My Cordcutting Tips 2019

We 'cut the cord' a few years back.  First we lost our analog TV over the air (OTA) reception a few years back (about 2011?). For a while thereafter, we had cable bundled with our internet, but more recently we are on a fibre optic service (Axia). Kodi worked for a while, but now all the fun-ctionality has been lost there. We have tried a variety of Android, Android TV, laptops and other boxes, which work somewhat but always seem much more finicky. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just sit down in front of a big black box with a monster remote and never have to move all night .. like in the old days? 

Of course there is still Netflix, Amazon Primevideo, Disney+ and others that you can pay to replace that cable bill, but in my way of thinking that isn't really a 'cord cutting' benefit. It always irks me that just because we are 30 miles north of a border, we get zero or limited access to content available to our US counterparts. Bah!

Below is a list of Canadian and other networks that stream some shows for free online AND that that work for me here on my phones and/or Linux laptops:

• A & E - aetv.com/videos
• Bloomberg News - bloomberg.com/live/us
• BYU TV - byutv.org/programaz
• CBC - gem.cbc.ca/live
• Global News - globalnews.ca/national/programs
• HGTV - hgtv.ca/videos
• History - history.ca/shows
• MTV - mtv.ca/shows
• OMNI - omnitv.ca/on/en/shows
• ShowCase - showcase.ca/shows
• Tubi TV - tubitv.com
• TVO Kids - tvokids.com/school-age/videos
• USTvNow - ustvnow.com
• W Network - wnetwork.com/shows
• Youtube - youtube.com
• YTV - ytv.com/shows

When using a tv box, the apps to access the sites above are hit and miss. Youtube, HGTV, Tubi work there for me. However, even had trouble with Amazon and Disney+ (no sound) on these devices so they will be discarded. Google Chromecast is a work around that works for most anything that can be viewed on a handheld device, but I find using my phone as a remote awkward and unintuitive. Plex works for streaming my own video's and photos and viewing news feeds. 

Maybe one day I will find the ultimate old-school tv remote experience. It was just not today - yet.