Author Topic: Getting rid of cable TV.  (Read 20981 times)

kander

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #50 on: February 21, 2015, 04:45:53 AM »
I did this too! On april 1th 1st we won't have cable anymore.
« Last Edit: February 23, 2015, 12:26:10 AM by kander »

gaja

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #51 on: February 21, 2015, 05:17:09 AM »
Cable is way to much hassle. We have had it on and off the last ten years, but every time we try, it is just so much work getting it function. And then you can't see what you want when you want. So we always go back to apps, like viaplay, netflix or HBO. The national TV has started digitizing all old films and shows, their app is getting better every day. Had a computer hooked up to the screen for many years, but now we are using ChromeCast. It's ok, but not perfect.

Dexterous

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #52 on: February 22, 2015, 01:46:33 AM »
I haven't owned cable tv in 6 years, and when I did it was at a $29 price with internet (I was "friendly" with a mediacom employee, lol).

However, I do have an indoor UHF antenna with a 35 mile range to pickup some broadcasts.  Additionally, we use amazon prime (at the student discount price of $49 year) which includes a lot of tv shows and movies.

cshaw

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #53 on: February 22, 2015, 03:35:40 AM »
Finally got ride of cable this week!

Held onto it for an extra 6 months because it was cheaper to downgrade it than it was to flat out cancel! Weird how bundled deals work like that.

Now to trim back the $60 a month on internet...

Would love to get down to $60 a month for internet.  Moved from Utah to Idaho about a year and a half ago.  Signed up for the $55/month introductory cable internet (no TV).  Have seen that grow from $55, to $70, and now $100/month because of our data usage.  There four of us in the house and Netflix gets a lot of use in the Winter months.  My teenage son also plays a lot of online games on top of watching Netflix (sometimes at the same time).  The local cable company has absolutely zero serious competition and they know it.  The $100/month cable bill pisses me off almost as much as that $240 cell phone bill use to.  Ting helped remedy that one.

willow

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #54 on: February 22, 2015, 06:24:36 PM »
I am throwing down the challenge. Getting rid of cable TV. Have any of you took the plunge? Here is the way I did it.

http://www.financialforager.com/?p=126

Kudos to you! I've been cable sober for years now. Couldn't afford it in college, then when I got out, didn't make sense to drop all that money on it. If we do watch TV or movies, it's whatever is available via the show's website or redbox/amazon instant video.

Nova and PBS do a great job of putting a lot of their stuff online.

wintersun

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #55 on: February 22, 2015, 06:47:48 PM »
We love being cable-less.  It is years since we had it, I think it was 1999.  There are so many other things to do with my evenings.  Of course the computer screen is just as addictive, I have spent hours peering at it today.  I hope you love your newfound freedom.

1967mama

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #56 on: February 23, 2015, 01:29:46 AM »
Watched the Academy Awards tonight in HD with our $129 OTA digital antenna. Possibly my best purchase of 2014!

anon-e-mouse

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #57 on: February 25, 2015, 05:42:37 PM »
We cut the cord so long ago, I forget when.
I don't miss it at all except nightly news and sports.
Now that I installed an HD antenna for the t.v. (about 70 channels!), I find that I don't even watch it at all.
Stupid rambling and fear mongering in the news, regurgitated hourly.

We're FAR from mustachian, but getting closer all the time.

MLKnits

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #58 on: February 25, 2015, 06:01:50 PM »
Never had it. I have a little LCD TV that I haul out to watch DVDs with friends occasionally--well, I've done it twice in four years--but with a laptop, who needs a TV?

Helps that I loathe "background" noise/movement. I will never grok people who just leave the TV on all day. TVs in waiting rooms and in the back of (other people's--mine is OFF) airplane seats drive me up the wall. One of my sisters sleeps with all the lights on and the TV running, which blows my mind.

1967mama

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #59 on: February 25, 2015, 11:30:55 PM »
I currently have the following out from the library:

"Argo"
"Philomena"
"American Hustle"
"Gravity"

As well, I have out these documentaries:

"Coast"  -- BBC Series
"Fed Up" -- Katie Couric expose on the food industry and sugar

Should keep us busy for a while!

Cornelia

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #60 on: March 02, 2015, 09:48:31 AM »
Huzzah!
Finally canceled the cable last week, just switched over to a cheap rabbit ears antenna with a digital converter box (long live our old CRT tv). We get a few local channels for news etc, and local TVO public station for cartoons for the kiddos. I'm still trying to figure out how to hook my series2 TiVo up to it... might just have to cancel the TiVo service too, if I can't figure it out!




The Southern Stache

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #61 on: March 03, 2015, 08:22:50 AM »
Check out SLING TV. Not perfect, but looks like a great supplement to OTA Local Broadcast Antenna Channels.  I believe the service was rolled out in February of this year, so still new, however the online reviews sound good.  I believe there is a free 14 day trial.  I plan on a trial using my amazon fire TV (which I also highly recommend).  As I understand it, it is $20 a month for basic package to include ESPN, ESPN2, CNN, Disney and a few others, including a Spanish network.  $5 extra for each of the other tiers (sports, kids, news).  No DVR (record, pause, rewind, fast forward, etc) functionality as a rule, some VOD.  Downside is that they are the actual channel broadcasts so you will have commercials.  But again, for the price...and being able to watch the games, could be worth it.  Good luck to you all. 

KD

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #62 on: March 03, 2015, 08:25:30 AM »
Took me about five years of intermittently bringing it up to get Hubs (who watches one show-which is available online) to finally agree.  Cancelled it in February!!!  YEEEEEEEEEEEE=HAW!  $55.00 a month for the WIN!!!

b4u2

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #63 on: March 03, 2015, 09:13:59 AM »
I'd like to do this. I have been with Directv for many years. I have netflix and chromecast and amazon prime. I think I used prime once but it doesn't work well with chromecast. I had to cast the screen since amazon and google don't like each other. The video quality was trash. I also like to watch football, college and pro. If I can find a viable way around cable I would take it. I also use dvr a lot since we are not glued to the tv at certain times.

I am currently trying plex also. My wifi network seems to have issues and it pisses my off when it lags or buffers frequently. I have a friend working with my to try and figure out the issues.

rocksinmyhead

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #64 on: March 03, 2015, 10:20:31 AM »
Helps that I loathe "background" noise/movement. I will never grok people who just leave the TV on all day. TVs in waiting rooms and in the back of (other people's--mine is OFF) airplane seats drive me up the wall. One of my sisters sleeps with all the lights on and the TV running, which blows my mind.

OMG this is me too! (Except that I do have a TV, I like watching movies and many TV shows on Roku). Seriously just reading your description of TVs being on in the background makes me feel anxious. LOL.

Also +1 to whoever said watching the Oscars in HD with their OTA antenna was lovely!

forkneedlepen

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #65 on: March 03, 2015, 10:51:05 AM »
We got rid of cable TV a couple years ago. It was kind of part of the evolution of getting fit and also getting serious about cutting expenses. We are not sports watchers, so that never was a factor. We do have Netflix and Amazon Prime which we stream through a Roku 3, although we are contemplating canceling Netflix since the two of them seem to have much of the same programming and all we ever watch are nature documentaries.

We cut our $160 a month cable and internet bill to a $65 a month internet bill.

We were also able to cut our gym memberships back since I can get yoga and pilates class through Daily Burn for $10 a month.
« Last Edit: March 03, 2015, 10:52:40 AM by forkneedlepen »

YK-Phil

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #66 on: March 03, 2015, 11:31:54 AM »
We cut the cable years ago, and don't have home internet. But my elderly mother is visiting us for a while and I need to find a quick and cheap solution to entertain her during the day while my wife and I are away. I tried a couple of cheap antennas to get local channels without any success. I am wondering if a more expensive antenna would have better results. Any advice?

1967mama

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #67 on: March 03, 2015, 11:52:35 AM »
I am wondering if a more expensive antenna would have better results. Any advice?

@ykphil,

We tried a $19 antenna first, and it was lousy -- maybe 2 channels and lots of pixelation. 

We have upgraded to a $129 one and its great! We get 5 channels with perfect HD reception. As you probably know, it also depends on your area (topography and trees/buildings etc) and the location of the towers. We do move ours to a different spot for one particular channel.

Here is a link to it:
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/antennas-direct-antennas-direct-clearstream-amplified-indoor-digital-tv-antenna-csm1-xg-cn-csm1-xg-cn/10319742.aspx?path=e34a1d23bbd1ed3d317c4b6634e4b4c1en02

Hope that helps!


b4u2

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #68 on: March 03, 2015, 12:29:58 PM »
We cut the cable years ago, and don't have home internet. But my elderly mother is visiting us for a while and I need to find a quick and cheap solution to entertain her during the day while my wife and I are away. I tried a couple of cheap antennas to get local channels without any success. I am wondering if a more expensive antenna would have better results. Any advice?

Check the first post. He has a link to 2 different antenna sites. They can help you pick the right one based on your zip code. I looked and mine was a red type so I'll be shopping for the correct one.

I'm also looking at ditching Directv and mediacom and switching to IMON. Would save me about $80 a month over using the other two.
« Last Edit: March 03, 2015, 12:31:49 PM by b4u2 »

Cornelia

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #69 on: March 08, 2015, 08:52:08 AM »
Had to share-

We cut the cable a couple weeks ago, and lo and behold a couple days ago a rival cable company telemarketer called and asked about our cable.

 I said we didn't have any cable, and he said, slightly dumbfounded, "what do you do for entertainment then?" I replied, "I don't know, live life, have fun?". After a longish pause, he just said, "Okay, have a nice day, good bye."

I burst out laughing, it was the highlight of my day :)

financialforager

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #70 on: April 05, 2015, 05:27:32 PM »
Had to share-

We cut the cable a couple weeks ago, and lo and behold a couple days ago a rival cable company telemarketer called and asked about our cable.

 I said we didn't have any cable, and he said, slightly dumbfounded, "what do you do for entertainment then?" I replied, "I don't know, live life, have fun?". After a longish pause, he just said, "Okay, have a nice day, good bye."

I burst out laughing, it was the highlight of my day :)

Great stuff!! There is no need for cable tv or direct tv. All you need is a HD antenna and a internet connection.

FrugalKube

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #71 on: April 07, 2015, 09:12:04 PM »
I think I can handle this! Cut down my internet/cable bill from $150 to $50

southern granny

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #72 on: April 08, 2015, 06:11:06 PM »
I'd like to do this. I have been with Directv for many years. I have netflix and chromecast and amazon prime. I think I used prime once but it doesn't work well with chromecast. I had to cast the screen since amazon and google don't like each other. The video quality was trash. I also like to watch football, college and pro. If I can find a viable way around cable I would take it. I also use dvr a lot since we are not glued to the tv at certain times.

I'm preparing to drop the cable and I signed up for amazon prime and chromecast and it works great.  Better than I expected since my internet is slower than recommended for the chromecast.  I have been binge watching Downton Abby

mrpercentage

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #73 on: April 15, 2015, 05:19:34 AM »
I did for two years but it came back with a vengeance (my wife). She really wanted to see the olympics (Im in a bad reception area for NBC) and a temporary good deal and a contract came together. So now I pay.. eh don't remind me.

To ease the pain when I did I bought a Roku $60 and used my Xbox to stream Netflix and purchases from Amazon.
If there is just 1 or 2 shows you must have Amazon has 99% of them the day after they air for $2 with no commercials and you own them for life. So the walking dead subscription is only $8 a month. Not bad if you were paying $105 for cable.

Now there is sling TV and Apple TV service and even HBO without cable on online. HBO is $15 but can you say content so go ahead and binge that Game of Thrones.

Im not trying to get you guys to spend money.. Im just trying to say there are options and seasonal HBO and 1 or 2 shows purchased wouldn't be that bad and you would avoid the commercial brainwashing.

Miamoo

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Re: Getting rid of cable TV.
« Reply #74 on: April 16, 2015, 09:36:31 AM »
Done 4 or 5 years ago.