Revisiting cutting the TV cable/box

**Sammydabullz** · 06-24-2017, 05:27 PM

Honestly, I have never subscribed to cable television nor my wife. Netflix and Amazon prime is sufficient enough to suffice my entertainment needs. I don't care about keeping up with the latest episode.

**james.hendrickson** · 06-25-2017, 09:26 AM

Originally posted by QuarterMillionMan View Post

Time Warner got taken over by Spectrum and since then my TV bill has gone from $79 to $105. Spectrum added $4 for my digital adapter, $8.95 for "sports enhancement," and I recently upgraded my $4 digital adapter (no TV guide) to a standard definition cable box for $10 more (includes TV guide) but the standard definition cable box is dumbed down from a high definition cable box. The standard definition cable box doesn't have a clock, nor LCD display showing which channel is on, it's just a cable box with an on/off button. And the standard definition box doesn't have the audio/visual ports where I wanted to connect my sling box to watch TV anywhere. I would have to upgrade to a high definition cable box for $25 more. With all these nuances I'm now researching other options.

PlayStation Vue for $55 a month offers about 60 channels of live streaming TV including sports channels such as ESPN, Fox sports West, FS1, FS2, NBA TV, MLB Network, etc. And CNBC/Fox Business news which is a must for me. I'm considering signing up and cancelling my Spectrum $109 TV cable. The only problem I foresee is the inconvenience of having to boot up my computer and running a line to my TV which will take a little extra time rather than just pushing the on button to my remote.

Does anyone have pros/cons of canceling the TV cable box?

Why not just totally cancel your service? You have an extra $100 or so in your pocket every month and you'll have more time because you won't be watching cable.

**sweetlady2k** · 06-25-2017, 09:35 AM

We had Verizon cable and internet in Florida and since moving to Alabama had Spectrum for a few months. For the past year have dropped cable totally and now have a apple tv box. We have Sling tv.,netflicks and hulu and honestly have only a few rare instances where we are sorry. We get a lot of college or nfl games live on sling or nfl network but occasionally we can't get one we want to see. I also had to watch the Kentucky Derby on a livestream on my laptop. But its worth it. I dont miss it at all.

**QuarterMillionMan** · 06-25-2017, 09:42 AM

Originally posted by james.hendrickson View Post

Why not just totally cancel your service? You have an extra $100 or so in your pocket every month and you'll have more time because you won't be watching cable.

I am addicted to sports and CNBC so going cold turkey would be very difficult for me to do. I wish I could cancel it though and I imagine it would save me a lot of money.

**james.hendrickson** · 06-25-2017, 09:44 AM

Actually, you could probably find a way to stream your favorite shows and still save money.

**JoeP** · 06-25-2017, 05:40 PM

I find it interesting how people place value on certain content, using word like "must have" or "addicted." If there truly is this level of need, then companies are more than happy to satisfy this for a price. Please believe me when I say I couldn't care less how people decide to spend their money.

When we found ourselves getting pulled into a similar situation, we simply redefined what constituted a need. We now like to read, garden, and do outdoor activities. For us, this created new and less expensive hobbies. Sure, it changed who we are, a little, and if anything, it broadened us.

**YLTL_Dan** · 06-25-2017, 11:05 PM

We were regular cablers but decided to cut it about a year before we left on our trip. I love sports, so ESPN was a must...

We bought a decent antenna to get the local stations for free (it's surprising how many you can get) and then purchased Sling TV for $20/month. It's also month to month, so you can cancel if you're not in a sports season (or stock market season) you enjoy! Here are my step by step instructions of how I did it.

**Mandy63** · 06-28-2017, 08:47 AM

We cut our cable about 2 years ago and it has been a huge money and time saver. The only thing that I miss is cable news but we have an Amazon Fire stick with the Kodi app and it allows us to stream cable news.

**QuarterMillionMan** · 07-02-2017, 04:33 PM

I'm getting closer to cutting my TV cable. Today I ordered the 5 day free trial of Play Station Vue (PS Vue is $44.95 a month for 60 channels, no console needed) which I probably will cancel after the 5 days but I intend to re-subscribe after I do more research on a Roku streaming device which I need to get first. I wanted to test out PS Vue because I have the cheapest internet services at $15 a month and wanted to make sure the live streams play smoothly on my internet speeds and it seems alright. The video quality is fine. And PS Vue at $44.95 a month has more sports channel than my TV cable at $105 a month. It is looking promising and I'm enjoying MLB network which my TV cable didn't include but could include at an additional fee. And I won't cheap-out on the Roku by getting the cheapest model ($35 - $79), I plan to get either the Roku Premiere plus ($89) or the Roku Ultra ($129).

