Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

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CherylHall
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Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by CherylHall »

I am planning on cutting the cable cord soon and would like to know how folks have done this. I only need the basic local channels since that is all I watch - even though my cable bill is about 30 bucks a month for home much I watch its not worth it for how much TV I watch. I live about 7 miles from all the major local towers. I would need an antenna and a DVR that is not tied to a subscription. What have folks done to cut the cable cord?
DSInvestor
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by DSInvestor »

My brother uses a mohu leaf antenna and has an Apple TV ($99) for streaming PBS, Netflix, Hulu Plus. Netflix is great for prior season TV shows. Hulu Plus has current season shows. He doesn't have a DVR and doesn't really need it since he can stream content. When I showed him the mohu antenna and Apple TV with netflix/Hulu, he cut his tv subscription the next day.
Last edited by DSInvestor on Sat Jun 14, 2014 8:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Gecko10x
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by Gecko10x »

Apple TV. No antenna. It's been at least 5 years now.
bpp
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by bpp »

CherylHall wrote:I am planning on cutting the cable cord soon and would like to know how folks have done this. I only need the basic local channels since that is all I watch - even though my cable bill is about 30 bucks a month for home much I watch its not worth it for how much TV I watch. I live about 7 miles from all the major local towers. I would need an antenna and a DVR that is not tied to a subscription. What have folks done to cut the cable cord?
I walked into the cable company's local office and signed a form. I think I brought the cable box with me, having called in advance to find out how to cut the umblical.

I did keep their raw connection (cable antenna straight to the back of the TV), instead of buying a physical antenna. Provides local broadcast channels for about $7/month.

As for DVR, I just use the inbuilt function on the TV itself for that, when I (extremely rarely) want that.
Emilyjane
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by Emilyjane »

I have flat amplified antenna (like Mohu leaf, but amazon basic brand) and a channelmaster dvr. Dvr a bit expensive, but I like having dvr, and it was a one time expense. I think not paying cable for 4 months paid for it. Needed amplified antenna as nbc station is 50 miles away. Miss early viewing of some HBO shows, but figure they will eventually be on DVD. Really happy I made the change.
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livesoft
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by livesoft »

Never had cable that I paid for. Antenna in attic connected to coax pre-wired into the house for cable. All TV station towers are in one direction, so no need for antenna rotator. TV has digital tuner and before that analog tuner. If I want to watch a movie, I get my kids to connect up an Xbox or playstation or something that works for that.

I am unaware of a DVR in the house. I have not recorded any broadcast in more than 10 years.
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simpsonlang
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by simpsonlang »

When I moved houses the cable company was going to charge me a connection fee for the cable tv portion. However if I just added the cable internet no connection fee. So with piles of debt, back in 2004, I decided not to add it and push that into debt payoff. Another factor for me is I didn't like the lack of control for kids. I grew up without cable and figured they'll do just fine without it. We now have Netflix which is more economical but I don't like the lack of control so this might be one to be cancelled if I start seeing the older kids abusing it.
mptfan
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by mptfan »

I had to take the cable box to the local office of the cable provider and wait in line and walked up to the window and told them I wanted to cancel my service completely and I gave them back their box. The guy standing next to me turned and looked at me like I was crazy, I think some people just can't relate to a life without cable tv. I think some people treat cable tv as a basic utility, like water or electricity, but after being without it for well over a year now, I can tell you that it's not.
sscritic
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by sscritic »

mptfan wrote:I had to take the cable box to the local office of the cable provider and wait in line and walked up to the window and told them I wanted to cancel my service completely and I gave them back their box. The guy standing next to me turned and looked at me like I was crazy,
The guy next to you had never moved? I always turned in my cable box when I moved from one city to another. In fact, that's how I cut the cable. I moved, but didn't sign up at my new address.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by TimeRunner »

deleted - obsolete
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Boglenaut
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by Boglenaut »

I cut it Halloween 3.5 or 4.5 years ago.

At first we went just with Over the Air. it was a lot better that before the digital conversion... I got 4 to 8 PBS channels depending on conditions, plus other channels as well. The true High Def channels looked better than the cable channels as far as quality.

We supplemented with DVD/Blu-Ray from the library and YouTube/Hulu PC streaming, or I buy $2 DVDs on Black Friday specials.

At that point, it was OK, but as the kids grew older they wanted more. We added Netflix and that very nicely filled the gap. It is a great value for the money. So we are all happy now. The kids watch very little TV, most Netflix on the big screen TV or on their iPads.

I'll never go back to cable TV. When I travel on business I see how bad it is and so many commercials, or the same thing over and over.

I don't care about sports and broke my CNBC habit, so am fine now.
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stevewolfe
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by stevewolfe »

We didn't completely because it didn't make economic sense. Here's what I mean: We have broadband internet through the cable company. At the time we were going to cut (4 years ago in August), it would've cost us more to eliminate cable than to get the first 23 channels. This is because the first 23 channels cost $12.90 (at the time) and there was a $20 up charge for broadband customers that were not also cable customers.

Today the first 23 channels cost about $16, so it's still in our favor to have the first 23 channels from the cable company. We supplement cable with Netflix streaming and Amazon prime (which we purchased for shipping, the streaming is a bonus) plus streaming over the internet. We used the first 10 months of cable savings 4 years ago to buy a Mac Mini which we use as a home theater PC.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by crg11 »

Biggest issue I had with cutting the cord, which I've tried twice, is live sports...I miss them. A lot. In my area (NH), you can't get the Red Sox, Bruins, or Celtics over the air except if one of the broadcast networks has a national game.

Instead I often threaten to cancel my cable package, which usually results in a retention person giving me enough of a discount that I can keep the cable + internet bill under $100 a month. Sometimes I can get them down to ~$75 range, which is very close to the only Internet price that I'm satisfied enough.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by peppers »

Never had cable or dish. Antenna outside works just fine. If it ain't free, it ain't for me.
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oxothuk
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by oxothuk »

crg11 wrote:Biggest issue I had with cutting the cord, which I've tried twice, is live sports...
I miss that too..

But as far as I'm concerned the teams have cut their own throat by signing these exclusive deals with cable. They've lost me as a fan, for one.
trees
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by trees »

Roku + amazon streaming and / or Netflix. I got a small attenna (looks like a laminated sheet of paper but works well) for occasional broadcast sports, but find I only use it a few times a year. Other times I want to watch sports I'm either gathering with friends, or head to bar / restaurant. I save enough by cutting cable that the addition of a couple extra nights out a year still have me come out ahead.
mptfan
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by mptfan »

sscritic wrote:
mptfan wrote:I had to take the cable box to the local office of the cable provider and wait in line and walked up to the window and told them I wanted to cancel my service completely and I gave them back their box. The guy standing next to me turned and looked at me like I was crazy,
The guy next to you had never moved? I always turned in my cable box when I moved from one city to another. In fact, that's how I cut the cable. I moved, but didn't sign up at my new address.
He could tell by listening to what I was saying that I was not moving, but rather, I was cancelling cable because I no longer wanted it.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by sscritic »

oxothuk wrote: But as far as I'm concerned the teams have cut their own throat by signing these exclusive deals with cable. They've lost me as a fan, for one.
The Dodgers signed a deal with Time Warner. No other cable or dish operator wants to pay the fees based on the huge amount TW paid the Dodgers, so most of SoCal is blacked out. The sports teams and the cable companies are in it together; they are both pigs feeding at our trough.
More and more, this Dodgers TV fiasco is reading like a plot line that even Joseph Heller would have rejected as far too absurd — greed, smothered in shamelessness, dipped in irony.
...
The standoff has become bigger than baseball. It's become a soapbox for satellite and cable providers fighting so-called bundled packaging, whereby all customers must pay $4 to $5 more per month for the new Dodgers channel, whether they watch it or not.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/l ... olumn.html
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by sscritic »

mptfan wrote: He could tell by listening to what I was saying that I was not moving, but rather, I was cancelling cable because I no longer wanted it.
How loud is your voice? :)

Usually the windows are a several feet apart. Where I used to go, the line was kept back so that customers had some privacy. I guess maybe your neighbor was in one of those 5 minute breaks when the customer service representative walks away and leaves you standing. With nothing to do but listen to you, he had no choice.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by mptfan »

sscritic wrote:
mptfan wrote: He could tell by listening to what I was saying that I was not moving, but rather, I was cancelling cable because I no longer wanted it.
How loud is your voice? :)

Usually the windows are a several feet apart. Where I used to go, the line was kept back so that customers had some privacy. I guess maybe your neighbor was in one of those 5 minute breaks when the customer service representative walks away and leaves you standing. With nothing to do but listen to you, he had no choice.
He was standing a few feet away from me. My voice is not that loud, but even speaking at a normal volume, it is easy to hear someone speaking who is standing only a few feet away.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by SnapShots »

DSInvestor wrote:My brother uses a mohu leaf antenna and has an Apple TV ($99) for streaming PBS, Netflix, Hulu Plus. Netflix is great for prior season TV shows. Hulu Plus has current season shows. He doesn't have a DVR and doesn't really need it since he can stream content. When I showed him the mohu antenna and Apple TV with netflix/Hulu, he cut his tv subscription the next day.
Will have to check this out? How does it work in a house where there are five TVs. One in each bedroom, kitchen and TV room?
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trees
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by trees »

