What kind of VPS? That's pretty pricey... I'm paying ~$17/mo for the VPS this forum is running on (hostwinds.com).
Direct Tv Now.
- Thread starter Dentman
- Start date
This was bothering me so I’m had to look it up.
The table below shows the AT&T data limits. My package has a limit of 1TB.
I’m only 10 days into my plan month and have chewed almost 1/2 my data.
Yikes.
A big reason why this is happening is that my wife has a tendency to just turn off the TV in the bedroom without exiting the DTVnow app. When we turn the TV back on we’ll see a message on the screen that says “There’s been no activity for 4 hours”. It’s also not uncommon for she or my daughter to start a movie or program and walk away for hours.
It’s clear I need to train them.
The table below shows the AT&T data limits. My package has a limit of 1TB.
I’m only 10 days into my plan month and have chewed almost 1/2 my data.
Yikes.
A big reason why this is happening is that my wife has a tendency to just turn off the TV in the bedroom without exiting the DTVnow app. When we turn the TV back on we’ll see a message on the screen that says “There’s been no activity for 4 hours”. It’s also not uncommon for she or my daughter to start a movie or program and walk away for hours.
It’s clear I need to train them.
I have three constraints that make it pricey:
1. It has to run Windows Server and it must support Remote Desktop
2. It needs to be beefy enough to handle transcoding loads, which means at least four cores
3. I need a lot of bandwidth
The reason for the first constraint is that I am using StableBit CloudDrive to encrypt, obfuscate and store my data on Google Drive. It is an excellent piece of software that allows you to create a volume on Google Drive and mount it like a local drive. Everything is obfuscated and encrypted with 256-bit AES encryption, so it is super secure. There are two downsides, however. It only supports Windows and the drive can only be mounted on one machine at a time.
Dentman
Well-Known Member
That makes perfect sense.
So after training the family on the importance of actually stopping the video streaming apps and not just turning off the TV and by supplementing just a little of the TV time with a Blu-ray or music we’re pretty much back on track to be under our 1TB limit.
But still, this isn’t something I want to have to manage. So I’m considering my options:
1) Deal with the fact that we have a cap and just manage the usage
2) Pay upfront for a higher data limit, $
3) Upgrade my internet speed to 1GB, $
4) Cancel DTVnow and go back to Uverse or DirecTV < this is where I’m leaning
But still, this isn’t something I want to have to manage. So I’m considering my options:
1) Deal with the fact that we have a cap and just manage the usage
2) Pay upfront for a higher data limit, $
3) Upgrade my internet speed to 1GB, $
4) Cancel DTVnow and go back to Uverse or DirecTV < this is where I’m leaning
Dentman
Well-Known Member
I'm in the same boat, but I'm leaning towards just using rabbit ears. Cant see going back spending an extra $100.00 a month for a lesser service.
I totally get it. The only advantage to DTVnow is price and the ability to stream to mobile device when away from home. I never really need that and I’m saving $30 a month. There are quite a few things that I like better about regular TV service like U-verse over DTVnow that may be worth the $30.
- DVR that works on any TV
- The ability to pause/rewind live TV
- The ability to directly access channels by number instead of scrolling through a long list
- Having the ability to have more than 2 TVs going
- Not having to mange data limits
Dentman
Well-Known Member
$30.00 difference isn't much to worry about. I'm waiting to see what my comcast bill this month says. Last month was $68.00, no overage charges. Fingers crossed. (No U-verse out here)
After 10 days of DTV Now those three issues are on the top of my "dislike" list. I also am ditching HBO thru DTV Now mostly due to the delay in getting on demand programming. I noticed things like John Oliver take several days at lest to appear on demand whereas with HBO Now I can get the on demands only hour after they initially air.
I'll keep the DTV Now without HBO for a few months anyways as I am getting it for $10/month for 3 months on a promotion.
You know your DTV Now credentials give you access to HBOGo which is virtually identical to HBONow. And DTVNow has a cloud DVR in Beta, it’s just a matter of time until it’s ready for public launch.
I was relieved to discover that Comcast has not rolled their data cap out to the area I'm moving to (yet). The $50 fee for unlimited data is nothing but a flagrant money grab and is only possible because they often have a monopoly. $50/mo. more than what I currently pay is ridiculous, especially for an inferior product (no symmetrical upload speed) and I do not think $140/mo. is a reasonable fee for internet service. Fuck these guys. They are trying to offset the decline in cable TV revenue by screwing all of their Internet customers. This is why everyone hates Comcast. If there is ever an alternative, I will drop these money-grubbing bozos like a bad habit.
This very expensive bandwidth cap is obviously designed to force cord cutters to sign up for cable and is exactly the kind of anti-competitive bullshit that requires government regulation to stop. This is doubly true where a single ISP has a monopoly and people are forced to accept whatever terms the provider dictates.
The Comcast rep told me that uploads do not count against the cap, but the information online says that they do. That's great for people who back data up to the cloud. Their website has all kinds of "tips."
Shut down automated updates
Protect your network against bots
Disable cloud storage and backups
Disable all third-party services you don't frequently use
One that they don't mention is to avoid smart home products and I'm half-surprised they don't suggest unplugging your TV and/or streaming box when not in use.
You know what else is great. Comcast even counts bandwidth used streaming from their own services.
Shut down automated updates
Protect your network against bots
Disable cloud storage and backups
Disable all third-party services you don't frequently use
One that they don't mention is to avoid smart home products and I'm half-surprised they don't suggest unplugging your TV and/or streaming box when not in use.
You know what else is great. Comcast even counts bandwidth used streaming from their own services.