Author Topic: why are people so attached to their cable?!  (Read 21273 times)

Insanity

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #50 on: May 06, 2014, 06:47:35 PM »
I am successfully watching my in market mlb games with the $129.99 mlb.tv subscription, a roku, and a $5 per month sub to unblock-us.com to trick my router location settings.  Just followed the instructions on unblock-us website.


When you start combining the prices of the sports packages (mlb.tv, nhl Game Center, and especially adding the NFL package) you are already up to more than cable anyway.  (again, that is factoring what the cable package actually costs you, not the total).  You may get a bit of a break because you don't have the devices which can save a bit, but still.  And then there's adding on Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, or various other services.


Need to be very careful.

Tempe

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #51 on: May 06, 2014, 07:13:12 PM »
When the bf and I got a place together he already knew I wasn't going to go for cable. For christmas we were gifted a chromecast and now youtube and netflix substitute nicely. I do miss the cooking and travel channels.

The only time I really want cable is to watch ice skating in the winter olympics, sadly work was crazy the week I was able still watch it on my roommates dime, the week after I was moved with no cable.

Jack

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #52 on: May 07, 2014, 05:53:16 AM »
There are other, questionable, sites that you can stream live games on.  Be careful where you click on these sites though!

If you are going to do this please do it in Richmond, then you can look me up when you need to hire someone to clean the viruses out of your computer.

There is no such thing as free TV or movies that don't go through a legitimate distribution network. You will get more than you bargained for.

Eh, that's what sandboxed VMs are for.

GuitarStv

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #53 on: May 07, 2014, 06:31:41 AM »


This is my cable subscription. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

My cable is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.

My cable subscription, without my money, is useless. Without my cable subscription, I am useless. I must click my remote true. I must surf the channels faster than my wife who is trying to kill me by changing to HGTV. I must find the sports channel before she wins. I will...

My cable and I know that what counts in this war is not the total number of channels we have, the noise of our surround system, nor the clarity of our display. We know that it is watching the hit shows that counts. We will watch...

My cable is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its times and its schedule. I will keep my television clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...

Before God, I swear this creed. My cable subscription and I are the defenders of my couch. We are the masters of the superbowl. We are the saviors of my life.

So be it, until victory is America's and there is no spare time, but only programming!

Yooper

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #54 on: May 07, 2014, 06:33:56 AM »
No cable here, but if I could just pay for HGTV, ooh...

I registered this account to let you know this; The old large satellite dishes have this option. They have options for al la carte and you can buy things much more individually than a blanket purchase like the big providers. It would probably be pretty easy to find someone who doesn't use their big dish anymore and take the equipment off their hands!

odput

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #55 on: May 07, 2014, 06:46:33 AM »


This is my cable subscription. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

My cable is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.

My cable subscription, without my money, is useless. Without my cable subscription, I am useless. I must click my remote true. I must surf the channels faster than my wife who is trying to kill me by changing to HGTV. I must find the sports channel before she wins. I will...

My cable and I know that what counts in this war is not the total number of channels we have, the noise of our surround system, nor the clarity of our display. We know that it is watching the hit shows that counts. We will watch...

My cable is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its times and its schedule. I will keep my television clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...

Before God, I swear this creed. My cable subscription and I are the defenders of my couch. We are the masters of the superbowl. We are the saviors of my life.

So be it, until victory is America's and there is no spare time, but only programming!

Sweet Jesus that was hilarious!

nordlead

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #56 on: May 07, 2014, 07:47:55 AM »
why does everyone still use sports as an excuse when you can pay to subscribe to an online streaming service like espn uuuuuuuggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh.


I'm 27 and I've NEVER had cable. Been downloading/streaming TV since I was 18, before it was mainstream. Only the shows I want, no commercials.

Because you can't pay to subscribe to WatchESPN. Watch ESPN is for paying cable customers only.

Having streamed TV for so long you should understand why people don't do it. I've streamed for over 10 years myself and know why people don't.

The simple answer is it isn't easy, at least compared to cable TV. Lots of people stream Netflix, but that is about it. You get beyond that or Hulu Plus/Amazon Prime and people either don't know that it exists, it is too expensive, or can only be obtained illegally.

Most sports programs cost $5-10 per "show", which is way too much especially if you watch a lot of them. For example, the MotoGP online subscription costs $35/month. NHL online costs $19/month. At that point, I might as well pay for cable TV and watch both along with lots of other content. Plus, sports have blackout rules. Some online services you end up getting blacked out while the cable company still gets to show the local game.

So, I'm a big fan of building a simple HTPC and watching lots of free content online, but most people can't be bothered to do it.

rocksinmyhead

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #57 on: May 07, 2014, 07:48:35 AM »
When the bf and I got a place together he already knew I wasn't going to go for cable. For christmas we were gifted a chromecast and now youtube and netflix substitute nicely. I do miss the cooking and travel channels.

The only time I really want cable is to watch ice skating in the winter olympics, sadly work was crazy the week I was able still watch it on my roommates dime, the week after I was moved with no cable.

I don't get it. I wanted to watch something OTHER than ice skating in the winter Olympics, but it seemed like the network broadcast was all ice skating, all the time :) do you have an OTA antenna?

No cable here, but if I could just pay for HGTV, ooh...

I registered this account to let you know this; The old large satellite dishes have this option. They have options for al la carte and you can buy things much more individually than a blanket purchase like the big providers. It would probably be pretty easy to find someone who doesn't use their big dish anymore and take the equipment off their hands!

I think there was a recent conversation about this, where someone said you might be able to watch stuff on their website...?

Big Boots Buddha

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #58 on: May 07, 2014, 08:23:54 AM »
we're uk based but my partner loves american football. it looks like sky sports would cost £42.50 a month which would be £520 a year. madness! That would give access to other stuff we would watch if it was there but it's not worth that much. We're considering getting an NFL game pass which gives access to all games live online for around £90. hope we could have a free trial to check it streams well. still a hell of a lot of money but a considerable saving nonetheless. we'll see.

Im in China and I share a gamepass with a few people. I dont watch the games live, but rather a day or two later, at night, without commercials. So a football game is only 2 hours, or less if there is a lot of running. The people can't watch it at the same time, but we had a schedule, one person monday afternoon, another monday night, another tuesday night. It can be VERY cheap this way.

eliandjax1

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #59 on: May 07, 2014, 08:46:01 AM »


This is my cable subscription. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

My cable is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.

My cable subscription, without my money, is useless. Without my cable subscription, I am useless. I must click my remote true. I must surf the channels faster than my wife who is trying to kill me by changing to HGTV. I must find the sports channel before she wins. I will...

My cable and I know that what counts in this war is not the total number of channels we have, the noise of our surround system, nor the clarity of our display. We know that it is watching the hit shows that counts. We will watch...

My cable is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its times and its schedule. I will keep my television clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...

Before God, I swear this creed. My cable subscription and I are the defenders of my couch. We are the masters of the superbowl. We are the saviors of my life.

So be it, until victory is America's and there is no spare time, but only programming!

I about spit out my coffee lol

Tempe

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #60 on: May 07, 2014, 09:22:48 AM »
I don't have an OTA antenna. My inability to watch was partially just crashing after work as well.


When the bf and I got a place together he already knew I wasn't going to go for cable. For christmas we were gifted a chromecast and now youtube and netflix substitute nicely. I do miss the cooking and travel channels.

The only time I really want cable is to watch ice skating in the winter olympics, sadly work was crazy the week I was able still watch it on my roommates dime, the week after I was moved with no cable.

I don't get it. I wanted to watch something OTHER than ice skating in the winter Olympics, but it seemed like the network broadcast was all ice skating, all the time :) do you have an OTA antenna?

mpbaker22

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #61 on: May 07, 2014, 02:13:49 PM »
I was called by my internet (and cable) company yesterday.  It started with reasonable questions about my internet service, then it switched to:

Telemarkert (T) : What kind of TV shows do you watch?
Me (M) : I don't watch TV.
T - What movies do you watch?
M - I don't watch movies.
T - What sort of video game systems do you have
M - none
T - How many TV sets do you have
M - none
T - Do you currently have cable (not kidding, this was asked after I said I didn't have a TV)
M - no, I don't have a TV
... went on for a bit longer

T - We have such and such package with xyz channels.  It's normally $150, but for now its $130, and since you're such a loyal customer (I've had internet through them for about 2 weeks), we'll give you a deal at $98/month.

M - I'm not interested in cable.

T - In that case what about this package that has abc channels

M - click ... hang up.

EMP

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #62 on: May 07, 2014, 05:44:25 PM »


This is my cable subscription. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

My cable is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.

My cable subscription, without my money, is useless. Without my cable subscription, I am useless. I must click my remote true. I must surf the channels faster than my wife who is trying to kill me by changing to HGTV. I must find the sports channel before she wins. I will...

My cable and I know that what counts in this war is not the total number of channels we have, the noise of our surround system, nor the clarity of our display. We know that it is watching the hit shows that counts. We will watch...

My cable is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its times and its schedule. I will keep my television clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...

Before God, I swear this creed. My cable subscription and I are the defenders of my couch. We are the masters of the superbowl. We are the saviors of my life.

So be it, until victory is America's and there is no spare time, but only programming!

I about spit out my coffee lol

+1

ShortInSeattle

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #63 on: May 07, 2014, 06:12:03 PM »
TV is like an anaesthetic. It numbs you temporarily after work. I think people love cable because it's a way of escaping from the pain of everyday life. Sit down and zone out.

But yes, there are better ways to live. Better than being a TV zombie. Friends, hobbies, exercise, family....

:) I like a little TV in moderation. Been watching Cosmos online and it's really great.

Cable prices are nuts though. We cut the cord about 5 years ago.






mrcheese

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #64 on: May 11, 2014, 02:00:56 AM »
About a year ago, the cable from the OTA antenna on my roof broke, I never bothered to fix it but the Eurovison song contest is being televised this weekend, so I actually want to be able to watch tv again ( love me some Eurovison) so Friday afternoon I got home from work, put a pair of pliers in my pocket and climbed up on to the roof to see if I could splice the cable back together. Tragedy! It was so perished that more of it broke off in my hand and there was just not enough left to be able to make the ends meet.
The solution? A wire coat hanger plugged into the coax cable plugged into the tv. Goes like a bought one.
I'm not sure if it would work in the US, but here in Australia it's a common sight, wire coat hangers can pick up a lot of signals.

BlueMR2

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #65 on: May 11, 2014, 06:06:02 AM »
I'm not sure if it would work in the US, but here in Australia it's a common sight, wire coat hangers can pick up a lot of signals.

Back in the analog days it was common here, but it doesn't work well with digital.  When the digital switchover happened, the power output for the local stations was drastically cut too.  Digital doesn't degrade nicely either, it cuts out suddenly.  So, post switchover it's more important than ever to have a big antenna up high and coat hangars no longer are enough.

agent_clone

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #66 on: May 11, 2014, 06:47:05 AM »
I'm not sure if it would work in the US, but here in Australia it's a common sight, wire coat hangers can pick up a lot of signals.

Back in the analog days it was common here, but it doesn't work well with digital.  When the digital switchover happened, the power output for the local stations was drastically cut too.  Digital doesn't degrade nicely either, it cuts out suddenly.  So, post switchover it's more important than ever to have a big antenna up high and coat hangars no longer are enough.

We're on digital here too, where I am analogue was cut off in the middle of last year.  I'm unsure of whether it is a different type of digital here compared to the US though.  I don't think there is a roof antenna in the house I'm living in.  I just have a $20 rabbit ear antenna it picks up digital channels just fine (although there are occassions that it doesn't always work that well).

Threshkin

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #67 on: May 12, 2014, 02:32:33 PM »
Yep. Comcast, in my experience, is kicking and screaming to try to avoid being dragged into the post-cable-TV era. When I renegotiated my rate last year, I was told that an Internet + basic cable "bundle" was $5 cheaper than the same speed Internet by itself (in retrospect, I bet I could have gotten a cheaper Internet-only plan anyway). This year when I insisted on getting the Internet-only package (that was advertised to me in a mail flyer) the various customer service people kept trying to pretend that the plan I wanted didn't exist, tried to upsell me on bundles (over and over again) and flat-out ignored me when I insisted in very explicit terms "DO NOT TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT SERVICES OTHER THAN INTERNET."
Only reason we have cable is comcast won't sell just internet for less than internet plus cable.
Same here.  I had internet only but Comcast offered me internet+basic cable for 33% less.  Hard to resist that savings.

Goatee Joe

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #68 on: May 12, 2014, 03:07:20 PM »
This will be my first year of college football without cable.  I'm an Auburn fan and we had an extremely exciting season last year, so I hemmed and hawed a lot about getting rid of my cable.  I plan on playing with my kids instead and then reading about the games with my son and watching the highlights on line.  We will see how it goes.  I get the major stations via antenna, so I may see Auburn play a few times.  Surprisingly, I haven't missed ESPN that much.  I was into sports(outside of my kids sports) way more than I probably should have been.  I, for the most part, have replaced tv(which for me was always sports), with things I enjoy doing more.

Huge college football fan here too (VT Hokies).  When I decided to cancel cable, the tipping point for me was how annoying ESPN has become.  I'll just go to a bar or my friends' house to watch the VT games during football season, without having to pay for an entire year's worth of ESPN's increasingly-irritating drivel.

jdofaz

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #69 on: May 23, 2014, 08:10:44 PM »
Its easy for me because I don't watch a lot of TV and most of the shows I do watch are on over the air channels.  My antenna and TiVo provide me with more tv than I have time to watch.  The TiVo wasn't exactly cheap but it cost a lot less than cable and my ongoing costs are zero.

RapmasterD

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #70 on: May 23, 2014, 09:37:55 PM »
We got rid of cable 2 1/2 years ago because we weren't watching much TV anyway. I'm not a sports guy. And I don't want to fund Comcast/NBCUniversal, ABC, CBS, Fox, Time Warner, Hearst Media, Al Jazeera, et. al.

We pay for Hulu Plus and Netflix, and we under-utilize both. But $16/mo is a lot cheaper than the $90/mo we used to pay.

TV sucks the juice out of your brain.

ms

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #71 on: May 26, 2014, 01:07:10 PM »
I cut cable 8 years ago when my roommate moved out and took cable with them.  The cable company wanted to charge me a $100 reconnection fee to have the cable back in my name.  I said no. 

We had an analog antenna since then until last year and now we have a digital antenna.  But I would say I rarely watch tv. 

I was on vacation last week and the hotel room had satellite.  Couldn't find anything to watch except for some investigative reporting channel... and then had nightmares about it.  Sigh.

I don't miss the cable but I can see that with the sports it's a good social activity.

strider3700

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Re: why are people so attached to their cable?!
« Reply #72 on: May 26, 2014, 03:09:42 PM »
Every time one of these threads comes up I check my spreadsheet.    Assuming cable hasn't gone up in price (I'm sure it has)  I've saved $2650 since April of 2010 when I cancelled cable.  That calculation is a little funky as the internet and phone costs used to be bundled and they've been all over the place cost wise but It's a reasonable estimate in my mind.

My favorite part about dumping cable was the year they gave it to me for free and gave me a $100 prepaid visa for taking it.   Never turned it on once as we already had OTA and a week before we'd get billed for it we cancelled penalty free.  Now every time they call I remind them that they paid me to take it once and I won't accept anything less then a lower current bill or cash up front and the bill staying identical. 

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!