Questions/Answers for a new cord cutter

My name is Bill and I live in Newmarket, ON. Canada. I am going to cut the cord in the Spring of 2021, Presently I am under contract to Rogers for Internet/Cable/Phone and would like to explore a different way. I am considering a Tablo Quad 1TB unit and have purchased a Amazon Firestick 4K for my Samsung Smart 4K TV.

I have had an assessment by an antenna contractor that produced a report stating I would receive 21 channels OTA with a Channel Master 4228 Antenna and a Pre-amp 7778v3. The rest of our viewing requirements would come from apps on the Firestick including StackTV and Acorn.

I would like to explore this option with questions in this thread and look forward to any help that comes forward from the forum.

First question.

I currently have a (Rogers) AARIS TM 602G/115 modem in my basement where the coax cable enters my house from the street and a (Rogers) Hitron CGN3 Cable modem just beside my TV. These belong to Rogers and would have to be returned to them when I cut the cord.

Will I require a modem and a router to form a network that will support the Firestick/Tablo, my iMac computer over WIFI, and a couple of iPads and iPhones in use in the house?

PS: we have one analog TV upstairs in the house that we would get a set top box for or totally replace it next year. Not sure yet.

Thanks for your help in advance,
Bill

If you want them to connect to the internet… what’s plan B?

Ok, yes, you’ll need internet access from some service. Rodgers won’t sell just internet? and leave everything? Ok if not, what exactly you’ll need on your own depends what your service “gives” you.

Tablo sells the Quad with 1TB - usage varies greatly by users needs and household. A recent new user found it filled quickly “I have the Quad with 1tb internal”

Not to say it won’t work for you… do your research.

If/when you get near the end of your trial subscription and things aren’t completely working and you aren’t 100%, you can add a month for $5 before making a bigger commitment. It’s rare, but occasionally there are regrets “spending all that money”

Antenna choice and placement is paramount to your entire setup! Solid network, personally I’d suggest wired connections whenever possible. I realize it’s not always realistic for everyone - but if you can pull it off…

:rofl:analog :joy:TV :laughing:set :smile:top :upside_down_face: box :grin:

That many channels probably required a rotor.

Tablo is extremely anti rotor.

Of the many faults of the unit that I’ve come across the past 11 months or so, this is number one for me. Thankfully I have two other PVRs that are rotor friendly.

You had better do some reading on this site, concerning channel scans.

I didn’t before I made my purchase.

But I’m fortunate that I kept the other PVRs.

Most of the channels available in Newmarket are coming from Toronto & Buffalo to the south so a rotor should not be a factor. That said even with a 4228 there may be reception issues with the Buffalo stations.

Rogers will sell internet alone but our issue is dissatisfaction with Rogers as well as there “bill creep” gold standard.

Bill

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Check out Teksavvy and Ebox for internet. They can provide internet and VOIP phone services for less than Rogers. I personally use Ebox but have friends that use Teksavvy and are also happy with them,

An omni-directional could negate a rotor for many setups, or a combined with 2 directional antennas.

To rotor or not to rotor isn’t always an automatic deal-breaker.

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Yup, the antenna placement produced 21 channels in a stable position with the Barrie Ontario channel coming in on the back side of the antenna. It will work without a rotor.

Bill

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The only channels from Buffalo are NBC, and PBS. ABC and CBS are toast. I can get CBS All Access and CBS news on the firestick.

Bill

Thanks for the heads up on Techsavvy and Ebox. I see Ebox packages the Internet and Phone with free modem rental. Do you need a router as well?

Bill

The last line in your reply is perfect. Yup. The old TV won’t die and my wife likes it for morning news. Perhaps we will retire it when we cut the cord.

Bill

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The Hitron CGN3 cable modem, how does it get access to the internet? Is there a coaxial cable connected to it? If yes, then you can keep only this device if you stick with Rogers for internet only. This is combination modem and router device so you get your WiFi internet from it. You can hard wire a Tablo directly to one of its 4 Ethernet ports.

The Aaris TM 602G is for your home phone service with Rogers. This will have to be returned once you cancel the home service.

Thanks for explaining the two devicesI have from Rogers. Much appreciated. The CGN3 does indeed have a coax cable connection.

Bill

Question #2,

Are companies like Techsavvy and Ebox attached to a larger network like Bell or Rogers and if so, which customers get service first in the case of an internet interruption?

Bill

Here is what Teksavvy says about routers/modems. "To use Internet service, you will need a modem. To connect multiple devices, or to achieve WiFi service, you will need a router. Nowadays, some modems are a combination device which includes a router built in.

You can choose to use a standalone modem and a standalone router or opt to go with a modem-router combination device. Across our services, we offer standalone modems or modem-router combinations to fit your needs."

You can also supply your own modem and router if you wish or rent or buy the equipment from Teksavvy or Ebox.

Teksavy and Ebox are bulk customers of Bell & Rogers internet services. If there is a large outage your service would be restored as soon as any other Bell/Rogers customers. If the problem is local to you then a Bell or Rogers technician would be dispatched to resolve it. Difficult to say if there is any actual difference in service for that. In theory not much. I’ve used both Rogers and Bell services through Ebox and found the customers service reasonable.

Thanks for the response to my question #2. As you are with Ebox, what did you do for your setup? Rent or buy? And is it a combination modem/router? I have an old ( 8 yrs ) Cisco Linksys router but not sure it is sufficient for streaming. What download speed did you choose and is it fast enough? Does “Unlimited” mean you do not get charged for excess streaming data amounts?

Thanks,
Bill

I don’t believe it’s necessarily the age, in as much as it’s capabilities and the capabilities of the devices on your network - taking into account the “age” of it’s firmware as well. Presuming the capabilities are adequate, as in you don’t need high-end AC multi device capable, if if none of your devices will use it or you don’t have a house of users needing simultaneous access… others may disagree.

[note: these are all from tablotv.com]

https://www.tablotv.com/blog/10-ways-ensure-your-wifi-network-ready-streaming/

https://www.tablotv.com/cord-cutting-this-week/cord-cutting-this-week-your-tv-is-a-spy-rental-routers-suck-must-see-tv-more/

https://www.tablotv.com/blog/mesh-wifi-networks-cordcutters/

https://www.tablotv.com/blog/tablo-faqs-what-wifi-frequency-should-i-use/

I would think, if possible, you’d want your own router/wifi access point to give you control over your in-house network aka LAN

Thank you for the links and advice about routers. I have some reading to do.

Bill

I bought my own modem and router. Both Ebox & Teksavvy can give you a list of the modems they support and it will depend on whether you are planning to use their DSL (Bell) or cable (Rogers) service. There are four people in my household and any of us or all could be streaming at the same time so I went with the 50 Mbps Unlimited service and use a TP-Link Archer C7 router. I used to have a 30Mbps download speed & 250GB data service and it was fine but that was before I was doing 4K streaming and also pre COVID-19. It may still be fine for you however. Unlimited means exactly that, no limit on the amount of data you use which is exactly what I needed for the aforementioned reasons!

It seldom does… there’s often a “we may” limit or “at peak times” maybe something about throttling. Maybe not,

I believe data caps are some sort of conspiracy theory so giant data communication corps don’t have to invest profits into infrastructure as to meet the capacity they sell. But then I’m constantly tuning my chip and changing my foil hat :neutral_face: