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So tired of cable
- Thread starter Quarksbar
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find someone you can share the cost of cable with. I pay for a portion of my sisters cable bill, and she gives me access to her account. Which gives me access to all the Disney channels on the Apple TV.
Bill was $230 a month based on TV, Internet, phone, security system. I should take after my son who has no cable, but relies on Internet and streaming for his content. A first step for myself was cutting premium subscription channels costing $30 a month. Next might be the house phone, $20 a month. Of the 300 or so channels, we watch maybe 10. I need to see if we can get by on a lesser package. We need ala-cart pricing, but I don't see that ever happening until the cable companies are faced with some kind of crisis.
Cord cutting is getting more popular everyday. Cable companies will have no choice but to offer lower cost packages (let's face it, most of watch no more than a dozen or so stations on our 300 channel system) because lower monthly fees are preferable to no monthly fees. Most of them are losing cable customers at a very high rate each quarter.
My kids watch Disney junior hd all the time. It's seriously the only channel we watch period. Nothing else on all three 60" LEDs in the house... So.., we pay like $225 for att tv and internet package. No way to lower it since our address / account been in use for a long time and the channel we need is in the premium package only (300 package I believe). Called att and ... Got $20 off for 6 months(. Tried xfinity - user experience much worse could not stand it. Any suggestions? Seems outrageous to pay $200+ for one kids channel and hs internet.
It sounds like you have AT&T U-verse. The channel your kids watch is available on both the U300 and U200 tiers, so if you have the former you could downgrade and save a bit. Also, you could drop one or two of your three DVRs.
We have U-verse with U200 TV, Internet, and VOIP. It's been pretty good, with the exception of the Internet service, which has problems with some domains.
I had been thinking of canceling my cable this weekend but I think I'll hold out for a bit.
I've always hated how Comcast changed the programming guide so you just see a few channels at a time and then you have to page down.
Yesterday, my new Note 4 was delivered and this morning, I tried out the remote feature on it. It kind of breathes new life into my cable experience because now I can see what's on now on a big screen and use the phone to change to whatever channel I want.
I think I'll see how it works out for another few months.
I've always hated how Comcast changed the programming guide so you just see a few channels at a time and then you have to page down.
Yesterday, my new Note 4 was delivered and this morning, I tried out the remote feature on it. It kind of breathes new life into my cable experience because now I can see what's on now on a big screen and use the phone to change to whatever channel I want.
I think I'll see how it works out for another few months.
I'm still counting down the days until my contract for Dish ends. Once it does, I'm cutting the cord, snapping up HBOGo, and getting an HD antenna for local channels.
Speaking of which, anyone have a recommendation for a good HD antenna?
Speaking of which, anyone have a recommendation for a good HD antenna?
Shave the Cord
You could Shave the cord. I have basic cable and Internet, costs me $70 per month. Antenna is not an option as I live in a ground floor condo.
You could Shave the cord. I have basic cable and Internet, costs me $70 per month. Antenna is not an option as I live in a ground floor condo.
We’re off contract on DTV, and really just waiting to sort out a few things. We are _really_ close. I actually looked up this thread since the wife and I were just talking about this again, I even just, setup HBOGO again, but this time using, *ahem* a different provider so-to-speak (dropping that service from DTV today).
Our little-G doesn’t even watch TV (a few years ago, we kind of needed Nick/Disney), other than very specific programming that’s available through Netflix/Prime, or a couple of network shows. I have a worksheet where I’ve been planning how to get various shows, I mean, it would be _great_ if a couple of networks would just add an app (that also gives you a DVR for all intents and purposes).
Anyway ...
This was the antennae I was planning to buy, and Amazon even ran it on a “deal” for like $20 cheaper, probably should’ve picked one up then to experiment (even if we weren’t ready to CTT):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00APPDX86/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Generally good reviews all over the net, pretty invisible once installed.
In looking that up again, I see there’s an Amazing Basics product that looks to be the same design, has the same 4 stars, and is a bit cheaper:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DIFIP06/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
FWIW, I’ve scored a few Amazon Basics products and have been happy with the quality.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
...and done. Sending back one of our STBs too (it was actually janky, would go into an update loop, but did not request a replacement).
I was _so_ laid back canceling HBO and a box, hahahaha ...
