I finally canceled my tv service!

[rh71]

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan

Originally posted by: rh71
good for singles or those who live the single life.

I don't really agree. I have a lot of other, better things to spend my time doing.

my point was that you can cut it off as long as you don't have others around who watch a lot of it. To be more direct, children and gfs/wives watch shows usually not on the internet. I literally watch only 3 shows, all of which are torrentable, but I can't cut tv out here.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: ric1287
except now you have to watch everything sitting in front of your computer

Uh, my PC is connected to my 50" plasma.

 

[fleshconsumed]

Have only turned on TV once in the last 4 years, happened to stumble upon an episode of scrubs, watched it, turned it off again and never watched since then. Do not regret it one bit, so much more free time to do other things. The only downside is that I get screwed on my internet bill since I'm on the highest tier and sicne I also get hit by surcharges for subscribing to Internet only.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: Baked
I pay $20 a month for cable, it has all the none premium channels. That's like 2 days of lunch for the typical American who's too lazy to pack their own lunch.

You ass wipes are too busy packing fudge.

 

[Gothgar]

we still have it, I would much rather cancel it and never look back, but my wife is addicted to food network

 

[Kaido]

I love my Tivo too much. Plus I don't like the buffer-skips.

 

[GoPackGo]

I just love the "I don't own a TV" circle jerk.

 

[JS80]

They should make a Wifi HD box that streams Hulu and Netflix to your TV. Potential game changer.

 

[JS80]

Wait, how would you watch sports?

 

[Yreka]

Originally posted by: JS80
They should make a Wifi HD box that streams Hulu and Netflix to your TV. Potential game changer.

Xbox360, or PS3 w/ Play on works well.. No HD yet, but looks pretty good.

We canceled our cable 6 months back.. I do miss some of the other channels mentioned, Disc, History, FX, Sci fi, ESPN, NFL. Probably wont be going back though.. I don't miss it THAT much.

 

[TwiceOver]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: TwiceOver
We've been thinking about canelling our cable and going OTA + Internet. I don't think we are quite ready, but probably after Winter.

Have you scanned latly to see what is out there? A lot of new ones popped up recently after the switch.

I put a $60, or so, radio Shack attena in my attic and I get a lot of channels.

A buddy of mine uses OTA and he says we only get 6 stations... albeit the ones I would actually care about: ABC, CBS, FOX, PBS1, PBS2 All HD, NBC still can't reach us yet.

Problem is I need 2 ATSC tuners (one that will also do NTSC) + the antenna so ~$200 out of pocket upfront or roughly 5 months of cable.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Bignate603

Originally posted by: Modular

Originally posted by: ric1287
except now you have to watch everything sitting in front of your computer

Not if it's connected to your TV

We connected an old laptop to the TV for about $10 in cables. It works great.

What about the remote? Seems like you're going back 30 years having to get up to "change channels"

 

[keird]

My wife threatened to cancel our Charter cable/internet introductory package when the monthly rate went from $75 to $116 after the introductory period ended. Now we're paying about $80 because she was persistent about wanting the service cut. Charter just kept transfering you to more senior people who cut the price lower and lower until my wife agreed.

I just need internet. I was living 10 years in my apartment without cable television. All those years without cable I bought DVDs and rented NetFlix = $40 x 12 months x 10 years or $4,800 that I didn't pay for cable TV.

I purchased hundreds of DVD's though. I still have them, too.

 

[chin311]

I might consider no cable if it wasn't for sports. gotta have HD sports!

I didn't have anything but basic (15 channels) for about 1 1/2 yrs, i didnt notice not having it really, but then again i dont remember much from those years

 

[AstroManLuca]

I have basic (REAL basic, not "digital basic" or "digital starter" or whatever the cable companies market their $60/mo package as) for six months of the year to cover the football season. It's about $14/mo after taxes. This year I'm also getting NFL Network for Thursday games and some other features for another $12/mo. Didn't you know you could get it separately but I guess you can. $26/mo after taxes for football is worth it to me. $80+/mo would not be. Only thing I'm missing out on is Monday Night Football (except local MNF games), but that's okay. Not worth the extra cash just for one game a week.

I'd stay with OTA except my reception sucks. Worth it to have a rock-solid signal. And I always cancel it once the Pro Bowl is over. The only channels worth watching to me are probably ESPN and Comedy Central, and the latter puts all their stuff online. Even Discovery and History have gone down the crapper.

 

[radioouman]

We canceled cable a couple months ago. At first it was difficult to get used to, but I don't miss it at all now. We get about 15 channels OTA (17 if you include the Spanish channels) and that is plenty.

 

[PepePeru]

i went w/o cable for over a year.

being a sports fan i had to give in eventually.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: JS80
Wait, how would you watch sports?

good point, I subscribe to NHL Center Ice every year and watch every Caps game. The online version is ok too but you have to sit in front of your PC real-time and can't do anything else. The archiving feature didn't work too well for later playback. I record it and watch the next day usually.

 

[ChurchOfSubgenius]

Have only turned on TV once in the last 4 years, happened to stumble upon an episode of Rock of Love, watched it, turned it off again and never watched since then. Do not regret it one bit, so much more free time to do other things. The only downside is that I get screwed on my internet bill since I'm on the highest tier and sicne I also get hit by surcharges for subscribing to Internet only.

 

[dquan97]

I bought and use the Western Digital HD Media Player...$85 at Staples. Insert usb media and streams via HDMI (or composite) to TV (up to 720p). I give it 5 starts out of 5. It turns on within 1-2sec and plays videos w/o a hitch.

 

[kalrith]

I canceled my DirecTV last month. We were spending $52/month for the cheapest HD plan. It cost $310 to build an HTPC, so in 5 more months it will be paid for with money saved. I have a dual-ATSC tuner for OTA stations and use the internet for everything else. For example, I watched the (abysmal) OU football game last weekend on ESPN360.com.

Between canceling my satellite TV and switching from monthly cell-phone plans to T-Mobile prepaid, I'll save $1100 every year!

 

[Reckoner]

I need my football, HBO, FX, and Showtime.

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: Reckoner
I want my football, HBO, FX, and Showtime.

fixed

I thought I needed lots of TV channels until I canceled my TV service and am doing very well without them. I know that if we break it down to basic needs, I don't need a TV at all, but at least I can enjoy the TV without any ongoing costs.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee
I hardly ever turn my TV on, but I don't think I could get rid of my cable service. Turning the TV on gives visitors something to do so I don't have to make as much polite conversation. Besides, people "expect" you to have basic cable at least.

Yea don;t want them Jones to get ahead of ya right?

Most of the "Jones'" have HD satellite television. Before I had cable, visitors would seem so flabbergasted that nothing appeared on the screen unless the DVD or video game console was on. Not having at least basic cable was a foreign concept I guess. I do watch football on occasion, and I watched Heroes before it jumped the shark. It's not important to me though, and I could watch anything I actually wanted to see on my computer in any case. I may go ahead and cancel cable once the HDTV/HTPC acquisition is complete as I'll be able to better simulate the live television experience then. Right now it's true that I only have cable for the benefit of other people who might come to my house though. *shrug*