Ditching cable TV

[The Vector Doctor]

Has anyone ditched their cable provider altogether? I could write an entire article about the problems I am having with Time Warner Cable right now.

I have considered 3 options...

1. No cable (just an xbox, roku, AppleTV setup) with Netflix, HuluPlus and Amazon and then an antenna for locals
2. DirecTV
3. A different cable company

Yes there are articles all over online regarding these options but I was hoping for another opinion from individuals here. I trust you guys more than some articles that could have been written by someone associated with some service that is biased

 

[David Wright]

We ditched ours about 3 years ago. Just tired of rate hikes and hidden charges to basically channel sirf loads of crap.

Now its a roku with amazon and netflix. Also an antenna which brings in a fair amount to make my wife content.

Use the money for other things.

 

[gabagoo]

Too many good sports station only on cable...I'm screwed...although I do have a couple of Roku's for Netflix.

 

[CanuckSigns]

We ditched cable 4 years ago and haven't looked back, between netflix, itunes and streaming shows through their website, i honestly don't see the need for cable, unless you are a sports fan.

Honestly, up here the selection of online content is pretty bad, when I see how much you guys get down there, i wonder why anyone would have cable at all in the states! between Netflix & Hulu you are pretty much set! (we have netflix, but the selection is pretty bad! We don't have Hulu or anything like it really)

 

[bulldozer]

i would, but my tv is always tuned into sports, either hockey, football, baseball, or soccer. i'm screwed.

 

[chester215]

Got rid of cable many years ago.
A big antenna on the roof for local channels and netflix through the internet connection works for us and our 6 yr old.

 

[Fred Weiss]

We've been on DirecTV for years now. It's great except if there are heavy clouds to the southwest. Costs keep creeping up but don't they all. We also subscribe to NetFlix to pick up whatever they may have that DirecTV doesn't.

We upgraded to DirecTV "Whole Home" service a while back which allows us to record up to six shows at the same time and play them at any of three stations. So except for live sporting events, everything we watch is recorded first automatically. This is our favorite feature and great for time control. Quality is very good as most channels are now in 1080 HD from DirecTV.

 

[D&Tgraphics]

I ditched cable about a year ago and am doing the roku & apple tv with netflix, hulu plus & amazon plus the airplay from the ipad to get the streamed website content. I am saving a buttload of money and am not missing a thing that I normally watched. Actually, I am getting more content now. Call me anytime and I'll discuss it with you. I would love to help you in the cord cutting process. More people should do it.

 

[Marlene]

I would love to ditch my cable but there are a couple of stations I just can't get. I have heard of some who have gotten rid of it and are happy. I guess it depends on what you watch. I love Neflix and binge watch a series rather than watch but when it comes to something like the Walking Dead, I want it as it happens.

 

[Typestries]

Partial cord cutter. Once I can get high speed internet in VT and I really don't need direct there, I'm totally cutting it off. Kids hardly watch TV on a TV anymore anyway. I'm down to just a few boxes one at home and one in my "RV" so to speak.

If we didn't have turtle DSL as our only option in VT, we'd be totally done with traditional TV. TV news as we know it today will soon be a thing of the past IMO. Lots of media outlets need to step up their stream game to remain competitive. Pressure from conversations like these happening thousands of times over daily will only accelerate the process. But wait, your internet access costs will rise, they need to make up that revenue somewhere to pay for amortized system install costs.

 

[The Vector Doctor]

A couple of questions. I assume you need a xbox, roku or apple tv box for each TV in the house? We have 2. One already as an xbox360 connected so I need another if the answer is yes.

Also, since you are now streaming everything is there an issue with lets say someone watching a stream on 2 TV's with maybe also a computer that is browsing the internet?

I have 20mb internet right now but up to 50mb is offered

Lastly how do you record shows that are on local stations? If i wanted to watch a football game a couple hours after it has started I use my cable box's built in DVR

 

[MikeD]

I bought a cheap blue-ray player that receives wi-fi and transmits to my tv. Along with a $20 antennae from homedepot for trashy local news, and basic internet, I'm good! I paid for high-speed for a long time until one of my professional AV friends told me it was just an upsell. I stream from Trailer Park Boys from Netflix with zero lag.

