I do this, I share Netflix/Prime with a buddy and he shares his dad's cable login with me.
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Ditching Cable - Suggestions?
- Thread starter AbSoluTc
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I really hope you are right. I'm also excited about the potential for this ATT and directv thing if for nothing else than providing options and competition.
I actually called Comcast last week to cancel and just keep internet and they refused to sell me just internet. I was told I had to keep my whole cable package (185.00 mo ) or cancel it all.
That sounds very strange. Maybe something missing from your statement. I have never heard of Comcast or anyone not selling Internet Only Package. Of course you pay more for the Internet then you would in a bundle. Is there a local office you could go into? Or ask for a supervisor?
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Others do that as well. I think more and more the providers will want to compete with OTT offerings. I personally do not care who I get the streaming service from as long as I can use my Apple TV's to view it and the price is right. I was paying $70+ per month just for the hardware on only 4 of my 8 TV's. Now I have 8 Apple TV's with access to all that I pay for. Of course you still have limits on number of streams but I have a number of services and of course do not use all of the TV's at the same time.
I thought it was strange too but I assume the rep knew what they were talking about so I said "ok" and just paid my 185.00 bill and hung up. I feel like I did my part. I tried to downgrade.. they refused. I'm stuck. They're the only game in my area so I think that's why.
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If anyone has been successful in downgrading their cable service to just internet only I'd like to know what they said
8 tvs?! WEALTH! jp
Is that for a business or are you just in a good situation in life?
I guess good situation. I have a 5 bedroom house and our 4 kids are now grown and with kids of their own. But they do come back for visits and I like having TV's in the guest rooms. But I do have a nice TV Room mainly for me and my wife likes the Master Bath/Bedroom TV's. We do enjoy our TV experience
Ask for customer retention. I did this with TWC and got an amazing deal. Granted I have both tv and Internet but they were going to let me go with just internet until they added a bunch of channels for a little more.
I just downgraded my Comcast Xfinity to just Internet. Previously I subscribed to "Preferred XF Double Play" bundle at $140 per month. I also used to use TiVo as my DVR.
I cancelled TiVo and downgraded to Blast Internet at $75/month. No issues canceling TV service with Comcast. I informed them I now use PS Vue. Rep had received many calls from PS Vue and DIRECTV Now users. Whole process took under 10 minutes.
Now I may also cancel Comcast Internet service. AT&T is installing a fiber cable to my house next week as part of their network upgrade. I don't currently have any AT&T services. Installation is free and they promise almost gigabit speed for the same price as Comcast's 75Mb service. Interested to hear from any AT&T fiber users about quality of service.
I cancelled TiVo and downgraded to Blast Internet at $75/month. No issues canceling TV service with Comcast. I informed them I now use PS Vue. Rep had received many calls from PS Vue and DIRECTV Now users. Whole process took under 10 minutes.
Now I may also cancel Comcast Internet service. AT&T is installing a fiber cable to my house next week as part of their network upgrade. I don't currently have any AT&T services. Installation is free and they promise almost gigabit speed for the same price as Comcast's 75Mb service. Interested to hear from any AT&T fiber users about quality of service.
I would recommend making a Plex Server at home! Share with everyone at home and start building a library. Everything on Tv is junk! For Sports find ESPN and others to help with that
A year has passed in this thread -- still doing the same thing. Amazon Prime has interesting add-ons and we took one for a couple months.
We dropped our TV service to "local channels only" and still rent their DVR (total cost $32/month) so we can watch the networks and without commercials.
Problem is I need the cable service to get all the local channels, an OTA antenna won't do.
How far do you live from the broadcast towers? Go to TV Fool and put in your town's info go see what digital stations you could get!
Then get IMHO a great long range antenna the Clearstream 4. Some people have reports it works so well from their attic!
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I called comcast and told them, I just wanted internet and tv and phone gone. I was switched to another number and repeated my request a couple of times. She told me no problem and that I should get a modem upgrade while at the comcast store. I have to say that everything went very well. My bill went from $223. to $85.
