Cutting the Cord
For years I’ve thought about cutting off cable television. I never channel surf and only watch shows on a handful of channels. More and more of the stuff I watch comes from Netflix now anyways. Now, I could cut TV out entirely and devote my time to other things. The problem is, I like TV and I like seeing shows when they are new. When I considered this option before, a few years ago, I decided against it. I had just recently gotten an HD tv and didn’t want to watch new tv on the internet. Plus it would be impossible to get Gator football games. Things have changed and I’m considering it again.
Current Set Up- ~$150/ month
Comcast Cable Internet
- ~$80/month
- $24 of that is for basic cable I don’t use. Dropping that would make my internet $15 more expensive. Haven’t bothered because it wouldn’t really save much money
- 15mb/s download speeds, usually gets HD picture from Netflix, still hate Comcast because it sometimes is really slow
DISH Satelite
- ~$50/month
- Better HD selection and DVR service than the deal Comcast was offering at the time
Netflix
- ~$20/month
- Unlimited streaming and 3 discs at a time. Great for watching season of TV on disc when they aren’t on streaming
- Will go up to $25 in Sept when Netflix changes their price, unless I change plans
Pros
- Full access to most cable channels
- DVR usage. Great for football games as you can start the game later and skip commercials and all the down time between plays
- No commercials, ever
- New TV the night it airs
Cons
- Pricey
- Still have to wait for many shows to go to Netflix or pay for them (anything on AMC, FX, HBO)
Possible Set-Up- $115/month high, $90/month low
Comcast Internet
- ~$80/month
- I would drop the unused cable and upgrade to the next faster internet plan for about the same price. Would give me a little more leeway when things slow down
- I tried CLEAR wireless internet but they suck (that might be another post) and AT&T only offers crappy 1.5mb/s speeds
Netflix
- ~$25/month
- I’d likely want to keep the same plan I have
Hulu Plus
- ~$10/month
- I’m not sure on this one. I don’t like that the subscription service still has commercials. But it would be available on the X-box. However, not all shows that are available on Hulu Plus can be watched on the X-box.
HD Antennae/DVR
- This would be a one-time cost instead of a monthly cost.
- It would provide all of the broadcast shows I watch (the majority) free and there are DVR options out there as well.
- I doubt reception is worse than satellite.
Pros
- Cheaper. Even with Hulu Plus, it would save $35 per month. It could be even cheaper if I don’t upgrade the internet and don’t do Hulu (an additional $20/month)
- No difference in how I watch some shows (anything on HBO, AMC, FX)
- If I went all out, waiting a year for shows to become available on Netflix wouldn’t be that big a deal
- Some Gator games will be available on ESPN3 and others should be able to be grabbed by antennae
Cons
- More dependent on the internet. When Comcast is being stupid and I’m looking for entertainment, satellite stuff is currently available.
- Harder to get Gator games
- Using Hulu is annoying. Sci-Fi (no I will not call it SyFy) shows aren’t available on the X-box so I would either need to wait or plug my laptop into the TV, which is sometimes iffy.
Questions
- I don’t know how well ESPN3 will work and how many games I’ll be able to watch that way. If a game is on CBS/ABC/Fox I can use an antennae, but if it is on ESPN, will it be available on the X-box and ESPN3? If it is, I know I can’t record,but can I pause?
- Is there any value to Hulu Plus?
- How easy will it be to watch the Daily Show without using a computer? That’s the only show I watch where timeliness will really matter.
- Anyone have any opinions?
4 Comments
Tamarynn · July 13, 2011 at 10:02 am
I haven’t had a subscription tv/cable service in about 7 years. I primarily use Netflix (streaming and dvd) to watch shows and movies. Yeah, sometimes it sucks having to wait a year or so for the season to be released on dvd and for Netflix to get it, but in the end it doesn’t matter whether I see it right away or wait.
The biggest con is not being able to “keep up to date” on shows if you have friends who like to discuss them. If that is the case, you can probably make a night of it and get invited over to watch the new season, or find it online. A lot of channels now offer the ability to watch recent shows, so you could utilize that.
I tried the free trial of Hulu and I wasn’t too impressed. Their selection isn’t as great as I had hoped, the ads can be annoying (especially if you are paying for it), and the service seemed clunky on xbox.
Another service you may not be aware of is Amazon. You can “rent” streaming shows/movies through them. If you are a Prime subscriber, this service is also included.
If you decide to make the switch, I’d suggest getting a roku box, or something similar (a lot of blu ray players have services included now). It allows you to watch Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc. for a one-time fee. I’d suggest figuring out which services are important to you and finding a device that can utilize them.
Maarkean · July 13, 2011 at 10:37 am
I’d forgotten about Amazon. My X-box provides Netflix, Hulu potential, Zune and ESPN3 but I don’t think it does Amazon. I have Prime so that’s worth investigating.
Tamarynn · July 13, 2011 at 1:04 pm
I actually liked using Amazon a lot more than Hulu.
I’m not pushing a roku box, but it is what I am familiar with. I’d suggest investigating more on similar products, as they can offer a lot more than xbox does (and you aren’t tied into paying $70 for xbox live).
http://www.roku.com/roku-channel-store
That gives you an idea of what you can access. A lot are subscription-based services, but some are free to use.
Sienn'lyn · July 14, 2011 at 7:32 am
I have no idea how it works in the US, but here the HD-channels aren’t broadcasted in 1080p, but 720p. That and the fact that I just don’t enjoy watching TV-series once per week or so means I rarely watch TV for the series. Those I tend to download in 1080p or watch on Blu-ray. Mostly I just watch the news and documentaries these days. And Hockey of course, I am Swedish.
Personally I can do without many of the channels I have since I rarely watch them. Unfortunately, the way they have set it up here I need to get most of them to get the few channels I really want (like History Channel HD). Greedy bastards.
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