Cutting Cable Experiences

[Wicked Pilot]

I am considering cutting my cable TV, and thus bringing in all my entertainment via only broadband. With internet only, plus Netflix and Hulu Plus I'd manage to save $80 a month. Which is good because come 01 Oct I'll be unemployed. Anyway, I realize I won't get every show I watch, I'm fine with that. Also, I realize I won't get local news (ok with that, I live out in the boonies), and won't get live sports (ok with that, don't care enough). I've experimented a little with simply hooking my notebook to the TV. It appears to work well, though it's an awkward setup, I would definitely have to invest in a Roku or Apple TV or Chromecast. Of course if all else fails I can do without TV altogether, I've done it for months on end while deployed.


So.... Has anybody else done this or similar, and what are your experiences? Was it well worth it, or where you crawling back to your local mob outfit, I mean cable provider, after a week of losing the signal? And for those who have found success in their liberation, might I ask what's your equipment and choice content providers?

[madd0ct0r]

I've not owned a TV since I got back from Vietnam, and even there it was really only a screen for the dvd player. You'll live.

[JLTucker]

There's always red box too if Netflix doesn't have what you want. You're making a mistake paying for Hulu, though, given you're still getting commercials while paying for their premium services.

[Zaune]

I personally ditched my television set altogether when I left home for college, and I've never looked back.

As far as watching it goes, I'd buy a secondhand PC and put MythTV or something on it, you'll probably get more disk space that way.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

I've been doing it for years, with only Netflix, free Hulu, and the occasional Amazon Video purchase. Vastly superior TV watching system.

[Dominus Atheos]

Hook an old PC or laptop to your HDTV (almost all HDTVs have PC inputs, and many laptops even have hdmi out ports) and get every possible streaming option right in your living room.

I've even heard about certain illicit sites that have every tv and movie available for streaming or download!

[TheFeniX]

Unless there are shows you just can't live without, cable is easily forgotten. In our first apartment back in 2000, my roommates and I could spring for either basic cable or decent Internet. We took the Internet and never looked back. Even now with Netflix and 800 bajillion channels, I find myself watching old The Critic episodes on youtube and just outputting it to my TV via HDMI. When our new place is built, I'm not even messing with cable because I'm tired of paying stupid amounts of money so I can DVR the 3 shows I actually watch.

I'm more annoyed it's 2013 and the only way I can rewatch ER is to either pay $200 for the series set or buy it episode by episode through streaming. Same with seasons 1-10 of The Simpsons, which are even higher priced.

[phred]

I haven't had cable in years. If it isn't on Hulu or some other easy to find web service, I don't need to see it.

[Terralthra]

No cable or "television" since my first undergrad in 2000. Perfectly happy.

[DesertFly]

In 2007 I was moving into my first solo place, and I briefly debated getting cable. I instead opted for Hulu and Netflix (and perhaps the occasional "illicit" means of obtaining content), and have never regretted it.

[PeZook]

Cut off cable two years ago or so after realizing that not only I don't watch 99% of the content I pay for, the cable guys keep incessantly calling me with AWESOME OFFERS ONLY 30 ZLOTYS PER MONTH FOR A BAJILLION ZILLION MORE CHANNELS. Got pissed off after a particularly terrible rep got offended at me politely saying no and finally cut it.

I have a PC hooked up to a TV in the living room with a wireless keyboard and mouse, get all my shows on demand from the various net-based services, use it for gaming and the console, too.

Perfectly happy.

[madd0ct0r]

in conclusion - people who spend a lot of time in online forums watch less cable. shucks

[PeZook]

I have a family and THEY are perfectly happy with that arrangement, too

[Vendetta]

Modern TVs don't even need to be connected to a PC.

My TV has all the on demand streaming services (iplayer, netflix, youtube, etc) built right in, and it can stream most file formats by itself from my NAS.

[Lagmonster]

My wife and boy get all their entertainment via Netflix over laptops/PCs/iPhones/XBoxes, but we also bought a Boxee Box for the living room to provide recognizable access to other content. For example, my wife watches new episodes of Big Bang Theory and Daily Show on the boxee, which gets it straight from CTV's website. Everything else is Netflix or pay-per rentals from Xbox's various entertainment services.

Bear in mind: I live in Canada, with significantly neutered content. You live in America, with piles of content by comparison. As long as you have a trustworthy and economically sensible internet connection, all else will follow.

[salm]

I´ve got one of these "Smart TVs" with internet access. I stream movies and other stuff directly to the TV via app without hooking up a lap top. It can be annoying at times because providers sometimes don´t supply enough band width and movies will stutter, esspecially when streaming HD content.
Maybe you´ll have less problems with that in the US, though.

[Wicked Pilot]

Yeah I'm pretty much convinced that the cost is not worth the service, I think I'll be cutting sometime this month. I use to have a throw away PC, but I donated it out a year ago or so. But there are other means. Thanks for your input.

[StarSword]

Not sure where you live, Wicked Pilot, but at least in the US there really isn't much on cable worth watching anymore anyway because 90% of the networks have badly decayed (Sci Fi is, naturally, the poster boy for this), and most of those that haven't aren't available in basic packages. Over-the-air just costs you the price of an antenna, you don't have to pay extra for HD, and if the show is garbage it usually goes off the air pretty fast. Downside, you don't get much specialty stuff like sci-fi.

PBS pwns Discovery any day of the week.

[JLTucker]

Just buy an HD antenna so you can get your local channels like FOX, NBC, PBS, ABC, etc. Then invest in a Roku box for Netflix and Vudu.

[Wicked Pilot]

The cable has been cut and for now it's Netflix and Hulu on the big screen, and whatever else I can find on the computer. It seems to be working out alright, so far I haven't slit my wrist or anything. Not that I would, I've gone months without TV while deployed. (well we had AFN, but that's of limited worth with only a handful of channels and most TVs being used for X-Box)

[Zaune]

You know, I reckon the amount of television that isn't shit has stayed pretty much static even as the number of channels has exploded.