Going without cable/satellite

**Cubsfan** · 01-02-2014, 07:34 PM

I haven't had cable for a couple of years.

Primarily, Netflix and Hulu cover nearly everything. I find that Netflix is the go-to for back catalog stuff (say if you want to watch seasons 1-5 of Parks and Rec) and the Hulu is great because it has new stuff (I can watch a new episode of Parks and Rec the day after it airs).

Hulu has commercials, but it's really not that big of a deal. So, for ~$20 a month, I can get plenty of tv to watch.

Last I checked (which was a couple of years ago), the differences were:

Hulu: Can watch shows on a web browser only. No access to any back-catalogs.
Hulu-Plus: Can watch on mobile devices (or Roku, etc..), and can access all content.

**atgcpaul** · 01-02-2014, 08:03 PM

Originally posted by JR

The question is, have you disconnected cable or satellite service, opting exlusively for internet media content? Which services do you like? Strengths, weaknesses?

Amazon looks intruiging, but once again I don't yet understand the parameters of the offering.

Pandora looks intruiging, but I found the user interface kind of strange. A musician friend professes to love it, so I'm going to investigate further.

Any and all comments welcome.

I've lost track but I think I've been off cable for at least 3 years--maybe 4. From the beginning we've been using a Roku box to stream Netflix, Amazon (and for a time, Prime), Pandora, etc. We don't have Hulu Plus. We also watch TV over the air. I'm not a sports guy so have never missed ESPN or one of those sports channels. We do miss AMC, TNT, HGTV, Food, and SciFi (me). We never had any premium channels like HBO or Showtime.

Streaming Netflix has been good. Sometimes I'm appalled at the selection but then other times I'm pleasantly surprised. We've watched a lot of TV series on it and for the price I think it's a good deal for $7.99/month. We had Amazon Prime for a year and had access to their streaming library, too. However, I found very little difference between their collection and Netflix. We eventually dropped Prime. I think Amazon charges Prime members extra for streaming now so it's not as good a deal--IIRC.

There are some shows like Mad Men where we can't wait the several months for Netflix to pick up. We will pay the $2 rental fee to Amazon to watch those shows, but they only appear a day after the original airing and it's only a 24hr rental. With some other shows like Walking Dead, I'll bite the bullet and wait for it to be on Netflix. Yet still other shows like Game of Thrones that most likely won't be on Netflix I've had to get creative. I actually bought them off eBay and resold them for the same price on CL. Some shows that are critically acclaimed like Homeland or new shows on SciFi, I've just resigned myself to never watching.

We fill in the rest of the gap with Redbox. They get movies quicker than Netflix and it's just $1.27 for the night. There are so many locations near me that it's not inconvenient to pick it up on the way home. Redbox is streaming now but I'm not sure if that includes their new releases. I really don't need another subscription service.

I've also started to find content qr especially WWing--through various Roku channels.

Going off cable has saved me a ton of money but I've also made a lot of compromises. However, I don't regret the decision because I never felt the cable company had anything but their best interest in mind and were only there to nickel and dime me.

Paul

**jussi** · 01-02-2014, 09:05 PM

I just picked up a Roku. What WWing shows are there?

**Cochese** · 01-02-2014, 09:42 PM

On Blip.TV, there is Garage Woodworks, Matt's Basement Workshop, TWW and The Renaissance Woodworker.

**atgcpaul** · 01-02-2014, 09:58 PM

Originally posted by Cochese

On Blip.TV, there is Garage Woodworks, Matt's Basement Workshop, TWW and The Renaissance Woodworker.

I think it's blip, but Woodworking for Mere Mortals is entertaining, too. He's also on YouTube.

**JimD** · 01-03-2014, 07:59 AM

Anybody had problems streaming Amazon? We tried it once, using a Sony blu-ray player that we stream Netflix (successfully) on. I would work but only barely. We're thinking it's our internet speed (plus possibly the daughters streaming at the same time) but I am interested in other experiences. Netflix drops the display quality when necessary to maintain the signal. I've steamed it in airports with really crummy internet. Amazon's service seems to depend on a really good internet connection.

**Cochese** · 01-03-2014, 09:18 AM

Not too many problems on computer or Roku. Yes, Amazon does require more speed. They drop the quality too, however their calculations are a bit more demanding.

**dbhost** · 01-03-2014, 09:32 AM

Just FWIW, until the basics can be replaced with streaming services, things like local news, sports, first run shows on network TV etc... I can't see myself getting rid of Satelite all together. I dumped Comcast for TV a few years ago due to the ever skyrocketing costs. I am not alone. In my department we have no less than a dozen out of 16 people that have dumped Comcast for TV service. Sadly they are the only game other than Hughes for broadband where I live... On the other side of Clear Lake however they can get DSL...

