How to Cut the Cord in Canada (2026): The Ultimate Guide (corelab.tech)
from CoreLabJoe@piefed.ca to selfhosted@lemmy.world on 10 Feb 16:34
https://piefed.ca/c/selfhosted/p/514952/how-to-cut-the-cord-in-canada-2026-the-ultimate-guide

Hello PieFed! I feel there’s not enough content in regards to tech or self-hosting focused on us Canucks, so I started writing a blog last year. A lot of it fits into anywhere as it’s all centered on self-hosting and cybersecurity but I specifically write some posts & chunks of posts, directly for my fellow Canadians!

Welcome to Core Lab =) Operated & Self-Hosted in Canada, by a Canadian.

I personally ‘cut the cord’ back in 2012 , tired of the high costs and limited options of Canadian cable. Over the last 14+ years, I’ve moved from trying basic OTA antennas (Mohu Leaf anyone?!) to advanced automated self-hosted setups using Plex/Jelly and/or Real Debrid integrations!

I wrote this guide to save you the trial and error. It filters out the outdated advice and shows you exactly which hardware and streaming protocols actually work for reliable, high-quality streaming in Canada in 2026. Let me know if you have any questions or if this guide helped you out!

Disclaimer: This post does contain some affiliate links, but no ads ! I’ll never have popup or in-line ads…

#cordcutting; streaming media server #selfhosted

threaded - newest

CocaineShrimp@sh.itjust.works on 10 Feb 17:38 next collapse

Your article points out the main reason why I haven’t gotten into sports; even though I’d like to follow a bit of hockey, F1, and UK soccer. It’s complicated and expensive as fuck. $50/month for a subscription, and it doesn’t even cover all of the games for the same team? I’m interested in putting something on, once in a while; but it’s not worth $50 to maybe use it once a month or two

Thank you though for putting together these highly detailed instructions that are only for educational purposes!

CoreLabJoe@piefed.ca on 10 Feb 18:10 next collapse

Yes sadly there’s a bit of a stranglehold on the market regarding sports. It’s the one thing that is held very close to the chest by the large Corps & broadcasters.

Thanks for taking a read through! Lots more to come ;)

illusionist@lemmy.zip on 10 Feb 18:47 next collapse

I guess they think that you watch with friends anyway

DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml on 10 Feb 19:21 collapse

The only logical solution is to sail the seven seas.

IratePirate@feddit.org on 10 Feb 18:20 collapse

Seeing that cable management, I know why you’d want to “cut the cord”. (Scnr! 😁)

CoreLabJoe@piefed.ca on 10 Feb 18:25 collapse

Hahaha yes… I agree… I was very hesitant to include this as my header pic but I was like, eehhh, it’s realistic at least! The key is it shows certain ‘apps’ running on that Google TV. 😆

IratePirate@feddit.org on 10 Feb 19:00 collapse

True that! I’m running plenty of those apps myself (though on a dumb display powered by a Linux machine), so I can appreciate the setup! Since you’re running Google TV: have you tried running Newpipe? Imho, it’s a no-brainer replacement for the YouTube app and blows it out of the water both with regard to the features it packs and the privacy advantages it brings.

CoreLabJoe@piefed.ca on 10 Feb 19:14 collapse

OOhhh I didn’t know about this!!! Thanks so much, I’ll be playing with that later…