Dumped the cable

[Catrin]

Actually I dumped AT&T Uverse tv - still have the internet. I did like it, and enjoyed the DVR, but I finally realized that almost everything I watch I can get on either NetFlix or Hulu...then I found a wireless internet video streaming device that works with both services and my Bravia tv...and pulled the trigger and plug :)

I've spent most of my adult life without cable and it felt quite freeing to do this. I can still get weather and news on the internet and as it turns out, there are quite a lot of services available to me through this device. I have three free months with Hulu, and a free month of Netflix, but even if I were paying for both it would be less than a third of what I was paying for AT&T Uverse.

More money for bike stuff and more time for productive things - like riding, hiking, reading, and needlework :)

I thought that this might be of interest to someone else who might be considering the same thing. Of course you need a decent internet speed to make it worthwhile but still...

[Cataboo]

I've never had cable - it's never been worth the expense. Most of the shows I watched were available with bunny ears. I do use hulu a lot lately.

My little brother got me a bluetooth player with a network connection for Christmas - so I can stream hulu and various other things on it.

I do have dslr, but it is incredibly slow. I've been trying to upload a video to youtube for about the last 20 hours. It's only 85% done. Of course, noone is going to watch my 15 min video, even the people that are in it - but I'm too far to cancel it now!

[Catrin]

Yikes, that IS slow! At least you are close to it being completed, relatively speaking. I think that there is local interference. I was quite pleased with how easy it was to set up the internet media streaming device I purchased - I have had problems with wireless sometimes but it was easy to set up.

[KnottedYet]

One of these days I suppose I'll buy a TV.

At the moment, though, I don't really see the point; and I certainly don't see the point to buying cable.

Just about everything I want is available on the internet or on DVD through Netflix.

I haven't tried Hulu. I think I tried once, but my computer is too old to handle it. (just like it's too old to handle streaming from Netflix)

It's funny, but my iPod is able to handle what my computer can't! I've watched streaming Netflix on my iPod a couple times now.

[OakLeaf]

I'm addicted to "Big Love." There, I said it. After this season I can let go of HBO. :p

American motorcycle racing isn't even worth watching any more. MotoGP is available commercial free and with better commentary online. Through last season, Americans couldn't legally get World Superbike/World Supersport without subscribing to SpeedTV (but there were ways to get around that... and I don't know what streaming options they have on their website).

I really don't follow bici racing, but you all probably know better than I do where to get your viddy fix without TV...

[Koronin]

I have a satelitte dish which I love. Most of what I actually watch is live sports events and that you can't really get without satelitte or cable and I much prefer satelitte, plus the package I have you can't get with cable anyway and it's something I totally love. We upgraded to the top Dish Network level so we could get VS tv channel to watch IRL and Tour De France and hockey. Also Speed Channel is the only place we can watch Formula One, and we need the DVR for that since getting up at 6am is too early. Then again I also hate my internet/phone company, it's unreliable, which is bad since I need it for work.

[Owlie]

I don't have cable at the apartment because I don't want to pay for it. There are a few things I like watching when I'm at my parents' house (Mythbusters, for one!), but not that much.

I really should get a radio. It would make getting weather and news in the morning that much easier. (My computer takes forever to boot up.)

[shootingstar]

Congrats, Catrin. I don't have cable either right now.

[Crankin]

We recently bought our son a TV with the stuff you describe (internet streaming video device), as like you, he has internet/wireless, but no cable. He loves it! Especially since they were watching movies on the computer screen, which was a pain for 2 people.
I have cable, but none of the "extra" channels, like HBO. DH keeps threatening to cancel the cable, but I do watch the Tour and other bike races on VS, as well as CNN, and let's not forget HGTV.

[tulip]

Congratulations, Catrin. You can watch shows online, including HGTV. I watched a great House Hunters International episode last night online. It may not be the most current episode, but I don't know that, so who cares?

I watch the occasional L&O/House/Bones on Hulu, and the other night I watched The Way We Were on crackle.com.

I have not had true TV in years. I knit and listen to Old Time Radio alot. And read. It's much more satisfying than TV in my opinion. When I do want to veg out in front of a TV, I watch it online. But I normally have better things to do.

Last year, for the TdF, I subscribed to Versus online coverage for something like $30. It sure beats the price of cable all year long.

