• We should now be fully online following an overnight outage. Apologies for any inconvenience, we do not expect there to be any further issues.

Thinking of getting rid of premium channels...

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
M

manlymatt83

Lifer
Oct 14, 2005
10,051
44
91
We had a promotion going until this month, and now our premium channels are going to cost $60+ total for Starz/HBO/Cinemax/Encore. To be honest, the movies on these channels suck. I don't watch any of the series, and I do have a netflix subscription... and the movies on netflix are almost better than the movies on the premium channels.

Has anyone else gotten Netflix and used that as an excuse to get rid of the premium channels?
 
D

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
Yes. Netflix has a ton of streaming now as well as discs. Get yourself a Roku or PS3 if you don't already have something for streaming in your living room.

I'm almost ready to drop my cable completely since I almost never watch live TV with commercials any more. It would be cheaper to buy TV episodes off of Amazon for a few shows and wait for DVD / blu-ray / streaming for the rest.
 
M

manlymatt83

Lifer
Oct 14, 2005
10,051
44
91
DaveSimmons said:
Yes. Netflix has a ton of streaming now as well as discs. Get yourself a Roku or PS3 if you don't already have something for streaming in your living room.

I'm almost ready to drop my cable completely since I almost never watch live TV with commercials any more. It would be cheaper to buy TV episodes off of Amazon for a few shows and wait for DVD / blu-ray / streaming for the rest.
Click to expand...

I've thought about getting a Roku but more and more have been thinking of going the mac mini route. Then I can at least watch youtube, surf the web, etc. No?
 
rudeguy

rudeguy

Lifer
Dec 27, 2001
47,351
14
61
I have all premiums (except Epix...stupid Comcast) and Netflix.

I like having options.
 
SonnyDaze

SonnyDaze

Diamond Member
Jul 31, 2004
6,867
3
76
Dropped cable almost a month ago. OTA antenna for local channels and a PS3 for movie watching/streaming + internet.
 
N

nageov3t

Lifer
Feb 18, 2004
42,808
83
91
between netflix instant and streaming hulu, I've only found myself wanting HBO/Showtime on premier nights of the few shows that I watch (and I'll typically just end up watching all of them at once at my parents house while doing laundry later in the week, but it means I have to avoid overhearing conversations at work to avoid spoilers)
 
D

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
manlymatt83 said:
I've thought about getting a Roku but more and more have been thinking of going the mac mini route. Then I can at least watch youtube, surf the web, etc. No?
Click to expand...

Mac Mini is a great little box, I have an older one for testing our Mac software at work. It would be the perfect playback device if it included a blu-ray drive (curse you Steve Jobs).

It's 10 times the cost of a Roku, but if you drop all cable and use Hulu.com streaming instead you could pay for it in less than a year.
 
Ichinisan

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
My employer just decided to give all employees the premium channels for free. I still haven't watched them.

I dislike cableco converter boxes.
 
zerocool84

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
Yes you can get rid of premium cables but I'm never getting rid of cable. Nothing can replace cable.
 
moshquerade

moshquerade

No Lifer
Nov 1, 2001
61,504
12
56
manlymatt83 said:
We had a promotion going until this month, and now our premium channels are going to cost $60+ total for Starz/HBO/Cinemax/Encore. To be honest, the movies on these channels suck. I don't watch any of the series, and I do have a netflix subscription... and the movies on netflix are almost better than the movies on the premium channels.

Has anyone else gotten Netflix and used that as an excuse to get rid of the premium channels?
Click to expand...
Do it. :thumbsup:
 
shortylickens

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,081
136
I dont even have subscription TV. I just use netflix and hulu and such.
My TV set collects dust.
 
CrazyAznDriver

CrazyAznDriver

Golden Member
Nov 28, 2010
1,200
0
0
I have HBO and Showtime still, mostly because I am lazy. I like quite a few of their shows, could get them free but meh...
 
rockyct

rockyct

Diamond Member
Jun 23, 2001
6,656
32
91
Right now Hulu and Netflix can't replace cable, but they can pretty much replace premium channels. The only issue is that new programming won't be able to be on DVD (for Netflix) for like a year after it airs. However, if you can live without the latest episode of Entourage, you're be fine.

Oh, and while I'm not really all that in favor of Hulu+ right now, it does have the Criterion Collection on it. That'd be the only reason why I would pay the fee for it.
 
mugs

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
The only reason to have premium channels is the original programming, not the movies. But at the prices they charge, I can wait for DVDs.

manlymatt83 said:
I've thought about getting a Roku but more and more have been thinking of going the mac mini route. Then I can at least watch youtube, surf the web, etc. No?
Click to expand...

Mac Mini is approximately 10 times more expensive than a Roku box, but in the same price ballpark you could get an Apple TV 2 and put XBMC on it. It won't let you surf the web (laptop?), but it'll do anything else.

I have a hard time justifying spending $500+ on a HTPC, but when the Minis are updated I'm going to get one to use as my desktop PC, and use my current Mini as an HTPC. I have 2 Apple TV 2s right now.
 
B

Blayze

Diamond Member
Feb 22, 2000
6,152
0
0
I've dropped everything but the basic package with HD from Time Warner.

If I could get reliable OTA I would think more about dropping cable. I can't put up an outdoor antenna here (HOA), and I only get half the local channels with a indoor antenna.
 
CPA

CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
Tried Netflix, in two months I watched one movie. Most of what I wanted could not instantly watched on my TV. Cancelled Netflix.
 
sourceninja

sourceninja

Diamond Member
Mar 8, 2005
8,805
65
91
Mac Mini + netflix and hulu + OTA TV = winning for me.

That's all I use now. Saving about $160 a month.
 
Linflas

Linflas

Lifer
Jan 30, 2001
15,395
78
91
Unless you watch the stuff actually produced by Showtime/HBO I really see no reason to keep the premiums in 2011. There are so many alternatives that it really makes no sense to me to pay for them. I turned them off a few months ago for that exact reason. As I told the woman at DTV trying to talk me into keeping them I could not recall the last time I watched anything on HBO/Showtime/Skinemax since the last episode of The Sopranos.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom