is awesome with Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, and SlingTV.

I suspect UVerse was throttling my streaming because we had buffering on a 50mb/s connection, so I flashed a router with ddwrt to connect directly to my VPN and poof! The buffering was gone!

This is the HD OTA antenna I use in ATX:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DIFIM36/ref=twister_B00G40FX8Y?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I think new Apple TV is going to have their own Sling-Like service. Apple doesn't want to provide a platform for you to spend lots of money with someone else. I think that is why Amazon Instant Video is absent on AppleTV.

You can use your iPhone or iPad and AirPlay.

I have xfinity and an HD antenna with a 50 mile range. Use parents Netflix, friends hulu plus, sisters HBO now.

This provides more than enough tv options for me, plus xfinity gets you access to espn360 or whatever the streaming is so you get that too.

$40 a month.

What is being "stolen?"

I will not speak about Hulu Plus because I rarely use that and for that reason have done no research on password sharing in regards to that service.

As far as Netflix and HBO Now go, they both allow "password sharing" unless something has changed in the last month or two. Netflix allows you to create 5 users within the account which makes it seem that they not only allow it, but encourage it. HBO Now has openly stated they will continue to allow password sharing for the time being, but do monitor it and will take action to prevent someone from password sharing if it becomes excessive.

If you know something I don't please let me know, I have researched all of these things previously because I actually do care about the policies in place.

People honestly think Netflix is cool with 5 friends sharing a single account?

As far as Netflix goes, I was and still am under the impression that if someone's parents choose to pay for the premium family plan, it is ok for their children and spouse to use it since they are immediate family. I see no real difference in a son, daughter, or spouse using it in their own home instead of using it in their parents/spouses home. Reed Hastings even has made comments about sharing with immediate family members that make me believe he feels the same way. He said something along the lines of it being ok for a husband and wife to share an account but using a girlfriend/boyfriend's uncles account is generally not acceptable.

I have seen no one imply that sharing a Netflix account between 5 friends is acceptable JDCAG. Interesting interpretation of the comments.

It's not intended for adult children. A dependent child in college is debatable and I'd lean towards Netflix being ok with that because they want the college kid to become a paying subscriber upon graduating and getting a job. Maybe that's your situation.

In any case, my point was your suite of entertainment sources doesn't cost $40/month because, best case scenario, you are mooching off of something others are paying for. You should at least include half of the monthly cost for each service to make a fair comparison to people that aren't using something someone else is paying for.

LostinLA07: If HBO and Netflix came out and said sharing with immediate family is against our policy and only sharing within the same household is permissible, I would stop using those accounts. At that point I would probably just go outside more. I would happily watch my local tv stations with my antenna (that will get me the news and football) and watch tv episodes the day after they are aired on the networks website since the majority of them have that option available for free.

Guitarsoup: I actually laughed out loud when I read your comment. I understand how you see those two things as being different, but the reality is it is still an immediate family member. Why would Netflix care if im 2 or if im 40? I am not married, though I don't see how that would change the argument. I am willing to bet that if I talked to Netflix customer service, they would rather have someone paying $11 a month and allow their immediate family to use the family account from a different residence, than have the same people pay $7 a month and not have the immediate family members outside of the primary residence use the service.

We could disagree on what the vague statements and guidelines set forth by Netflix mean, or we can go straight to the source. I will come back with the results of my conversation with Netflix customer support and happily stop using the family account if they conclude that what I am doing is not in line with the intended use of the family subscription.

I pay for 4 streams of Netflix, which is more than the basic. There are 4 people in my family with 2 at college.
When more than 4 streams are running the 5th person loses out even if some just forgot to shut off their iPad stream. But if I lose my ability to stream I will just change the account access. I would not share with friends unless I was there to set it up and tear it down. It's less than $15 a month!

Netflix TOS

"The member who created the Netflix account and whose Payment Method is charged is referred to here as the Account Owner. The Account Owner has access and control over the Netflix account. The Account Owner's control is exercised through use of the Account Owner's password and therefore to maintain exclusive control, the Account Owner should not reveal the password to anyone."

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-Best hardware in a month will be the Apple TV, the processing power will blow the Roku out of the water if the rumors are true.

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If the past is any indication, it won't matter.

Sure, it may have all kinds of processing power, but I doubt it's user experience will blow Roku out of the water. Apple TVs have, in the past, had limited app selection, and been very locked down (without jailbreak). Want PLEX on your Apple TV? Good luck.

Navigation on the Roku is simple and snappy and it facilitates the apps that users want to use. Beyond that, I'm not sure what else one would expect. It's primarily up to the app developers to continue to improve the looks, layout, and functionality of the apps.

The new Apple TV will not support 4k or integrate an OTA TV tuner. Those two additions could have given it a leg up. Improved processing power and iOS9? Nah. Besides, Roku 4 may be coming in the fall as well.

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The full feature list of the Apple TV is not yet known, but Apple's focus has always been on their hardware rather than software/content sales. I would be fairly shocked if you didn't see Amazon, SlingTV, and Plex get an app promptly upon release.

I'd also be surprised if the Apple TV doesn't get a firmware update at some point in its life cycle to allow for 4k video. It's likely to have smart home integration, and much better games support as well.

I'll just say this, I own 3 Roku Boxes and likely won't switch them out for the new Apple TV, but if I were in the market for one right now I'd definitely wait the 5 days to see what Apple is going to bring to the table.