I’m Done With Cable TV. Have You Cut The Cord?

[Bluside]

This thread has come at a perfect time. I'm finally thinking of getting rid of my cable. The bills have just gotten out of hand and I don't watch that much TV.

I already have Netflix and Amazon Prime. I just signed up for a free trial of Hulu Live TV. We'll see how it goes. There is a bit of a learning curve with all of this.

[joeychitwood]

For anyone considering streaming and cutting the cable, here is a good guide for deciding which services are good for your needs.

[JTL31]

Never had it. I stream Netflix and will vary some months on paying for it’s service based on offerings.

[Aquaholic_user]

Get the best internet offered, no phone or cable. Stream youtube all day.

[Speedbird-1]

Cancelled SKY 2 years ago.
Reading more, and having much longer conversations with, 'She, who must be obeyed', not to mention saving 150 quid per month!

[77T]

Originally Posted by Speedbird-1

Reading more, and having much longer conversations with, 'She, who must be obeyed'

Ah...Rumpole of the Bailey fan methinks.




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[Speedbird-1]

Originally Posted by 77T

Ah...Rumpole of the Bailey fan methinks.




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Still wear that wig....on special nights.

[Bluside]

I posted earlier, but I finally did it.

I only have internet through Xfinity now and stream everything. I ended up with YoutubeTV for the live broadcasts. That along with Netflix and Amazon Prime, I'm pretty set.

My monthly bill has been cut in half.

[Al1969]

Originally Posted by Bluside

I posted earlier, but I finally did it.

I only have internet through Xfinity now and stream everything. I ended up with YoutubeTV for the live broadcasts. That along with Netflix and Amazon Prime, I'm pretty set.

My monthly bill has been cut in half.

Awesome!
I did the same a few months back. Less clutter too without all the boxes.

[214270Explorer]

I had cable for around two years back in the mid-80's. Then came the incessant increases along with deteriorating service. Then came the "choice packages" increases to hundreds of channels for hundreds a month. Too many channels to watch. What a gimmick!

Got rid of cable, installed a good antenna in the attic, and for decades now have enjoyed around 13 locally available stations (chosen out of around a total of 88 local O.T.A. Broadcast channels).

And the HD quality is BETTER than cable gives you <I do not know anything about Satellite though>.

Over the years I have saved too much "cable money" for me to calculate . . .

[LawyerFlyfisher]

They got arrogant about no more deals so we said farewell.

[Mifune]

youtubeTV has been golden for me over the last year and a half or so... but you need a speedy connection and it has gone up in price slightly very recently

[joeychitwood]

I’ve been satisfied with Hulu Live and Roku programming. The only channel I miss from cable is the Science Channel. However, Hulu has an issue that is really irritating me. They track IP addresses and zip codes to determine an account’s Home location. They don’t use the billing address. Almost every non-business internet account uses a Dynamic IP system, meaning the IP address can change with every router reboot, power outage or other factors unknown to me. Hulu allows four IP changes a year. After that, one cannot watch Hulu Live programming on the main TV.

I’ve talked to Hulu tech support. They suggested a static IP account. I called my cable provider, and a static account costs $80 a year more than a dynamic, plus I’d have to subscribe to a business account at $240 a year more than a residential one. (A business account doesn’t automatically include a static IP.). They don’t offer static IPs to residential customers.

I was able to get Hulu tech support to reset the address change counter, but it’s going to be a serious pain to have to do that every few months. Have a of you encountered this problem? Any ideas for a solution?

[MrGoat]

We cut the cord about a year and a half ago. Frontier was charging $280 a month for cable package that they downgraded and internet. We got a deal for $59 a month 200/200 internet through them and now have multiple streaming services. We probably pay more but can watch anything we desire at any time.

Sling is a terrible service for streaming tv. We went with it originally and it lagged horribly as well as reset itself often. We have Fubo tv now and there’s quite a bit of selection, can be used on multiple devices and it’s like $60 a month roughly.


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[ttomczak]

I have ATT Now Formally Direct tv now which I was an initial subscriber. It went from 35/month to 65/mth. The only good thing (which is also a bad thing) is I have a defunct package with 120 plus channels. But in truth, I have cbs all access and cw which is free. And of course Netflix and Prime. Also a free year of Disney due to a Verizon’s promotion.

I’m trying Hulu live now and potentially dropping ATT since they systematically jack up the price Every so often to get me to drop off.

Been about 3 years now and I use an antenna for local stuff which is rarely watched.

Oh, and century link 1gb fiber with a locked in price of 65 mth.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by ttomczak

Oh, and century link 1gb fiber with a locked in price of 65 mth.

Good price. I pay $64 a month for a 100MB line.

[jph4387]

I cut the cord about a year ago and wish I had done it sooner. I had TWC and through customer retention they gave me a fair price that was locked in and not a promotion and I was willing to pay that for years. When Spectrum took over they jacked up my bill by 70 bucks taking me to 250/month and that's when i had enough. I cancelled on the spot and they tried to give me the sales pitch and then said they didn't care that we had an agreement on service and price. At that point I knew they'd never get another dollar of my money.

