Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

KC topics that don't fit anywhere else.

Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Currently have Google Fiber - 'free' 5M service
12
14%
Currently have Google Fiber - 100M or 1 Gigabit service only
17
20%
Currently have Google Fiber - TV + 1 Gigabit service
36
41%
Am in a deployed Google Fiber area but sticking with current or moving to other ISP
1
1%
Am in a planned area, intend to get Google Fiber
9
10%
Am in a planned area, sticking with current ISP
1
1%
None of the above/something else
11
13%
 
Total votes: 87

earthling
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by earthling »

No more 100/100 for $50 offered to new customers too. Looks like the free 5M is still being offered.
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by swid »

I'm a little surprised that the Google Fiber set-top TV boxes/DVRs haven't been killed in favor of YouTube TV.
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by earthling »

They may be holding off until getting a few of the missing major channels... Viacom, A&E, Hallmark, some missing Discovery. Content owners keep raising prices though. Some small cable operators can no longer profit from TV and are referring customers to YTTV. Even Verizon FIOS is promoting YTTV. Probably a matter of time YTTV gets all major missing channels though with price increases with it. They could maybe offer tiers.

LiveTV as a whole (streaming Live and Cable/SAT) combined is still losing subscriptions as a whole. Many who leave Cable/SAT are not going to a Live service like YTTV/Sling. It may become a niche at some point, mainly attracting sports fans.

Am not doing LiveTV anymore outside occasional trials. Don't like paying for unwatched channels and paying for ads. There's more control by rotating a bunch of SVOD services every month (Netflix, Hulu, Disney, HBO, CBSAA, etc). I also rotate CuriosityStream/Smithsonian/Magellan, which are much better and less sensationalized than History/Science/NatGeo channels. And a lot of free ad (AVOD) services like Pluto, Tubi, Xumo, Crackle, etc. Am paying typically less than $30/mo yet get the content of about 2 dozen services by rotating a couple each month. Is easier than it sounds but may not be doable for large households.
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by brewcrew1000 »

Its funny how we have gone from $70 a month internet plus streaming services that are $8-$15 a month. We are basically back to where we started with the cable industry - high ass cable bills and shitty service. The only difference is that we get to choose what we want to watch.

I am kind of tempted to going back to pirating and dumping some of these subscriptions. I can't even keep up anymore, there is just way to much content, if i was given a dollar for every unique show someone has recommended to me i'd have about $1000
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by flyingember »

brewcrew1000 wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2020 5:06 pm Its funny how we have gone from $70 a month internet plus streaming services that are $8-$15 a month. We are basically back to where started the entire time when fighting with the cable industry - high ass cable bills and shitty service. The only difference is that we get to choose what we want to watch.

I am kind of tempted to going back to pirating and dumping some of these subscriptions. I can't even keep up anymore, there is just way to much content, if i was given a dollar for every unique show someone has recommended to me i'd have about $1000
Yeah, it's way better now

You can fairly say it's not all there without getting multiple services but that was true with cable too.
You had to buy a premium add on channels to get some shows and it wasn't always available in your market. (sports especially).
Take a company like Nickelodeon. One channel comes with a basic package, but to get all three of their options you need to buy the next tier up. Some content was seasonal on a certain networks, others was only with the highest end premium one. And then you had to watch the show when it was on. (ex. Saturday at 8am only unless you paid extra for the network it was on at 4pm when you had to do homework) And good luck if you want to watch two shows at the same time in the family, that meant buying another TV and paying for another box and the service fee to hook it up.

To record it cost extra, either by tape on a schedule (and you had to be there to add a new schedule) or pay extra for a DVR

Physical movies cost extra or you paid more to use PPV through your service, if they offered a specific movie that way.

and good luck with niche content or international content


Now in theory you can find anything you want and it time and place shifts

You can watch that 7pm show three days later, and the episode before that and the one before that first
You can take your service to another house, downloading content to watch later in a car or airplane

You may feel nickle and dimed but you already were, it just hurts because for a little while everyone was on the same 2-3 streaming services
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by earthling »

Google not only got rid of the $50 100/100 plan but now they no longer offer Fiber TV to new customers. No surprise given streaming LiveTV appears to be the future but oddly they are promoting Fubo as well as YouTubeTV.

Also, before I left KC for winter roaming in FL/LA, I switched my plan to the free 5M service. Will switch back when I return but wonder if free 5M will be available again. Is 5M still an option on account page for any GFBR users not on 5M today? Might be KCMO/KCK only, not sure.
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by FangKC »

Google Fiber is cutting the cord on traditional TV service
Google Fiber is tweaking its offerings and no longer will offer a linear TV service to new customers.

