Cutting the cord!

[sammm]

Have any of y'all done away with cable and/or satellite, and taken other measures for your TV viewing? Looks like there are a lot more options than there used to be.

Local channels are easy with OTA antenna, but what about ESPN, Velocity and HGTV for the wife?

[POS Racing]

We looked at this earlier this year we ended up sticking with AT&T for now....... We watch more HGTV, Velocity, ESPN, and other "cable" channels to cut the cord just yet.

I did call to cancel my AT&T and renegotiated a 1 year deal for just under $100.00 a month..

[modernbeat]

Have not had TV service since '99. I either download or stream the very few shows I'm interested in seeing. I do have a TV, but it's used almost exclusively for movie viewing. And every year it's gotten easier to control the programming of what you watch.

[wrx74]

Have any of y'all done away with cable and/or satellite, and taken other measures for your TV viewing? Looks like there are a lot more options than there used to be.

Local channels are easy with OTA antenna, but what about ESPN, Velocity and HGTV for the wife?

This is interesting: https://www.sling.com/

[Mark52]

I had Uverse for about 18 months when my daughter and hubby were living with us. The minute they moved out I cancelled and returned to the antenna. Netflix is all I need and use. I'd rather read a book than watch most of the crap on cable.

[sammm]

Thanks guys. I did see SlingTV, but it's missing Velocity!

I did come across this option, which is interesting. $50 one-time charge...I need to do more research.

http://www.playon.tv/playon

[POS Racing]

I had Uverse for about 18 months when my daughter and hubby were living with us. The minute they moved out I cancelled and returned to the antenna. Netflix is all I need and use. I'd rather read a book than watch most of the crap on cable.

[OZMDD]

W have been cable-free for almost 4 years, I think. We got a stand-alone TiVo box for the living room and a Roku for the bedroom. Also picked up a Roku Stick for the patio TV, used. We pay for Netflix, and already had Amazon Prime, which covers all of my viewing desires at this point. I missed ESPN for a while, but found that going to a bar/restaurant for a must-see game was actually fun, and I missed the rest a lot less than I expected. I'm a soccer guy, but Spanish antenna TV actually carries most of the games I care about. I can watch other live sports on the iPad or computer if I'm motivated. More than anything, we watch less TV, but also better TV.

the TiVo box provides DVR and guide/menu features, and it's around $10/mo for the service which keeps the guide current so we can record anything off the antenna just like a cable DVR. I wasn't going to get it, but Amy wanted it, and I am glad she did. We drop around $35/month for the various streaming and TiVo services, and $39/ mo for the cable internet (we own the cable modem and router), which is our total expenditure for home entertainment/internet connectivity. Oh, we also have the Ooma phone through that connection, which is around $3/mo for unlimited "land line" and long distance.

I cant overstate how pleased we are with the value and availability of interesting programming, and we only watch something that doesn't either eliminate the commercials or allow us to skip them around 10% of the time. When we had a bazillion channels, we found ourselves always surfing for something. Now we watch deliberately, which leaves a lot of time for other activities as a family.

[Jiggerachi]

When we had a bazillion channels, we found ourselves always surfing for something. Now we watch deliberately, which leaves a lot of time for other activities as a family.

This x1000, much more reason to cut the cord than saving cash(nice bonus tho).
We cut the cord 5 or so years ago. We now have the basic cable since internet is so expensive with only 2 choices and the bundle makes some sort of sense(come on google fiber...), but after years with the cord cut, we leave the TV off 95% of the time, only use cable to DVR kid shows off Nick jr. Netflix or redbox after the kids go to bed. Before we would sit on our ass surfing mind numbing crap for hours, now it's so nice to have the damn thing turned off until we actually have something in mind to watch. Keeps extra time for legos and dollhouse.

[sammm]

When we had a bazillion channels, we found ourselves always surfing for something.

That's where I'm at...95% of the time we're watching something off the DVR. When I'm not, I'm bitching about how many commercials there are.

[jrj512]

I could easily cut the cable, but Mrs. JRJ512 might have a hard time.

[Gator Bait]

I could easily cut the cable, but Mrs. JRJ512 might have a hard time.

I was cord free for years until I got married. Wife needs Dicovery ID and those stations with the movie of the day depicting disease and wife battery. Doesn't matter now though b/c out in the boonies I'm on metered internet so the dish is cheaper.

[sammm]

I called DirecTV yesterday and gave them my 2-week notice. I'm going to use an antenna + one of the internet based providers (Sling, Hulu, etc). Not sure which one yet.

I do have a HTPC I built a few years back that I'll dust off for my DVR.

PS
Did some research on Sling...can't DVR it, can't pause it, can't skip commercials. No bueno.

[black roadster]

I'd consider it but I watch a lot of Discovery, History and of course A&E for The Walking Dead and soon to be Fear the Walking Dead. Can't wait! I DVR everything. I hate commercials.

Wife almost exclusively watches HGTV and we watch occasional shows on ABC, NBC.

If there was a way to stay current and cut the cable, we would. Currently with U-Verse for TV and Interwebs.

[OZMDD]

I just watch all of the "hip" shows one season behind real-time. Since I have no friends to spoil the outcomes for me, it's not a problem. Everything ends up on Netflix or Amazon eventually.

You might also look into Apple TV, as it allows you to mirror content from your computer onto the TV pretty easily. I believe this is a work-around for web-only content like free Hulu and network websites that you can't get with streaming apps on the TV/Roku.

[sammm]

I'm now an official cord-cutter. DirecTV is history, and I have my roof-top antenna hooked-up. Plenty of OTA channels to choose from, and along
with Netflix streaming there's more than enough selection of stuff to watch. I'll miss some of the channels, like Velocity, but I suspect I'll get over it.

PS - Installed an Amazon Firestick on one of the TV's for Netflix access. There are tons of free channels/apps thru that...check out the Pluto app (100+ free HD channels).

[tailchaser]

Just get a dog. Way better than TV.

Seriously, though... We're mostly on the McShane plan of watch it a season behind... There are a couple shows that our friends talk about, so I buy those from Amazon or Apple and watch them current... Still far cheaper than cable and no commercials.

[wrx74]

Now there's this: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/

*NBCSN available, F1 Fans!

[sammm]

+


+

= Winner!

[865]

Now there's this: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/

I haven't checked prices in a while, but that offering from Sony doesn't seem any less expensive than the old stand-by cable/FiOS/Satellite options.

For my part, Netflix plus Amazon Prime is sufficient. I rarely watch TV anyway.