Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm on the verge of cutting the cord myself. My cable bill has just gotten absolutely out of control. The more and more I think about it the more I think I don't need a DVR. There's just so much that's available on demand via one app or another.
Many people think that DVR's are going to be as obsolete as Tape recorders in a few years. While that may be true from a technological standpoint, from a business standpoint there is always commercials to be considered. Video on Demand is actually a way to fight the ability of DVRs to skip commercials. The more stuff that is available on VOD with the fast forward button disabled, the more likely it will be that the consumer will end up watching commercials.
I was looking at this list of over 60 PREMIER commercial channels that are available for $15 from my cable company. They want $18 for SHOWTIME commercial free. So commercial laden television will always be much cheaper. The DVR just gives you the ability for fast forward.
Boy! Where do you live? My cable is much, much more than that, even for the basic. I don't blame you for not doing anything else.
Did you read the actual list? There's MAYBE 2 channels on that list I might watch occasionally. 3 or 4 if you add my young child into the mix (Disney XD).
Did you read the actual list? There's MAYBE 2 channels on that list I might watch occasionally. 3 or 4 if you add my young child into the mix (Disney XD).
Well, I only ever watch one channel on any commercial TV anyway, so that looked like a pretty long list to me. If you could order cable by single channel I'd be very happy!
I can't give advice on cutting the cable cord, because I never did. I still subscribe to Spectrum (formerly Time-Warner).
But I do stream a lot on top of that, so I thought that I would chip in with my opinion of streaming services.
I have an all-Apple household, so my first streaming device was an Apple TV. I currently have an Apple TV4. It's not my primary streamer anymore but it still comes in handy. With Apple TV, you can stream movies purchased or rented on iTunes to your TV. You can also send to your tv any music from cds that you incorporated into your iTunes collection on your computer. That being said unless you are an Apple user, a Roku is probably the best choice.
I currently use the Roku 4 as my primary streamer for pay streaming services. Roku has an advantage over Apple TV in that they have apps for more services. Apple refuses to allow Amazon Prime to play on their playground. The Roku3 and 4 remotes have a headphone jack if you want to watch tv and not bother a sleeping partner.
As to pay services:
Acorn TV: features British non-BBC programming; also shows from Australia and Canada. If you like Brit Crime Dramas and period drama, it has a lot to offer. It's relatively cheap at about $5.99 a month.
Amazon Prime: more than a streaming service; for an annual fee ($99, I think) you have access to streaming video, music, plus a free Kindle book a month, as well as free 2 day shipping on Amazon purchases. Like most of the streaming services, they've developed their own TV series, like "The Man in the High Castle" and "Sneaky Pete".
CBS All-Access: I was reluctant to add it at first, but I've been binging Five-O episodes recently. You can get it for as cheap as $6.99 a month with commercials or $10 or $11 without. Their first series launch was "The Good Fight", a sequel to "The Good Wife".
Hulu: probably the best coverage of tv, with the exception for lack of CBS. With Criterion leaving to join Filmstruck, there's very little other than tv shows.
MLB TV: excluding NHL hockey, which I don't follow and don't know what I costs, MLB offers the most pro content for the $. You get access to all non-market MLB regular season games, with the exception of national TV games, for about $129 a season.
NBA: I'm currently test driving a subscription for the rest of the regular season that cost me about $70 starting a couple of weeks ago. I think a full season subscription is about $200 per season. Same deal as MLB. You have access to all games outside your local market or on national tv.
Netflix: the granddaddy of them all, and probably still the best value for the money.
For about a year, I had another service that I've dropped called Warner Archive Instant that was about $10 a month and focused on Warner Brothers movies mostly from the 1930's thru the '70's and also classic WB tv shows from the '50's (Surfside Six, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, etc.). The main reason I dropped them was that their movie and tv choices never seemed to change that much.
I'd be interested if anyone has any feedback on Filmstruck. It's supposedly a partnership between Turner Classic Movies and Criterion, but they haven't released their Roku app yet and most of their library that I've seen on line appears to be Criterion, and I can only handle so much of Wild Strawberries, And God Created Woman or Black Narcissus. I'd be more interested if there was more TCM content.
Last edited by Bureaucat; 03-11-2017 at 05:08 PM..
not been brave enough to cut the cord completely but I did sign up for a much cheaper cable package.cable tv is a joke-- tired old reruns,new shows I dont care for,commercial after commercial after commercial, I dont even bother with tvland any more and most of the tv shows I like i can just find on the internet.And thank god for youtube-plenty of great documentaries and how to programs.One of these days I will go all the way and cut the cord completely.
I can't give advice on cutting the cable cord, because I never did. I still subscribe to Spectrum (formerly Time-Warner).
So you are paying for all that AND cable? What do you watch on cable? If you are paying for sports, and don't mind you are a PRIME candidate for cutting.
All I need is internet connection. And I can watch all cables shows I want. I use this freaking A software like netflix and slingshot at the same time. Big difference is I don't have to pay.
Oh for the live TV you have to pay but not as much as those crocodile cable companies charge you.
For the most part really, all you need is internet. Most people upload epis as soon as they were aired somewhere online, ie youtube.
Some people don't even have internet or landline anymore. All they use is their phone data connection.
All I need is internet connection. And I can watch all cables shows I want. I use this freaking A software like netflix and slingshot at the same time. Big difference is I don't have to pay.
Oh for the live TV you have to pay but not as much as those crocodile cable companies charge you.
My cable company advertises a web special rate $40 for first year of 50 Mbps internet
They advertise 50 Mbps internet plus basic cable for $80 but you have to pay $24 in surcharges and probably $20 for set top boxes and DVRs for three televisions. That adds up to and additional $84 per month, Then there are taxes on top of that.
So the frugal person may say that the crocodile cable company is asking for too much for TV. I can purchase Roku or Amazon TV plus Sling for $25 a month and Netflix for $9.
But the problem is that the cable companies "retail rate" is $96.99 for 50 Mbps internet and , $7 for modem and $5 for wireless access point rental. So the cable company can legally charge me that much for data connection. Normally they have a "special rate" for less, but if you are not buying television service from them, and they sense you have no real alternative with fiber optics or 4G, then they will charge you the higher rate.
Unless you live in one of those rare communities that built out their own municipal data access, or that has multiple competing ISPs, you are likely to get trapped by this double tiered pricing.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
