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We currently have a bundled plan with Time Warner Cable that includes phone, internet, and cable (with DVR and HD). Our bill is over $250 month, but more than that - our satisfaction with the service and quality of offerings is declining. I actually hate doing business with them, and am distressed over the fact that I feel like we don't have very many choices. We really want to find other carriers for these communication tools, but I am not sure what our options are. I know AT&T U-verse is not allowed in our neighborhood in Durham, according to the store on Mt. Moriah road, because Time Warner has the monopoly on some of the same services.
If you can, please comment on:
1. What do you use for access to TV shows (i.e. cable, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc.)? What are the pros and cons of what you use?
2. What do you use for access to movies? (i.e. cable, Netflix, Amazon, etc.)? What are the pros and cons of what you use?
3. Do you have a landline? If yes, who is the phone company?
4. Who is your internet service provider? What are the pros cons of who you use?
5. If you access internet/streaming movies and video, what do you use to access it (Wii, Playstation, Apple TV)?
6. Does anyone have a system for all of this that they love and that works pretty well for their needs? If yes, please explain (it does not have to be bundled).
I know these questions will take a few minutes to answer, so I appreciate any input and feedback you can provide.
I'm working my way through all of this too - be aware of one thing: Nothing but cable or satellite will give you access to CURRENT programing of movies and series episodes on HBO, Showtime, etc.
Netflix, Hulu, Roku, etc. etc. etc. only give you episodes and movies from prior seasons. If this is an issue to you (as it is to us), you can only get that from TWC, Dish and DirectTV. Which stinks.
My bill is ~$82 for HD cable with no premium channels and 1 HD DVR, and 14M down/2M up internet. Just an FYI for comparison sake. Your bundle must include several premium channels and their highest speed internet. I have no landline and use free (for now) Google Voice with an Obihai VoIP box. Monthly cost for phone: $1 since I use Anveo for e911 service. Initial outlay: $80 for a modem and Obihai has boxes in the ~$35 range.
So, I'm not answering all of your questions, but at the least you can see that there are phone options out there to help relieve your costs. My TV's and blue ray players have wifi and video apps. I've only played around on Youtube with streaming directly to the TV. Worked well with my internet speeds. Again, use this for comparison as you may be able to lower your internet speeds to save money as well.
1. What do you use for access to TV shows (i.e. cable, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc.)? What are the pros and cons of what you use? I use an OTA antenna for watching the major networks. Netflix for streaming. Also, it's pretty easy to download HD quality files of the one or two worthwhile shows you can't watch on Netflix or OTA (Showtime, HBO, etc). You can also easily find sites to stream them on, but the quality isn't typically too good there. It's up to you if you find this to be morally correct, but that should be it's own thread in a different forum. The pros of all this is that it's cheap, reliable and easy. The only con I can think of is you can't fast forward commercials.
2. What do you use for access to movies? (i.e. cable, Netflix, Amazon, etc.)? What are the pros and cons of what you use? In addition to the answer in #1 I occasionally stop by a redbox or rent a movie from google play.
3. Do you have a landline? If yes, who is the phone company? I guess it's not technically a landline, but I use ooma for VOIP. It's cheap, reliable and good quality
4. Who is your internet service provider? What are the pros cons of who you use? Earthlink. The rate has stayed the same for over 10 years, and it's fast enough for basically everyone's needs. The con is that you still have to deal with TWC for any service issues.
5. If you access internet/streaming movies and video, what do you use to access it (Wii, Playstation, Apple TV)? A Sony Bluray player with google TV
6. Does anyone have a system for all of this that they love and that works pretty well for their needs? If yes, please explain (it does not have to be bundled). I use a NAS device called a pogoplug. It's easy to setup (UPnP) and is DLNA so the google TV box media player finds all the media files on it over the wifi network and makes it easy to watch them on my TV.
1. What do you use for access to TV shows (i.e. cable, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc.)? What are the pros and cons of what you use?
Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, PlayOn. PlayOn was good early on, but is not as good for streaming from networks anymore. PlayOn is good for streaming shows that we own that are stored on our computer to be watched on our TV. I payed a one-time lifetime membership for PlayOn, so I might as well use it, but if you have to sign up for it new, I bet there are better services now. Hulu Plus is getting worse as far as what content they have, and I am considering cancelling it now that they won't even have ABC anymore. We have Amazon Prime anyway for the shipping benefit, so we also use it for streaming. And I do think Netflix is worth it, if only for the kid shows.
2. What do you use for access to movies? (i.e. cable, Netflix, Amazon, etc.)? What are the pros and cons of what you use?
Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, PlayOn
3. Do you have a landline? If yes, who is the phone company?
We have a landline through TWC
4. Who is your internet service provider? What are the pros cons of who you use?
We have "extreme" internet through TWC
5. If you access internet/streaming movies and video, what do you use to access it (Wii, Playstation, Apple TV)?
We currently use our BluRay player, but previously used the XBox.
6. Does anyone have a system for all of this that they love and that works pretty well for their needs? If yes, please explain (it does not have to be bundled).
We have bundled phone and extreme internet from TWC. Cost is about $95 per month. We do not have any live TV from either cable or antenna. We stream our TV and movies through our BluRay player using the above-mentioned services.
1. OTA antenna, Amazon Prime, Internet downloads, broadcast network Web sites, Hulu (free, not Plus)
2. Amazon Prime/Internet downloads
3. Yes, VOIPo. We are prepaid through April 2015 at an average of $7.70/mo for unlimited usage. Seems like every year they run a Black Friday special which I've used to extend my account. Skipped it last year. Will probably take advantage next year.
4. Earthlink Cable via TWC pipes. $41.95/mo for last several years and no modem fee nonsense. No additional fees or taxes on the bill. They recently bumped speeds to 16.5/1.2.
I use an OTA antenna, Netflix, Amazon, internet downloads, and sometimes network websites. I typically use Netflix as I use an Apple TV, and that doesn't do Amazon. I have Plex installed on my Apple TV to play movies stored on my computer. Given the choice now, I'd probably go with a Roku 3 over the Apple TV. I tried out the Roku 2 side-by-side my Apple TV for some time, but liked the interface on the Apple TV more.
For internet I have Earthlink, since the price is stable and the speed is still fast. I don't use a landline, just cellphones. If I'm running low on minutes, I use Talkatone on my smartphone/iPad to make free VoIP calls over my internet connection.
Ive enjoyed the responses in this thread. Listening to who cant do without the current programming and who can get by with just services like Netflix and Hulu. When I was younger, evening shows were so important. But now I am in my early 50s and no longer care. I would rather take a walk or read a book. And I would much rather spend that money on a nice dinner or two out with my husband. Im actually excited to do away with my cable and that ugly bill that comes with it! :-)
Hulu Plus streams shows the day after they aired. I consider that to be current.
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