Cutting the Cord

mbangel10

I cancelled my cable subscription about 15 months ago, and I haven't looked back. It seems like it's a national trend now, and the cable companies are freaking out over everything.

http://www.worldtvpc.com/blog/national- ... he-agenda/

I have Netflix, Hulu+ and Amazon Prime and it's plenty to watch. Once I can get Aereo (broadcast network streaming in HD w/ DVR cloud), I'll ditch Hulu and that will be even better.

I figure I've saved about $1700.00 and I'm living reality TV free. It's awesome.

Anyone else here cut the cord (or thinking about it)?

Jamminonthe1

Jeez, how much were you paying for cable? We pay $95 a month and that includes internet and land line.

Leezestarr313

I applaud you! Didn't have tv back in Germany for a couple of years and I never missed it. I had so much time to read, play records and meet people

Dissidentman

Jamminonthe1 wrote:

Jeez, how much were you paying for cable? We pay $95 a month and that includes internet and land line.

We pay about $180/month for all 3 services

I would love to bring that cost down by half.

mbangel10

Jamminonthe1 wrote:

Jeez, how much were you paying for cable? We pay $95 a month and that includes internet and land line.

I had one of those crappy triple play deals w/ the movie channels... it was around $200.00 per month. I cut that down to internet and digital w/o the movie channels and it was still over $150.00. That lasted for six months and then I cut the cord.

I couldn't get a new deal because my cable company wouldn't bargain with me, and charged me a la cart for internet and TV. I knew I was being ripped off. I was never so happy as when I handed in my DVR and cable modem (I bought my own) to them. Now the cable co. is leaving flyers at my door all the time. It's hysterical.

bakervision

A++ thread.

last year i sat down and actually evaluated the whole cable thing. we have it, it gets watched but really is it worth the price tag? i am the only member of the family who doesnt watch anything outside of network television so i figured id look into it and see if we could save some money

since the digital airwave takeover (in canada anyway) the whole over the air channel thing disappeared, those for me were just fine personally. so one day in the electronics store i happened upon a fellow who told me of a way to pick up network channels over the air and in full hd. what?

yeah seriously it is pretty crazy, if you are handy and have a few bucks to invest (and a few as in less that 2 months of cable) you can get some pretty startling 1080 hd for free, thats no gimmick or anything, i think i currently pick up 20 channels or so on a good day (granted reception can be degraded on the farther away channels at times). it requires a newer tv with a digital tuner built in and some good ole fashioned elbow grease.

has anyone else ever done this or seen the tvfool website?

mbangel10

bakervision wrote:

A++ thread.

last year i sat down and actually evaluated the whole cable thing. we have it, it gets watched but really is it worth the price tag? i am the only member of the family who doesnt watch anything outside of network television so i figured id look into it and see if we could save some money

since the digital airwave takeover (in canada anyway) the whole over the air channel thing disappeared, those for me were just fine personally. so one day in the electronics store i happened upon a fellow who told me of a way to pick up network channels over the air and in full hd. what?

yeah seriously it is pretty crazy, if you are handy and have a few bucks to invest (and a few as in less that 2 months of cable) you can get some pretty startling 1080 hd for free, thats no gimmick or anything, i think i currently pick up 20 channels or so on a good day (granted reception can be degraded on the farther away channels at times). it requires a newer tv with a digital tuner built in and some good ole fashioned elbow grease.

has anyone else ever done this or seen the tvfool website?

That's pretty cool. I'm going to check it out.

I remember reading that when broadcast TV went digital, the channels received would be in full HD. The HD is actually better than what cable gives digital subscribers because it's not compressed.

mbangel10

Dissidentman wrote:

Jamminonthe1 wrote:

Jeez, how much were you paying for cable? We pay $95 a month and that includes internet and land line.

We pay about $180/month for all 3 services

I would love to bring that cost down by half.

Roku/Xbox + Netflix + Hulu + Amazon Prime is less than $30 per month. With internet it can range from $60 to $100 per month total.

I have an Xbox but I found hooking up my gaming PC directly to my TV was actually kind of awesome. I'm typing this on my couch with a wireless keyboard, couch mouse, and I have a 55" monitor.