 

[Graphic Destruction]

We ditched Comcast for Directv about 17 years ago and have never looked back. We also have the Genie, whole home DVR, which is really nice. Lots of on demand features and the true HD picture is fantastic. Honestly, DTV has the best HD picture out there, hands down. Family members have dish and the picture is no comparison to DTV. Rain fade happens a few times a year with really strong storms to the SW, but it passes quickly.

We have 30 meg broadband here and no issues with multiple tv's, streaming laptops, phones, etc. With the DTV app you can stream live TV or recorded shows to any tablet or phone on your wireless network. There's a $99 add on that allows it anywhere outside your home too.

 

[CanuckSigns]

A couple of questions. I assume you need a xbox, roku or apple tv box for each TV in the house? We have 2. One already as an xbox360 connected so I need another if the answer is yes.

Also, since you are now streaming everything is there an issue with lets say someone watching a stream on 2 TV's with maybe also a computer that is browsing the internet?

I have 20mb internet right now but up to 50mb is offered

Lastly how do you record shows that are on local stations? If i wanted to watch a football game a couple hours after it has started I use my cable box's built in DVR

Yes you need a "device" hooked up to each TV, we have a roku upstairs, and a desktop PC hooked up downstairs, the PC acts as a media server for our music, movies etc and can serve content to the roku upstairs, there are "tv tuner" cards that you can put in a PC to turn the PC into a DVR like this http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4146201&CatId=1427

We have 6mbit DSL internet at home, if someone is watching netflix, while another person is downloading something or usink skype, there is a bit of lag, but I imagine a 20mb connection would be fine for 2 streams at a time.

 

[Techman]

I've had them all. Dish, Direct, cable. I dumped them all. Cut the cord about 4 years ago. As soon as the neighbors saw it they cut the cord as well. In fact ATT rep came around to find out why we were cutting their cords.

Dumped all their huge increases, poor customer service, and the game playing. Took about 3 weeks of missing the few channels I really liked. Just 4 channels out of 129 that was used in our home. But what was most aggravating was the 18 minutes of program and the 12 minutes of ads. I paid to get premium content yet got more ads than show.
Seems you have to dump one for another to keep the lower prices.

Got an antenna with a booster box. I can watch any channel in any room with out a single hassle or fee. Here we have 34 channels of good stuff with a few more channels of whatever. I can watch the foot ball games etc. Yes it has ads on it but at a greatly reduced amount. It never drops out and never have to hear about some rate increase. What is also appealing is there are no huge converter box sitting around interfering with what room we would like to use to view content.

And finally I do not have to deal with the constant political barrage of maybe this or that network will be dropped over their price demands.

Now we use netflix, and my honey uses some deal for her favorite shows.

We have 20 mb internet and no one suffers a lag in our home. The honey with her ipad, my laptop the kids school work streaming classes and my netflix all at the same time.

 

[rjssigns]

Just internet here. Stopped paying to watch commercials and reruns years ago. Wife and I watch Perry Mason or Thriller Theater sometimes.

Thinking about a Roku, but not entirely sold on the concept. Doubt they'd have Australian V8 Supercar racing anyway. I also watch live streaming drag racing.

Fact is we don't even own a flat screen TV. Imagine that...

 

[thinksigns]

You can probably get a lot of info here: http://www.reddit.com/r/cordcutters

If you know someone that is willing to share their password, you can get the WatchESPN app on your iPad.

 

[Saw Trax]

At home we dropped everything except high speed internet service from our cable provider - Comcast. We're using a Roku for TV (netflix, amazon) plus Chromecast. We now have more content that we want to watch and save a ton each month on our cable bill. The only thing I am missing out on is SEC college football since there's no real option to see the games on the Roku.

 

[The Vector Doctor]

Looks like I may be cutting the cord. We have over 250 channels and watch less than 15. Thanks for all who replied. I am part of the Apple ecosystem so it is up in the air between roku and apple TV. I have read the advantages of one over the other.

 

[fresh]

Like many of you, I dropped cable about 3 years ago and use my Sony BluRay with internet connectivity to watch Hulu Plus and Netflix. We've been meaning to get an antenna for local stuff, but we are just kinda lazy about it. I have my parent's login for HBO, every once in a while I'll watch a show on my computer. But most of our TV watching comes in the form of Redbox or stuff rented from the library.