[esmorin]

Last year, for the TdF, I subscribed to Versus online coverage for something like $30. It sure beats the price of cable all year long.

Ooooo! I didn't know you could do that! I would love to do that and watch Hockey!!

my husband and I got rid of our cable (which he had only for a year or so - and I was not brought up in a house that had cable, and TV was not relied on for entertainment)...and we have never regretted it. sure, we LOVE to watch stuff at friends' and family's homes...but we mostly just watch a lot of stuff online. Also, we're readers. And I knit, too! Also, Netflix's streaming plan is only $8 or $9 a month...and they have a pretty good selection (and getting better, I hear!).

Congrats!!! you will have more money and time for better things! :)

[ny biker]

[bump]

I am looking into alternatives to cable TV. I was content with what I had, an HD-DVR from the only cable/internet provider that is available in my neighborhood. Until last month when they started to pelt me with warnings that technological changes on their end would cause me to lose HD channels if I did not get a new HD-DVR.

[yada yada multiple phones calls to "customer service" where I got transferred around and every person I spoke to gave me a different answer yada yada yada.]

New box was installed on Monday morning and I hate hate hate it. They have added all sorts of features that I do not need and will never use. In the process they have made it harder to do basic things. Actions that used to required one press of a button on the remote now require multiple button presses to drill down through various menus. Stupid changes like before when you pressed "Last" it took you to the last channel you watched but now it just brings up a list of channels with channels I literally have never seen in my life on the left and the last one I was watching all the way over the on the right where my eyes go last. To say that I have no patience for this kind of thing is an understatement. I don't know who they designed these "upgrades" for but from where I'm sitting they have taken away a product that me my needs and replaced with a product that absolutely does not meet my needs. I am so annoyed that I haven't tried to watch TV since the new box was installed.

So I am looking into cutting the cord, seeing if I can still watch the shows I want to watch without the cable company, and without spending more than I spend now (saving a little $$ would be a nice bonus).

I have a relatively old HDTV, purchased 9 years ago. So it's not a smart TV. I have internet with wifi. The router has been acting up lately so I am willing to buy a new one; I know the one I have now is not the most advanced type available. The modem is new.

Channels I watch most often: TCM, local broadcast channels, PBS including reruns of Masterpiece Mystery (i.e., Morse, Lewis, Wallender, George Gently) on an all-British-programming PBS station, FX, Food Network, Comedy Central, NBC Sports for Formula 1 racing. There are other channels I watch occasionally like TNT, USA, AMC, plus CNBC when F1 coverage gets kicked over there due to conflicts on NBS Sports.

I rarely watch shows in real time -- I record almost everything on the DVR. I am usually not home or asleep when the shows I want to watch are on. Sometimes I save favorite shows indefinitely on the DVR so I can watch them again months or years later.

From my research so far, it looks like I will need a streaming device like Roku, plus subscriptions to things like Hulu, Netflix, SlingTV, Playstation Vue. It looks like CBS requires its own subscription and I may need to become a member of a local PBS station. Maybe I need a digital antenna, though I don't know if that will do much for me since I don't typically watch things when they are broadcast. I must say I'm finding the websites for the streaming services to be less than helpful in terms of the details of what they offer. And I can't tell yet if I need a DVR (either Tivo or a cloud DVR service) or if everything I want would be available on demand.

I am anti-Amazon, so will consider their streaming hardware and services as a last resort only. I'm not wild about using Google products for this either, since I feel like they already know too much about me (okay yes I'm a bit crazy-paranoid). I currently have no Apple products.

Any thoughts, suggestions, advice? Thanks!!

[Crankin]

Before we moved to the condo, where we have to have cable, we had a digital antenna for HD and Apple TV. The Apple TV was complicated for me to use. I mostly watch network news, anyway, and a couple of shows, so I didn't care. We did have cable internet and phone.
Now that we have cable, I am enjoying having it, watching more HGTV and a John Oliver, Bill Mahr when the shows actually air. I could live without it, though. No DVR. We had one 2 houses ago and it never got used. We just don't watch much TV and go to bed early!

[Pax]

We dumped out cable when we sold our house in 2013, we've been saving intensely for retirement so we never got any streaming stuff. We use a Mohu Leaf to get over the air channels and it works fine unless it's storming or windy. What we've found is once you adjust to life without tons of media you end up reading more or watching DVD's.