Linear TV is traditional programming, in which shows can be viewed only at the scheduled times set by the broadcaster. In a company blog, Google Fiber said it would continue to support existing customers with the service. However, it's unclear how long Google Fiber will continue to do so.
...
For its TV offerings, Google Fiber now is focused on streaming services, including YouTubeTV, which features more than 70 channels of live and local TV, and Fubo, which features more than 100 channels of live sports, news, TV and movies.
...
https://tinyurl.com/w734g88
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by mean »

The problem I have with going over to YouTubeTV or whatever is that in spite of having gigabit internet, those things stutter and experience interruptions far more regularly than plain 'ol cable. It's almost as bad as trying to watch sports over broadcast, except you aren't compelled to get up and ineffectually adjust the antenna when YouTube starts screwing up (although you might be inclined to reboot your router).
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by gfisch95 »

I have normal level xfinity internet, and have not experienced any real problems with YoutubeTV in the year I have had it. I did previously have problems with stuttering when I would Cast from say the FoxSports app, or NBC app to my Google ChromeCast but those have seemingly disappeared as well.
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by bchociej »

We've got Sling TV on Fiber 500 and I must say that it's absolutely flawless in terms of being stutter-free and high quality video without excessive compression artifacts or anything.
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by earthling »

I know of a couple people doing YTTV even on the 'free' 5Mb from Google Fiber and don't have any stuttering/buffering issues unless doing large downloads at same time, and it will downgrade video quality if necessary. A higher speed connection shouldn't have issues depending on service.

The streaming services are getting better each year keeping up capacity with demand, though there are many points along the path that can have issues from the WiFi signal in your place to being oversubscribed by your ISP in your neighborhood to routing between longhaul networks. Every year though the paths and backend capacity needs are doing a better job staying on top of demand. And the major ISPs in KC have plenty of local capacity after fiber upgrades.

The biggest peak test lately was 4K streaming of the Superbowl. It apparently had issues for some but could have been anywhere in path, not the streaming service.
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by bobbyhawks »

I generally get great results with YTTV on the gig connection (also with Netflix). It highlights how bad and compressed some other streaming services are. HBO Now buffers frequently on Android TV and shows signs of poor compression, and Amazon Video is so highly compressed, it is almost distracting. As for YTTV, I've probably had it stutter or have issues about the same pace as cable, which is to say very rarely.
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by Imarealperson »

bobbyhawks wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:46 am I generally get great results with YTTV on the gig connection (also with Netflix). It highlights how bad and compressed some other streaming services are. HBO Now buffers frequently on Android TV and shows signs of poor compression, and Amazon Video is so highly compressed, it is almost distracting. As for YTTV, I've probably had it stutter or have issues about the same pace as cable, which is to say very rarely.
A lot of that has to do with the device. On an Amazon Firestick 4K, Amazon prime video is breathtaking. Same with Netflix. On my smartTV app, not so much.
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by bobbyhawks »

Imarealperson wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:00 am
bobbyhawks wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:46 am I generally get great results with YTTV on the gig connection (also with Netflix). It highlights how bad and compressed some other streaming services are. HBO Now buffers frequently on Android TV and shows signs of poor compression, and Amazon Video is so highly compressed, it is almost distracting. As for YTTV, I've probably had it stutter or have issues about the same pace as cable, which is to say very rarely.
A lot of that has to do with the device. On an Amazon Firestick 4K, Amazon prime video is breathtaking. Same with Netflix. On my smartTV app, not so much.
True. Anyone with a Shield TV or Android TV doesn't seem to get terrific support in the realm of attention to the streaming apps, but that is due to the provider (HBO/Amazon) not caring about or actively trying to sabotage certain competition. Casting the same show via Google Cast can often improve video quality but is much less convenient (Amazon is still obviously compressed but not quite as terrible). In some cases, as with many smart TVs, it is due to the technical capabilities or bad settings, but poor TV app streaming quality issues are still mostly tied to app support as I understand. YTTV was even significantly better on Apple TV than it was Android for a time due to more active roll-out of updates. If I weren't such a fan of the convenience and versatility of Android TV, I'd explore other options. I've done the Fire TV before and am not a fan of some of the limitations (same with how Apple TV tries to box you into Apple products, payments, and services).
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by Roanoker »

Hi, all. I'm the one person "in a deployed Google Fiber area but sticking with current or moving to other ISP." My current provider is Spectrum. Today, they dumped two giant boxes at my front door containing a modem/router combo thing plus something like a digital box (I'm guessing here) for each of the three TV sets we use. We all use their Internet service for three laptops and three iPhones. Not that it matters, but we were paying them $50/mo to retain our email addresses with Earthlink. That's in addition to the $142/mo we were paying them for cable and Internet. Charter (Spectrum parent) split with them recently, so we had to pay even more than the $50 directly to Earthlink or pay Spectrum whatever they asked for. I decided to go with Outlook.com for free.

