Cable Free?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

People who are cable free or not, what services do you use? I went cable free and am trialing Netflix, hulu plus, amazon prime. I am considering playon as well. What do most people do?

[MonkeyMama]

We use netflix, hulu plus/play on, and amazon video. The amazon we use is not prime - we just pay for the shows we want to stream.

OF course, then we have an antenna for network TV.

WE also have blockbuster, but my dh prefers blu rays, we are grandfathered under a really GREAT plan, and it makes up for where netflix lacks.

Netflix is the bulk of it, really. Once we tried netflix streaming, I Was sold!

We've been having a lot of issues with Hulu on our roku, so I am least impressed with Hulu.

[minnie1928]

I was cable free for about 2 years, I only recently went back to cable because they offered me a deal for basic, expanded cable at about $10/mth.

Anyway, when we were cable free we streamed Netflix and watched current shows via the network website or Hulu. We connected our laptop to the tv and watched from there.

[riverwed070707]

We use Hulu Plus and Netflix (by mail only). We had netfilx streaming for a while but cut down our package when prices went up. We kept the mail as opposed to the streaming because for DH being able to get blu rays was more important than watching instantly.

For $17 a month, it's working for us. Sure beats our old $80 Dish Network bill.

[feh]

Just Netflix and OTA antenna.

[mmgarren@yahoo.com]

I have never used cable. I watch about 8 channels free. I don't like to have any more reoccuring monthly bills than necessary also I think I am a sitting duck for whatever charge they think up.

[photo]

There are people who lead fulfilling lives without cable.

We have Netflix and then an antenna plus a converter box (because our TV is so elderly).

We don't watch much TV, but public television is by far the most viewed channel. When we want to watch films, Netflix has what we want 99% of the time. We prefer to watch a specific film when we want to watch, not when a TV station decides to air it.

What is so appealing about cable (that some people refuse to ever give it up, even to the point when they declare bankruptcy)?

[riverwed070707]

Originally Posted by photo

There are people who lead fulfilling lives without cable.

We have Netflix and then an antenna plus a converter box (because our TV is so elderly).

We don't watch much TV, but public television is by far the most viewed channel. When we want to watch films, Netflix has what we want 99% of the time. We prefer to watch a specific film when we want to watch, not when a TV station decides to air it.

What is so appealing about cable (that some people refuse to ever give it up, even to the point when they declare bankruptcy)?

Biggest downside in our house is the loss of sports games. You can't get that on Hulu and we have a toddler, so we can't just go out to watch the games we want to see all the time (plus that's $$ too!). We're surviving, but I do miss it.

[skydivingchic]

We just have Netflix for TV/movies. We tend to spend more time on the internet, so we have high speed internet.

[Like2Plan]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

People who are cable free or not, what services do you use? I went cable free and am trialing Netflix, hulu plus, amazon prime. I am considering playon as well. What do most people do?

No cable or any of the other services you mention. We have an antenna. One TV gets two channels and the other TV on the other side of the house gets most of the network channels.
We have DSL, but the network speed is .35mbs--it gets an F when compared to the rest of the county (and world). I'm going to upgrade to FIOS soon--after I get Christmas stuff done (it is supposed to take a whole day to do it.) The FIOS package has TV, too, but we have to install coaxial boxes in order to use it (I guess). I figure between the cost of the land line, long distance and the DSL (which is terribly slow) the FIOS will be cheaper. Except, there seems to be lots and lots and lots of things you can add on. (I have signed up for it and backed out 3 times now because of all the unknowns. )

[elessar78]

I've mentioned it before but I work for a cable/internet provider.

The model in which we watch shows and sports will most likely change in the next decade (or 15 years). Most of it we get through cable or satellite dish, but as we've all seen more and more are available through other avenues like the internet, or iTunes. The next iteration will probably be some form of mass-streaming. As we speak, there are technologies competing to be "the next thing". The cable companies are at the forefront as, what we buy in the new technology will be the next thing, but it's a big game of chicken. Let's say Comcast wants to go with a certain technology and Verizon another, but neither wants to be wrong and pick the "betamax" of this tech-war.

