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Looking at dropping cable

Discussion in 'Everything Else (off topic)' started by schlot, Dec 22, 2014.

  1. schlot

    schlot

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    Just about to pull the trigger and get rid of cable. I'd love to hear from other people who have done this. I will keep high speed internet though.

    I am looking at Hulu to get some TV shows besides the air channels. Mainly we watch shows on HGTV and Food Network that would be nice to keep.

    Any info would be greatly appreciated.
     
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2014
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  2. papadave

    papadave

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    We do Hulu and have for several years.
    Most of the major channels have an online presence as well.
    We recently got DTV due to my wife's dad moving in. Probably wouldn't have it otherwise.
    What's your internet speed?
    Ours is only about 1.5mb(DSL), and my wife and I watch Hulu on separate laptops quite often and at the same time.
     
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  3. schlot

    schlot

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    I'm looking at possibly 6Mbps
     
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  4. prell 73

    prell 73

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    Your no emeril . Just kiddin.
     
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  5. Grizzly Adam

    Grizzly Adam Guest

    If you like tv shows right after they come out, go hulu. Get a Roku, great bargain for the cable cutter.
     
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  6. UncleJoe

    UncleJoe

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    If it wasn't for AuntJoe wanting it, I wouldn't have DTV. I don't watch it. I sit here every night with my guitar and computer. A broadband internet connection is all I need.
     
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  7. yooperdave

    yooperdave

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    I too would like to "cut the cord"!
     
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  8. boettg33

    boettg33

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    I would love to cut the cord. Sports is the one thing that has lagged behind. On top of that CBS is offering a pay service. Not cool. On top of that, the cable companies have gone out and married with the individual stations. Have you ever had to login to a channels website using your cable providers information in order to be able to watch the channels content?

    So freakin close.


    Jason from RI
     
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  9. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

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    Could you share simple with me?

    Does Roku/Hulu run off an interenet connection?

    If I pay by the gig on an internet satellite, would this add to my bill?

    My DTV is over in April....woohoo!

    Thanks!
     
  10. Daryl

    Daryl

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    I haven't had cable for 4 or 5 years. There are a lot of options to stream from the network sites, Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, etc. If you live near a city, then you may even be able to hook up a digital receiver and get the main channels on a tv.
     
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  11. MasterMech

    MasterMech The Mechanical Moderator

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    DTV kept pushing my bill, higher, higher and higher. Got sick of playing "Let's make a deal" every month so we told them enough is enough. buttkick.gif

    Two Roku's now with Hulu, Amazon and Netflix subscriptions via a cable internet connection. All the Daniel Tiger my 2yo (and my wife!) can handle. She is the primary user as I spend all my free time here on FHC these days or out in the garage. Over the air TV is a pipe dream here. Just no signals. Too far from NYC and Albany.
     
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  12. savemoney

    savemoney

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    I have Direct Tv as well as the three on line offerings. Got them for the wife. She watches Direct Tv and that is it. Waste of money keeping the others. I found a gadget on Amazon that you talk to when you want to find a station. Haven't hooked it up yet because it is a Christmas present. Might get her going. Only thing is she is a DVR hog and has multiple timed recordings.
     
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  13. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

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    :rofl: :lol: I understand!
     
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  14. Daryl

    Daryl

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    Oh, and youtube. Not the best clarity but there is a ton of free stuff on there.
     
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  15. Woodwidow

    Woodwidow

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    We cut off our TV - Shaw Cable - and now spend all our time on FHC. Much more fun.
     
  16. fishingpol

    fishingpol

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    We never had cable. We have an antenna on the roof and get plenty of channels. We have Netflix, Hulu plus, and stream youtube through the hdmi to the tv. Life is too short to get caught up in all the junk. It seems too many shows are now staged for the viewers. There are several PBS stations that have good cooking and travel shows. I really like documentaries and history shows through Netflix.
     
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  17. cnice_37

    cnice_37

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    We ditched cable 5 years ago. Attic mounted antenna does very well for the free OTA channels.

    The rest is Netflix and Amazon Prime video service. These and PBS keep the wee ones entertained in their limited TV time. I watch very little TV, probably watch an hour a week besides football.

    I miss sports, but really that is only the Bruins now as I can always watch the Patriots and the NBA and MLB products don't interest me anymore. Sorry B's.
     
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  18. DaveGunter

    DaveGunter

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    Live sports is the issue for me too, got to have the Sox and the Pats and NASCAR
     
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  19. Norky

    Norky

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    It's been a little over a year since I finally got fed up with the garbage they churn out on cable. I cut the cord and put an antenna on the roof and haven't missed cable at all since. I get 35 channels, although I only watch about 20 of them and my picture quality is the best it's ever been. We saved $100 a month when we dumped cable and we use netflix streaming to supplement the antenna. We only watch about 2 hours of TV in the evening and maybe a half hour in the morning when we get up and half the time we're preoccupied with something else and don't pay much attention to what's on anyway, but the programming is still better than cable.
     
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  20. bassJAM

    bassJAM

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    I dropped cable during the past summer. I realized we hadn't even turned it on in about 5 months or so. Just about everything we watch is through Netflix, with the occasional movie rental through Amazon Prime. I had Hulu for about a year, but found I rarely watched it. While Hulu has more recent programming, it still has short commercial breaks, while Netflix doesn't. Shows on Netflix lag about a year after they've aired, while Hulu normally has them about a week afterwards, but I'd rather wait a year and watch the full season without commercial breaks on Netflix than wait week by week and watch Hulu, so I cancelled Hulu as well.

    Right now I'm not using an antenna, but if I decide I want one I'll probably use my computer as a DVR and use the PLEX app to watch those shows on TV. I'm using PLEX for movies stored on my computer currently and it works great. I can also use PLEX to send songs stored on my computer to any TV in the house.

    I'm running 3 Roku's throughout the house to do all this, they're relatively cheap and it's easy to put a TV wherever you want with one as long as it get's a decent wireless signal. I just set up an old tube TV in the basement with a Roku so I can watch documentaries while working out. I have an even older TV in the garage that I normally stream Pandora or Slacker through while working out there. The Youtube channel works pretty well too, I can search for what I want on my phone and send it though the Roku right to my TV, so it's easy to queue several videos in a row, which works great if you want to set up a playlist for a party or something.

    I don't miss cable at all. I don't watch sports though, so I'm not sure what the situation is like if that's your thing. I'm sure there's websites out there where you can find most events though.
     
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