Читать книгу Cord Cutting For Dummies - Paul McFedries, Paul McFedries - Страница 39

What can you expect to find in a world where the cable company is a distant memory? Answering that question is what the rest of this book is about. To give you a feel for what's in store, take a quick look at the most prominent features of that landscape.

First, you should know that the cord-free world is broadly divided into two main categories:

 Over-the-air (OTA) TV: Live television channels broadcast from a station transmitter. This setup usually requires an antenna, but some streaming services offer live TV channels.

 Streaming media: Television programs — as well as movies, music, podcasts, and other media — made available over the Internet. You can use device apps to access streaming media, but most people use a device such as a smart TV, a set-top box, or a streaming player.

In these two categories, you can have one (or, heck, all) of the following viewing experiences:

 Watching OTA TV with an antenna: You want to watch live local stations for free (minus the cost of the antenna, of course). To find out more about this option, see Chapters 3 and 4.

 Watching live TV with a streaming device: You don't want the hassle of setting up a digital antenna. You can find the details in Chapter 5.

 Watching live TV with a streaming service: You're mostly interested in live network broadcasts. To learn more, check out Chapter 5.

 Streaming media through a device: You want to use a device such as a smart TV or a USB stick (such as Amazon Fire TV) to access streaming media through apps. I talk about all this in Chapter 6.

 Watching free streaming services: You're too psychologically scarred from paying scandalously high cable prices and want only free content. I talk about free services in Chapter 8.

 Watching paid streaming services: You want a subscription. Most streaming services require a subscription, so this is your most likely experience. For the details, head to Chapter 9.