Our condo in FL comes with cable as part of our fees, but I find it almost overwhelming, there are so many channels, and we end up with 3-4 different remotes to juggle. It just makes me anxious, although I do love TCM.

[Catrin]

I dumped cable long ago, though to be fair I've gone between having cable and not for 30 years. My current solution of rabbit ears and a wired connection between my Roku and wifi router works very well. I highly recommend a wired connection as that will always be both more stable and faster. At least at the present time.

For content I've rabbit years, Amazon Prime, Curiosity Stream (a $5 month Roku channel with a nice range of documentaries - some of which are quite good) and a $7 month limited access to Great Courses Plus via Amazon (add on channel - provides access to over 100 college level courses and there are enough that interest me it's worth it). I also usually have an Acorn channel (either Roku or Prime add on channel) for 4.99, just not right now.

The Roku has quite a lot of free content. That with the above works for me well. Frankly I've little time for tv and I am happy with the above. Taichi, reading, and other things take most of my "free" time.

[ny biker]

There actually are only a handful of shows that I watch regularly. Those are the ones that I typically record on the DVR. However I do keep the TV on a lot to drown out the noisy neighbors. For that, I put on a channel that generally does not annoy me and just leave it on for as long as needed. Mostly I use the Food Network for background noise, and as a result I've found a few shows there that I like. I'm not much of a cook but I do pick up a few good tips now and then. And I really like to see the interactions between the contestants on some of the cooking competitions on Food Network, especially with the kids.

So, I'm working on step 1, getting a new router. After that I guess I will sign up for some free trials for some of the streaming services, to see which might work out for me. I have pretty much decided which Roku model to buy, though I'm still confused about how it works. I need to see one in action, I think. I've thought about how I might hook up Roku or a similar device with a wired connection. Right now the modem and router are on the opposite side of the room from the TV -- I think I did that so that the router would be centrally located in the apartment. I think I might already have a really long ethernet cable, though, and if not I could buy one. I could run it around the room along the baseboards and it would be pretty well hidden by my furniture.

I looked at the PBS website last night as well as the site for one of my local stations (I get one from northern VA, which is located a mile from my house, one from Maryland and another from Howard University in DC.) It looks like I can get access to lots of programs on demand if I make a donation, which I am happy to do. I still have to figure out how I can watch F1 races, practice and qualifying. I know I can get the channels from services like SlingTV and Playstation Vue, but it's not clear if I would have the option to watch on-demand after they have aired live.

I have a sneaking suspicion that my internet bill will go up if I drop the cable TV. Also I might end up needing to upgrade to a faster internet option, but hopefully with a better router that won't be necessary.

[kajero]

My SO, Don, who passed away January 21, 2017, was so into TV! He had TV's in every room. Two in the computer room and that doesn't count the two monitors that also could be used as TVs.

So he had the best cable package and TIVO package you could buy. Since he passed away I have removed all the TVs except the one in the living room which I want to sell - I have no use for 55" inch curved tv -- and the one downstairs. As soon as the contract is up, the cable TV is going bye-bye! I rarely watch TV and what I watch is available on the basic channels that I don't need cable for.

[shootingstar]

How sad and am so sorry Kajero for your loss.

I haven't lived a home with any tv for past 7 years. I don't subscribe to Netflix and seldom watch shows on 'Net.

[kajero]

Shootingstar -- thank you for your condolences.

I don't know how to get Netflix or any other of that streaming stuff on Don's fancy TV. I tried to but all I did was mess things up so badly that I had Don's son come and fix it. So all I do is watch very basic television because three remotes are too hard for me to figure out. :confused: Oh wait, there are four. One for the TV, one for the cable company, the apple TV remote -- which is beyond me, and the Harmony remote for the sound bar. Of course the DVD player has a remote but seeing as I can't quite figure out to use it without messing up the TV, I don't use the DVD player.

I CAN figure out the ALEXA he bought. I just tell her to play public radio and she does. And she doesn't cost anything!

[Pax]

I totally get that about the remotes. At my brothers house at Christmas my SIL asked me to put on the channel showing "It's A Wonderful Life", couldn't even figure out what button to push to turn the thing on, four remotes and all sorts of components, nope.

