Getting rid of cable was the best ever!

I recently got rid of cable, not by choice 100% but to save money.

I don't know why I wanted it, I honestly never watched it. I always had one of three channels on in the background so 100 bucks for cable seemed ridiculous for 3 channels.

I have Netflix online and it is worth it! I also have Hulu and can watch all the shows I watched on my overpriced cable for free via their websites.

I also just found the morning show I liked online in live feed form


So yea if you want to save money and can wait to see you favorite shows out of sync with everyone else then internet is just fine!

I am going to add Neflix DVD after the new year so I can watch more movies and some shows that aren't available for online streaming.

So far it's been nice. I think it was more the noise in the background with the TV esp at night. Laptops don't have the best light

Eventually I want to get Apple TV so I can stream my Netflix and Hulu that way....... Yes i know i can do this with certain game systems, I'm not a gamer


I never thought I'd get rid of cable lol I never watched it but having it when I did want to was nice but it wasnt worth the price anymore esp when everything is online.

The internet is the one thing I dont mind paying for! I find everything I need online lol

reply to post by mblahnikluver
Nice! I did this a few months back.

If I may, please allow me to recommend you look into Roku as compared to Apple TV. Mine was cheaper and provides no shortage of ever-growing content.

Good move you made there.

Netherlands here,

Four years ago abandoned TV for the same money reason. Still no regret, internet delivers enough and on demand.

And most of all the other cable content are not my interest ( but they hook you if you start watching) Just not starting gives loads of quality time for other stuff.

Now I could afford It, but I still choose not to have it and spend my money otherWise.

Not sure though how long this will stay possible due to recent developments in the law.

reply to post by mblahnikluver

Welcome to the club. I did this years ago myself and will never ever feel the need to watch old fashioned tv again.

In the UK we have freeview

freeview.co.uk...

It's built into my HDTV I just had to buy a receiver (£30) I get about 60 channels, 4 HD channels and radio, all for free forever!

Originally posted by Praetorius
reply to post by mblahnikluver

 

Nice! I did this a few months back.

If I may, please allow me to recommend you look into Roku as compared to Apple TV. Mine was cheaper and provides no shortage of ever-growing content.

Good move you made there.

That is what my friend has!! She loves it. I thought about that too but I am one of those nut Apple fans and I will admit it. I even told my bf if I am getting rid of my cable I want to keep my Apple TV. I also got rid of my iPhone, too expensive as well. I have a home phone and it's much cheaper. I only had a cell phone the last few years because I had roommates and couldnt have a home phone. I always had a home phone and a cell with prepaid for emergencies. THEN I got a hold of an iPhone 2g lol and I have had every one since minus the 4g. I will just use it as an iPod which is cool cause I don't have one. I can still get online and use apps and technically with some apps I can get free calls and text messages even overseas. I figured that out via google (my best friend) with apps on the iPhone. It uses your wifi to make the calls and texts and you even get a separate number. It worked great with friends I have overseas!

So yea I am finding all I need thanks to the internet to save. I have cut down a lot by doing this.

The one thing I didn't ask about Roku was if you bought the movies or if they were just like Netflix where you view what they have? I know Blockbuster has online movies too. I might look into that as well. Netflix and Blockbuster combined is what they wanted for one movie channel on my cable network. I had all major networks where I use to live and nothing was ever on. I found everything that I was watching was online lol

Thanks for the link, I will look into it and just see what their options are.

Originally posted by EartOccupant
Netherlands here,

Four years ago abandoned TV for the same money reason. Still no regret, internet delivers enough and on demand.

And most of all the other cable content are not my interest ( but they hook you if you start watching) Just not starting gives loads of quality time for other stuff.

Yea the content on cable is horrible lol I find much more interesting things online. All the old documentaries they use to show on many channels are no longer show, they are only online. Those are what I want to watch! Not reality shows.

Now I could afford It, but I still choose not to have it and spend my money otherWise.

Not sure though how long this will stay possible due to recent developments in the law.

edit on 20-12-2011 by EartOccupant because: (no reason given)

Yea I wonder how that will work. I don't download shows or movies online and am leery of many online stream sites so I usually stick with the networks own channel or sites where I know they are alright.

It will help me save money for other things. I was wasting it on cable and my phone. I didn't see it then but now I do. It is soooo nice not having my cell go off by certain people who daily sent out mass texts cause they were bored and wanted to talk. It was kind of annoying lol

So yea Im glad I dont have either anymore.

Originally posted by roughycannon
In the UK we have freeview

freeview.co.uk...

It's built into my HDTV I just had to buy a receiver (£30) I get about 60 channels, 4 HD channels and radio, all for free forever!

Wow that is cool!

reply to post by Praetorius


same here..

We were paying out the butt for cable..

and most of the channels didn't work anyway..

so i bought my wife a ROKU....

she loves it!

P.S. I do NOT watch t.v.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


I did the same thing over a decade ago and never looked back.

My setup:

high speed DSL shared to desktop via gigabit lan and shared to NAS (network attached storage) via gigabit lan. I have two ps3s (living room, bedroom) that both get internet access via the wireless network.