That's the antenna I have. Its designed to be an indoor antenna / plug in via coax cable to TV, so my guess is that you would need one per TV unless you had some way of connecrin into main cable drop into the house, and even then not sure how well it would work.
mervinj7
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by mervinj7 »

A combination of Hulu Plus, Netflix, and a digital flat antenna. The antenna works great from where I live in San Francisco (right below the sutro TV Tower)

http://www.meritline.com/homeworx-hw110 ... 84518.aspx
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sdsailing
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by sdsailing »

Roof top antenna, after some less successful experiments with indoor antennas. Plus netflix. Apple box in two places, smart tv in another.

Still use cable for internet though.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by TexasMu »

Grab an amplified antennae + this dvr homework hw150pvr http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-HW-150 ... x+hw150pvr

The dvr is very similar to a vcr. Not as slick as a Tivo but no monthly charges.

I've been doing this since my divorce in 2007 :annoyed when I was trying to get out of debt. I've been debt free for over a year and could afford cable easily and choose spend my $100 month on hobbies/dining out vs the pay tv world
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by protagonist »

CherylHall wrote:I am planning on cutting the cable cord soon and would like to know how folks have done this. I only need the basic local channels since that is all I watch - even though my cable bill is about 30 bucks a month for home much I watch its not worth it for how much TV I watch. I live about 7 miles from all the major local towers. I would need an antenna and a DVR that is not tied to a subscription. What have folks done to cut the cable cord?
Easy, Cheryl. Just do it.

Probably easier for those of us who never had cable to begin with.

Unless you are a big sports enthusiast (I can grasp why somebody would not want to watch the Superbowl after they already know the score), there is very little TV content (none that I care about) that you cannot find either free, or for a small fee, via a variety of internet sources, without commercials, to be watched at your convenience, and without having to deal with mega-corporations. And they can be streamed, usually flawlessly, to your TV (I just use an HDMI cable plus a separate audio output to my sound system- it works for me- but others use separate boxes).

The night of a presidential election, or when your team is playing in the Worlds Series, go watch at a friend's place or at your favorite local pub. It's more fun that way anyhow.

Cable contracts are soooo 2005..........
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by tim1999 »

I'd really like to ditch it. However, ditching the $30 (with tax/fees) basic unadvertised cable package would make my internet bill go up $20 per month, and I do enjoy watching some of the basic tv stations. Unfortunately due to terrain and distance I can only get one channel to come in over the air, and it's not one I'm interested in.

I do need to call to threaten and cancel though. After the two-year rate lock that I had expired, they've raised the rates a couple bucks every few months, and now it's at the point where I want to beat it down again.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by oxothuk »

protagonist wrote:
CherylHall wrote:I can grasp why somebody would not want to watch the Superbowl after they already know the score.
Being frrom Colorado, I wish I hadn't watched after the first play.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by dbphd »

I offer a different perspective: A DirecTV HD-DVR with at least a subscription to HBO would be my solution to cable. The best program content has come from HBO, but you'd probably want the expanded channel selection. With the exception of PBS, if I had to watch the junk on broadcast TV I'd stick to music and reading. Furthermore, I'd rebel at being tied to the schedule of any source, so you want to be able to record programs and watch or skip on your schedule.

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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by crowd79 »

Thanks to Univision I am able to watch the World Cup for free on my iPad without a pay-TV subscription. The spanish announcers are far more entertaining to listen to than ESPN's boring crew.

GOOOOOAAALLLL!!!

Having Hulu + and Netflix helps too. Oh, and it's summer, too. Nothing else good is on TV anyways. Perfect time to save some bucks...
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CMartel2
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by CMartel2 »

There was a period of 4-years when I had no television at all. I'm thinking about going back in that direction. I felt a lot more into life and a lot more energized. I knew my neighbors, too.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by staythecourse »

Cut the cord last year and feel liberated. Everyone made fun of me, but now two friends are doing the same.

How to do it:
1. Better have your significant other on your side to even attempt this!!
2. Took all the cable stuff (boxes, remotes, dvr, etc...) and last cable bill to the local cable office and cancelled. As a side note when in the afternoon on a day off from work and those folks who crack jokes about the folks at DMV lines have nothing on these folks!!
3. Bought a mohu leaf (works okay, but that is probably because we have a lot of buildings around living in a metro area)
4. Bought Roku for 2 t.v. and google chrome for the other.
5. Subscribed to Netflix.
6. Never look back and have fun when the cable company calls in 1 month to try to convince you to come back.

