Cable TV

[ncage]

Prelimnary info:

I have recently been analyzing my bills and how much i spend of everything to try to cut some of my expenses. I first looked at my cable bill about 3 months ago. It was $127 for the following:
Comcast Standard Service
1 DVR
HDTV Package
Internet

I thought that was way to high so i called them and tried to cancel the cable part. They said they would call me back. The person that called me back said they could lower my bill some and give me Comcast Phone also. Well i was like what they hey i'll do it. Well when i got my next bill it wasn't lowered that much. It was $122 i think. I don't even use the phone part because i already prepaid for viatalk have over a year left.

Question:

How many of you have cut the cable on the cable company and canceled your service? The problem is i don't watch that much tv. The only show that i have to see is either Ultimate Fight Night or the Ultimate Fighter. Thats the only reason ive kept the cable i guess. I wonder how easy it would be to watch these off the internet. Occasionally i'll browse Discovery or National Geographic and watch shows on there but it isn't that often and hardley worth $7oish i pay for cable a month. I pretty much paying for something i rarely watch because i rarely use it. I have to much going on usually to watch that much tv and my DVR usually just fills up and i sit down because i feel like i have to watch the stuff i recorded so i can delete them. Also comcast has kind of peeved me with their HDTV line. It pretty much is horride compared to say DTV. I remember getting ready to order UFC 95 i think and i asked them if it was broadcast in HDTV. NOPE!!!!!!! I asked so for 44.95 i'm not even getting it in High Def!! What a Rip!! How many of you have cut the cable? Are you happy with your choice?

Where are possible really good sites if i just want to try to download the stuff i want to watch *legally*

I forgot to say if they try to charge me $60 for just internet i will probably cancel that too and just go with the highest DSL which i can get for $45 with no phone from AT&T.


thanks,
Ncage

 

[Vette73]

I got rid of cable over a year ago. Put a large antenna in the attic and get free over the air HD/Digital TV.

I D/L anything else or buy the DVD if its that good.

 

[ksheets]

I got rid of cable in October and havent looked back.
I get more than I can watch between the $10 netflix streaming, OTA HD and bittorrent

 

[Red Squirrel]

Coat hangers FTW. (If you can't find a set of actual rabbit ears). Though, aren't they going to stop broadcasting that shortly? I thought they already did.

 

[ncage]

Well i just got off the phone with comcast. I was about to drop everything but they shot me an offer of 39.99 for 10mbit internet (the fastest thats available in my area) and basic cable (which i will never watch). I can't complain i guess. The fastest at&t dsl is 6mbit and its $35.00 without phone service. Guys what is a good place to download the shows you like at? Maybe one that offers a RSS feed so utorrent will automatically download them.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Damn, I have TWC, and I pay almost exactly what the OP pays for:

Roadrunner (not Lite, either)
Phone service
1 HD box
2 DVR's
HD Suite (but no pay channels like HBO)

You gotta call these folks and work them.

 

[Modelworks]

I pay about $55 for directv with dvr so that is something to consider for cable users. I get my net connection through DSL which was about $90 a month with phone service. Then I learned that if I called and threatened to cancel all service that I could get just the 10MB DSL for $50. The customer service for most telco will say you must have phone service, but if you press them they will do DSL by itself . I use callcentric voip for phone.

So for tv, net, phone I average about $120 a month.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: ncage
Prelimnary info:

I have recently been analyzing my bills and how much i spend of everything to try to cut some of my expenses. I first looked at my cable bill about 3 months ago. It was $127 for the following:
Comcast Standard Service
1 DVR
HDTV Package
Internet

I thought that was way to high so i called them and tried to cancel the cable part. They said they would call me back. The person that called me back said they could lower my bill some and give me Comcast Phone also. Well i was like what they hey i'll do it. Well when i got my next bill it wasn't lowered that much. It was $122 i think. I don't even use the phone part because i already prepaid for viatalk have over a year left.

Question:

How many of you have cut the cable on the cable company and canceled your service? The problem is i don't watch that much tv. The only show that i have to see is either Ultimate Fight Night or the Ultimate Fighter. Thats the only reason ive kept the cable i guess. I wonder how easy it would be to watch these off the internet. Occasionally i'll browse Discovery or National Geographic and watch shows on there but it isn't that often and hardley worth $7oish i pay for cable a month. I pretty much paying for something i rarely watch because i rarely use it. I have to much going on usually to watch that much tv and my DVR usually just fills up and i sit down because i feel like i have to watch the stuff i recorded so i can delete them. Also comcast has kind of peeved me with their HDTV line. It pretty much is horride compared to say DTV. I remember getting ready to order UFC 95 i think and i asked them if it was broadcast in HDTV. NOPE!!!!!!! I asked so for 44.95 i'm not even getting it in High Def!! What a Rip!! How many of you have cut the cable? Are you happy with your choice?

Where are possible really good sites if i just want to try to download the stuff i want to watch *legally*

I forgot to say if they try to charge me $60 for just internet i will probably cancel that too and just go with the highest DSL which i can get for $45 with no phone from AT&T.


thanks,
Ncage

havent had cable/satilite this century.
tv antenae FTW!

