Anyone out there cut the cord with their cable provider?
May 4, 2017 20:17:36 #
May 4, 2017 21:04:25 #
I cut out the cable a couple months ago, saves me about $350/year. I used to watch TV occasionally (maybe 3-4 times a year) but except for educational channels I decided there wasn't anything on worth watching so I turned it off and packed up the TV. I don't miss it. If I need it I can get it online.
The landline will be next. I changed the business phone to my cell # so now I get about 1 call every third month that is useful. All the rest are spam. I never answer the phone (because I'm not in the house most of the time) and I get no useful messages on the answering machine. The phone has caller ID so when I look back at who called there are a very large number of "Unavailable", "Unknown Caller" or even occasionally my own number. Also a large number of calls from states where I don't know anyone.
The landline will be next. I changed the business phone to my cell # so now I get about 1 call every third month that is useful. All the rest are spam. I never answer the phone (because I'm not in the house most of the time) and I get no useful messages on the answering machine. The phone has caller ID so when I look back at who called there are a very large number of "Unavailable", "Unknown Caller" or even occasionally my own number. Also a large number of calls from states where I don't know anyone.
May 5, 2017 06:05:47 #
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and a digital antenna... I fired my cable TV a year ago this month. Still have high speed internet from cable provider, but I work from home so need biz class internet. No landline phone since 2009... VOIP or cell. Our security system is also cellular. All that being said, i have not turned the TV on in nearly 4 months. Too busy reading the posts on UHH đ
May 5, 2017 06:49:29 #
richosob
Loc: Lambertville, MI
ggttc wrote:
I finally âcut the cordâ with my cable provider. O... (show quote)
We cut our landline a few months ago, just the taxes were ridiculous. I have my internet service through a local cable company but I'm thinking of changing to something else. On our bill for the Internet they charge $10.00 for equipment fees and $2.00 for a copy of the statement, absolutely ridiculous.
Rich
May 5, 2017 07:18:05 #
ggttc wrote:
I finally âcut the cordâ with my cable provider. O... (show quote)
I called Spectrum to ask about deleting services, and they reduced my bill by about $60/mo, without deleting anything. She said to call every two years to get a reduction. I have phone, computer, and TV with them for about $128/mo. Although I watch a lot of Netflix and Amazon, I still like some broadcast TV, and there's no other way for me to get that. If I dropped the Triple Plan, I'd lose some of the discount. I figure $128 a month isn't bad for all the services and a good assortment of TV channels.
May 5, 2017 07:27:03 #
jmizera wrote:
We went with Tivo Roamio and a antenna. The service is $15 a month, and it's the best DVR. You can also buy units with lifetime service. Cool search and scheduling options. In addition, we have Netflix streaming. We did also do Hulu for a while, but dropped it. Not enough content that wasn't also on Netflix or broadcast TV.
This is the same setup I have used for a year now. The TiVo is great. I use the antenna that's been on the top of the roof since I bought my house 31 years ago and the picture quality is better than cable or satellite. I'm about 40 miles NE of Detroit and I get more channels than I need for free. I will sign up for Netflix for a month or two in a couple of weeks just to watch the new seasons of House of Cards and Bloodline and then go back to just my OTA choices.
May 5, 2017 07:44:27 #
jerryc41 wrote:
I called Spectrum to ask about deleting services, ... (show quote)
Every time I call them it just leads to a big shouting match (for some reason they just push me over the edge). I end up working things out, getting my bill reduced, with guarantees of a year at that price only to receive my bill a month later at an inflated price for the same crappy service. Then it starts over...............
May 5, 2017 07:51:16 #
lsaguy wrote:
We made the decision when we moved to the country.... (show quote)
There is a lot of free content you can subscribe to on roku: Pbs , local news, etc. Add a good broadcast antenna for local channels.
May 5, 2017 07:55:57 #
Szalajj
Loc: Salem, NH
After nearly 5 years without access to cable TV, yes there are times that I miss being able to chanel surf and actually being able to watch the programs that are supposed to be on the chanels that my antenna says are broadcasting a signal, or watch a show without pixelation. But not at the annual cost of nearly two months of rent.
May 5, 2017 08:15:16 #
firtree wrote:
Every time I call them it just leads to a big shouting match (for some reason they just push me over the edge). I end up working things out, getting my bill reduced, with guarantees of a year at that price only to receive my bill a month later at an inflated price for the same crappy service. Then it starts over...............
May 5, 2017 08:16:59 #
ddetloff wrote:
The TiVo is great.
Definitely! Except for those times when it cannot read any channels, and I have to turn off, unplug, wait, replug, turn on - all in the correct order. The card adapter is often a problem.
May 5, 2017 08:24:10 #
jerryc41 wrote:
Definitely! Except for those times when it cannot read any channels, and I have to turn off, unplug, wait, replug, turn on - all in the correct order. The card adapter is often a problem.
Never had any problems with my TiVo. More reliable than any of the cable or satellite services I had over the years. You mention a card adapter. Do you use TiVo with a cable or satellite? Mine is made especially for OTA using an antenna. It has no adapters. Maybe that is why I don't have problems with it.
May 5, 2017 08:28:00 #
I quit DirecTV about 6 months ago. I was paying $135 a month to watch mostly commercials. Went with a outdoor digital antenna. I pull in 50+ stations(about half of them unwatchable) but it's free. I stream Netflix and Amazon Prime. Much happier.
May 5, 2017 08:28:09 #
ddetloff wrote:
Never had any problems with my TiVo. More reliable than any of the cable or satellite services I had over the years.
When I don't have TV channels, is it TiVo, or is it the cable company? They can blame each other. The cable card adapter is often the problem. Rebooting all of those devices takes quite a while.
May 5, 2017 08:37:27 #
You're absolutely right that there's really little worth watching on cable beyond the vomitous chronicles of the arrogantly over-privileged Kardashians. But what prompted me to dump our Charter cable here in Reno, NV was the obvious biases present in the cable news channels; MSNBC, Fox, CNN (short for "Certainly Not News"), and even the business news channels. Saving a few $$ now, but the house is quiet, we catch up on local news once a day, and the jabbering presence of the flickering color images in the corner are hardly missed.
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