Good luck.

p.s. Don't know how anybody has time for cable when they have babies or young kids.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by cowboyinasia »

CherylHall,

Good for you. Do it.

Way better things to do with your limited hours on Earth than find ways to watch TV.

We haven't had cable for years. We don't even have a TV antenna. We check out DVDs from the library for the kids, and control that closely and they don't fuss. Twice I've signed up at NetFlix for a month, but after that I've had my fix. Fortunately the wife is even less interested in television. You can also try Hulu or Amazon on demand or whatever it is, but if you cancel the cable drug don't simply substitute cheaper or different alternatives for the same amount of your life.

Some months ago I saw some statistics about the rise of non-cable households. Regardless of your interest or time spent, new tech has many new alternatives, as long as you can access the Internet.

Again, good for you!
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by privateer79 »

we have Roku's by our 4 TV's all connected through wireless...
most TV's have Over -the air antennas (some flat "leaf type, some just bunny ears that work ok) to watch live TV, although their rarely used
being a hopeless computer nerd, I have a linux based DVR system(mythTV) set up in my office that all of the Rokus can Tap into for recorded Over the air programs.

we have amazon prime (100/yr) and Netflix(9/Mo), although we could cut down to one... but for the free shipping amazon prime is worth it anyway.
Periodically we purchase programs through amazon or one of the other pay-per episode services (mostly 1$/episode for Mad Men via Target's channel)
there are many other useful channels on roku for free that carry interesting snipits of cable (CNBC, CNBC Europe, BLoomberg, Fox Business, PBS,CNN,) as well as channels that bridge to tv programming offered over the internet.... the CNBC channel is particularly cool for boggle-sinners such as myself. you put your portfolio in the channel and it automatically scrapes snipits of CNBC that mention your stocks of interest each day.

we cut the cord 2 years ago and haven't looked back.

its kind of hilarious when explaining to our 3 year old that, no she can't just watch whatever she wants when watching TV elsewhere... and yes some TV's have these wierd interruptions to the programs that try and sell you things..
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by fsrph »

Returned cable box to Comcast.
Stayed with Verizon for phone and Internet access.
Increased Verizon Internet speed for better streaming.
Bought $10 rca antenna at Walmart for local and regional TV stations (in hd).
Bought Sony Blu-ray player with WiFi.
Signed up for Netflix.

Works well for me. Going to watch the Spurs / Heat NBA game later in HD. Glad to cut the Comcast monopoly out of my monthly bills.

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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by Crimsontide »

After surfing through 300 channels of pure crap this evening I might just join you, real soon...
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by clearwater »

Well over a year ago I took my big, heavy, CRT television to a donation place where they happily accepted it. I never bought another TV. It's the best decision I ever made.

Life's too short. Television is just physical and mental noise. Try going a month without TV and you'll be amazed how much better you'll feel. After a few months, when you see television "on" someplace, you'll be amazed at how awful it all is.

(Yes, PBS too. It's all a waste of your time.)
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by tc101 »

Netflix, roku, antenna. I don't miss cable at all.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by pennstater2005 »

I've never had cable. Parents didn't have it. And I followed that lead. With Netflix and an antenna for local stations I don't feel a need for anything more. Although, I may get Apple tv to have PBS. I could just go to the PBS website and plug my computer into the t.v. but what a pain in the $%#. My life is so hard. That's the one station I can't pick up. I didn't get the rotating antenna :oops:
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by SuperGrafx »

To be honest, I never really had cable in the first place.
I was fortunate to live in an area with plenty of on-air broadcasting, plus I watched a lot of PBS programs.

That said, I invested in a ROKU Streaming Stick this past summer and a Netflix subscription.
I'm basically set...plenty to watch at a very reasonable cost!
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by placeholder »

I'm in the opposite camp as I find cable to be very convenient and works it with the DVR so I'm not interested in getting an antenna and internet routed to TV with services to sign up for and all that.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by tc101 »

One more thing - reading more books and spending less time in front of screens.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by bloom2708 »

OTA Antenna, Roku 3, Netflix, Amazon Prime Streaming, 1 Tivo Premiere for recording OTA shows.

Saving ~$100/month. Watching less, plenty of content.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by asif408 »

crg11 wrote:Biggest issue I had with cutting the cord, which I've tried twice, is live sports...I miss them. A lot. In my area (NH), you can't get the Red Sox, Bruins, or Celtics over the air except if one of the broadcast networks has a national game.