<----- only watches 2 shots on TV, LOst + Dollhouse

yet it seems i';m always short on time.
where the hell does all those hrs i save from not watching TV go???

oh yeah, i go out 5x/week. :smile;

cut your cable. go outside. live life...

 

[I Saw OJ]

Cut my cable back in September when I moved. I was paying 65 for cable internet and 55 for their step above basic cable TV. My TV has a digital tuner in it so I just hook up some rabbit ears and pick up my local digital broadcasts, looks great, you would never know it was from some crappy rabbit ears. Went with DSL for the internet, its not quite as fast, but still just as good and about half the price. I'm saving about 70 bucks a month.

 

[Brainonska511]

I'll be canceling my Comcast service altogether when I move out in just under 2 months. The internet (they claim 6/1.5 + speedboost) has sucked and I don't need the tv. Most of the shows I watch, I can get online through CBS, Comedy Central, or Hulu (and at worst, have to download it, which I almost never do these days because of the first set of options). I got a converter box for my tv to use once cable is gone, I'll pick up an antenna to pull in stations OTA, and for internet I'll probably get the $25/month ATT 1.5mbps DSL in my new place for internet. I hate Comcast.

Though, pricewise for my package (Phone/Internet/Digital TV starter package) is $100/month. My roommate who uses the phone pays me ~$60/month (all 3 services), and my other roommates and myself pay ~$15/month for the tv/internet.

 

[xanis]

I haven't had to pay for cable in a while (lived at home, then went to college) so I don't know that I can really say. However, I'm getting an apartment next year and I'm going to need to get a TV/internet package. Unfortunately, my only option for this is Comcast, which comes out to about $80/month. That doesn't include the installation and setup fees.

 

[lxskllr]

I've never had cable TV, and I haven't had TV of any kind in 10 years. I hooked one up for a week during the 9-11 Trade Center stuff, but it's back in the basement now. I pay $70 per month for Comcast's best internet package. It's way too much, but there's no other options, and their lower packages don't save that much money.

 

[IGBT]

TV is a greatly overvalued service. Lots of HD content over the air.

 

[xanis]

Originally posted by: IGBT
TV is a greatly overvalued service. Lots of HD content over the air.

This. Most all of the stuff I watch is on Fox/ABC/CBS. Occasionally there will be something on Discovery that I'm interested in, but usually I can just watch it online somewhere.

 

[IGBT]

Originally posted by: Xanis

Originally posted by: IGBT
TV is a greatly overvalued service. Lots of HD content over the air.

This. Most all of the stuff I watch is on Fox/ABC/CBS. Occasionally there will be something on Discovery that I'm interested in, but usually I can just watch it online somewhere.

11.3 HD over the air is a great snow sport channel. also saw pole vaulting on this morn. mountain bike race yesterday. Good to see something other then the usual dull ball games.

 

[Homerboy]

sorry could simply not live without my cable service. $130/month for TW/RR, 2 DVRs and Digital1000 package (includes HD programming). Its month well spent every single month.

 

[HannibalX]

Dropped my cable in 2003. Waste of money.

 

[MovingTarget]

If you can get naked DSL/cable/fios internet, go for it. For your phone, stick with a cell. Cut the cable TV cord. Your $$ is best spent on a good antenna for most things, and the internet connection can get you anything you missed OTA.

 

[MovingTarget]

Originally posted by: MovingTarget
If you can get naked DSL/cable/fios internet, go for it. For your phone, stick with a cell. Cut the cable TV cord. Your $$ is best spent on a good antenna for most things, and the internet connection can get you anything you missed OTA.

Oh, and you can get a really cheap DVR card for your PC. I've been using mine as a dvr for years. With the switch to digital, most OTA stuff will be available in high-def iirc. You shouldn't have to rent the equipment or pay for HDTV service...

 

[God Mode]

I got rid of cable many years ago. I refuse to pay for something where I'm forced to watch commercials.

 

[slayer202]

blah blah, i'm better than everyone because I don't pay for tv, blah blah blah


how many threads like this do we need?

 

[MovingTarget]

Originally posted by: slayer202
blah blah, i'm better than everyone because I don't pay for tv, blah blah blah


how many threads like this do we need?

as many as it takes until cable operators wise up and stop gouging their consumers. We need á la carte service!

 

[Soul Reputation]

You should look into what's called "Free to Air". I know nothing about it, someone told me if you use it, you can get the same channels you get on cable for free. Maybe somebody else can shed some light on FTA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-air

 

[boomhower]

I would in a minute but you can't get sports online. NFL on ESPN and Nascar on TBS/ESPN/SPEEDTV. That is the only thing keeping me hanging on.

Yes I am a redneck and like watching cars go in circles, lets keep it on topic.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
I got rid of cable over a year ago. Put a large antenna in the attic and get free over the air HD/Digital TV.

I D/L anything else or buy the DVD if its that good.

I am thinking of this. Internet is going to destroy cable. I may as well get on board.

How many channels do you typically get? I've heard HD quality can outperform cable, but the number of channels is a concern. Also, if I don't want an antenna in the atic, how much will a decent one cost me for my tv?

I am $155/month with cable/phone/internet. When they start charging for the amount I use this fall I'm going to kill off the phone or cable.