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  #1  
Old 02-18-2018, 07:48 PM
spock spock is offline
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Default Alternatives to bundled cable, dish, etc?

Kids are grown and out of the nest and it's just the lovely wife and I. Our TV watching has dwindled to but a few network shows my wife enjoys - NCIS, Blue Bloods - and an occasional NFL football game for me and the wife, mostly playoffs. Seems ridiculous to pay the monthly cable rates, and Dish not that much better. Seems some enterprising company should come up with a service that permits one to choose only the specific programs they want to watch for a set fee per program, rather than bundles of shows that include the desired shows for more dough. Or is that already available somewhere?

Is there anybody out there in a similar situation, and if so, what are you doing?
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Old 02-18-2018, 07:58 PM
jpd jpd is offline
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Originally Posted by spock View Post
Kids are grown and out of the nest and it's just the lovely wife and I. Our TV watching has dwindled to but a few network shows my wife enjoys - NCIS, Blue Bloods - and an occasional NFL football game for me and the wife, mostly playoffs. Seems ridiculous to pay the monthly cable rates, and Dish not that much better. Seems some enterprising company should come up with a service that permits one to choose only the specific programs they want to watch for a set fee per program, rather than bundles of shows that include the desired shows for more dough. Or is that already available somewhere?

Is there anybody out there in a similar situation, and if so, what are you doing?
Hulu, google, Netflix, etc....the truth is out there
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Old 02-18-2018, 08:05 PM
muscmp muscmp is offline
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i hooked up an external antenna and did not receive one channel. i was hoping to get the locals so i could cancel spectrum as they continue to raise prices--25% recently. dish bad! spectrum worse!

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Old 02-18-2018, 09:27 PM
SMan SMan is offline
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We have nothing but OTA antennas after nearly 40 years with cable. Smart tv's that allow you to stream youtube, and tons of other free stuff have us totally satisfied while saving a ton of money. We get Ion OTA and it has Blue Bloods and NCIS just the older ones in syndication not to mention streaming amazon prime, netflix, and hulu. I also hook my laptop up with a hdmi cable and the videos and shows we watch are endless. Jay Leno's Garage is also free and both my wife and I love it.
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Old 02-19-2018, 01:10 AM
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Jeremy Jeremy is offline
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Netflix and Hulu have everything I'm interested in and more, and for $840 less a year than that I would be paying if I stayed with my TV provider.
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Old 02-19-2018, 07:13 AM
AX17609 AX17609 is offline
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Every time I do the math on this, I get the same answer -- no cost savings from cutting the cable. When I add together all the real charges (including taxes and embedded fees) for internet service plus a streaming service that offers the channels I want, it ends up costing just about the same as cable. Furthermore, cable tends to work better and more reliably than any of the streaming services I've tried. Much as I hate sending money to Comcast, I can't beat their product for a better price.
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Old 02-19-2018, 07:54 AM
H2O H2O is offline
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I have Netflix and recently added to that with an antenna. I was amazed how many channels came through! Really covers all of my households TV wants.

I have free Google Fiber internet so the total monthly cost is 10 bucks.
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Old 02-19-2018, 07:55 AM
imwjl imwjl is offline
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Default Alternatives to bundled cable, dish, etc?

I’m not a TV person but family members still watch some. We remain at lower monthly cost and always able to watch what via a basic tier cable Internet connection and HD type TV antenna. We do have over the Internet services and at times cancel or make individual purchases of content. The TV my family uses has a little Apple TV and Roku box.

Watching changed habits has been interesting. The apps and video for NY Times and Wall St. Journal are popular. The kids get content via YouTube. Time that used to be a stupid laugh track from another room became one kid watching how to videos and making stuff at the work bench. Another kid does 10-16 mi bike rides that used to be time at a TV. My wife’s been doing 4-15 hours of biking and hiking with me per week. They all still get in occasional TV shows. Mostly on their phones and often while doing chores.

YMMV, but the change has saved us money, improved habits in the family, and has me more convinced than ever how TV and poor choices for screen time aid the production of fat people and dullards.

The alternatives? They still watch some shows but after $ savings I see the darkened TV room has sparked better habits. A few hours of seemingly brainless sitting became a family doing more reading, crafts, and outdoor activities.

I’m not going to say there is no screen time or we’ve reached some sort of perfection. We do traditional family meals together each evening I allow watching screens during breakfast. When the kids ask to have a show or series I ask which one of two subscriptions they give up for it. As an example, right now Hulu has replaced Netflix.

Edit: The “two subscriptions” has mostly been Apple Music and Netflix. Other popular services have been tried or used for short periods.
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Old 02-19-2018, 08:08 AM
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KevWind KevWind is offline
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Dropped Dish a about 8-10 years ago when Dish would no longer let us watch E coast Network TV and Netflix started offering streaming and have never looked back.
Now it's Netflix ,Hulu, and because we are Prime members also Amazon Prime free.
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Old 02-19-2018, 08:26 AM
LouieAtienza LouieAtienza is offline
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I have a small NUC PC attached to my TV with wireless keyboard/trackpad combo and you can pretty much find any show online. Just save the links to you favorites. And, you can watch them when YOU want to not at specific times...
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Old 02-19-2018, 08:47 AM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jpd View Post
Hulu, google, Netflix, etc....the truth is out there
+1 on Netflix. I've never used Hulu before but that's another option.

I have cable because it'll cost me as much if not more to drop cable and get a sports package than it is to keep my cable deal I've currently got.
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Old 02-19-2018, 10:18 AM
sdelsolray sdelsolray is offline
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Sling is excellent for the price.
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Old 02-19-2018, 02:49 PM
Shoreline Music Shoreline Music is offline
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If you're already using Amazon Prime (it's pretty much a necessity when you live where I do), then that has more TV and movies than you could watch in a year, and it's all included in what you're already paying. This includes the HBO and FX libraries, including Band of Brothers, The Wire, Justified, etc.

Netflix is $11/month for the standard plan, and has more TV and movies than you could watch in 5 years. Their original content covers the gamut from utterly brilliant to complete crap, and they occasionally have a great selection of movies. Right now it's the 3 Godfathers, Shawshank, Saving Private Ryan, Apollo 13, all the Planet Earth and spinoff series, etc. Their current TV has the AMC library (Breaking Bad, etc) and even Sundance gems like Rectify.

Hulu has tons of current TV shows and a growing library of content for $8/month. About half my viewing happens on Hulu.

That's $19/month for more TV and movies than you could possibly watch (even if you don't count the crappy ones!)—If you're already paying for internet, the cost of internet access is not really an added expense in the "should I cut the cord" calculation.
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