**txex86** · 07-02-2017, 05:06 PM

Originally posted by QuarterMillionMan View Post

Time Warner got taken over by Spectrum and since then my TV bill has gone from $79 to $105. Spectrum added $4 for my digital adapter, $8.95 for "sports enhancement," and I recently upgraded my $4 digital adapter (no TV guide) to a standard definition cable box for $10 more (includes TV guide) but the standard definition cable box is dumbed down from a high definition cable box. The standard definition cable box doesn't have a clock, nor LCD display showing which channel is on, it's just a cable box with an on/off button. And the standard definition box doesn't have the audio/visual ports where I wanted to connect my sling box to watch TV anywhere. I would have to upgrade to a high definition cable box for $25 more. With all these nuances I'm now researching other options.

PlayStation Vue for $55 a month offers about 60 channels of live streaming TV including sports channels such as ESPN, Fox sports West, FS1, FS2, NBA TV, MLB Network, etc. And CNBC/Fox Business news which is a must for me. I'm considering signing up and cancelling my Spectrum $109 TV cable. The only problem I foresee is the inconvenience of having to boot up my computer and running a line to my TV which will take a little extra time rather than just pushing the on button to my remote.

Does anyone have pros/cons of cancelling the TV cable box?

I was in a similar situation. Time Warner was purchased by Spectrum and our bill went from $105.55 to $119.99 per month. I did some digging and picked Playstation Vue as our "cable" provider. We selected the $44.99 package which has ESPN, NFL and NBA network (something we didn't have with cable) and the Longhorn Network (I'm a Texas alum). We added $15/ month for HBO and our total outlay is $64.99 per month, $55 less than the Spectrum increase and $40 less per month than the Time Warner bill. We've had it now for 3 months and couldn't be more pleased.

**QuarterMillionMan** · 07-02-2017, 05:35 PM

Txex86, I was curious as to which streaming device would you recommend? There are so many different types such as Amazon Fire, Chromecast, Roku has 10 different streaming devices to choose from.

**QuarterMillionMan** · 07-03-2017, 04:28 PM

I went to Best Buy and got a $69 Roku premiere and I'm up and running on the PlayStation Vue 5 day free trial. I haven't cancelled my TV cable just yet but I have a sense that I will be cancelling TV cable soon possibly after the 5 day free trial or possibly longer I just want to see if things are the same. I'm finding some minor differences such as during the ESPN Monday night MLB game between BOS vs TEX, during the commercial breaks sometimes I get the commercials and sometimes I don't. For instance sometimes during the commercial breaks a still picture of ESPN stays on the screen with music but no commercials are displayed. It's not a game changer but I kind of like the commercials. Another thing is the Roku remote doesn't have a volume button so I have to use the TV's remote, again not a game changer but just a little inconvenient. Unless I just haven't yet figured out how to program the Roku remote to adjust volume. My greatest concern will be during NFL season. Will Monday night football (MNF) be available on ESPN via PlayStation Vue/Roku? I found out in the past that with the watch ESPN app, Monday night football is blacked out. Will MNF also be blacked out on Roku?

**txex86** · 07-03-2017, 04:32 PM

Originally posted by QuarterMillionMan View Post

Txex86, I was curious as to which streaming device would you recommend? There are so many different types such as Amazon Fire, Chromecast, Roku has 10 different streaming devices to choose from.

I use Roku just because I am familiar with it. A friend of mine uses the Amazon Fire stick and has had good results and does not have buffering issues. On the rare occasion Roku buffers a little, but only for a second or two.

Hope that helps.

**txex86** · 07-03-2017, 04:36 PM

Originally posted by QuarterMillionMan View Post

I went to Best Buy and got a $69 Roku premiere and I'm up and running on the PlayStation Vue 5 day free trial. I haven't cancelled my TV cable just yet but I have a sense that I will be cancelling TV cable soon possibly after the 5 day free trial or possibly longer I just want to see if things are the same. I'm finding some minor differences such as during the ESPN Monday night MLB game between BOS vs TEX, during the commercial breaks sometimes I get the commercials and sometimes I don't. For instance sometimes during the commercial breaks a still picture of ESPN stays on the screen with music but no commercials are displayed. It's not a game changer but I kind of like the commercials. Another thing is the Roku remote doesn't have a volume button so I have to use the TV's remote, again not a game changer but just a little inconvenient. Unless I just haven't yet figured out how to program the Roku remote to adjust volume. My greatest concern will be during NFL season. Will Monday night football (MNF) be available on ESPN via PlayStation Vue/Roku? I found out in the past that with the watch ESPN app, Monday night football is blacked out. Will MNF also be blacked out on Roku?

My friend who got me on to PS Vue said that Monday night football does show on ESPN and is not blacked out--it is not considered an app on PS Vue, but is treated like cable. I hope you like PS Vue. Roku can be a little cumbersome what with having to use the volume on the TV remote, but PS Vue is great.

Revisiting cutting the TV cable/box