“Did you enjoy HBO”
“Yeah, sorta, it was OK”
“What if we <interrupt>”
“Nah, it’s cool, we’re done”
I’m actually giddy thinking about the call to cancel DTV completely - soon, very soon.
It's nice knowing I'm not the only person in the world who uses "janky".
By the way, I looked at that exact same HD antenna just a month before. I'm still gonna do some research, because I'm anal retentive like that, but it'll probably be the one I end up picking up.
Hahaha, I actually used that term just last week when communicating with the DOD (Yeah, that web service is a little janky...).
I might actually try the Amazon Basics version. Soon too, because we are getting _really_ close.
$230 a month? My god. I'm unhappy with $120. I think paying for security system monitoring is a waste of money (except is some cases) but of course that's a personal decision. I ever so rarely watch television so at $120 I'm overpaying. I just need Internet.
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Whenever I see EoD I try to say hi to them with my portable radio. They like that. They wave a lot.
Im actually giddy thinking about the call to cancel DTV completely - soon, very soon.
Might be pulling the plug, cutting the cord _tonight_
I pay $90/month for Comcast which includes HD, 10mb/sec Internet, Extended Basic channels + Showtime and maybe HBO I forget.
In Boston there are a lot of college kids and competition from other providers (RCN and Verizon) so thats why I think I pay so little. My parents in CT only have Cox as a cable option and they pay almost $200 for slower internet and essentially the same regular channels and no premium channels.
In the past I haven't paid for cable, just internet. I do like being able to watch the news though. My last contact with Cox I was paying $50/month for just internet which seems like a lot for just internet.
In Boston there are a lot of college kids and competition from other providers (RCN and Verizon) so thats why I think I pay so little. My parents in CT only have Cox as a cable option and they pay almost $200 for slower internet and essentially the same regular channels and no premium channels.
In the past I haven't paid for cable, just internet. I do like being able to watch the news though. My last contact with Cox I was paying $50/month for just internet which seems like a lot for just internet.
Might be pulling the plug, cutting the cord _tonight_
I did, done, no more DTV.
I have to say, it was flabbergastingly painless. No push, no offers, just a simple, why, a 20 second answer, lots thank you and done.Cancelled my Comcast today. I survived previous to the past six months without tv service for nearly three years. Back then, I didn't have an Apple TV or an HDTV like I do now and I survived. I bought my TV shows and movies as I do now but back then, I only had my MacBook to watch things on.
I also have Netflix.
I also have Netflix.
Some good deals going on in the US now( not as promising as in other rich tries but it looks like comcast is afraid of loosing many customers, please keep up ditching the non value added cable TV services. Hopefully soon there will be an increase in the Internet speeds and no HD extra charge and so forth...
Where is the freaking Apple TV service?? Any recent rumors??
Where is the freaking Apple TV service?? Any recent rumors??
Is it just me but it seems that people that live in the country have better basic cable packages than the people that live in the city have ?
At least here in Texas.
At least here in Texas.
Some interesting updates from Sling TV!
Its now fully open, $20/month, live HD from the following channels:
ESPN, ESPN 2, the Disney Channel, ABC Family, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, TNT, CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim
Now, theyve done a deal with AMC and it will be offered as part of the same basic $20 package above.
Apparently BBCA and IFC are owned by AMC, so that could lead to them being offered as well (hopefully it would be in the same package).
According to their site:
Android tablets and phones
iOS Devices iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch
PC and Mac
Roku players and Streaming Stick¹
Roku TV models²
Coming soon, Sling TV will also be available on:
Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
Xbox One
Google Nexus Player
Its also a no-contract service.
Its now fully open, $20/month, live HD from the following channels:
ESPN, ESPN 2, the Disney Channel, ABC Family, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, TNT, CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim
Now, theyve done a deal with AMC and it will be offered as part of the same basic $20 package above.
Apparently BBCA and IFC are owned by AMC, so that could lead to them being offered as well (hopefully it would be in the same package).
According to their site:
Android tablets and phones
iOS Devices iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch
PC and Mac
Roku players and Streaming Stick¹
Roku TV models²
Coming soon, Sling TV will also be available on:
Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
Xbox One
Google Nexus Player
Its also a no-contract service.