[Crankin]

I am the same way. We only have 2 remotes, but I don't even know how to get the channel guide on. DH is always talking into the remote and then gets mad when the thing doesn't get his command correctly. He uses voice for everything. I just think it's dumb.
I do know how to get my DVD player to play a DVD, which I mostly use for yoga or other workout stuff. That involves 2 remotes, but I've been doing it a long time.
One time, many years ago, when my kids were away at camp and DH was on a business trip, I rented a movie (a tape). I couldn't get the movie to play, so I returned it within an hour. How pathetic is that?

[ny biker]

I am the same way. We only have 2 remotes, but I don't even know how to get the channel guide on. DH is always talking into the remote and then gets mad when the thing doesn't get his command correctly. He uses voice for everything. I just think it's dumb.


This is the point I tried to make to the Comcast people about the "upgraded" DVR they forced me to get. They added so many features that I have no interest in, and as a result the things that used to be simple now take multiple steps and drilling down through several menu layers. And the stupid voice command thing is of absolutely no interest to me. I have enough problems with sore throats and laryngitis, I don't want to have to talk to change the damn TV channel.

Some people just want it to be simple but they have decided they don't want those people (included me) as their customer.

I bought a new router which should give me faster download speeds but haven't had a chance to hook it up yet. And I was delaying the Roku purchase for a month or so because I've been spending too much money on other things lately. Meanwhile Comcast billed me $30 for the technician who came out to hook up the new DVR that I was forced to get, even though they had told me that I would not be charged anything for it. So I had to go back to them and ask them to refund the money. This is on top of the extra $10/month they billed me for two months after I bought my own modem and returned the one I was paying them for -- if I hadn't called to ask for that money back they never would have refunded it. I have more motivation than ever to find alternatives to getting cable TV from them.

As for remotes, with the old DVR that I was perfectly content with, I never bothered to program it so that I could use the DVR remote to control the TV. With the new hated DVR, the technician who was supposed to be there at no charge programmed it for me. Then he tried to show me how to use it, but I kept saying "I won't ever use that feature so you can skip it" and got increasingly annoyed at all the extra steps for doing what I did want to do, so by the time he left I'm pretty sure he thought I was crazy.

[Crankin]

That's why we don't have a DVR. We *never* used it when we had it. Even DH hated the thing.

[snapdragen]

I upgraded to DirecTv's Genie, and couldn't be happier. The remote is much more user friendly, the only other remote I use is the one for my Roku 3, when I want to watch Netflix, Hulu, etc. I rarely watch any of the "lower" channels, mostly BBC America, SyFy, MSNBC.

[kajero]

I am thinking of buying my own router. It would help the cable bill when it is paid for. I haven't turned on the television in two days. Ugh. I still have to pay them $167. I am looking to somehow reduce that.

[kajero]

Of course you need a decent internet speed to make it worthwhile but still...

Comcast raises your rate for your internet service if that is the only service they provide. Still, my bill will be less without cable TV, the $7 rate increase this month, and the $3 for sport shows that I NEVER watch. I am not sure if the $7 is for cable TV or for everything which would include internet service.

I don't understand why Comcast is not considered a monopoly and is not broken up the way Bell telephone was a gazillion years ago. I am sure they have great lobbyists in Washington!

[ny biker]

Comcast raises your rate for your internet service if that is the only service they provide. Still, my bill will be less without cable TV, the $7 rate increase this month, and the $3 for sport shows that I NEVER watch. I am not sure if the $7 is for cable TV or for everything which would include internet service.

I don't understand why Comcast is not considered a monopoly and is not broken up the way Bell telephone was a gazillion years ago. I am sure they have great lobbyists in Washington!

They are a monopoly in my neighborhood, but Verizon just recently signed agreements with the condo associations there to install FIOS. It will take time for the infrastructure to be in place but at least it will be another option. Satellite TV is not an option for me due to strict condo rules regarding installation of the dish.

Until this past winter I rented a modem from Comcast and had my own router. I replaced the modem with one of my own, not sure which specific model but it was an Arris Surfboard modem. I found a page on the Comcast website with a list of modems that work with their system, and chose a highly-rated one from that list. I had to call Comcast for them to activate it, otherwise it was easy to set up. (Then they continued to bill me for their old modem for two months after I returned it, and didn't refund the money until I called and demanded it. :rolleyes:)

More recently I replaced the router. I had thought it was fairly new, but found a receipt indicating it was actually several years older than I remembered. And it used older technology. After poking around online doing research, I bought a new Linksys dual band MIMO router which is working well. I connect to one band with my pc, tablet and phone and use the other band for the Roku. The Roku has an ethernet port for a wired connection, but so far it's working fine on wifi.

