Cutting the Cable TV

[kennyc]

Given the new TV I activated my Amazon Videos account to Rent or Purchase videos as well as activating a Vudu Account.

Interesting thing with the Vudu Account. It has to be installed in a Host -- like a Vizio TV or in the case of a computer you have to install Boxee first. Which I did and then activated my Vudu account and got a free movie rental credit. Then went to the TV and activated Vudu there (on the same account) and got a second free movie rental credit!

Whoop!

P.S. Watched a Nature program - Himalayas last night .. WOW INCREDIBLE!

... must get my Planet Earth DVDs back from my daughter.

[kennyc]

Just ran across this article via google news:

Savings Experiment: Cutting the Cord on Cable TV's Pricey Monthly Bill
Barbara Thau
Feb 22nd 2011 at 5:00PM....

http://www.walletpop.com/2011/02/22/...vs-pricey-bill



P.S. my Laptop with Windows Media Center is working excellent now after updating the screen/hdmi drivers.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Just ran across this article via google news:

Savings Experiment: Cutting the Cord on Cable TV's Pricey Monthly Bill
Barbara Thau
Feb 22nd 2011 at 5:00PM....

http://www.walletpop.com/2011/02/22/...vs-pricey-bill



P.S. my Laptop with Windows Media Center is working excellent now after updating the screen/hdmi drivers.

Pretty good article... although it misses the easiest way to get "Free TV" ... with an antenna. Also, all the "free" Internet options do require you to have a broadband connection.

BOb

[Sweetpea]

We pay € 32,85 per month for our cable tv.

The basic is € 16,95 per month, then € 9,95 for the extra channels, and € 5,95 for the HD channels. The three Dutch national channels are always in HD and default included in the basic.

So, we pay $542.50 per year for the full package. That's cheaper than that basic from Comcast (according to the article).


@pilotbob: with an antenna, you won't get a lot of channels here anymore. Rather, I doubt you could find one

I would have to take a subscription for €8,50 per month, get 23 channels, and I'd have to pay €4 for every extra TV I would want to use (currently, we use 3, so, that's at least €8 more and we wouldn't be able to use our tv-cards in our pc's anymore as only 3 tv's are allowed. So, it's only an option if you only use one TV and never watch anything but the basic channels (and I do love my History, History HD, NatGeo, NatGeo HD, Discoveries and Discovery ShowCase HD...) Oh, and don't care about the BBC...

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

We pay € 32,85 per month for our cable tv.

The basic is € 16,95 per month, then € 9,95 for the extra channels, and € 5,95 for the HD channels. The three Dutch national channels are always in HD and default included in the basic.

So, we pay $542.50 per year for the full package. That's cheaper than that basic from Comcast (according to the article).

That's how much it should cost. I really can't stand how much it actually does cost. I have Comcast.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by SolRaven

That's how much it should cost. I really can't stand how much it actually does cost. I have Comcast.

Yep. It's definitely "captive market" pricing I think.

I'm lucky in that in the Denver metro area I can get all three national networks, plus two public TV stations and all the "extra" digital stations associated with each channel. I do miss the History and Science cable channels, but have determined that I will live without them.

Also with my new internet-enabled TV I have access to Vudu, Netflix, Amazon and hopefully Google at some point should I desire. As is I can purchase movies, and videos from Vudu and Amazon with no monthly fee.

Formerly I was paying DirecTV approx $700/year for basic + local channels.

And that annual price is about what I paid for the Dell Laptop and Hauppauge Digital Tuner that I'm now using as an off-the-air DVR, Movie player, and Internet TV device.

I'm happy as a clam with the setup at this point.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Yep. It's definitely "captive market" pricing I think.

I'm lucky in that in the Denver metro area I can get all three national networks, plus two public TV stations and all the "extra" digital stations associated with each channel. I do miss the History and Science cable channels, but have determined that I will live without them.

Also with my new internet-enabled TV I have access to Vudu, Netflix, Amazon and hopefully Google at some point should I desire. As is I can purchase movies, and videos from Vudu and Amazon with no monthly fee.

Formerly I was paying approx $700/year for basic + local channels.

Streaming content here is existing, but very rare. And our broadband is a bit on the slow side for it to work good enough to be a real contender.

Basic + local is the €16,95. You'll get 28 Dutch and English channels, a lot of German and French ones (not interested in those ) and all local (as in local = from a certain area in the country, one for each province and a few extra) channels. So, yes, I think that that $700 per year is a bit too expensive!

But they'll be changing everything around somewhere in the second half of this year. The separate HD subscription for instance will disappear and be in the basic package. So will interactive TV. And there will be more HD channels too (including BBC HD!)

(we're generally a bit behind compared to the US in the HD compartment. Law of the handicap of a head start... Our "normal" quality is a lot better than the US one!)

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

@pilotbob: with an antenna, you won't get a lot of channels here anymore. Rather, I doubt you could find one

There are many channels here you can't get OTA since they are "cable" networks. We did watch some of that stuff. Most of what I watched on those channels was on SiFy. However, I am still able to get what I cared about on the Internet. Other than that, 99% of what I watched was the major broadcast networks. All of those can be had via antenna.

Whatever works well for one won't for another. I understand if you want to keep your cable. If I had more discretionary income I would probably go back to cable, and get all the premiums. But, for now, I just can't see paying $50 a month to watch mostly what I can get for free with an antenna that cost me $40 and about $125 to have it installed.