Back to the equipment dump on my front door. After spending hours online looking into the situation, I learned that I'll have to use their modem/router to receive their offerings, possibly after 6/2021. I don't even know if we'll have to pay for the privilege. People on the Internet said their router wasn't as good as what you might buy yourself. My router works just fine. I paid $160 for it several years ago, and I'd like to keep it.

Here is my primary question: What would be the best, maybe less expensive, Internet provider I could get? I thought I'd like to get CenturyLink (which also provides cable offerings), but it is not available in my zip code. I don't care for the heavy-handed tactics Spectrum appears to be using. Thank you for any input.
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by normalthings »

Roanoker wrote: Thu Nov 19, 2020 6:30 pm Hi, all. I'm the one person "in a deployed Google Fiber area but sticking with current or moving to other ISP." My current provider is Spectrum. Today, they dumped two giant boxes at my front door containing a modem/router combo thing plus something like a digital box (I'm guessing here) for each of the three TV sets we use. We all use their Internet service for three laptops and three iPhones. Not that it matters, but we were paying them $50/mo to retain our email addresses with Earthlink. That's in addition to the $142/mo we were paying them for cable and Internet. Charter (Spectrum parent) split with them recently, so we had to pay even more than the $50 directly to Earthlink or pay Spectrum whatever they asked for. I decided to go with Outlook.com for free.

Back to the equipment dump on my front door. After spending hours online looking into the situation, I learned that I'll have to use their modem/router to receive their offerings, possibly after 6/2021. I don't even know if we'll have to pay for the privilege. People on the Internet said their router wasn't as good as what you might buy yourself. My router works just fine. I paid $160 for it several years ago, and I'd like to keep it.

Here is my primary question: What would be the best, maybe less expensive, Internet provider I could get? I thought I'd like to get CenturyLink (which also provides cable offerings), but it is not available in my zip code. I don't care for the heavy-handed tactics Spectrum appears to be using. Thank you for any input.
Spectrum and others will charge you a monthly fee for each set top box that you have. If you don’t need recording capabilities, get an Apple TV or Roku box (one time upfront charge) and down load the Spectrum program for those devices. You can also keep 1 Spectrum box to record/watch recorded programs on and switch the others to Roku/Apple TV.

Your router plugs into the modem. They also charge you to use their modem but you are allowed to buy your own. Unless you or a loved one is techy, stay with the one they gave you. You can plug your current router into their new modem should be no problem.
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by Roanoker »

Thank you, Norm. I will definitely look into the Roku or Apple TV possibilities.
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by flyingember »

Roanoker wrote: Thu Nov 19, 2020 8:32 pm Thank you, Norm. I will definitely look into the Roku or Apple TV possibilities.
Pay attention to space on the devices. You don't want to buy the base model and only store half the content you expect. Each app for services takes up so much space
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by normalthings »

flyingember wrote: Fri Nov 20, 2020 2:19 pm
Roanoker wrote: Thu Nov 19, 2020 8:32 pm Thank you, Norm. I will definitely look into the Roku or Apple TV possibilities.
Pay attention to space on the devices. You don't want to buy the base model and only store half the content you expect. Each app for services takes up so much space
This is true. I just use mine for TV service and Netflix so that has not been an issue yet. If you are downloading videos from Amazon or iTunes you will need more storage. The benefit of Apple TV is you can stream any app or content from your iPhone/iPad/Mac to the TV. (maybe possible on Roku but I haven't figured it out).
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Re: Do you have or plan to get Google Fiber?

Post by Roanoker »

I spent more time with my problem and realized that my question was really what ISP should I change to. Apple TV and Roku expects you to already have an Internet service. (They apparently don't work with Google Fiber.) I came to the conclusion that I would stay with Spectrum. When I called to see if 1. I had to pay for the equipment they sent me (answer: no), and 2. Could I use my existing modem and router (answer: yes), I learned that my REAL ISP was Earthlink! I thought they had provided only my email account. Now that I am staying with Spectrum, I will achieve much faster speeds with the boxes that replace the digital ones AND I will get way more channels. I never record anything. What I pay for a month is $50 less, now that Earthlink is gone. Thank you guys for your input. I do appreciate it.
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