As awful as Comcast has been as a company to deal with on the TV offerings, their internet service has been pretty good. No surprises in the billing, very little noticeable downtime. Only some hiccups related to the speed doubling last year.

There are several shows we like to watch, or at least DVR and watch when we want to, and the online services don't have them that I know of... Things like...

The Big Bang Theory.
2 Broke Girls
2 and a Half Men.
Sleepy Hollow
Vampire Diaries
The Originals.

And like I said, our local news...

For online streaming to the TV, I use a Netgear NeoTV SL3000. Not the best box out there, but it supports non HD TVs, and I am not ready to upgrade TVs yet. The next TV will be a big screen for the living room once the flooring is done in there, and it will be a Smart TV so no Roku or anything like that needed. Need it to stream online, and DNLA services...

**LinuxRandal** · 01-03-2014, 10:48 AM

A lot of the ones you listed, are CBS shows. I think it is a week after they have aired, that they are viewable on CBS's site. (done that twice)

I asked about Netflix before (Hank), but didn't find what I had hoped. The site I used to use is gone, and the two shows I watched, are not broadcast in this country. (one can be done via an anonymizing service then watching streaming from that country)
Since one is something like 5 weeks, when it is shown, I stopped watching it after version 5. (it has at times been on and off Youtube)
There is one show that I do watch, but am not going to pay for the higher end channel, especially since it doesn't have a regular season (Doctor Who). Easier to get the season DVD and cheaper then all those months of cable.
There are other shows, that I will watch when on, at someplace like Restaurants, family gatherings, etc. I make no special effort, to be "entertained" by them. (it shouldn't be work)

As you can guess, I am less about the DVR functions of things like Raspbmc and more about my music collection, or thinking of ripping the dvd's to a NAS and streaming. Vegetables are meant to be eaten, and becoming one from the tv, is a precursor to Soylant Green.

**frumper64** · 01-03-2014, 11:06 AM

Amazon Prime

We have prime and watch shows on it all the time with no problems, but we do have a pretty decent feed (FIOS). Oddly, when I tried Netflix, I had all kinds of problems with buffering.

**durango dude** · 01-03-2014, 11:07 AM

I live in a relatively remote town that has no TV reception. I'm too dang cheap to pay for cable or satellite. I do have DSL, though.

a) find a well-to-do friend that has cable or satellite in a vacation home
b) Install slingbox and give your friend a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant.

I don't personally use slingbox, either ---- I just don't think there's anything on TV worth watching.

I am thinking about alternatives with the Olympics coming up, though.

**kevin.blanc** · 01-04-2014, 08:39 PM

I get OTA reception of the networks and could easily live without cable (using my Roku and Amazon or Netflix) if there was a way to watch my MLB team. Unfortunately, there isn't, so I'm stuck with cable. This isn't my edict. It's my wife's.

**bmyers** · 01-08-2014, 05:49 AM

I gave up on cable TV 5-6 years ago. I make it as hard as I can for the kids to watch mindless crap on a TV.

I do have Netflix but selections is kind of limited. Hulu fills some gaps but I dont have Hulu+, might discontinue Netflix and go + for a while.

Youtube has a decent selection of full length shows these days. I like to fall asleep to space exploration stuff which there is a lot of there. HD Discovery, S. Hawkings, BBC. I'm pleasantly surprised by what you can get there.

I just couldn't see paying for the right to watch commercials anymore on cable TV.

Cut the cord JR and dont look back.

**woodturner** · 01-08-2014, 07:34 AM

Originally posted by JR

The question is, have you disconnected cable or satellite service, opting exlusively for internet media content? Which services do you like? Strengths, weaknesses?

Why internet? Why not just over the air (OTA)?

If you live in anything other than a very small town, you can likely get at least 30 to 40 channels OTA, more if you use a decent antenna. OTA broadcasts can be true HD, unlike cable which is usually degraded due to bandwidth limitations (even though they call it HD).

All of the commercial networks as well as PBS are available OTA, as well as some of the "premium cable networks", in some areas (for free).

Movies are available on disc from the library or anything but the most recent movies are available at free (and legal) streaming sites. Honestly, I'm not sure why anyone would pay for cable or satellite, unless they are in a really remote area and have no other option.

FWIW, I haven't had cable in 10 years or more, and since the digital broadcast switchover have never missed it.

Going without cable/satellite

Going without cable/satellite

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