Another aspect is that programming is costing more than it ever has before. Your cable company must purchase the shows it puts on from networks like; NBC, Fox, Disney/ABC/ESPN, Discovery, etc. More and more of the channels you know are owned by one parent company which is one reason why we can't have a la carte channels, because the networks will only sell them as a package.

The networks in turn have set such a high bar to "cover their nut" through their recent actions. They have paid ASTRONOMICAL fees for the rights to broadcast the NFL and the Olympics. Which they pass onto us and expect us, the cable companies, to pass onto the consumer. Do people really care enough about the Olympics to shell out an extra 2 bucks/month? That's every month you have cable, even the years without the Olympics. Seems ludicrous, right? Well, it is.

No, programming doesn't have to cost a lot. It used to be more sane. Now, for what we (cable companies) and you the consumer pay we get a lot more cheap programming in the form of reality shows that require no writers and no actors.

In the grand scheme, it is all an unsustainable track the networks are leading us down.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

My husband really misses cable for the sports. We have antenna and can catch football but he's a big hockey and baseball fan. We'd buy the nhl and mlb package but they black out the local teams. So he's screwed. When we meet and for years after he used to run a fantasy hockey league and actually make money selling the software he designed for simulation of leagues. So it's hard on him to not be able to catch games anymore. It's why we stuck so long to cable.

So any sports ideas?

[ActYourWage]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

So any sports ideas?

I watch some sports online via ESPN 3 (I believe its call WatchESPN). Some ISPs include ESPN 3, others do not.

[elessar78]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

My husband really misses cable for the sports. We have antenna and can catch football but he's a big hockey and baseball fan. We'd buy the nhl and mlb package but they black out the local teams. So he's screwed. When we meet and for years after he used to run a fantasy hockey league and actually make money selling the software he designed for simulation of leagues. So it's hard on him to not be able to catch games anymore. It's why we stuck so long to cable.

So any sports ideas?

There are always p2p streams, but those can be unreliable. But for the most part, I can muddle through the minor annoyances. If it's a big game that is a must see, I wouldn't rely on the streams. But with 162 games in baseball and nearly as many for hockey, I don't need to see all the games.

[photo]

Originally Posted by riverwed070707

Biggest downside in our house is the loss of sports games.

I never thought of that, thanks. Don't most major networks carry games, though?

[thefrugallery]

My husband is a big sports fan and that was something that was causing us to stick with cable. We found a workaround. One of his friends has DirecTV and for $30 per season you can get NFL games broadcast online. We paid his friend the $30 and his friend gave us the username for the online site. I realize this will only work if someone you trust has DirecTV and is willing, but it's working for us. We bought $3 speakers at a rummage sale and hook the computer up to the TV so we can watch it full-size.

[riverwed070707]

Originally Posted by photo

I never thought of that, thanks. Don't most major networks carry games, though?

Depends on what you watch. We're cubs fans and you certainly can't keep up with all teh games just by having FOX, etc. Most of our games are on Comcast and espn.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Games here are on a private network and i don't know anyone with directv. Most have fios. I admit to liking watching hockey occasionally. It's better than many reality shows.

[dawnwes]

We have yet to install our rooftop antenna I bought a while ago.

But we discovered that if you put a splitter on your cable line and plug your TV lines into it, you can get most of the OTA channels as they are unscrambled.

We will eventually get that antenna up as it is already purchased and allows us to get better picture and all the channels. Right now we just can't get NBC, I guess they scramble that one.

We also have Roku boxes and subscribe to Hulu+ and Netflix. I have purchased a few items on Amazon but not many.

We tried Playon but never got it to work well enough to keep it.

Dawn

[SeanH]

I'm returning to school in August and will be ditching Uverse for antennae/ Netflix / Hulu. We already have Netflix through our Wii and I'm hoping there will be some good Hulu content once the Wii starts supporting it. I will miss college football in high def, but there shouldn't be time for it if I'm allocating my time correctly. Savings will hopefully be $85 a month.