Should I cut the cord?!?

sahls01gmc · April 29, 2014

Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Google Chromcast (and others) are very good at trying to sell me their stuff. My question is, how well do YOU like it? Here's my needs for what I want to watch on tv:

TV series shows - Hoarders, Family Fued, Fantasy Factory, Duck Dynasty, Sesame Street, Spongebob to name a few

Sports - Love to watch sports. I'm not a die hard super frat brother fantasy league dreamer, just like watching ESPN. I'm also a Nebraska native, so watching anything NU is a good day.

With all the options of streaming, it seems like I might have a good fit ditching the cable....if I can still get all of the shows and sports like I'm used to. My wife has her shows she wants to watch, the kids have their things, and I have mine. If there's a good combo to keep them happy and I get a bone thrown my way every now and then, I'll sign up tonight. I realize I'm overpaying for the 300 channel package I have now....I bet we don't watch 270 of them. Most of the time we watch for maybe an hour or 2 in the evenings just to wind down. None of us religiously watch the most current show, but being able to record and follow them works just fine.

What are your thoughts? Do you have any tips? Anything you wish you would have done differently? Anything that I may be overlooking? Is there a central source for this technology so it can be viewed on any tv in the house?

Thanks in advance for you help!

MikeNH · April 29, 2014

None of the options will help you with sports, that is the big hangup for some. Anything on the streaming services won't be current, they're all at least a season old for the most part.

That said, I dumped dish at the beginning of 2013. Don't miss it. For shows I can't wait to watch I buy a season pass off iTunes. I have Netflix and Amazon prime (worth the $100 just for the two day shipping IMO) as well. If you're even somewhat close to a city an antenna will pull in broadcast stations (ABC, CBS, etc) in higher quality than any cable or sat provider can touch.

sahls01gmc · April 29, 2014

I do have an Amazon Prime account, and already saved over $100 on shipping in 2 months.... From what you have said, I'm not saying no to cutting the cord. If there is a way to get live sports only, I'd hit that up. I live heavilly in the city (can almost high five the neighbor through our windows...boo) so an antennae seems like a good idea for my local news fix, plus they have games and races on those channels from time to time.

How do i go about watching something on a different tv? Is there a "Master control" somewhere, and everything else goes through that?

'01LS1 · April 29, 2014

You can go to TV FOOL & use their locator tool for your location & see the expected channels that would be available pending antenna.

https://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29

Currently have Mediacom cable tv & internet off contract & it has ballooned to $157 per month. No movie channels like HBO.

Signed up for Direct TV last Thursday via a pushy sales girl that works for a third party affiliate in a Best Buy.

Just a quick fyi, they are NOT there to answer questions. They are on commission & are there to sell you something

right then, right there. From here forward, will be as obnoxiously rude as need be from the get go for them to look elsewhere.

All in & 5 hours on the phone after reading the reviews & some issues users have had with them, I cancelled the order that night.

Still waiting for my $20 deposit back, but if that is all I lost for the lesson learned, it is a done deal.

The long story of this with the Direct TV deal is that the sales girl said they could bundle their TV deal with local cable internet provider &

the internet side would only be $40. While that is technically true, they do not bundle with the cable provider in THIS area. Would have had to go through

Hoeghs net or Via Sat at limited data/speed for that price? That was the real deal breaker amongst all the other reviews & questionable charges

people have posted that showed up on their accounts.

Good luck with what ever you choose, there really is no beating the system they control as cable internet companies have switched their

accounts around here to capped packages. Stream too much & pay more or pay more for better speed.

music · April 29, 2014

The cable company owns the line that we use for internet. Comcast has it priced such that dumping cable TV doesn't save as much as you'd think. Basically, we get a "discounted" network price if we have TV. In addition, they cap data at 300 GB/mo here. That sounds like a lot, but it goes fast with ip video. We watch very little TV, and with limited Netflix use and whatever "internet" activity like youtube, music, or whatever... it's easy to hit 200+GB (family of 5). Cable operators are not going to let us walk away from "cable tv" easily. They will just increase their internet rates to compensate. They own the "last mile" of connection in many areas... including mine, and have the final say. That said, the Roku 3 is the best device I've used. I have a Chromecast, and an "internet enabled" blu-ray... but the Roku 3 is well worth the little extra $.

sourdough44 · April 30, 2014

Depends on where you live, exactly. I haven't paid cable or satellite in 25 years or more, hardly ever. We get about 25+ stations with a roof antenna, then with faster internet speeds, no need for cable.

Yes, I have been known to watch mindless TV. Truth be known, most TV is just a waste of time, train that puppy instead, or clean your truck. Our local library has oodles of free mvies too. $45 a month starts to add up.

StinkyCheese · April 30, 2014

Like Music said you'll have to see if you even save much, if anything by dumping cable. My buddy here in Orlando wanted to dump cable as all he does is stream/download but it was cheaper for him to have one of the package deals and their promotion pricing than it was for him to just pay for the internet alone. I believe we ran into the same issue here. I have zero use for a house phone or any kind of tv antena or cable but it was cheaper for us to get the packaged deal at promotion pricing. Faster internet as well.

sahls01gmc · April 30, 2014

Thanks for all of the responses! I think I will have to seriously crunch the numbers to figure out if it is worth it or not. My wife is pregnant with #3 right now, so changing the tv options might not go over well. Perhaps I will use this time to weigh all of the options. As many of you have noted, cancelling the cable will increase the internet...and probably end up with the same bill. Looks like there is no magic solution, just whatever you are willing to "invest" into.

I appreciate everything you brought up!

&CDFiXER% · April 30, 2014

My younger brother, who I think is close to your age, cut the cord 3-4 years ago. Still isn't missing cable, sat, etc. He does not watch sports but follows on ESPN website and such.

Me, well, if SHE doesn't have her football all he** breaks loose so I keep up the satellite.

StinkyCheese · April 30, 2014

Thanks for all of the responses! I think I will have to seriously crunch the numbers to figure out if it is worth it or not. My wife is pregnant with #3 right now, so changing the tv options might not go over well. Perhaps I will use this time to weigh all of the options. As many of you have noted, cancelling the cable will increase the internet...and probably end up with the same bill. Looks like there is no magic solution, just whatever you are willing to "invest" into.

I appreciate everything you brought up!

Another option is to call your provider and see if they have any promotions going on that you can get that'll save you money. Never hurts to ask right?

Tapped out on my beastly OPPO Find 7a