(There is a Micro Center store near me, and they tend to have good customer reviews for many products, which I rely on when making purchase decisions. They also have excellent tech support if you have any problems setting up a new device.)

I'm very happy with the Roku and would use it even if I decided to keep the cable TV. I'm actually using the youtube app a lot, watching training videos related to my job as well as putting on music videos when I get ready for work in the morning. I also love the AccuRadio app -- many many music genres to choose from, free and no commercials. I am somewhat happy with Playstation Vue for watching live TV. I'm able to watch most shows I like, but am not thrilled with some aspects of how the dvr works and also can't seem to pause live TV or rewind it if I want to replay something. The Comcast dvr records any show while you are watching it so you have the ability to pause and rewind.

Next I plan to try Hulu or Netflix. Hulu has released a live TV streaming service with dvr that I want to try, but it's not available for Roku yet. I also need to find a source of TV listings since there is no on-screen guide for Playstation Vue with the Roku. I like to scroll through the guide for certain channels to see what they will be airing, and select things that look interesting to record on the dvr. I've found some very interesting movies and documentaries by doing this, things I wouldn't have known about otherwise.

I also will be getting a digital antenna so I can watch local news and PBS live.

I haven't actually cut the cord and canceled the cable TV yet, but have not thought of any reason to keep it. I'm only delaying the decision because the channel lineup I get is no longer offered for new customers; if I get rid of it and ever decide to go back to cable TV, I will be stuck with a more expensive plan that includes tons of channels that I don't want.

I don't know yet how much I would save by getting rid of cable TV since that depends on what other services with monthly fees I decide are worthwhile. And that can vary, for example I could pay extra for live streaming TV with sports channels during some months of the year and drop to a less expensive tier without sports during the off-season.

[Jean_TZ]

I cut the cable 20 years ago. A couple years back I was able to get cable at my condo due to a mix-up in the building's wiring. But every time I looked at the cable TV schedule I was unable to find anything that I wanted to watch. So I'll never do cable TV.

Using an antenna that I built, I manage to get 19 local channels in the Austin TX area. With the exception of PBS, the networks seem to me to have really degraded their programming. So now I mostly rely on a Roku unit to stream Netflix and some freebie channels. I still want to try Hulu some day.

[kajero]

NY Biker
What router did you buy?
What is Roku?
Thank you. I am willing to pay a decent price for a new router. I figure Comcast costs over 140 a year once they add taxes and other fees.

[ny biker]

My new router is a Linksys Max-Stream AC1900 MU-MIMO gigabit router. http://www.microcenter.com/product/460558/Max-Stream_AC1900_Mu-Mimo_Gigabit_Router

The modem is an Arris SURFboard 660 series - SB6183. http://www.microcenter.com/product/447161/SURFboard_SB6183_Cable_Modem

In my case they are two separate devices, because the old Comcast cable modem was just a modem, not a combination modem + router, and I did not replace the router at the same time as the modem.

Roku is an internet streaming device to watch things from the internet on your TV. Apple TV, Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire are similar devices. Gaming devices like Playstation and some DVRs also have the ability to stream to your TV. Newer TVs come with internet streaming ability built-in, but my 9-year-old TV is otherwise working well so I saw no need to replace it. I could connect a laptop to my TV in order to livestream to it, but the Roku (or Apple TV, etc) is more convenient. I think a lot of people use streaming devices to watch shows and movies from services like Netflix and Amazon Prime even if they also have cable TV. But it seems to be increasingly easier to get rid of cable and still watch lots of shows online, either on demand or in real time, which is what I'm trying to do.

BTW last week I got an email from Playstation Vue telling me they are raising their rates. I currently have the base channels + sports + movies, so if I stay with them I will drop down to just base channels + sports. I'm going to try DirecTV Now next to see if I like their interface better. They don't have a cloud DVR but I most of the things I would want to record would be available on demand. Part of this process for me is getting used to the whole on demand thing, which I never really needed to use with the cable TV.