On the desktop I download whatever I want (torrents) and stream them to the ps3's using TVersity sharing software (not the best but it works) which the ps3s see automatically (once you enable media server in the ps3 settings) then I can browse my shares on the desktop or NAS and watch my content.

For HD content I use mkv2vob to convert .x264 files (bluray movies, HDTV ) to convert to a format the ps3 prefers then i use an external usb drive (I find HD content doesn't stream well on my wireless)

You can also easily do this with an xbox or Wii.

Most shows I have to watch either the next day or a few hours after airing, but some shows I get early. Back when that 70s show was on, we were getting episodes from the net before they even aired in Canada.

For example, I just watched the season premiers for Californication and Shameless this past weekend and have no clue when they are scheduled to air.

That said, there are various LEGAL methods to cut your cable, but most still bombard you with ads.

MythTV is another option, it's linux, but I've heard good things about it.

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


Yea I dont mind paying because the fees are so minimal compared to cable. With all the ones I pay I get more than my cable gave me lol

I don't have a Wii or an Xbox. I don't play video games. I'd love an old NES though

reply to post by baddmove


Im looking at their site now lol

Roku has many similar things to Apple TV but they have HBO and some other things I like, like Pandora. I just found Pandora online, I always used the app and it wasn't always good.

I like True Blood which is HBO, but it doesn't bother me to wait til it is over and just get the entire season at once and watch it. lol

Do you watch any kind of documentaries?

reply to post by mblahnikluver
Glad to help, good luck with whatever you finally settle on but I have no complaints with my loyal Roku.

The one thing I didn't ask about Roku was if you bought the movies or if they were just like Netflix where you view what they have? I know Blockbuster has online movies too. I might look into that as well. Netflix and Blockbuster combined is what they wanted for one movie channel on my cable network. I had all major networks where I use to live and nothing was ever on. I found everything that I was watching was online lol

I think you might be misunderstanding Roku - is just a streaming internet video player, so if you have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO, or various other accounts already, just link through their websites to your player and you can access them on your TV with no problem. Also gives you access to all the Revision 3 channels and a LOT of other streaming content.

As far as movies, I think with an Amazon Prime account, you get full access to the Amazon Instant Video catalog at no additional charge, but otherwise yes, you can rent or buy movies directly from Amazon through the Roku.

I have long-standing gripes with the NetFlix browser, on a side note, so I also recommend bookmarking InstantWatcher in your browser (or getting their app, if you still had a smartphone) to simply NetFlix searches.

As far as everything being online and never finding anything to watch on cable - agreed! I had 300 channels or so, really only ever watched about 5 of them. NOT cost-effective. With Hulu doing quick uploads of most show's recent episodes and access to Youtube (now on Xbox live! *grin*), I actually watch more than I did and don't really miss out on much of anything.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Good for you. These cable companies need some healthy competition. There is only Cablevision
or Dish Network here where I am. So basically they are monopolies. I am really suprised that
there have not been any major Anti Trust lawsuits filed. At least there are now the alternatives that you
mentioned.
Also, a friend of mine had a great set up on his boat. I don't know exactly what it was, but he was able
to get dozens of decent channels for free. I guess it was some kind of digital converter. I don't think he had
a dish either. It is time these greedy bastards learn a lesson.

S&F

I have been trying to do this for a long time. can't convince the wife into it though. She DVR's everything anyhow... frustrating having to pay the bill every single month knowing I am mostly just paying for background noise and yep, everything I watch is online anyhow and have the netflix streaming to boot.

soon I will win this argument though. Such a waste of money. something we don't have much of these days.

Take a look @ BOXEE is like others but a lot less expensive and browser based.

If it were not for my son, I'd have ditched cable a long time ago as well. I have to admit I like watching my football games ( odd for a girl, I know) and Anthony Bourdain's shows too. Otherwise, I have either CNN which listening to those idiots in DC bicker, hacks me off or Science Chanel or the History Channels. Too much money for too few shows worth watching! I'm saving this thread for all the wonderful ideas you guys are using and have! Thank you in advance for saving me a ton of money! Now.... if only I can find something that plays power rangers and bugs bunny all day long for the kiddo... as well as the millitary channel...

I agree. I got rid of my cable like 3 or so years ago. Its been great. Only internet. Nice!

Good call.

Been thinking of doing this myself. (dish)

I would seriously consider a PS3...( kudos poster above)

bluray player..

media sharing..

And alot of the awesome old games for cheap on PSN..

This is my setup.. desktop in office Win XP media center and ps3 on ethernet lan/ dsl

Wouldn't trade it...

Would like faster internet though (get roughly 1.5m down/300k up) feels like dialup sometimes

I used media tomb an on ubuntu server that i used for my media and torrents, i'de download what i wanted to watch on tv, and then it would stream from that computer to my laptop i had permanently there, connected via HDMI. Im working on getting a better set up now, so i can get rid of my cable again.

I dont like cable :/