Instead I often threaten to cancel my cable package, which usually results in a retention person giving me enough of a discount that I can keep the cable + internet bill under $100 a month. Sometimes I can get them down to ~$75 range, which is very close to the only Internet price that I'm satisfied enough.
I'm in the same boat as well. Right now I've got cable mainly for golf and college football (which are the sports I enjoy watching live). If there was a way to get them without cable I'd drop my cable company in a second.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by denovo »

asif408 wrote:
crg11 wrote:Biggest issue I had with cutting the cord, which I've tried twice, is live sports...I miss them. A lot. In my area (NH), you can't get the Red Sox, Bruins, or Celtics over the air except if one of the broadcast networks has a national game.

Instead I often threaten to cancel my cable package, which usually results in a retention person giving me enough of a discount that I can keep the cable + internet bill under $100 a month. Sometimes I can get them down to ~$75 range, which is very close to the only Internet price that I'm satisfied enough.
I'm in the same boat as well. Right now I've got cable mainly for golf and college football (which are the sports I enjoy watching live). If there was a way to get them without cable I'd drop my cable company in a second.
Sports channels have the heaviest carriage or subscription fees from cable and satellite companies, so there's no way they'd want to set something up to access their programming in a cheaper way.
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by House Blend »

denovo wrote:
asif408 wrote:
crg11 wrote:Biggest issue I had with cutting the cord, which I've tried twice, is live sports...I miss them. A lot. In my area (NH), you can't get the Red Sox, Bruins, or Celtics over the air except if one of the broadcast networks has a national game.

Instead I often threaten to cancel my cable package, which usually results in a retention person giving me enough of a discount that I can keep the cable + internet bill under $100 a month. Sometimes I can get them down to ~$75 range, which is very close to the only Internet price that I'm satisfied enough.
I'm in the same boat as well. Right now I've got cable mainly for golf and college football (which are the sports I enjoy watching live). If there was a way to get them without cable I'd drop my cable company in a second.
Sports channels have the heaviest carriage or subscription fees from cable and satellite companies, so there's no way they'd want to set something up to access their programming in a cheaper way.
On the other hand, there is WatchESPN. It is free, provided that your ISP is an "ESPN partner" (or some such phrase, which as far as I can tell means "most major ISPs that offer TV services as well"). People like me with broadband but no cable/sat TV service can use it to watch second-tier live sports (ESPN3), and replays of their first-tier coverage.

(Will probably watch USA v. Ghana later this pm via roku.)

Seems to me that this is costing both ESPN and the cable providers money, as it makes it easier for people on the fence to not bother with a cable subscription.

I do wonder if ESPN could survive by going to the Netflix subscription model: pay us $X/mo for live streaming access to all ESPN channels. I also wonder how the cable companies would retaliate. Perhaps just jack up the price of internet without a cable bundle.
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Dutch
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by Dutch »

Boglenaut wrote:I'll never go back to cable TV. When I travel on business I see how bad it is and so many commercials, or the same thing over and over.
+1 While traveling it always strikes me how distracting and stressful the constant onslaught of commercials is.
bloom2708
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by bloom2708 »

With all the "apps" on Roku and others now, doesn't it seem like "a la carte" is coming. Some brave network just has to make the leap.

HGTV
ESPN
History
TLC
HBO Go

They all have streaming apps now. They might give you a "teaser" episode or some clips, but to watch full streaming you need cable/satellite. It is comical that to stream you need cable.

If I could "a la carte" HGTV, Food network, ESPN and Fox Sports North (Say I paid $3.99/month for each or $16/month. That combined with OTA HD and Netflix would cover 98% of anything we watch.

It is coming..will it be 2 years, 5 years? Who knows. Harder to predict than the stock market.
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dbCooperAir
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by dbCooperAir »

CherylHall wrote: I would need an antenna and a DVR that is not tied to a subscription. What have folks done to cut the cable cord?
Cut the cored about 4 years ago I think.

For a DVR I have been using Windows 7/Media center. Works like a champ, has name base recording, free 2 week guide. I have 4 tuners in mine with a 2 gig drive for recording and an OS drive. Buy a cheap I3 or build one for cheap. Also have a wireless keyboard to search the Web, Youtube, etc.

The above plus Netflix, works like a champ.
Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. | -Dwight D. Eisenhower-
lululu
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Re: Cutting the cable cord - how did you do it?

Post by lululu »

CMartel2 wrote:There was a period of 4-years when I had no television at all. I'm thinking about going back in that direction. I felt a lot more into life and a lot more energized. I knew my neighbors, too.
I got rid of my television several years ago. When I see what's on when I get involuntarily exposed to it in public places, I can't imagine ever getting one again. I think it must activate some brain override of critical facilities if one watches it enough.
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