I guess good situation. I have a 5 bedroom house and our 4 kids are now grown and with kids of their own. But they do come back for visits and I like having TV's in the guest rooms. But I do have a nice TV Room mainly for me and my wife likes the Master Bath/Bedroom TV's. We do enjoy our TV experience
This reminds me of years ago when Directv was coming to the house for something, and was convinced it must really be a bar because he had never heard of a house with 10 Directv receivers
. All the kids are gone now days so we are down to 6 TVsJust to emphasize that point - most people haven't even thought about over the air digital television, but it's fantastic, high def, and you get all the local channels for free. I find this is a life saver when special events come up that stations like NBC specifically ban from non cable subscribers to punish people who left cable. I used to have Time Warner cable, and the biggest hit I took from leaving is they have free WiFi hotspots throughout my city that I'm no longer allowed to use.
Luckily, other hotspots exist.
Just to emphasize that point - most people haven't even thought about over the air digital television, but it's fantastic, high def, and you get all the local channels for free. I find this is a life saver when special events come up that stations like NBC specifically ban from non cable subscribers to punish people who left cable. I used to have Time Warner cable, and the biggest hit I took from leaving is they have free WiFi hotspots throughout my city that I'm no longer allowed to use.
Sometimes sacrifices have to be made, but there are always options.
I wish I could get OTA local channels. Luckily the pole with my cable terminal is on my neighbors gated private property so my service is still live.
Look up Kodi and the latest nVidia Shield TV (a home entertainment hub done right - 4k HDR, built in Netflix, Plex, Amazon video, and full access to Android app store - with xBox style gaming controller - full access to video game streaming too for a reasonable price). Apps like Mobdro and addons on Kodi make cutting cable that much easier.
I have used all generations of Apple TV, and now this Android box from nVidia does so much more and I am kicking myself for not buying an Android TV sooner - Apple Fanboism clouded my better judgement.
I have used all generations of Apple TV, and now this Android box from nVidia does so much more and I am kicking myself for not buying an Android TV sooner - Apple Fanboism clouded my better judgement.
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I cut the cord about 2 years ago. At the time, I had HBO Now ($15/month), SlingTV ($20/month) and Netflix ($8/month), which covered everything I needed at the time. Since then, I've gotten rid of SlingTV and HBO Now, and got DirecTV Now. HBO was a $5 add-on to DirecTV Now, so at the end of the day it was actually cheaper to go with it. At this point, I'm paying about $50/month in total for it and I never have a problem with "nothing ever on."
We cut the cable a year ago and haven't looked back. Sling, Netflix, Hulu Plus, with a decent Leaf OTA in the window, all served over a 100Mb connection, done. We dropped over $100 off the bill but getting rid of 500 channels we didn't watch, and then added back about $40-50 in services. All I want now is DVR capability on local broadcasts, but I haven't been able to bring myself to pay the cash for the Silicon Dust equipment.
FWIW, for the folks recommending antennas - you don't need the super awesome $150-200 "HDTV ready techno booster" antennas. Even though the HD broadcast is digital information, its still coming over the same VHF frequencies that the old ugly Yagi antennas pick up just fine. Go get a good-quality Channel Master VHF mast antenna, and mount it upside down from one of the high rafters inside your attic - if you have an attic. Otherwise go buy an amplified Leaf antenna and stick it in whatever window in your home faces your nearest antenna farm as described by TV Fool. You'll save probably $100 bucks at least.
FWIW, for the folks recommending antennas - you don't need the super awesome $150-200 "HDTV ready techno booster" antennas. Even though the HD broadcast is digital information, its still coming over the same VHF frequencies that the old ugly Yagi antennas pick up just fine. Go get a good-quality Channel Master VHF mast antenna, and mount it upside down from one of the high rafters inside your attic - if you have an attic. Otherwise go buy an amplified Leaf antenna and stick it in whatever window in your home faces your nearest antenna farm as described by TV Fool. You'll save probably $100 bucks at least.