Quote Originally Posted by kajero View Post
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. )

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.