Leezestarr313

I thought this was about going without any cable tv at all :oops:

mbangel10

Leezestarr313 wrote:

I thought this was about going without any cable tv at all :oops:

It is. The only thing I pay for is internet and a few online streaming services. I still watch TV, I just don't pay a ton for it anymore. If you mean abandoning TV all together, no.

Leezestarr313

mbangel10 wrote:

Leezestarr313 wrote:

I thought this was about going without any cable tv at all :oops:

It is. The only thing I pay for is internet and a few online streaming services. I still watch TV, I just don't pay a ton for it anymore. If you mean abandoning TV all together, no.

Sorry, I'm not a native speaker. But yeah abandoning tv was what I meant It can be good! We actually though about it, but hubster cannot be without certain sports events ... I'm coming from a family that never really had tv, so I am used to getting along without it. But sometimes there are days where I defo enjoy the occasional tv coma ...

supersonicyears

Does Amazon Prime or Hulu stream shows meaning like example fx soon after they're broadcast or is it a year behind like Netflix?

hedonist

Leezestarr313 wrote:

Sorry, I'm not a native speaker.

But sometimes there are days where I defo enjoy the occasional tv coma ...

You do quite well - much better than I'd do with your language (and it's my father country :P )

Last part, hell yes.

"it's no crime to escape"

(and I do! I think we all need to at some point; gotta temper mindfulness with mindlessness sometimes, and in our own ways)

Doubt we'll be cutting the cord, so to speak, but it is beyond sweet to turn on, tune in and drop out.

peacefrompaul

I have cable and I use it every thursday night to watch Archer

Then I don't use it.

MayDay10

I have thought about it.

What gets me is the sports. Everything else I would prefer to be without.

Wife watches stuff, but would easily be placated via netflix/prime.

mca47

I've considered it for a while. Probably not going to happen anytime soon though.
I like watching live sports...and I like watching shows like Game of Thrones as it's aired.
Annnnnnnd no. I'm not into illegally downloading shit.

peacefrompaul

mca47 wrote:

I've considered it for a while. Probably not going to happen anytime soon though.
I like watching live sports...and I like watching shows like Game of Thrones as it's aired.
Annnnnnnd no. I'm not into illegally downloading shit.

Puss

mca47

peacefrompaul wrote:

mca47 wrote:

I've considered it for a while. Probably not going to happen anytime soon though.
I like watching live sports...and I like watching shows like Game of Thrones as it's aired.
Annnnnnnd no. I'm not into illegally downloading shit.

Puss

I'm not concerned with the Feds kicking down my door....I just don't think stealing something that was creatively made is fair to those who made it. They made a product that they sell. Don't see how that's different than stealing shit from the grocery store or going to Best Buy and walking off with a DVD.
Same goes for music, movies, videogames, etc.

JonnyPistachio

MayDay10 wrote:

I have thought about it.

What gets me is the sports. Everything else I would prefer to be without.

Wife watches stuff, but would easily be placated via netflix/prime.

I havent had cable television since the mid 1990s. I do currently have netflix streaming, so that's nice. But i've just started to miss the sports. I used to go out with friends or go places to catch good games, but lately its been getting harder. I've been thinking of breaking down and getting cable, but I just cant do it.

Its kinda funny to see my nice big TV with rabbit ears. Those hardly work too. I get one channel.

81

i have no idea what the montly cost is.

i do know, i can flip thru every single station and still not find anything to watch. i can do this for hours. drives me nuts.

we have dish 250 with hbo and skinamax

RKCNDY

Mr. won't leave cable because of sports. I like some local shows that aren't available on the internet.

I didn't have cable growing up (didn't have it until I was 23)...I only had 5 channels to pick from ABC, NBC, CBS, local, and PBS. So I'm still kind of fascinated by all the programming.

I signed up for the stupid triple play thing, because it was $20 cheaper than the a'la carte cable/internet I was paying for. Now the prices went up to $189/month, and when I looked at the pricing, I would pay more if I cancelled the triple play. :roll: