Cutting the cord

[Brandon]

I did a search on here and was amazed at the info I found from a couple of members about cutting the cord!
I'm sick of paying around 200 bucks a month for tv and internet through CoNcast. So I decided on the Clear Stream 5 antenna which will be mounted on the chimney. I will run that through the existing cable line and the internet will stay on it's own line. Yes, I will be keeping CoNcast for the internet.

Haven't decided on which streaming service to use, but am leaning towards Hulu+

 

[Shadow8088]

Between Hulu and Netflix, my wife and I barely watch regular TV anymore... (yeah, we still have the cable) and as for internet, cable destroys DSL any day of the week in speed... it can't compete... (I still have my doubts about FIOS)

 

[sassy lassy]

I love my Roku. It"s easy to use and inexpensive. If you have a home phone and want to cut that cord as well, check out getting an Ooma device.

 

[88GT]

We've been without enhanced television programming for nearly 15 years now. Don't even use Netflix, Hulu, or any of the competitors.

 

[churchmouse]

Holy crap....If I cut my wife off cold turkey from E-news/fashion police/Oprah/and a host of other programs geared towards females I would have to sedate her......

 

[Suprtek]

Take a look at this. Watch Movies for free - TubePlus You can watch most movies and TV shows for free. It may not be the highest video quality but it is very watchable and like I said, its free.

If you really want to get the black helicopters flying over your house, you can try this... StopStream.tv - Homepage I use it to watch a lot of PPV stuff for free like UFC fights.

 

[Que]

Following, as I'm about to move into a new home and have been thinking about getting rid of my cable/satellite services.

 

[Brandon]

No home phone. I am mainly the only person here most of the time so I won't hear much complaining!

Que, do a search on here if nothing else, I read alot of posts by IndyBeerman, very helpful just reading his information/answers to other's questions.

 

[87iroc]

We 'cut the cord' about 4 or 5 yrs ago now. My daughter was too engrossed in TV and it was a way to pull us away. I bought a good antenna, layed it in the attic...and get about 30 channels. Of those, we watch about 4 or 5. My requirement...CBS for Colts football. I have that pretty reliably.

We have Netflix....and have had Hulu off and on. My daughter doesn't know the difference.

One thing on antennas. Get a signal booster. There's ways to calculate how much you need. Also, the less cable in excess you have the better the reception you'll get.

Good Luck! Weve saved at least 4k since cutting the cord...

 

[Brandon]

I did get a signal booster because of the length of the run to use the existing wiring.
The savings I hope to use for vacation/rainy day funds.

 

[steveh_131]

XBMC + Usenet + SabNZBD + SickBeard

TV Shows all download automatically. I can grab any movies that I want. All available in high definition.

The only weakness in this system is live sports, which I have little interest in.

Usenet subscription costs me $11/month, but can be had cheaper.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I've been thinking of this too, but I'm still on the fence. We watch the History Channel and Discovery a lot, and I like having ESPN, ESPN2 and TNT for NASCAR races. Are these available through Hulu or Roku or whatever?

 

[KittySlayer]

..I like having ESPN, ESPN2 and TNT for NASCAR races.

Got rid of cable the same time I got rid of my ex-wife. Been cable free for two decades and don't miss it a bit.

For sports I simply walk across the street to the sports bar and they will put one of the dozens of TVs on anything I want to watch. The price of a few drinks is far cheaper than paying Comcast.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Holy crap....If I cut my wife off cold turkey from E-news/fashion police/Oprah/and a host of other programs geared towards females I would have to sedate her......

And the downside would be.........................

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Got rid of cable the same time I got rid of my ex-wife. Been cable free for two decades and don't miss it a bit.

For sports I simply walk across the street to the sports bar and they will put one of the dozens of TVs on anything I want to watch. The price of a few drinks is far cheaper than paying Comcast.

Well, that won't work for me... guess I'm stuck with cable.

 

[Ruger-9mm]

I've not had cable since 2004. Right now my setup is an attic antenna, 20 Mbps fiber internet, Netflix, the iTunes Store and an Apple TV connected to a dedicated media server. All of my DVD's are ripped to the media server and play right over the network to any computer in the house as well as the Apple TV. Any shows that I really want to watch in good quality during the current season, I simply get them over the iTunes Store. There's only three shows I do that with, and at an average of $30/season, I can get the three shows each season for the cost of a cable bill, and the episodes are in HD ready to play the day after they air. I've probably invested $500 in my setup, and compared to a cable bill I'm making money after the 5th month.

 

[88GT]

I'll add for those that deign to use Amazon, your prime membership comes with free streaming.

 

[Ruger-9mm]

I'll add for those that deign to use Amazon, your prime membership comes with free streaming.

When they bring it natively to the Apple TV, I'd be for it, but it always looks to me like there's a lot of duplication of what Netflix has.

 

[Leadeye]

No cable out here in the southern woods, only reason we have satellite is like Churchmouse says, keeps memsahib happy.

 

[88GT]

When they bring it natively to the Apple TV, I'd be for it, but it always looks to me like there's a lot of duplication of what Netflix has.

Fine, don't use it. But for the person who is looking for options, it's there. I don't have netflix but I do have a prime membership. Guess which one I would use?