As for service now I have hooked up Apple TV's to all of the tv's in the house which works really well with iPhones, Macs, iPads, etc. I have YoutubeTV which is great for local channels and the channels we watch. The best part about their service is the DVR holds shows for a year versus others which may only hold recordings for a month. I also added HBO, Showtime, Netflix, and Disney+. I have way more content than i could ever want and I'm saving a ton over cable.

[Blansky]

In my cost cutting efforts I downgraded the Dish Package and have Prime and Netflix and during the lockdown have added BritBox, Acorn, Mhz, so my bill is pretty much the same.

Of course, I've pretty much watched everything on every channel now so now I'm down to watching foreign stuff with subtitles with countries that don't speak English like Germany, Poland, Finland, Spain, and Scotland and part of Britain.

Death in Paradise and Brokenwood still rank up there at the top. GET BUSY AND MAKE MORE!!!!! Dammit.

[morglaw]

I cut the cord at least a year already, now I only watch Tv series on the Tv mostly with YoutubeTV and Netflix, using https://veepn.com/unblock-netflix/ and I think it's way better like this. Fast connection, fast vpn, i just can't go back to cable TV. I spend less and have every series I want when I want! Cable TV is in the past already, everyone is getting rid of it!

[Jackie Daytona]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

I’ve been satisfied with Hulu Live and Roku programming. The only channel I miss from cable is the Science Channel. However, Hulu has an issue that is really irritating me. They track IP addresses and zip codes to determine an account’s Home location. They don’t use the billing address. Almost every non-business internet account uses a Dynamic IP system, meaning the IP address can change with every router reboot, power outage or other factors unknown to me. Hulu allows four IP changes a year. After that, one cannot watch Hulu Live programming on the main TV.

I’ve talked to Hulu tech support. They suggested a static IP account. I called my cable provider, and a static account costs $80 a year more than a dynamic, plus I’d have to subscribe to a business account at $240 a year more than a residential one. (A business account doesn’t automatically include a static IP.). They don’t offer static IPs to residential customers.

I was able to get Hulu tech support to reset the address change counter, but it’s going to be a serious pain to have to do that every few months. Have a of you encountered this problem? Any ideas for a solution?

Sling has the Science Channel. One of my go to channels.

[McGooberstein]

Cut it earlier this year and no regrets at all. Have amazon prime, netflix, disney+, HBO, and Smithsonian channel to cover all of my bases. Those services are about 30% of what I was paying for cable and I feel like I'm getting way more than what cable provided. I read WSJ and NYT for news instead of watching cable news.

Disney+ is underwhelming so far. Mandalorian was good but they're not pumping out quality original content compared to netflix. I saw that disney stock popped the other day on news that there were a lot of subscribers to disney+. But I think a lot of people are in the same boat as me and will probably cancel the subscription after 1 year is up- its just not worth it at the moment.

[ronricks]

I have been using Hulu live for almost 4 years now with no issues. My fear is eventually the streaming services will become as expensive as cable and satellite are currently.

[GB-man]

Originally Posted by ronricks

I have been using Hulu live for almost 4 years now with no issues. My fear is eventually the streaming services will become as expensive as cable and satellite are currently.

Without question. Netlfix is worth far more than they charge imho. I can't imagine I would cancel if it were double that.

[Boston Litigator]

went to youtube tv a year or so ago. service has been great but already on our 3rd price hike.

[Ny325]

I canceled some channels. 75% of the programs are terrible.
Unfortunately the programs worth watching, you need other channels you don’t need. Cable is a total ripoff.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by ronricks

I have been using Hulu live for almost 4 years now with no issues. My fear is eventually the streaming services will become as expensive as cable and satellite are currently.

Do you have a static IP address? Have you had the above described home issues?

[ronricks]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

Do you have a static IP address? Have you had the above described home issues?

I do not have a static ip I use dhcp. Google Fiber is my isp. Is your Hulu live app accessed through the roku device or do you have the app installed on a smart tv?

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by ronricks

I do not have a static ip I use dhcp. Google Fiber is my isp. Is your Hulu live app accessed through the roku device or do you have the app installed on a smart tv?

I’m using a Roku Ultra device hard wired into my fiber internet service.

[ronricks]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

I’m using a Roku Ultra device hard wired into my fiber internet service.

Wondering if that might be the issue and not the static vs dhcp issue? I have the Hulu app installed on my LG tv.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by ronricks

Wondering if that might be the issue and not the static vs dhcp issue? I have the Hulu app installed on my LG tv.

When I’ve talked to Hulu tech support, they have said my problem was that my IP address, which they use to determine my home location, has changed. I explain that my credit card billing and home address have not changed, and they have reset the counter. My ISP tells me that because I don’t have a static IP account, my IP address will change with router reboots, power surges or outages, and randomly. They will sell me a static IP at a significant cost.