BOb

[astrangerhere]

My partner and I are three weeks in without satellite/cable, and we love it. We bought a Roku box for the bedroom and have one of the main PCs in the house hooked up to the bigscreen in the living room. We'll never look back in terms of that particular bill.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

There are many channels here you can't get OTA since they are "cable" networks. We did watch some of that stuff. Most of what I watched on those channels was on SiFy. However, I am still able to get what I cared about on the Internet. Other than that, 99% of what I watched was the major broadcast networks. All of those can be had via antenna.

You simply can't receive channels anymore without a digital receiver. They stopped broadcasting those in 2006, I believe. So, either you need cable, a dish, a digital antenna + receiver (which will cost you money every month as well), or highspeed broadband and some location where you can download stuff. Things like video-on-demand are fairly new. And you won't be able to see the local channels...

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

You simply can't receive channels anymore without a digital receiver. They stopped broadcasting those in 2006, I believe. So, either you need cable, a dish, a digital antenna + receiver (which will cost you money every month as well), or highspeed broadband and some location where you can download stuff. Things like video-on-demand are fairly new. And you won't be able to see the local channels...

Yes, in the US analog was turned off June 12, 2009. Some countries have done it sooner, some (EU I think) will do it by 2012.

That said, there's no such thing as a "digital antenna". An antenna is an antenna. you just need one that is tunned for the correct frequencies... for most of the US that means a UHF antenna.. although there are some stations that are technically VHF but only on the high end of it. I have a combo UHF/VHF antenna, as I said it cost me $35.

Also, why would you need to pay every month for a digital receiver? Assuming you don't have one built into your TV you can buy one for $30 - $60 at least in the US. There is no monthly fee for that.

I am not faulting you for paying for cable... if that works better for you in your location based on the prices etc... more power to ya.

BOb

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Yes, in the US analog was turned off June 12, 2009. Some countries have done it sooner, some (EU I think) will do it by 2012.

That said, there's no such thing as a "digital antenna". An antenna is an antenna. you just need one that is tunned for the correct frequencies... for most of the US that means a UHF antenna.. although there are some stations that are technically VHF but only on the high end of it. I have a combo UHF/VHF antenna, as I said it cost me $35.

Also, why would you need to pay every month for a digital receiver? Assuming you don't have one built into your TV you can buy one for $30 - $60 at least in the US. There is no monthly fee for that.

I am not faulting you for paying for cable... if that works better for you in your location based on the prices etc... more power to ya.

BOb

Correct.

You don't need to pay for a digital receiver. Modern HDTVs have had them mandated for years now, also - they are built in.

I can't live without DVR - but even a TivoHD or Premiere can be had with lifetime service if you want to avoid the monthly fee. DVR is worth the fee to us. We've been on basic cable for 2 months now for $20/mo plus the Tivo fee ($11/mo). I'll probably put up an antenna in the springtime and see about paying yearly for the Tivo ($99/yr). The only thing I miss is Comedy Central.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Yes, in the US analog was turned off June 12, 2009. Some countries have done it sooner, some (EU I think) will do it by 2012.

That said, there's no such thing as a "digital antenna". An antenna is an antenna. you just need one that is tunned for the correct frequencies... for most of the US that means a UHF antenna.. although there are some stations that are technically VHF but only on the high end of it. I have a combo UHF/VHF antenna, as I said it cost me $35.

Also, why would you need to pay every month for a digital receiver? Assuming you don't have one built into your TV you can buy one for $30 - $60 at least in the US. There is no monthly fee for that.

I am not faulting you for paying for cable... if that works better for you in your location based on the prices etc... more power to ya.

BOb

Unless you're satisfied with 3 channels only (the three national channels), I guess you could do with a digital receiver only. But, remember, we don't have that many pay-per-view internet thingies.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

I can't live without DVR - but even a TivoHD or Premiere can be had with lifetime service if you want to avoid the monthly fee. DVR is worth the fee to us. We've been on basic cable for 2 months now for $20/mo plus the Tivo fee ($11/mo). I'll probably put up an antenna in the springtime and see about paying yearly for the Tivo ($99/yr). The only thing I miss is Comedy Central.

I have a TiVo also. I just bought life time service for it. I am sure I will have it for at least 3 more years.

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Unless you're satisfied with 3 channels only (the three national channels), I guess you could do with a digital receiver only. But, remember, we don't have that many pay-per-view internet thingies.

Actually, I get about 15 channels OTA with my antenna. As I said 99% of what I watch is on the 4 major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox. So, if that is all I could get I would be fine.

But, the main point of this thread an "cutting the cable" is that there are many more ways to get content, even if you are paying for it, you can be paying less. But, as you said, in different countries there are different things available. Also, your cable service sounds a heck of a lot cheaper that service in the US.

I know some people that don't even watch broadcast or cable TV. 100% of their viewing is Netflix DVD's via mail. You can get a lot of TV shows via Netflix too. Granted, it is probably a year or so after it is broadcast.

BOb

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I know some people that don't even watch broadcast or cable TV. 100% of their viewing is Netflix DVD's via email. You can get a lot of TV shows via Netflix too. Granted, it is probably a year or so after it is broadcast.

BOb

That wouldn't be a problem for us, as we usually record what we want to see, and are about a year and a half behind

I really wish we had more services like that. They are becoming more commonplace now, but mostly in cities where 20Mb+ connections are becoming common. In rural areas, such as where I live, where you can't get above 5Mb, unless you get cable internet, it's just not doable yet.

And after seeing those prices in that link somebody posted above, I can understand people wanting to cut their cable tv...